KR20060085988A - Apparatus for processing a substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

The disclosed furnace type wafer processing apparatus includes a process chamber in which a processing process for wafers is performed, a load lock chamber for waiting the wafers, and a boat installed to be movable between the process chamber and the load lock chamber. A transfer device for storing the wafers in multiple layers in the boat is arranged in the load lock chamber. The transfer device stop means disposed outside the load lock chamber adjacent to the service area of a clean room in which the teaching operation for the transfer device is performed is performed by the transfer device during the teaching operation. Stop the operation. Therefore, the operator can perform the teaching work efficiently, and can shorten the teaching work time.

Description

Wafer Processing Apparatus {Apparatus for processing a substrate}

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

FIG. 2 is a perspective view for explaining the transport apparatus and the boat shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing a form in which the wafer processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is disposed in a clean room.

3 is a configuration diagram for explaining the transfer device stop means shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

10 bay 15 partition wall

18: entrance 20: service area

100 wafer processing apparatus 110 process chamber

112: vertical type 120: first load lock chamber

122: front surface 130: second load lock chamber

160: transfer device 162: robot arm (robot arm)

170: loader portion 180: boat (boat)

192: stop means for conveying device 194: first stop button

196: second stop button 198: alarm unit

The present invention relates to a wafer processing apparatus. More particularly, it relates to a wafer processing apparatus for semiconductor manufacturing, such as diffusion equipment.

In general, a semiconductor device includes a Fab process for forming an electrical circuit on a silicon wafer used as a semiconductor wafer, a process for inspecting electrical characteristics of the semiconductor devices formed in the fab process, and the semiconductor devices are epoxy It is manufactured through a package assembly process for encapsulating and individualizing with resin.

The fab process includes a deposition process for forming a film on a wafer, a chemical mechanical polishing process for planarizing the film, a photolithography process for forming a photoresist pattern on the film, and the photoresist pattern using the photoresist pattern. An etching process for forming the film into a pattern having electrical characteristics, an ion implantation process for implanting specific ions into a predetermined region of the wafer, a cleaning process for removing impurities on the wafer, and a process for forming the film or pattern An inspection process for inspecting the surface or the composition and concentration of the film, and the like.

The deposition process generally refers to a process of solidifying specific atoms or molecules from a gaseous source to form a required thin film. The manufacture of a semiconductor device includes various thin films, such as a polycrystalline silicon film, an oxide film, a nitride film, and a metal film, which are formed by a deposition process. Methods of the deposition process are largely physical vapor deposition and chemical vapor deposition. The physical vapor deposition (PVD) is deposited only through a phase conversion process without adding or subtracting other components from the source. On the other hand, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) involves the deposition of a film along with the chemical reaction of the source.

The chemical vapor deposition is classified into atmospheric pressure CVD, high pressure CVD, and low pressure CVD depending on the deposition pressure. Among these, the low pressure CVD process is a process of depositing a thin film on a semiconductor wafer by reacting a gas in a vacuum state. The apparatus for performing the low pressure CVD process is furnace type and is configured such that a plurality of wafers can be loaded into the furnace type reactor to deposit films on the wafers in a batch.

U.S. Patent No. 4,955,775 (issued to Ohkase, et al.) Has a vertical heat treatment furnace and performs an impurity diffusion process, a thermal oxidation process, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, and the like. A thin film forming apparatus is disclosed.

Such a diffusion apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor has a configuration in which a reaction gas is injected into a reaction tube of a vertical heat treatment furnace, and wafers loaded into a boat and entered into the reaction tube are heated by a heater. The reaction gas decomposed by the heater heat is combined at the surface of the wafer to form a desired film on the wafer. Here, the wafers are loaded horizontally in slots formed at regular intervals in the boat by a transfer device having a plurality of robot arms. In the case of 8-inch wafers, the boat is typically designed to hold about 150 wafers.                         

However, a problem may occur while the transfer device loads wafers into the boat. For example, when the wafer is stored in the I-th slot of the boat, when the transfer device loads another wafer into the I-th slot, the wafers may collide with each other and be damaged. This may occur because the operation of the transfer device is finely distorted from the preset position or may not detect the wafer seated in the I-th slot. At this time, the operator performs a teaching operation to correct the misalignment of the conveying device by manually operating the conveying device to solve the above problem. In general, the teaching operation of the transfer device is performed in a service area of a clean room connected to the rear surface of the wafer processing device. However, a control button for stopping the transfer device is installed only at the front surface of the wafer processing apparatus during the teaching operation, thereby preventing the teaching operation performed in the service area from being efficiently performed.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wafer processing apparatus in which the manual operation means of the transfer apparatus is arranged on the rear side of a facility adjacent to the service area of the clean room so that the teaching operation of the transfer apparatus can be efficiently performed. have.

Wafer processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is a process chamber which is supplied with a process gas for performing a processing process for the wafers and has a furnace form open on one side, and the open process chamber A load lock chamber connected to one side of the wafer and configured to move between the process chamber and the load lock chamber, the boat configured to receive the wafers into the process chamber, and to the load lock chamber; A transfer device arranged to receive the wafers in multiple layers in the boat, and an outer side of the load lock chamber adjacent to a service area of a clean room where teaching work is performed on the transfer device; A conveying device stopping means for stopping the operation of the device.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the transfer device stop means includes a first stop button for immediately stopping the driving of the transfer device, and the transfer after the operation of the transfer device being driven at the time to stop is completed. And a second stop button for stopping the driving of the device. In addition, the conveying device stop means may include an alarm lamp and an alarm transmitting unit that blinks during abnormal driving of the conveying device.

Therefore, the worker can easily perform the teaching operation for the transfer device of the wafer processing apparatus.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the wafer processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

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

Referring to FIG. 1, the wafer processing apparatus 100 is connected to a process chamber 110 including a vertical type furnace 112 having one side open, and an open side of the process chamber 110. A load lock chamber 140 for waiting for wafers on which the processing process is performed, a boat 180 for storing the wafers in the load lock chamber 140 and carrying them into the process chamber 110, and And a transfer device 160 for transferring wafers from the cassette C to the boat 180.

The load lock chamber 140 may include a first load lock chamber 120 and a second load lock chamber 130, and the second load lock chamber 130 may include a first transfer chamber 130a and a second transfer chamber ( 130b).

On the front surface of the first loadlock chamber 120, a loader unit 170 for a worker to load the cassette C loaded with a plurality of wafers is formed. The loader unit 170 is a space for allowing the wafer carrying container, that is, the cassette C, to enter and exit the system. The loader 170 includes an entrance and exit 172 having an opening and closing gate disposed at one sidewall of the first load lock chamber 120, that is, a front surface 122, and a cassette ( C) a mounting table 174 for mounting. In the cassette C, 25 wafers of the same dimension, for example, 8 inches, can be stored in a vertical position. The mount 174 includes press portions 176 and 178 for pressing the cassette C back and forth, and a flat zone aligner (not shown) for orientation flat alignment of the wafers in the cassette C. Etc. are arranged. The mounting table 172 is disposed to be rotatable vertically, and the cassette C can be rotated 90 degrees so that the wafer inside the cassette C is horizontal from the vertical state.                     

In the first loadlock chamber 120, a transfer device having a plurality of robot arms 162 (e.g., only a part thereof is shown in FIG. 1) capable of lifting and lowering and reciprocating and turning in a horizontal plane. 160 is disposed. Around the conveying apparatus 160, the cassette mounting shelf (not shown) for accommodating and placing the mounting table 172 and the cassette C, and the 1st of the 2nd load lock chamber 130 which become a loading conveyance part of a wafer Transfer chamber 130a is arranged approximately concentrically. The robot arm 162 of the transfer device 160 may have a support (not shown) that mounts and transports wafers one by one. The robot arm 162 transports the wafer W between the cassette C on the cassette placement shelf and the boat 180 in the first transfer chamber 130a, which is a wafer-mount transfer unit.

The space of the first load lock chamber 120 in which the mounting table 174, the transfer device 160, the cassette placing shelf, and the like exist is connected to the vertical heat treatment furnace 112 via the second load lock chamber 130. The first load lock chamber 120 functions as a preliminary vacuum chamber and also functions as a mounting transfer part for entering and exiting the wafer W with respect to the boat 180 made of quartz for heat treatment. The boat 180 may be supported in a multiple stages manner in which the same size, for example, 150 wafers 8 of 8 inches are stacked at regular intervals from each other. The boat 180 is transported to the vertical heat treatment furnace 112 with a plurality of wafers W loaded therein, and supports the wafers W during the heat treatment process.

Here, the first transfer chamber 130a is disposed at a position facing the mounting table 172 with the transfer device 160 therebetween. An opening to which the load lock door 136 is attached is formed at a side surface of the first transfer chamber 130a adjacent to the transfer device 160 of the first load lock chamber 120. In addition, the second transfer chamber 130b is connected to the other side of the first transfer chamber 130a through the gate valve 138.

A vertical heat treatment furnace 112 having an inlet 114 at a lower portion is disposed above the rear portion of the first load lock chamber 120. The second loadlock chamber 130 constitutes a loading area (working area) below the heat treatment furnace 112. The first and second loadlock chambers 120 and 130 can be decompressed to a vacuum degree at the time of the heat treatment of the heat treatment furnace 112, for example, a vacuum degree substantially equal to 1 Torr.

The first transfer chamber 130a is set to the same pressure as the second transfer chamber 130b before opening the gate valve 138 to communicate with the second transfer chamber 130b. In addition, the first transfer chamber 130a opens the load lock door 136 of the first load lock chamber 120 with the gate valve 138 closed, and the pressure (atmospheric pressure) in the first load lock chamber 120 is maintained. Is set.

Under the heat treatment furnace 112, a cover 117 for opening and closing the inlet is disposed to be liftable by the lifting arm 118 of the lifting mechanism. The boat 180 is mounted on the top of the cover 117 via a heat insulating tube 116 made of quartz. In the second transfer chamber 130b in the second load lock chamber 130, a carrier 150 for transporting the boat 180 from the thermos 116 to the first transfer chamber 130a or vice versa is disposed. do.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view illustrating the transfer device 160 and the boat 180 shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, the boat 180 includes a ceiling plate 181 and a bottom plate 182 disposed to face up and down. A plurality of, for example, four pillars 183 are fixed between the ceiling plate 181 and the bottom plate 182. An inlet of the wafer W, that is, an entrance of the robot arm 162 is formed between the pillars 183a and 183b. 150 stage slots 184 (shown only in part in FIG. 2) are formed in the support 183 to hold 150 wafers W at a time in the boat 180. Each wafer W is kept horizontal with its periphery inserted into the slot 184 of the post.

The support portions 164 of the robot arms 162 of the transfer device 160 are made of thin plates extending horizontally along the reciprocating direction (X direction), and the wafer W can be mounted at a predetermined position. So that it has a recess (not shown) on its upper surface. When the robot arm 162 is arranged in five stages, five wafers W may be simultaneously carried.

Here, the transfer apparatus 160 has an X driver 165, a θ driver 166, and a Z driver 167 for driving the transfer arm 162 in the X, θ, and Z directions, respectively. The X driver 165 advances the transfer arm in the horizontal direction (X direction) on the base 168 supporting the robot arm 162. The θ driving unit 166 rotates all the robot arms 162 integrally with the base 168 around the vertical axis (θ direction). The Z driver 167 integrally moves all the robot arms 162 together with the base 168 in the vertical direction (Z direction). The driving units 165, 166, and 167 are controlled by the controller 190, and the operation of the robot arm 162 of the transfer device 160 moves according to the driving coordinate system set in the controller 190.

Accordingly, the transfer device 160 reciprocates between the cassette C and the boat 180 and allows the wafer W stored in the cassettes C to enter or withdraw from the boat 180. do. At this time, since the boat 180 has a very narrow gap between the slots 184 so as to accommodate a large amount of wafers (W) at the same time, the robot arms 162 of the transfer device 160 are the wafers (W) It must be accurately moved according to the preset drive coordinates to be stably introduced into the slot 184. Therefore, in order to prevent the robot arm 162 from moving away from the preset driving coordinates, a worker in charge of the wafer processing apparatus 100 should periodically check the set driving coordinates. It is called a robot teaching task. The teaching operation is typically the rear surface of the second loadlock chamber 130 in which a plurality of wirings, control devices and valves are arranged to control the electrical or mechanical drive of the wafer processing apparatus 100, see FIG. Number 132). The control unit 190 is also generally installed here.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view for illustrating a state in which the wafer processing apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 is disposed in a clean room.

Referring to FIG. 3, the front surface 122 of the wafer processing apparatus 100 including the loader unit 170 is disposed to protrude toward a bay 10 that becomes a work space for an operator in a clean room. Therefore, the operator performs the loading or unloading of the cassette C in the bay 10. In addition, the back 132 of the wafer processing apparatus 100 protrudes into a service area 20 of a clean room for the operator to perform maintenance work on the wafer processing apparatus 100. In general, the service area 20 is separated into the bay 10 and the partition wall 15 because of the high frequency of particles generated due to the maintenance work, etc., the worker enters the service area 10 In order to pass through a separate entrance (18). Thus, the worker enters the service area 20 to perform the teaching operation.

Meanwhile, various sensing means may be installed to prevent wafer breakage that may occur in the process of transferring the wafers W by the robot arm 162. For example, a sensor (not shown) is mounted at one end of the robot arm 162 such that the slot 184 before the robot arm 164 inserts a wafer into a predetermined slot 184 of the boat 180. It can be detected whether there is a wafer (W) previously seated in the). Alternatively, a mapping sensor is installed adjacent to the boat 180 to identify slots 184 where the wafer W is not already loaded before the robot arm 162 inserts the wafer W. FIG. The robot arm 162 may insert the wafer W only into the slots 184.

Abnormal driving of the transfer device 160 may be prevented by the sensing means as described above. When the transfer device 160 operates abnormally, an interlock system for stopping the drive of the transfer device 160 operates. At this time, the teaching operation is performed to diagnose the abnormality of the transfer apparatus 160 and to correct the driving coordinates of the transfer apparatus 160.

Referring to FIG. 4, in the teaching operation, a conveying device stopping means 192 for stopping the operation of the conveying device 160 is used. The conveying device stopping means 192 is preferably arranged adjacent to the service area 20 of the clean room in which the worker teaches the conveying device 160. For example, it may be mounted on a predetermined portion of the back 132 of the wafer processing apparatus 100 connected to the service area 20.

Specifically, the transfer device stop means 192 is a first stop button ('STOP' button) 194 for immediately stopping the driving of the transfer device 160 and the time when the operator wants to stop the transfer device 160. A second stop button 'PAUSE' button 196 may be included to stop the driving of the transfer apparatus 160 after the operation of the transfer apparatus 160 is performed. In addition, an alarm unit 198 for generating an alarm lamp and an alarm sound by the interlock system may be connected to the transfer device stop means 192 to immediately recognize an abnormal operation of the transfer device 160 during the worker teaching operation. .

According to the present invention as described above, the side of the wafer processing apparatus is connected to the back of the furnace-type wafer processing apparatus, that is, the service device for the teaching operation is connected to the service area of the clean room where the teaching operation is normally performed. By mounting on the teaching operation can be performed efficiently.

Furthermore, the teaching work time can be shortened to improve the operation rate of the wafer processing apparatus.

While the foregoing has been described with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art will be able to variously modify and change the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims below. It will be appreciated.

Claims (3)

A process chamber supplied with a process gas for performing a processing process on wafers, the process chamber having an open furnace side on one side; A load lock chamber connected to one side of the open process chamber and configured to hold the wafers; A boat installed to be movable between the process chamber and the load lock chamber, for receiving the wafers and carrying them into the process chamber; A transfer device disposed in the load lock chamber and configured to receive the wafers in multiple layers in the boat; And It is disposed outside the load lock chamber adjacent to a service area of a clean room in which a teaching operation is performed on the transfer device, and stops the operation of the transfer device during the teaching operation. Wafer processing apparatus comprising a feeder stop means for. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transfer device stop means comprises: a first stop button for immediately stopping driving of the transfer device; And And a second stop button for stopping the driving of the transfer device after the operation of the transfer device being driven at the time to be stopped is completed. The wafer processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transfer device stop means includes an alarm lamp and an alarm transmitter that blink when an abnormal driving of the transfer device occurs.

Images