KR20080071682A - Loadlock chamber and semiconductor manufacturing apparatus using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A load lock chamber and a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus using the same are provided to perform a uniform vacuum pumping of the load lock chamber and to control a particle generation by employing exhaust holes for a vacuum pumping. A housing(230) provides a space for receiving a substrate. An exhaust member(246) makes a vacuum state in an inside of the housing. An exhaust line is formed in a wall of the housing to be connected to the exhaust member. Exhaust holes(233,236) are formed on plural positions in the wall of the housing. The exhaust line includes a first exhaust line(232) and a second exhaust line(235). The first exhaust line is formed in four directions in a lower wall of the housing. The second exhaust line is formed in a sidewall of the housing to be connected to the first exhaust line. The exhaust holes include first exhaust holes and second exhaust holes. The first exhaust holes are formed in the lower wall of the housing to be connected to an end of the exhaust line. The second exhaust holes are formed in the sidewall of the housing to be connected to an end of the second exhaust line.

Description

LOADLOCK CHAMBER AND SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING APPARATUS USING THE SAME}

1 is a plan view schematically showing a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a schematic partial cutaway perspective view of the load lock chamber of FIG. 1, FIG.

3 is a schematic plan view of the load lock chamber of FIG.

4 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG. 3;

5 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line BB ′ of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line CC ′ of FIG. 5.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

100: equipment front end module 200: process equipment

220: load lock chamber 232: first exhaust line

233: first exhaust hole 235: second exhaust line

236: second exhaust hole 280: transfer chamber

290 process chamber

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly, to a cluster type semiconductor manufacturing apparatus capable of collectively processing a semiconductor device manufacturing process and a load lock chamber used therein.

Generally, a semiconductor device is manufactured by depositing and patterning various materials on a wafer in a thin film form. To this end, different steps of different processes such as a deposition process, an etching process, a cleaning process, and a drying process are required. In each process, the wafer is mounted and processed in a process chamber that provides optimum conditions for the progress of the process.

In recent years, as the semiconductor devices become more compact and highly integrated, process precisions, complexity, and wafer caliber are required, and the semiconductor device manufacturing process is collectively processed in view of the increase in the throughput associated with the increase in the number of complex processes and the sheeting. Cluster type semiconductor manufacturing apparatus attracts attention

The cluster type semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is composed of a process facility and an equipment front end module (EFEM) for carrying in and out of a wafer into the process facility. The process equipment consists of a transfer chamber, a load lock chamber and a plurality of process chambers, the load lock chamber and the process chambers being arranged around the transfer chamber.

The load lock chamber imports the wafer to be processed from the facility front end module and maintains atmospheric pressure when the process completed wafer is taken out to the facility front end module. In addition, when transferring a wafer waiting in the load lock chamber into the process chamber, the load lock chamber must maintain a vacuum state, and for this purpose, the inside of the load lock chamber is pumped using a vacuum system.

However, since the exhaust hole for pumping is provided at one side of the load lock chamber in the load lock chamber of the conventional semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, there is a difficulty in controlling the particles due to the air flow inside the load lock chamber during pumping. In addition, the pumping time is long, the load ratio in the load lock chamber increases, there is a problem that the throughput is lowered.

Therefore, the present invention was created to solve the problem in view of the problems of the conventional semiconductor manufacturing apparatus as described above, an object of the present invention is to suppress the generation of particles during the pumping of the load lock chamber, shortening the pumping time An object of the present invention is to provide a load lock chamber capable of improving productivity and a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus using the same.

In order to achieve the above object, a load lock chamber according to the present invention comprises: a load lock chamber of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, comprising: a housing providing a space in which a substrate is accommodated; And an exhaust member for vacuuming the inside of the housing, wherein an exhaust line connected to the exhaust member is formed in a wall of the housing, and a plurality of positions on an inner surface of the wall of the housing communicate with the exhaust line. Characterized in that the exhaust holes are formed.

A load lock chamber according to the present invention having the configuration as described above, wherein the exhaust line comprises: a first exhaust line radially formed in a wall of the lower wall of the housing; And a second exhaust line formed to be connected to the first exhaust line in a wall of the side wall of the housing.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the first exhaust line is formed in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the substrate is carried in and out of the housing and the loading and unloading direction of the substrate, and the second exhaust line is in and out of the substrate of the first exhaust line. It is preferably formed to be connected to an exhaust line formed in a direction perpendicular to the direction.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the exhaust holes may include: first exhaust holes formed in an inner surface of a lower wall of the housing so as to be connected to an end of an exhaust line formed in a carry-in and out direction of the substrate; And second exhaust holes formed in an inner surface of a side wall of the housing so as to be connected to an end of the second exhaust line.

In order to achieve the above object, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention comprises: process chambers; A load lock chamber receiving a substrate to be transferred to the process chambers; A transfer chamber disposed between the load lock chamber and the process chambers and transferring a substrate between the process chambers or between the process chambers and the load lock chamber; A substrate transfer module disposed in front of the load lock chamber and transferring the substrate between the container in which the substrate is accommodated and the load lock chamber, wherein the load lock chamber includes an exhaust line in walls that provide a space in which the substrate is accommodated. A housing having exhaust holes communicating with the exhaust line at a plurality of positions on the inner surfaces of the walls; And an exhaust member connected to the exhaust line and configured to vacuum the inside of the housing.

In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention having the configuration as described above, the exhaust line comprises: a first exhaust line radially formed in a wall of the lower wall of the housing; And a second exhaust line formed to be connected to the first exhaust line in a wall of the side wall of the housing.

According to one feature of the invention, the first exhaust line is formed in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the substrate is carried in and out of the housing and the loading and unloading direction of the substrate, the second exhaust line is carried out of the substrate of the first exhaust line It is preferably formed to be connected to an exhaust line formed in a direction perpendicular to the direction.

According to another feature of the invention, the exhaust holes are first exhaust holes formed in the inner surface of the lower wall of the housing to be connected to the end of the exhaust line formed in the carrying out direction of the substrate of the first exhaust line; And second exhaust holes formed in an inner surface of a side wall of the housing so as to be connected to an end of the second exhaust line.

Hereinafter, a load lock chamber and a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus using the same will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, in adding reference numerals to the components of each drawing, it should be noted that the same reference numerals are assigned to the same components as much as possible, even if shown on different drawings. In addition, in describing the present invention, when it is determined that the detailed description of the related well-known configuration or function may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(Example)

1 is a plan view schematically illustrating a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 10 has an equipment front end module (EFEM) 100 and a process equipment 200. The facility front end module 100 is mounted in front of the process facility 200 to transfer the substrate between the vessel 112 in which the substrates are accommodated and the process facility 200. The facility front end module 100 has a plurality of loadports 110 and a frame 120. Frame 120 is located between load port 110 and process equipment 200. The container 112 containing the substrate is loaded with a load port 110 by a transfer means (not shown), such as an overhead transfer, an overhead conveyor, or an automatic guided vehicle. Is put on. The container 112 may be a sealed container such as a front open unified pod. In the frame 120, a frame robot 122 for transferring a substrate between the vessel 112 placed in the load port 110 and the process facility 200 is installed. In the frame 120, a door opener (not shown) for automatically opening and closing the door of the container 112 may be installed. In addition, the frame 120 may be provided with a fan filter unit (not shown) for supplying clean air into the frame 120 so that clean air flows from the top to the bottom in the frame 120.

A predetermined process is performed on the substrate in the process facility 200. The process facility 200 has a loadlock chamber 220, a transfer chamber 280, and a process chamber 290. The transfer chamber 280 has a generally polygonal shape when viewed from the top. The load lock chamber 220 or the process chamber 290 is positioned at the side of the transfer chamber 280. The load lock chamber 220 is located on the side adjacent to the facility front end module 100 of the sides of the transfer chamber 280, and the process chamber 290 is located on the other side.

The load lock chamber 220 includes a loading chamber 220a in which substrates temporarily brought into the process facility 200 stay in order to proceed with the process, and unloading in which the substrates temporarily removed from the process facility 200 temporarily remain. Has a chamber 220b. A gate valve (not shown) is installed between the load lock chamber 220 and the transfer chamber 280 and between the load lock chamber 220 and the facility front end module 100.

The interiors of the transfer chamber 280 and the process chamber 290 are maintained in a vacuum state, and the interior of the load lock chamber 220 is at atmospheric pressure or in accordance with the loading and unloading of the substrate with the facility front end module 100 or the transfer chamber 280. Switch to vacuum. When the substrate is moved between the facility front end module 100 and the load lock chamber 220, the interior of the load lock chamber 220 is maintained at atmospheric pressure, and the load lock chamber 220 and the facility front end module 100 are moved. The gate valve provided between is opened. In addition, when the substrate is moved between the load lock chamber 220 and the transfer chamber 280, the interior of the load lock chamber 220 maintains a vacuum state, and between the load lock chamber 220 and the transfer chamber 280. The provided gate valve opens.

FIG. 2 is a schematic partial cutaway perspective view of the load lock chamber of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the load lock chamber of FIG. 2. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line BB ′ of FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line CC ′ of FIG. 5. .

2 to 6, the load lock chamber 220 includes a housing 230, a substrate accommodating member 244, and an exhaust member 246. The housing 230 has a hexahedron shape consisting of a lower wall 231, a sidewall 234, and an upper wall 237. Openings 238a and 238b are formed in the pair of sidewalls 234 facing each other among the sidewalls 234 of the housing 230 to allow the substrates to be taken in and out. The opening 238a is opened and closed by the gate valve 242, and the substrate is carried into the housing 230 through the opening 238a. The opening 238b is opened and closed by a gate valve (not shown), and the substrate is taken out of the housing 230 through the opening 238b. The substrate carried into the housing 230 through the opening 238a temporarily stays in the housing 230, for which the substrate receiving member 244 is provided. The substrate receiving member 244 is formed with a plurality of slots 243 in which the substrates are accommodated.

As described above, when the substrate is moved between the load lock chamber 220 and the transfer chamber 280, the inside of the load lock chamber 220 should be maintained in a vacuum state. To this end, exhaust holes 233 and 236 and exhaust lines 232 and 235 are formed in the housing 230 of the load lock chamber 220, and an exhaust member 246 is connected to the exhaust lines 232 and 235.

Exhaust lines 232 and 235 may be formed in the lower wall 231 of the housing 230 and in the wall of the side wall 234, and the exhaust holes 233 and 236 may communicate with the exhaust lines 232 and 235. And a plurality of positions on an inner surface of the sidewall 234. For example, the exhaust lines 232, 235 may include a first exhaust line 232 radially formed in the wall of the lower wall 231 of the housing 230, as shown in FIG. 6, and as shown in FIG. 5. The second exhaust line 235 is formed in the wall of the side wall 234 of the housing 230 to be connected to the first exhaust line 232. More specifically, the first exhaust line 232 has a direction in which the substrate is transported in and out of the center portion of the lower wall 231 of the housing 230 (that is, the formation direction of the openings 238a and 238b), and the transport in and out of the substrate. It may be formed to have a direction perpendicular to the. The second exhaust line 235 may extend vertically along the side wall 234 from an exhaust line formed in a direction perpendicular to a carrying-in and out direction of the substrate among the first exhaust lines 232.

The exhaust holes 233 and 236 have first exhaust holes 233 formed in the lower wall 231, and second exhaust holes 236 formed in the side wall 234. The first exhaust holes 233 may be formed in the lower wall 231 so as to be connected to an end of the exhaust line formed in the carrying-in and out directions of the substrate among the first exhaust lines 232. In addition, the second exhaust holes 236 may be formed on an inner surface of the sidewall 234 of the housing 230 to be connected to the second exhaust line.

As described above, the exhaust holes 233 and 236 are formed at the plurality of positions of the lower wall 231 and the side wall 234 of the housing 230, so that the pumping can be uniformly performed during the vacuum pumping of the load lock chamber 220. have. And, if the vacuum pumping is made uniform, it is possible to suppress the generation of particles due to the air flow changes in the load lock chamber 220, it is possible to improve the productivity by reducing the pumping time.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the transfer chamber 280 has a polygonal structure to correspond to the process chambers 290 disposed on its side. An opening (not shown) is formed on a sidewall of the transfer chamber 280 in which the process chambers 290 are disposed so that the substrate can be carried in and out of the respective process chambers 290, and the opening (not shown) is a gate valve. It is opened and closed by (not shown). In the transfer chamber 280, a transfer robot 242 for transferring a substrate is installed. The transfer robot 242 loads and unloads the substrate into the process chambers 290 through an opening (not shown) formed in the sidewall of the transfer chamber 280. In addition, the transfer robot 242 transfers the substrate between the process chambers 290 and the load lock chamber 220.

The process chambers 290 are disposed on the side of the transfer chamber 280 and may be provided with a plurality of chambers for performing various substrate processing processes. For example, process chambers 290 may be a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber configured to supply reactant gases for deposition of a material film on a substrate, and an etching chamber configured to supply gas for etching the deposited material film. Or an ashing chamber configured to remove the photoresist layer remaining on the substrate after the photographing process.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may make various modifications and changes without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention but to describe the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The protection scope of the present invention should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the equivalent scope should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, vacuum pumping of the load lock chamber may be uniformly performed.

And, according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the generation of particles due to the air flow change in the load lock chamber during the vacuum pumping.

In addition, it is possible to improve the productivity by shortening the pumping time of the load lock chamber.

Claims (8)

In the load lock chamber of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, A housing providing a space in which the substrate is accommodated; Including an exhaust member for making the inside of the housing into a vacuum state, An exhaust line connected to the exhaust member is formed in a wall of the housing, and exhaust holes communicating with the exhaust line are formed at a plurality of positions on an inner surface of the wall of the housing. chamber. The method of claim 1, The exhaust line is, A first exhaust line radially formed in the wall of the lower wall of the housing; And a second exhaust line formed to be connected to the first exhaust line in a wall of the side wall of the housing. The method of claim 2, The first exhaust line is formed in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the substrate is carried in and out of the housing and the direction of carrying in and out of the substrate, The second exhaust line is a load lock chamber of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that the first exhaust line is connected to the exhaust line formed in a direction perpendicular to the carrying out direction of the substrate. The method of claim 3, wherein The exhaust holes, First exhaust holes formed in an inner surface of a lower wall of the housing so as to be connected to an end of an exhaust line formed in a carrying-out direction of a substrate among the first exhaust lines; And second exhaust holes formed in an inner surface of a side wall of the housing so as to be connected to an end of the second exhaust line. Process chambers; A load lock chamber receiving a substrate to be transferred to the process chambers; A transfer chamber disposed between the load lock chamber and the process chambers and transferring a substrate between the process chambers or between the process chambers and the load lock chamber; And a facility front end module disposed in front of the load lock chamber to transfer the substrate between the container containing the substrate and the load lock chamber. The load lock chamber, A housing in which exhaust lines are formed in walls providing a space in which a substrate is accommodated, and exhaust holes communicating with the exhaust line at a plurality of locations on an inner surface of the walls; And an exhaust member connected to the exhaust line and configured to vacuum the inside of the housing. The method of claim 5, wherein The exhaust line is, A first exhaust line radially formed in the wall of the lower wall of the housing; And a second exhaust line formed to be connected to the first exhaust line in a wall of the side wall of the housing. The method of claim 6, The first exhaust line is formed in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the substrate is carried in and out of the housing and the direction of carrying in and out of the substrate, And the second exhaust line is connected to an exhaust line formed in a direction perpendicular to a carrying out direction of the substrate, among the first exhaust lines. The method of claim 7, wherein The exhaust holes, First exhaust holes formed in an inner surface of a lower wall of the housing so as to be connected to an end of an exhaust line formed in a carrying-out direction of a substrate among the first exhaust lines; And second exhaust holes formed in an inner surface of the side wall of the housing so as to be connected to an end of the second exhaust line.

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