KR20050060987A - Slit valve apparatus for semiconductor processing - Google Patents

Abstract

The slit valve device for semiconductor manufacturing equipment includes a chamber body having a wafer port, a slit valve insert attached to the wafer port, and a shield made of Teflon material installed at an inner end surface of the slit valve insert; A slit valve door for opening and closing a wafer port; An O-ring installed at the front of the slit valve door to maintain airtightness between the wafer port and the slit valve door; And an actuator for performing the up and down operation of the slit valve door.

Description

SLIT VALVE APPARATUS FOR SEMICONDUCTOR PROCESSING

The present invention relates to a slit valve device for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and more particularly, the O-ring of the slit valve (SLIT VALVE) is deteriorated by gas, plasma, heat, etc. during the process in the process chamber wear It relates to a slit valve device for a semiconductor manufacturing equipment that can be prevented.

In general, a semiconductor device is implemented by performing a series of semiconductor manufacturing processes such as a photo process, a diffusion process, an ion implantation process, an etching process, and a thin film forming process on a wafer.

As described above, the semiconductor manufacturing process is performed in a multi-chamber (MULTI-CHAMBER) having a plurality of process chambers in order to prevent the wafer from being contaminated during the movement of the wafer, the process chamber is a buffer chamber (BUFFER CHAMBER) It is installed around its periphery.

And a wafer port (WAFER PORT) is provided between the buffer chamber and the process chamber is connected to the process chamber to move the wafer, the wafer port is moved to form a predetermined angle by the drive of the actuator (ACTUATOR) It is opened and closed by the slit valve door.

Referring to FIG. 1, an O-ring 32 is provided on a door surface 32 of a slit valve door 30 of a conventional semiconductor process chamber to provide airtightness between a wafer port 21 and a door surface 32 during a process. It is to be maintained.

The O-ring 31 installed on the door surface 32 of the slit valve door 30 is worn by repeated opening and closing action with the slit valve insert 20, and the plasma, gas and heat inside the process chamber. Deterioration due to corrosion, etc. due to exposure to the back, and thus, the airtightness between the wafer port 21 and the door surface 32 is inferior or the O-ring 31 itself generates particles (PARTICLE) to cause a semiconductor process failure There is this.

As the semiconductor device is highly integrated as described above, the problem of generating particles having a fine size is mainly caused by the following factors. The O-ring 31 provided on the door surface 32 of the slit valve door 30 is in close contact with the end of the slit valve insert 20 to close the door.

At this time, the distance between the end surface of the door surface 32 and the slit valve insert 20 becomes very narrow, and when the door surface 32 reciprocates, it is installed on the door surface 32 by the opening and closing action Since the O-ring 31 repeatedly hits the end portion of the slit valve insert 20, wear is quickly brought, and product life is shortened by exposure to plasma, gas, and heat during the process.

An object of the present invention is to provide a Teflon shield (SHIELD) of heat resistance and abrasion resistance on the inner surface of the slit valve insert between the process chamber and the buffer chamber. The present invention provides a slit valve device for semiconductor manufacturing that can prevent deformation due to plasma, gas, and heat, and can minimize wear and tear due to repeated opening and closing operations.

The slit valve device for semiconductor manufacturing equipment according to the present invention for achieving the above object and the chamber body having a wafer port; A slit valve insert attached to the wafer port; A shield provided at an inner end surface of the slit valve insert; A slit valve door for opening and closing the wafer port; An O-ring installed at a front surface of the slit valve door to maintain airtightness between the wafer port and the slit valve door; And an actuator configured to vertically operate the slit valve door.

Here, the shield is installed on the inner end surface of the slit valve insert, it is preferably installed to include the wafer port.

The shield may be installed to include the wafer port, but installed to include the O-ring.

In addition, the shield is preferably formed of a Teflon material.

Further, the shield is preferably formed of a soft material.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The slit valve device for semiconductor manufacturing equipment of the present invention includes a chamber body (110) having a wafer port (120); A slit valve insert 130 attached to the wafer port 120; A shield 150 installed on the inner surface of the slit valve insert 130; A slit valve door 140 for opening and closing the wafer port 120; An O-ring 141 installed on the front of the slit valve door 140 to maintain airtightness between the wafer port 120 and the slit valve door 140; And an actuator 160 for vertically operating the slit valve door 140.

Here, the shield 150 is installed on the inner surface of the slit valve insert 130, it is installed to include the wafer port 120.

In addition, the shield 150 is installed to include the wafer port 120, but is installed to include the O-ring 140, the shield 150 is preferably formed of a Teflon material.

In addition, the shield 150 is formed of a soft material.

Next will be described a preferred embodiment of the present invention by the above configuration.

2 and 3, a process chamber 100 is disposed adjacent to the buffer chamber 200 to perform a predetermined semiconductor process.

In order to perform a predetermined semiconductor process (for example, a dry etching process), a method of transferring a wafer from the buffer chamber 200 to the process chamber 100 is as follows.

First, the slit valve door 140 which is fastened by the actuator 160 and the fastening means 170 is lowered by the driving of the actuator 160 installed in the buffer chamber 200 to the slit valve insert 130. Wafer port 120 formed in the) is to be opened.

The wafer is transferred by a robot arm (not shown) installed inside the buffer chamber 200 to transfer the wafer to the process chamber 100 through the open wafer port 120.

After the wafer is transferred to the process chamber 100 through the wafer port 120, the wafer port 120 is sealed.

That is, the slit valve door 140 maintains a predetermined angle and moves up and down by driving the actuator 160 to closely contact the slit valve insert 130 and the slit valve door 140. It is in close contact with the valve insert 130.

At this time, the shield 150 of the twisted wire shape is formed on the inner surface of the slit valve insert 130 is made of Teflon material.

In addition, an o-ring 141 is provided on the door surface 142 of the slit valve door 140 to form an airtightness with the wafer port 120.

The shield 150 installed on the inner surface of the slit valve insert 130 is installed in a form including a wafer port 120 that serves to access and exit the wafer, and is also provided on the door surface 142 of the slit valve door 140. The O-ring 141 includes the wafer port 120 in contact with the slit valve insert 130 to install the shield 150 to form a complete airtightness.

In order to proceed with the predetermined process as described above, the slit valve insert 130 and the slit valve door 140 are repeatedly opened and closed during the wafer transfer from the buffer chamber 200 to the process chamber 100.

At this time, since the wear of the O-ring 141 installed on the door surface 412 of the slit valve door 140 progresses rapidly when the opening and closing operation is repeatedly performed as described above, the heat resistance of the inner surface of the slit valve insert 130 is increased. , By blocking the RF, plasma, gas and heat inside the process chamber 100 by installing a shield 150 made of Teflon material having a wear-resistant physicochemical property deterioration of the O-ring 141 and wear rate by repeated opening and closing operation Can be minimized efficiently.

The slit valve device for semiconductor manufacturing equipment according to the present invention as described above, when a predetermined process is performed by installing a shield made of Teflon to include an O-ring and a wafer port on the inner surface of the slit valve insert and the buffer chamber portion. The slit valve insert provided between the process chambers and the slit valve door have the effect of forming a complete seal at the same time effectively reducing the wear of the O-ring installed on the door surface of the slit valve door due to the repeated opening and closing operation.

In addition, since the shield is made of Teflon material, there is an effect of minimizing deformation due to degradation of the O-ring by RF, plasma, gas, and heat in the process chamber.

1 is a perspective view of a conventional wafer port and a slit valve door,

2 is a configuration diagram of a slit valve device for semiconductor manufacturing equipment of the present invention,

3 is a perspective view of a wafer port and a slit valve door of a process chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of Signs of Major Parts of Drawings>

100: process chamber 200: buffer chamber

110: chamber body 120: wafer port

130: slit valve insert 140: slit valve door

141: O-ring 150: Shield

160: Actuator

Claims (5)

A chamber body having a wafer port; A slit valve insert attached to the wafer port; A shield installed on the inner surface of the slit valve insert; A slit valve door for opening and closing the wafer port; An O-ring installed on a door surface of the slit valve door to maintain airtightness between the wafer port and the slit valve door; And And an actuator for vertically moving the slit valve door. The slit valve apparatus of claim 1, wherein the shield is installed at an inner surface of the slit valve insert and is included in the O-ring. The slit valve device according to claim 1, wherein the shield is installed to include the wafer port. The slit valve device according to claim 1, wherein the shield is made of Teflon material. The slit valve device according to claim 1, wherein the shield is formed of a soft material.