KR20050035449A - Apparatus for manufacturing semiconductor devices - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is a low pressure chemical vapor deposition equipment, the equipment has a process chamber and a pipe portion connected to the process chamber. A plurality of pipes in the pipe portion is coupled by a coupling member, to prevent gas leakage at the connection portion of the pipes, the connection portion of the pipes are wrapped by a protective cover made of a transparent material so that the operator can easily check whether the gas leakage.

Description

Semiconductor device manufacturing equipment {APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES}

The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor device, and more particularly to an apparatus having a pipe portion through which the gas in the process chamber is exhausted.

The chemical vapor deposition process used in the semiconductor manufacturing process is a process of depositing a certain thin film on a semiconductor substrate by decomposing a gaseous compound and then chemically reacting. Recently, the uniformity of the deposited film is good and a large amount of wafers is used. The low pressure chemical vapor deposition apparatus which can not only simultaneously process but also have low production cost due to low gas consumption is mainly used.

Low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) apparatus, which is generally used, has a process chamber in which a deposition process is performed, and a process unit is connected to a pipe part through which internal reaction byproducts are exhausted. The pipe section has a plurality of pipes, and adjacent pipes are joined by a clamp that tightens the flange portion. When the equipment having the structure described above is used for a long time, the gas flowing inside the pipe easily leaks from the connection portion between the pipes. In this case, it is difficult to check whether the gas is leaked, and there is a problem that a fire is generated depending on the type of gas that is often leaked. In addition, as the outside air flows in through the gaps generated at the connections between the pipes, reaction by-products such as ammonium chloride flowing therein become solidified, thereby causing a problem that the passage in the pipe is blocked.

An object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor device manufacturing equipment that can prevent the gas flowing inside the pipe from leaking to the outside through a gap generated at the connection between the pipes.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor device manufacturing equipment that can prevent the outside air from flowing into the pipe through the gap generated at the connection between the pipes.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor device manufacturing equipment that can be easily checked by the operator whether the gas leaks through the gap generated in the connection between the pipes.

In order to achieve the above object, the semiconductor device manufacturing apparatus of the present invention has a process chamber and a pipe portion for exhausting gas remaining in the process chamber. The pipe portion has at least one pipe and a protective cover that wraps around a predetermined portion of the pipe to prevent the gas flowing in the pipe from leaking to the outside or outside air flows into the pipe.

Preferably, the pipe portion has a first pipe and a second pipe connected to the first pipe, the first pipe and the second pipe are coupled by a coupling member, the protective cover is the first pipe and the first pipe It is arranged to surround the joint of the two pipes. The protective cover is spaced apart from the pipe by a certain distance and extends to both sides from the central portion and the center portion, respectively, and has a close contact portion surrounding the pipe so as to be in close contact with the outer wall of the pipe, a sealing between the close contact and the outer wall The member is inserted.

Preferably, the protective cover is made of a transparent material so as to confirm that the gas leaks from the pipe, the gas detection unit for detecting whether the gas exists in the protective cover may be further provided.

In addition, the pipe portion may further include a scrubber for purifying the gas, a pipe that is a passage through which the gas inside the protective cover flows to the scrubber may be further provided.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. The embodiments of the present invention may be modified in various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the embodiments described below. This embodiment is provided to more completely explain the present invention to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the shape of the elements in the drawings are exaggerated to emphasize a clearer description.

In the following embodiment, a low pressure chemical vapor deposition apparatus for depositing a predetermined material on a wafer will be described as an example. However, the apparatus of the present invention may be provided to all the apparatuses having a pipe part.

1 is a view schematically showing a low pressure chemical vapor deposition plant according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, an LPCVD apparatus has a process chamber 100, a boat 180, and an exhaust part 200.

The process chamber 100 has an outer tube 110 and an inner tube 120 made of quartz as part of a deposition process. The inner tube 120 has a cylindrical shape with both the upper and lower portions open, and the outer tube 110 is installed to surround the inner tube 120 and has a cylindrical shape with the lower portion open. The heater 160 for heating the process chamber 100 to a temperature at which the reaction gases injected from the reaction gas supply pipe 132 are pyrolyzed and a chemical reaction may be disposed outside the outer tube 110. Heater 160 may be adjusted to approximately 450 to 840 ℃. The inner tube 120 and the outer tube 110 are disposed below, and are mounted on a flange 130 having a through-hole formed in the center thereof. An O-ring (not shown) may be installed between the outer tube 110 and the flange 130 to seal the inside of the process chamber 100 from the outside.

Approximately 100 wafers (W) are mounted on the boat 180 in a rod (not shown) located below the process chamber 100, the boat 180 is the inner tube through the through hole of the flange 130 120 is moved into. The lower part of the boat 180 is equipped with an elevator for lifting the boat 180 and a rotating part for rotating the boat.

One side of the flange 130 is connected with reaction gas supply pipes 132 (only one supply pipe is shown in the drawing) into which the reaction gases are introduced, and below the nitrogen to prevent the formation of a natural oxide film on the wafers. A purge gas supply pipe (not shown) to which purge gas such as N2 is supplied may be connected. A predetermined film is deposited on the wafer by these reactant gases, and the gas remaining in the process chamber 100 after the deposition is exhausted to the outside through a pipe 200 connected to the other side of the flange 130.

The pipe part 200 includes pipes 220, a vacuum pump 250, a coupling member 240, a protective cover 260, a scrubber 170, and a detector 280. The pipes 200 are passages through which gases in the process chamber 100 move, and a pipe 220 is connected to a vacuum pump 250 that maintains the inside of the process chamber 100 at a predetermined vacuum degree. Pipes 220 are connected to each other by a coupling member 240 such as a clamp (clamp), the gas flowing in the pipe 220 is purified in the scrubber 270 and then exhausted to the outside. The protective cover 260 is a portion surrounding at least a portion of the pipe 220 in order to prevent the gas flowing through the pipe from leaking outside the pipe 220. The protective cover 260 may be positioned to surround the entire pipe 220 or to cover only a portion of the pipe 220 where leakage occurs frequently.

One pipe of the plurality of pipes 220 is called a first pipe 220a and a pipe connected adjacent thereto is called a second pipe 220b. Each pipe 220 has flanges 222 at both ends, and the first pipes 220a and the second pipes 220b are tightly fastened by the flanges 222a and 222b by the coupling member 240. It is connected by load. When the equipment is used for a long time, a minute gap is likely to occur at the connection between the pipes 220a and 220b (that is, the area where the flange 222a of the first pipe and the flange 222b of the second pipe contact). In this embodiment, the protective cover 260 is a pipe (220a, 220b) in order to prevent the gas flowing in the pipe 220 leaks into the atmosphere or the air of the air flows into the pipe 220 through the above-described gaps It is arranged to surround the connection between the liver.

2 is an enlarged view of a portion 'A' of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 2. 2 and 3, the protective cover 260 is installed to surround them around the connecting portion of the first pipe (220a) and the second pipe (220b). The protective cover 260 has a body portion 262, the close contact portions 264, and the sealing member 266.

Body portion 262 is a portion located in the center has the shape of a hollow cylinder. The body portion 262 has a predetermined distance from the connection portion of the first pipe 220a and the second pipe 220b and the clamp 240 to couple them so that a predetermined space 250 is formed between the inner wall and the pipe 220. Spaced apart and positioned to surround them all.

The close contact portions 264 are positioned on both sides of the body portion 262 so as to extend from the body portion 2620 to be in contact with the outer wall of the pipe 220. The inner diameter of each close contact portion 264 is larger than the outer diameter of the pipe portion. It has a shape of a hollow cylinder having a small diameter, and the pipe 220 can be inserted into the protective cover 260 by forcibly fitting.In contrast, the inner diameter of the close contact portion 264 is the same diameter as the outer diameter of the pipe 220. It may be coupled to the pipe 220 by a separate fastening means, a ring-shaped groove is formed on the inner wall of the contact portion 264, the sealing member for sealing the above-mentioned space from the outside ( An O-ring may be used as the sealing member 266. The gas leaked through the gap generated in the connection portion between the pipes 220 is stored in the above-mentioned space 250. Protective cover 260 ) Is visually easy for the operator when the gas leaks from the pipe 220. It is desirable to be made of a transparent material so that it can be recognized.

The pipe part 200 has a detector 280 for detecting the presence or absence of gas between the protective cover 260 and the pipe 220. Although not shown, the presence or absence of gas detection may be monitored by the detection unit 280 in real time, and a warning sound may be sounded when gas is detected. In addition, the space 250 and the scrubber 270 in the protective cover may be connected by the pipe 290 so that the gas filled in the space 250 flows to the scrubber 270.

Equipment of the present invention has a protective cover for sealing the surroundings of the connection between the pipes from the outside to prevent the gas leaked to the outside of the pipe through the gap generated in the connection between the pipes as well as to prevent the outside Air can be prevented from entering the pipe. Therefore, safety accidents due to gas leakage can be prevented in advance, and the inside of the pipe can be prevented from being blocked due to solidification of reaction byproducts.

In addition, since the above-mentioned protective cover is made of a transparent material, the operator can easily check whether the gas leaks from the pipe with the naked eye.

1 is a schematic view of a low pressure chemical vapor deposition apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention;

2 is an enlarged view of a portion 'A' of FIG. 1; And

3 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 2.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100: process chamber 200: piping

220a: first piping 220b: second piping

240: coupling member 260: protective cover

270: scrubber 280: detection unit

Claims (7)

In the equipment used to manufacture semiconductor devices, A process chamber; Is provided with a piping for exhaust of gas remaining in the process chamber, The pipe portion, At least one pipe; And a protective cover surrounding a predetermined portion of the pipe to prevent the gas flowing in the pipe from leaking to the outside or the outside air from flowing into the pipe. The method of claim 1, The pipe portion, A first piping section; A second pipe connected to the first pipe, and Further comprising a coupling member for coupling the first pipe and the second pipe, The protective cover is a semiconductor device manufacturing facility characterized in that surrounding the coupling portion of the first pipe and the second pipe. The method of claim 2, The protective cover, A body part surrounding the pipe at a predetermined distance from the pipe; A close contact portion which extends from both sides of the center portion to both sides and surrounds the pipe to be in close contact with the outer wall of the pipe; And a sealing member inserted between the close contact portion and the outer wall. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The protective cover is a semiconductor device manufacturing facility, characterized in that the transparent to be able to confirm that the gas leaks from the pipe. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The piping unit further comprises a gas detection unit for detecting whether a gas exists in the protective cover. The method of claim 5, The pipe portion, A scrubber for purifying gas; And a pipe connecting the protective cover and the scrubber so that the gas leaked into the protective cover flows to the scrubber. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The facility is a semiconductor device manufacturing equipment, characterized in that the low pressure chemical vapor deposition process is performed.