KR20080078344A - Equipment for etching semiconductor device and management method at the same - Google Patents

Abstract

Semiconductor manufacturing equipment and a management method thereof are provided to prevent a wafer from being polluted by cleaning a lift pin with cleaning gas. A management method of semiconductor manufacturing equipment includes the steps of: removing a wafer, which is subjected to a semiconductor manufacturing process, from a process chamber(110); if the number of the wafers subjected to the semiconductor manufacturing process reaches to the predetermined number or the semiconductor manufacturing process takes a predetermined time, supplying second reaction gas in the process chamber to clean an inner wall of the process chamber; and lifting a lift pin(116) out of the top of the heater blocks(114) installed at the bottom of the process chamber to expose the lift pin to the second reaction gas.

Description

Semiconductor manufacturing equipment and management method {Equipment for etching semiconductor device and management method at the same}

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the prior art.

Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a semiconductor manufacturing equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 and 4 are cross-sectional views sequentially illustrating a dry cleaning process of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment disclosed in FIG. 2.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

110: process chamber 120: reaction gas supply

130: cleaning gas supply unit

The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly, to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in which a semiconductor manufacturing process such as an etching process or a deposition process of a wafer is performed by using a plasma reaction.

Recently, in the semiconductor manufacturing industry, the minimum line width applied to the semiconductor integrated circuit process has been steadily decreasing to increase the operation speed of the semiconductor chip and increase the information storage capability per unit area. In addition, the size of semiconductor devices such as transistors integrated on semiconductor wafers has been reduced to sub-half microns or less.

Such a semiconductor device may be manufactured through a deposition process, a photo process, an etching process, and a diffusion process, and at least one semiconductor device may be formed when these processes are repeated several times several times. In particular, the deposition process is an essential process requiring improvement in the reproducibility and reliability of semiconductor device fabrication, such as a sol-gel method, a sputtering method, an electroplating method, and an evaporation method. , A process of forming the processed film on the wafer by a chemical vapor deposition method, a molecular beam epitaxy method, an atomic layer deposition method, or the like.

Among them, the chemical vapor deposition method is most commonly used because of the excellent deposition characteristics and the uniformity of the processed film formed on the wafer than other deposition methods. Such chemical vapor deposition methods may be divided into low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD), atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD), low temperature chemical vapor deposition (LTCVD), plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), and the like.

A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for depositing an interlayer insulating film such as a silicon oxide film by such various kinds of chemical vapor deposition methods is disclosed in US Pat. No. 6,009,827.

Hereinafter, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the prior art will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a diagram schematically showing a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the prior art.

As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional semiconductor manufacturing facility includes a process chamber 10 which provides a closed space for a semiconductor process of depositing an interlayer insulating film such as a silicon oxide film, and the process chamber 10. The reaction gas supply unit 20 for supplying the reaction gas (for example, the first reaction gas) is performed a predetermined semiconductor manufacturing process in the process, and the cleaning gas for cleaning the side wall and the main portion of the process chamber 10 (for example For example, a cleaning gas supply unit 30 for supplying a second reaction gas) and a reaction gas or cleaning gas supplied from the cleaning gas supply unit 30 or the reaction gas supply unit 20 may be formed at an upper end of the process chamber 10. A shower head 12 discharged from the heater block, a heater block 14 supporting and heating a wafer W at a lower end of the process chamber 10 facing the shower head 12, and the heater block 14. Formed in A lift ring for connecting the lower end of the plurality of lift pins 16 and the plurality of lift pins 16 formed to seat or support the wafer W to the heater block 14 through several pinholes ( 17) and a lift hoop 18 formed to raise and lower the lift ring 17.

Here, the cleaning gas supply unit 30 includes a remote plasma generator 32 to excite the cleaning gas of a predetermined flow rate in the plasma state and to supply the cleaning gas to the process chamber 10.

The lift ring 17 supports lower ends of the plurality of lift pins 16 and is formed to clamp. When the upper ends of the plurality of lift pins 16 are contaminated by contaminants caused during the semiconductor manufacturing process, the plurality of lift pins 16 and the heater block 14 are bonded to the lift hoop 18. This is because the upper ends of the plurality of lift pins 16 cannot be raised and lowered horizontally at the time of lowering. In this case, the plurality of lift pins 16 may be raised and lowered only when the wafer W is seated or supported on the heater block 14. Reference numeral '19' is a vacuum pump.

Accordingly, in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the related art, the wafer W in which the semiconductor manufacturing process is completed is removed from the inside of the process chamber 10, or the wafer is formed inside the process chamber 10 to perform a new semiconductor manufacturing process. The lift pin 16 is lifted and lowered only when the wafer W is seated or supported by the heater block 14 in the process of loading W).

However, the semiconductor manufacturing equipment and its management method according to the prior art had the following problems.

The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and its management method according to the prior art are a process in which the lifter pin is contaminated with contaminants such as powder which is a by-product of the first reactive gas during or immediately after the semiconductor manufacturing process using the first reactive gas. During the cleaning process of the chamber, the lift pin 16 inserted into the pinhole formed in the heater block 14 at the bottom of the process chamber is not cleaned, and the lifting and lowering operation of the lift pin 16 is poor and the lift pin 16 At the time of rising and lowering of the powder, the powder becomes a source of the particle and contaminates the wafer W, which has a disadvantage in that the production yield is lowered.

An object of the present invention for solving the above problems, even if the lift pin 16 is contaminated with contaminants such as powder, cleaning the lift pin 16 during the cleaning process of the process chamber and the lift pin ( It is to provide a semiconductor manufacturing facility and a management method thereof that can improve the operation of 16) and prevent the contamination of the wafer (W) due to the contamination of the lifter pin to increase or maximize the production yield.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of managing a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, wherein the method comprises: supplying a first reaction gas into a process chamber to form a predetermined thin film on a wafer or etching the wafer or the thin film; Performing a process; Removing the wafer in which the semiconductor manufacturing process is completed, in the process chamber; When the number of wafers in which the semiconductor fabrication process is completed reaches a predetermined number or when the semiconductor fabrication process takes a certain time or more, a first cleaning process is performed to supply a second reaction gas into the process chamber to clean the inner wall of the process chamber. Doing; And raising a lift pin to an upper portion of a heater block formed at a lower end of the process chamber to perform a second cleaning process of exposing the upper and outer peripheral surfaces of the lift pin to the second reaction gas to clean the lift pin. do.

Here, in the second cleaning process, a predetermined high frequency power is applied to a cathode electrode formed under the heater block to concentrate the second reaction gas into a pin hole through which the lift pin penetrates from the heater block. It is preferred to include the step of cleaning the contaminants therein.

In addition, another aspect of the invention, the process chamber for providing a closed space from the outside; A reaction gas supply unit supplying a reaction gas in which a predetermined semiconductor manufacturing process is performed in the process chamber; A cleaning gas supply unit supplying a cleaning gas for cleaning sidewalls and recesses of the process chamber; A shower head discharging a reaction gas or a cleaning gas supplied from the cleaning gas supply part or the reaction gas supply part at an upper end of the process chamber; A heater block for supporting and heating a wafer at a lower end of the process chamber opposite the showerhead; The wafer is seated or supported in the heater block through a plurality of pinholes formed in the heater block, and when the cleaning gas is supplied into the process chamber from the cleaning gas supply part, the wafer protrudes to the upper portion of the heater block to clean the wafer. A plurality of lift pins configured to be exposed to the gas; And a lift hoop formed to collectively lift and lower the plurality of lift pins penetrating the pinhole.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the management method of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment of this invention is described in detail with reference to an accompanying drawing. However, embodiments of the present invention may be modified in many different forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the embodiments described below. Embodiments of the present invention are provided to more completely explain the present invention to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the shape and the like of the elements in the drawings are exaggerated to emphasize a more clear description, and the elements denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings means the same elements. In the following description of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 and 4 are cross-sectional views sequentially illustrating a dry cleaning process of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus disclosed in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment of the present invention, the semiconductor manufacturing equipment is a dry process chamber 110 and a process chamber 110 in which a semiconductor process of depositing an interlayer insulating film such as a silicon oxide film is performed. And a remote plasma generator 132 formed to supply the cleaning gas (for example, the second reaction gas) to be plasma-reacted and supplied to the process chamber 110.

Here, the process chamber 110 is provided to be sealed from the atmosphere so as to be independent from the outside to the semiconductor manufacturing process, and is formed so that the air inside the pump to have a predetermined degree of vacuum to free from contaminants in the atmosphere have. The air inside the process chamber 110 may be pumped by the pumping of the vacuum pump 119 formed at the end of the pumping line connected to the bottom of the process chamber 110. Although not shown, the vacuum pump 119 is connected in series with a high vacuum pump, such as a turbo pump, which pumps air in the process chamber 110 to a vacuum degree of about 1 × 10 ⁻⁶ torr. And a low vacuum pump, such as a dry pump, pumping air in the process chamber 110 to a vacuum degree of about 1 × 10 ⁻³ torr. The high vacuum pump may be formed at the nearest pumping line of the process chamber 110, and the low vacuum pump may be formed at the other end of the pumping line opposite to the process chamber 110 formed at one end thereof. In addition, the pumping line is a roughing line connected to the high vacuum pump and the low vacuum pump in series, branched at the front end of the high vacuum pump and bypassing the high vacuum pump is connected between the high vacuum pump and the low vacuum pump Including the line. In addition, at least one pumping line valve is formed, such as a foaming line valve and a roughing line valve, formed in each of the foaming line and the roughing line to control the air flowing through the foaming line and the roughing line. Therefore, the process chamber 110 is formed so that a process of depositing a thin film, such as a silicon oxide film or etching the thin film or the wafer W, on the wafer while being pumped to have a predetermined vacuum degree may be performed by minimizing an influence from the outside. It is.

In addition, the process chamber 110 is a reaction gas supply unit for supplying a reaction gas (for example, a first reaction gas) for depositing the thin film on the wafer W or etching the wafer W or the thin film. Supply the reaction gas at a constant flow rate during the semiconductor manufacturing process so that the vacuum degree inside the process chamber 110 is not easily changed by the reaction gas supplied to the gas supply line, and by the vacuum pump 119. It is configured to supply the reaction gas to the process chamber 110 at a much lower flow rate than the pumped air. For example, the reaction gas supply unit 120 supplies the silane (SiH ₄ ) gas and the ozone (O ₃ ) gas having a predetermined mixing ratio to the process chamber 110.

 The process chamber 110 is opposite to the shower head 112 and the shower head 112 formed at the top of the process chamber 110 to inject the reaction gas supplied from the reaction gas supply unit 120. And a heater block 114 formed at the bottom of the process chamber 110 and a plurality of lifter pins formed to seat or lift the wafer W on the heater block 114. Although not shown, further comprising a cathode electrode formed under the heater block 114 to concentrate the cleaning gas in the plasma state generated by the remote plasma generator 132 to the heater block 114. Is done. Here, the shower head 112 injects the reaction gas at a constant flow rate from the upper end of the process chamber 110 to the upper portion of the wafer (W) at a uniform injection pressure so that the reaction gas of the wafer (W) It can be allowed to flow along the surface. In addition, the heater block 114 heats the wafer W to a predetermined temperature so that the reaction gas is activated on the surface of the wafer W to form a thin film such as a silicon oxide film, or The surface or the thin film can be etched. For example, the heater block 114 may heat the wafer W to a high temperature of about 300 ° C. or more to actively react the silane gas flowing on the wafer W with the ozone to form a silicon oxide film. have. The plurality of lift pins 116 are the heater block 114 inside the process chamber 110 by a robot formed in a transfer chamber or a load lock chamber in communication with the process chamber 110 to perform a semiconductor manufacturing process. It is formed to seat the wafer (W) loaded onto the bed, or to support the wafer (W), the semiconductor manufacturing process is completed on the heater block 114. The plurality of lifter pins pass through the heater block 114 through a plurality of pinholes formed in the heater block 114, and are lifted up and down by a lift hoop 118 formed under the heater block 114. The plurality of lifter pins may protrude to the upper portion of the heater block 114 during the dry cleaning process of the process chamber 110 to clean the upper and outer peripheral surfaces of the plurality of lifter pins. In addition, as the cleaning gas flows in the pinhole into which the plurality of lifter pins are inserted, the powder component caused in the pinhole is removed, thereby allowing the lift pin 116 to move up and down more freely. For example, since the upper portion of the pinhole is wider than the lower portion, the inside of the pinhole may be opened more as the lifter pin is raised.

Therefore, in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the lifter pin for elevating and lowering the wafer W protrudes to the upper portion of the heater block 114 to dry clean the plurality of penetrating the pinholes of the heater block 114. Since the conventional lift ring (17 of FIG. 1) connecting the two lift pins 116 may be removed, productivity may be increased or maximized.

In addition, the remote plasma generator 132 is configured to excite the cleaning gas supplied from the cleaning gas supply unit 30 to the plasma state during the cleaning process of the process chamber 110 so as to be supplied to the process chamber 110. For example, the cleaning gas supplied from the cleaning gas supply unit 30 includes nitrogen trifluoride (NF ₃ ) gas having excellent cleaning power of contaminants such as powder caused in the process chamber 110, and the remote plasma generator 132. Including argon (Ar) gas to induce a plasma reaction in the.

Referring to the management method of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention configured as described above are as follows.

First, as shown in FIG. 2, in the method of managing a semiconductor manufacturing facility, a wafer W is charged into a process chamber 110, and a reaction gas is flowed on the wafer W so as to be placed on the wafer W. FIG. A thin film having a predetermined thickness may be formed, or a semiconductor manufacturing process of etching the surface of the wafer W or the thin film may be performed. Here, the process chamber 110 is heated to a predetermined temperature by the reaction gas supplied from the reaction gas supply unit 120 and cooled to a predetermined temperature by the refrigerant flowing along the sidewall of the process chamber 110. Can be. For example, the inside of the process chamber 110 is heated to a high temperature of about 300 ° C. or more by the reaction gas and the heater block 114 during the semiconductor manufacturing process, and the outer wall of the process chamber 110 is cooled to room temperature by the refrigerant. Can be cooled. As described above, the process chamber 110 is set to have a constant degree of vacuum during the semiconductor manufacturing process.

Although not shown, when the semiconductor manufacturing process is completed, the wafer W is removed from the inside of the process chamber 110, and a new wafer W is loaded into the process chamber 110 to sequentially process the semiconductor manufacturing process. Can be made. Subsequently, when the number of wafers W in which the semiconductor manufacturing process is completed reaches a predetermined number in the process chamber 110 or when the semiconductor manufacturing process takes a predetermined time or more, the wafer W exists in the process chamber 110. In the non-drying state, a dry cleaning process for cleaning the inside of the process chamber 110 is performed. For example, when about 25 wafers W are divided into one lot, a dry cleaning process of the process chamber 110 is performed once based on about 3 to 10 lots. Furthermore, after a predetermined number of dry cleaning processes, a wet cleaning process may be performed in which the process chamber 110 is exposed to the air to wipe the inner wall of the process chamber 110 by a worker's manual work.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, a cleaning gas of a predetermined flow rate is supplied from the cleaning gas supply unit 30, and the cleaning gas is excited in a plasma state in the remote plasma generator 132 to perform the process of the process chamber 110. The first dry cleaning process is performed to remove contaminants of powder components in the process chamber 110 while flowing therein. Here, in the first dry cleaning process, a cleaning gas excited in a plasma state is supplied from the remote plasma generator 132 into the process chamber 110 having a predetermined degree of vacuum, thereby causing an inner wall and a recess of the process chamber 110. It is a process to wash the contaminants. For example, in the first dry cleaning process, a cleaning gas such as nitrogen trifluoride gas and argon gas having a mixing ratio of about 1: 1 is excited into a plasma state by a high frequency power of about 100 W, and thus, the process chamber 110 This can be achieved by feeding over moisture in tens of seconds. In this case, the cleaning gas may be concentrated on the upper surface of the heater block 114 by a high frequency power of a predetermined intensity applied to a cathode electrode (not shown) formed under the heater block 114.

And, as shown in Figure 4, the lift pin 116 to the upper portion of the heater block 114 formed on the lower end of the process chamber 110 in the process of continuously supplying the cleaning gas into the process chamber 110. ) To expose the lift pins 116 to the cleaning gas to remove contaminants such as powder formed in the upper and outer circumferential surfaces of the lift pins 116 and the pinholes through which the lift pins 116 pass. A second dry cleaning process of cleaning is performed. Here, in the second dry cleaning process, the cleaning gas is supplied to the inside of the process chamber 110 under the same or similar conditions as the first dry cleaning process, so that the lift pin is used as well as the inner wall of the process chamber 110. The top and outer circumferential surface of 116 can be easily cleaned.

For example, the lifter pin protruding to a predetermined height above the heater block 114 is concentrated on the upper surface of the heater block 114 by a high frequency power applied from a cathode electrode formed under the heater block 114. It can be easily cleaned by the cleaning gas.

In addition, since the cleaning gas concentrated on the upper surface of the heater block 114 may flow to the inside of the pinhole by the high frequency power applied from the cathode electrode formed under the heater block 114, the inside of the pinhole. It can be used to remove contaminants such as powder caused by

Therefore, the method for managing a semiconductor manufacturing facility according to an embodiment of the present invention is a heater block in the dry cleaning process of the process chamber 110 is periodically performed according to the number of wafers (W) or the processing time of the semiconductor manufacturing process ( The lift pins 116 are exposed to a cleaning gas so that the lift pins 116 protrude to the upper portion of the 114 so that the lift pins 116 may be contaminated with contaminants such as powders during the cleaning process of the process chamber 110. In addition, the lift pin 116 may be cleaned and the lift pin 116 may not only be well operated, but also the contamination of the wafer W due to the contamination of the lifter pin may be prevented, thereby increasing or maximizing production yield. can do.

In addition, a semiconductor manufacturing process is performed by removing the cleaning gas in the process chamber 110 in which the second dry cleaning process is completed, charging a new wafer W into the process chamber 110, and flowing the reaction gas. To do this.

In addition, the description of the above embodiment is merely given by way of example with reference to the drawings in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the present invention, it should not be construed as limiting the present invention. In addition, for those of ordinary skill in the art, various changes and modifications are possible without departing from the basic principles of the present invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, the lift pins are provided such that the lift pins protrude to the upper portion of the heater block during the dry cleaning process of the process chamber periodically performed according to the number of wafers or the process time of the semiconductor manufacturing process. Even if the lift pins are contaminated with contaminants such as powder, the lift pins are not only cleaned during the cleaning process of the process chamber, but the operation of the lift pins is improved, as well as contamination of the wafer due to contamination of the lifter pins. Since it can be prevented to have an effect to increase or maximize the production yield.

Claims (3)

Supplying a first reaction gas into a process chamber to form a predetermined thin film on a wafer or to perform a semiconductor manufacturing process of etching the wafer or the thin film; Removing the wafer in which the semiconductor manufacturing process is completed, in the process chamber; When the number of wafers in which the semiconductor fabrication process is completed reaches a predetermined number or when the semiconductor fabrication process takes a certain time or more, a first cleaning process is performed to supply a second reaction gas into the process chamber to clean the inner wall of the process chamber. Doing; And And raising a lift pin to an upper portion of a heater block formed at a lower end of the process chamber to perform a second cleaning process of exposing the upper and outer peripheral surfaces of the lift pin to the second reaction gas to clean the lift pin. Management of Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment. The method of claim 1, In the second cleaning process, a predetermined high frequency power is applied to a cathode electrode formed under the heater block to concentrate the second reaction gas into a pinhole through which the lift pin penetrates in the heater block, thereby allowing the inside of the pinhole to be concentrated. And cleaning the contaminant. A process chamber providing an enclosed space from the outside; A reaction gas supply unit supplying a reaction gas in which a predetermined semiconductor manufacturing process is performed in the process chamber; A cleaning gas supply unit supplying a cleaning gas for cleaning sidewalls and recesses of the process chamber; A shower head discharging a reaction gas or a cleaning gas supplied from the cleaning gas supply part or the reaction gas supply part at an upper end of the process chamber; A heater block for supporting and heating a wafer at a lower end of the process chamber opposite the showerhead; The wafer is seated or supported in the heater block through a plurality of pinholes formed in the heater block, and when the cleaning gas is supplied into the process chamber from the cleaning gas supply part, the wafer protrudes to the upper portion of the heater block to clean the wafer. A plurality of lift pins configured to be exposed to the gas; And And a lift hoop formed to collectively raise and lower the plurality of lift pins penetrating the pinhole.

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