KR20060082091A - Equipment for treating substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus configured to quickly replace a bellows without disassembling the stage including a bad chuck of the bellows.

The present invention is configured such that the semiconductor substrate is seated for the process proceeding, and is installed through the chuck and separated into two parts, and seats the semiconductor substrate on the chuck or moves from the chuck according to the vertical movement. And a bellows to separate the lift pins and surrounding the lift pins to maintain a high vacuum inside the chamber. Here, the lift pin is composed of an upper lift pin and a lower lift pin, the upper lift pin is installed through the chuck, the lower lift pin may be configured to screw it under the upper lift pin. In addition, the material of the upper lift pin is made of a ceramic can prevent the bending of the upper lift pin.

Semiconductor Substrate Processing Unit, Upper Lift Pin, Lower Lift Pin, Bellows, Chuck

Description

Equipment for treating substrate             

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates the upper lift pin and the lower lift pin separately shown in FIG. 1.

<Description of reference numerals for main parts of the drawings>

100: semiconductor manufacturing equipment 107: upper lid

109: lower body 110: opening

112: gas providing unit 115: shower head

130: chuck 140: support member

143: fixing plate 145: upper lift pin

147: lower lift pin 149: lift pin hole

150: bellows 155: drive plate

157: drive unit 166: vacuum pump

168: pressure gauge

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly, to prevent bending of lift pins that seat a semiconductor substrate on a chuck and separate the semiconductor substrate from the chuck, and to maintain a high vacuum state in the chamber. The present invention relates to a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus configured to replace the bellows without removing the stage portion including the bad chuck of the bellows surrounding the lift pin.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The manufacturing technology of semiconductor devices has been developed to improve the degree of integration, reliability, response speed, etc. in order to satisfy various needs of consumers. Generally, a semiconductor device is manufactured by forming a predetermined film on a wafer used as a semiconductor substrate and forming the film in a pattern having electrical properties.

The pattern is formed by sequential or repeated performance of unit processes such as chemical vapor deposition, sputtering, photolithography, etching, ion implantation, chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), and the like.

The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus used in such unit processes includes a chuck for supporting and fixing a wafer, which is a semiconductor substrate, in a chamber. The method of fixing a semiconductor substrate includes a method of fixing a semiconductor substrate using a clamp or a vacuum, or a method of fixing a semiconductor substrate using an electrostatic force. In recent years, in the semiconductor substrate processing technology which requires the miniaturization and the large capacity of the semiconductor device, the sheet-fed process and the dry process are preferred, so that the temperature control gas is used to fix the semiconductor substrate by using electrostatic force and to keep the temperature of the semiconductor substrate constant. Electrostatic chucks (ESCs) which provide a high performance are mainly used. The use range of the electrostatic chuck has been extended to the overall semiconductor substrate processing process, such as chemical vapor deposition, etching, sputtering, ion implantation process.

On the other hand, in the case of a semiconductor manufacturing equipment having a chuck, a lift pin for mounting the semiconductor substrate on the chuck and separating the semiconductor substrate from the chuck is provided through the support member coupled to the chuck and the lower portion of the chuck. The lower end of the lift pin is connected to the driving unit, and the lift pin moves up and down by the driving unit. The bellows is configured to wrap around the lift pin located below the support member, and prevents the flow of fluid into a hole formed in the support member, that is, a hole into which the lift pin is inserted, to maintain a high vacuum inside the chamber.

When the semiconductor substrate is transferred to the process chamber and the transfer chamber, the chamber interior must maintain a high vacuum. If a leak occurs, the inside of the chamber cannot maintain a high vacuum, causing problems in terms of quality of the semiconductor device. For example, when a defect occurs, such as the above-described bellows tearing, the external fluid can flow into the chamber, so that the inside of the chamber cannot maintain a high vacuum state. At this time, the worker should replace the defective bellows.

However, according to the related art, when replacing the bellows, it is necessary to disassemble all the stage parts including the chuck to separate the bellows from the long lift pin. Disassembling all the stages in replacing only the bellows is not only a cumbersome work, but also leads to a long equipment down time, which causes a decrease in the productivity of the semiconductor device.

In addition, according to the related art, the lift pin is made of stainless steel, and the lift pin is bent due to the continuous reciprocation of the lift pin. As a result, wafer vibration occurs when the lift pin is raised or lowered, and thus, the quality of the semiconductor device is deteriorated.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the conventional problems as described above, to provide a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus that can prevent the bending of the lift pin to seat the semiconductor substrate on the chuck and to separate the semiconductor substrate from the chuck. There is.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus configured to quickly replace a bellows without disassembling the stage portion including the bad chuck of the bellows.

In order to achieve the above object, the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus of the present invention comprises a chuck on which the semiconductor substrate is seated for processing, and is installed to penetrate the chuck and separated into two parts. And a lift pin seated on the chuck or separating the semiconductor substrate from the chuck, and a bellows surrounding the lift pin to maintain a high vacuum inside the chamber.

Here, the lift pin is composed of an upper lift pin and a lower lift pin, the upper lift pin is installed through the chuck, the lower lift pin may be configured to screw it under the upper lift pin.

In addition, the material of the upper lift pin is made of a ceramic can prevent the bending of the upper lift pin.

Such a characteristic configuration and the effects of the present invention will become more apparent through the detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiments of the present invention are provided to more fully explain the present invention to those skilled in the art. And the shape of the elements in the drawings and the like are shown for more clear description, the elements denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings means the same element.

Although the present invention is described by the accompanying drawings, it can be replaced by various forms, sizes, etc. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art. On the other hand, in the case of well-known techniques generally known, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.                     

Referring to FIG. 1, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 includes a chamber, a chuck 130 disposed inside the chamber and supporting a semiconductor substrate, a support member 140 positioned below the chuck 130, and a semiconductor. It includes a shower head 115 for uniformly providing a gas for processing the substrate into the chamber, and a gas providing unit 112 for providing the gas.

The chamber is limited to a predetermined space by the upper lid 107 and the lower body 109, one side of the chamber is connected to a vacuum device for making the interior of the chamber in a high vacuum (high vacuum) state. The vacuum apparatus includes a vacuum line 164 connected to the chamber, a vacuum pump 166 coupled to the end of the vacuum line 164, and a pressure control valve installed at the vacuum line 164 to regulate the internal pressure of the chamber. And 162.

On the other hand, the other side of the chamber is connected to the pressure gauge 168 for measuring the pressure in the chamber. The pressure gauge 168 may include a pressure sensor (not shown) installed inside the chamber, and a display connected to the pressure sensor and showing the pressure measured from the pressure sensor. An opening 110 through which the semiconductor substrate can enter and exit is formed under the pressure gauge 168. The opening 110 is opened and closed by a slot valve (not shown) having an O-ring (not shown).

The chuck 130 on which the semiconductor substrate is mounted is mounted on the support member 140, and the support member 140 is fixed to the lower portion of the chamber. Three lift pin holes 149 are formed in the chuck 130 and the support member 140, and the lift pin holes 149 seat the semiconductor substrate on the chuck 130 according to vertical movement or the chuck 130. Three upper lift pins 145 are disposed to separate the semiconductor substrate from the substrate. An o-ring (not shown) and a fixing plate 143 for airtightness of the lift pin hole 149 are mounted on the lower surface of the support member 140, and the upper lift pin 145 penetrates through the fixing plate 143. It is. That is, the upper lift pin 145 is configured to move up and down along the lift pin hole 149 and the fixing plate 143. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the lift pin hole 149 and the upper lift pin 145 is composed of three, of course, can be configured in various numbers.

The lower lift pin 147 is threaded thereto under the upper lift pin 145. That is, the upper lift pin 145 and the lower lift pin 147 are configured to be separated into two parts. The other end of the lower lift pin 147 is connected to the driving plate 155 which is spaced apart from the support member 140 by a predetermined distance, and the driving plate 155 moves up and down by the driving unit 157. . The driving unit 157 may be operated by a piston motion using pneumatic or hydraulic pressure.

The bellows 150 surrounds them around the upper lift pin 145 and the lower lift pin 147, and is mounted to the fixing plate 143. The bellows 150 prevents fluid from flowing into the lift pin hole 149 to maintain a high vacuum inside the chamber.

The gas provided from the gas providing unit 112 is uniformly provided into the chamber through the shower head 115. The shower head 115 is provided with a plurality of injection holes for uniformly providing the gas, and is connected to a high frequency power source for forming the gas in a plasma state. Here, the gas may be a gas for forming a film on the semiconductor substrate, or may be a gas for removing a film formed on the semiconductor substrate.

FIG. 2 shows the upper lift pin 145 and the lower lift pin 147 separately shown in FIG. 1. Referring to this, unlike the prior art is configured so that the lift pin can be separated. That is, one end of the lower lift pin 147 is formed with a male screw, and the upper lift pin 145 has a female thread corresponding thereto to be coupled and separated. Of course, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the male and female threads can be formed in the reverse direction of the above.

Since the lift pins 145 and 147 are detachable as described above, it is not necessary to disassemble all the stage parts including the chuck 130 and the support member 140 when the bellows 150 is replaced. That is, the bellows 150 can be easily replaced after separating the upper lift pin 145 and the lower lift pin 147.

Looking at the disassembling process of the bellows 150, first disassemble the drive plate 155 and the lower lift pin 147, and then hold the end of the upper lift pin 145 and the end of the lower lift pin 147, screwing Loosen The lower lift pin 147 is then removed and the defective bellows pulled out downward. Next, after coupling the new bellows to the fixed plate 143, the lower lift pin 147 and the upper lift pin 145 is screwed. Finally, the operation is terminated by coupling the lower lift pin 147 to the drive plate 155. In this case, since the upper lift pin 145 does not need to be separated from the lift pin hole 149 formed in the chuck 130 and the support member 140, the chuck 130 and the support member 140 may be included when the bellows 150 is replaced. There is no need to lift the stage part.

On the other hand, the upper lift pin 145 is made of ceramic. Therefore, a problem such as bending even in the continuous reciprocation of the upper lift pin 145 does not occur.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, It is clear that the deformation | transformation and improvement are possible for those skilled in the art within the range which does not deviate from the idea of this invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the lift pin is configured to be detachable, the bellows can be quickly replaced without disassembling the stage including the chuck and the support member. This has the effect of shortening the equipment down time.

In addition, according to the present invention, since the upper lift pin is made of ceramic, it is possible to prevent the upper lift pin from being bent by continuous reciprocating motion. In addition, wafer vibration due to the bent lift pins is prevented, which in turn prevents deterioration of the quality of the semiconductor device.

Claims (4)

In the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus which handles the semiconductor substrate conveyed from the exterior to a chamber, A chuck on which the semiconductor substrate is seated for processing; A lift pin installed through the chuck and configured to be separated into two parts, wherein the lift pin seats the semiconductor substrate on the chuck or separates the semiconductor substrate from the chuck according to vertical movement; And And a bellows surrounding the lift pins to maintain a high vacuum inside the chamber. The method of claim 1, The lift pin is composed of an upper lift pin and a lower lift pin, And an upper lift pin is installed through the chuck, and the lower lift pin is screwed with the lower lift pin under the upper lift pin. The method of claim 2, The material of the upper lift pin is a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus, characterized in that the ceramic. A lift pin for a semiconductor device manufacturing apparatus for mounting a semiconductor substrate transferred from the outside to a chamber on a chuck or moving the semiconductor substrate from a chuck in accordance with vertical movement. The lift pin is a lift pin for a semiconductor device manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that the material of the ceramic to prevent the bending.

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