KR20080104992A - Substrate processing system and substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A substrate processing system and a substrate processing apparatus are provided to distribute plasma uniformly in the accepting chamber without generating particles. A transfer room(11) loads and unloads the substrate of rectangular shape to each substrate processing apparatus. A substrate processing apparatus processes one or more substrates and has an accepting chamber(18) of the rectangular shape. A shower head(19) is placed at the ceiling of the chamber(19). A buffer room(20) is installed in the shower head. A gas induction pipe(21) is installed at the buffer room. A plurality of gas holes connect the chamber in the buffer room.

Description

Substrate Processing System and Substrate Processing Equipment {SUBSTRATE PROCESSING SYSTEM AND SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS}

TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to a substrate processing system and a substrate processing apparatus. Specifically, It is related with the substrate processing system provided with the substrate processing apparatus which performs a plasma process on the board | substrate for liquid crystal displays.

As shown in FIG. 6, the plasma processing apparatus 60 (substrate processing apparatus) which performs an etching process on the glass substrate for flat panel displays (FPD), uses the glass substrate (henceforth simply a "substrate") G. A chamber 61 (accommodating chamber) for accommodating, a lower electrode 62 mounted with the substrate G and connected to a high frequency power supply, and a shower head 63 serving as an upper electrode facing the lower electrode 62; Equipped. In the plasma processing apparatus 60, the processing gas supplied to the space in the chamber 61 is excited by a high frequency electric field to generate a plasma, and the substrate G is etched by the plasma. In the plasma processing apparatus 60, in the etching process, a path of a high frequency power source → a lower electrode 62 → a chamber 61 in a plasma → showerhead 63 → a chamber 61 side wall → a high frequency power source → ground is performed. High frequency current flows.

In general, a substrate processing system (not shown) includes a plurality of plasma processing apparatuses 60 arranged in a cluster shape, and a transfer chamber for carrying in and out of the substrate G to each plasma processing apparatus 60. Since is very large, the chamber 61 in the plasma processing apparatus 60 also becomes large, and as a result, the whole exclusive area which a substrate processing system occupies in a factory becomes large.

On the other hand, since it is required to arrange | position a substrate processing system efficiently in a factory, it is preferable that the whole exclusive area of a substrate processing system is small, or to make the chamber 61 of the plasma processing apparatus 60 as small as possible. desirable. Therefore, the shape of the chamber 61 becomes a rectangular parallelepiped shape according to the shape of the board | substrate G which is a rectangular plate member.

By the way, the carrying in / out port 64 for carrying in / out of the board | substrate G opens in one side wall of the chamber 61, but since the opening is not provided in the side wall which the said carrying in / out 64 opposes, the space in the chamber 61 has no space. It becomes an asymmetrical shape. Here, since the plasma is easily isotropically diffused, when the space in the chamber 61 is asymmetrical, the plasma is hardly uniformly distributed in the space in the chamber 61. If the plasma is not uniformly distributed in the space in the chamber 61, it is difficult to give a uniform etching treatment to the substrate G.

Therefore, a plasma processing apparatus has been developed in which a movable insulating plate (shield ring) freely closing a carry-in and out opening in a chamber and a carrying-out opening is blocked by the movable insulating plate to make a space in the chamber symmetrical (see Patent Document 1, for example). .

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-20879

By the way, the distribution of plasma in the chamber space is also influenced by the path distribution of the high frequency return current flowing through the side wall of the chamber (hereinafter, simply referred to as "current path distribution"). Therefore, in order to uniformly distribute the plasma in the space in the chamber, not only the space in the chamber is symmetrical, but also the current path distribution of at least two opposing sidewalls that makes the current path distribution flowing through the sidewall of the chamber uniformly. Needs to be.

However, in the plasma processing apparatus according to Patent Document 1, since the movable insulating plate is used, the movable insulating plate and the side walls of the chamber 61 do not electrically contact with each other stably, and the high frequency leakage current flowing through the movable insulating plate is unstable. As a result, the current path distribution of the side wall having the carry-out and opening 64 and the current path distribution of the side wall opposite to the side wall do not become symmetrical. Thus, there is still a problem that the plasma is not uniformly distributed in the chamber.

In addition, when the movable insulating plate moves, there is also a problem that particles on the sidewall are peeled off by the impact of the movement, and particles are generated.

An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing system and a substrate processing apparatus capable of uniformly distributing plasma in a space in a storage chamber without generating particles.

In order to achieve the said objective, the substrate processing system of Claim 1 is equipped with the several substrate processing apparatus and the conveyance chamber which carries in and out of a rectangular board | substrate to each said substrate processing apparatus, and the said at least one said substrate processing apparatus is It has a cube-shaped or cuboid-shaped accommodating chamber which accommodates a board | substrate, and performs a plasma process to the said board | substrate, The said accommodating chamber has only one side wall contact | connects the said transfer chamber, The said one side wall has the 1st opening part which communicates with the said transfer chamber An opening substrate processing system, wherein a second opening is opened in the other side wall facing the one side wall.

The substrate processing system of Claim 2 is the substrate processing system of Claim 1, The opening shape of the said 1st opening part and the opening shape of the said 2nd opening part are the same, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

The substrate processing system of Claim 3 is a substrate processing system of Claim 1 or 2 WHEREIN: The said 2nd opening part is covered by the plate-shaped member provided in the outer side of the said storage chamber, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

The substrate processing system of Claim 4 is a substrate processing system of Claim 3 WHEREIN: The said plate-shaped member is transparent, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

The substrate processing system of Claim 5 is a substrate processing system of any one of Claims 1-4 WHEREIN: The said some substrate processing apparatus is arrange | positioned in the cluster shape around the said transfer chamber, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

The substrate processing system of Claim 6 is a substrate processing system of any one of Claims 1-4 WHEREIN: The said some substrate processing apparatus is arrange | positioned in parallel with each other, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

In order to achieve the above object, the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 7 has a cube-shaped or cuboid-shaped accommodating chamber accommodating a rectangular substrate, and also performs plasma processing on the substrate, wherein the accommodating chamber has only one side wall. A substrate processing apparatus in contact with a transfer chamber for carrying in and out of the substrate, wherein a first opening communicating with the transfer chamber is opened in one side wall, wherein the second opening is opened in the other side wall facing the one side wall. .

According to the substrate processing system of Claim 1 and the substrate processing apparatus of Claim 7, in a cubic shape or a rectangular shape accommodating chamber, since a 2nd opening part opens in the other side wall which opposes the one side wall which a 1st opening part opens, In addition, the space in the storage chamber can be made symmetrical, and the path distribution of the high frequency return current flowing through one side wall and the other side wall facing each other can be made symmetrical. In addition, there is no need to use a movable insulating plate. Therefore, the plasma can be uniformly distributed in the space in the storage chamber without generating particles.

According to the substrate processing system according to claim 2, since the opening shape of the first opening portion and the opening shape of the second opening portion are the same, the space in the storage chamber can be reliably symmetrical, and one side wall facing each other and The path distribution of the high frequency return current flowing through the other side wall can be surely symmetrical.

According to the substrate processing system of Claim 3, since the 2nd opening part is covered by the plate-shaped member provided in the outer side of the storage chamber, the inside of a storage chamber can be easily and reliably shut off from the exterior.

According to the substrate processing system of Claim 4, since the plate-shaped member which covers a 2nd opening part is transparent, the situation in a storage chamber can be observed through the said plate-shaped member.

According to the substrate processing system of Claim 5, since the several substrate processing apparatus is arrange | positioned in cluster shape around the conveyance chamber, a board | substrate can be efficiently conveyed to each substrate processing apparatus, and the efficiency of the plasma processing of a board | substrate is improved. You can.

According to the substrate processing system of Claim 6, since several substrate processing apparatuses are arrange | positioned in parallel with each other, a substrate processing apparatus can be easily expanded.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiment of this invention is described, referring drawings.

First, a substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

1 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of a substrate processing system according to the present embodiment. This substrate processing system is a multi-chamber type substrate processing system for performing an etching process on a glass substrate for FPD.

In FIG. 1, the substrate processing system 10 is arranged in a cluster shape around the transfer chamber 11 arranged at the center, the load lock chamber 12 connected to the transfer chamber 11, and the transfer chamber 11. The three plasma processing apparatuses 13 (substrate processing apparatus), the arm support 14 connected to the load lock chamber 12 on the opposite side to the conveyance chamber 11, and both sides of this arm support 14; Two cassettes 15 are provided.

One cassette 15 accommodates a plurality of untreated glass substrates (hereinafter, simply referred to as "substrate") G, and the other cassette 15 accommodates a plurality of processed substrates G. A transfer arm 16 is arranged on the arm support 14, and the transfer arm 16 takes out the untreated substrate G from one cassette 15, carries it into the load lock chamber 12, and load rod chamber ( The processed substrate G is taken out from 12) and loaded into the other cassette 15.

Each plasma processing apparatus 13 performs an etching process on the board | substrate G, and the conveyance chamber 11 carries out the board | substrate G to each plasma processing apparatus 13 with the conveyance arm (not shown) which it embeds. The load lock chamber 12 has a buffer (not shown) which temporarily mounts the substrate G, and the transfer arms 16 and the transfer arms of the transfer chamber 11 mount the substrate G in the buffer or load the substrate G from the buffer. By taking out, the board | substrate G is replaced. Both the conveyance chamber 11 and the load lock chamber 12 can depressurize an inside.

Moreover, between the conveyance chamber 11 and each plasma processing apparatus 13, between the conveyance chamber 11 and the load lock chamber 12, and between the load lock chamber 12 and the outer atmospheric atmosphere, these are these. The gate valve 17 which divides the communication path of is provided. Each gate valve 17 can be opened and closed freely, and each communication path can be hermetically sealed.

2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a horizontal cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus in FIG. 1.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, the plasma processing apparatus 13 has a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped chamber 18 (accommodating chamber) that accommodates the substrate G. In FIG. The chamber 18 is made of aluminum, and the inner wall of the chamber 18 is covered with alumite.

A rectangular flat shower head 19 is disposed in the ceiling of the chamber 18, and a buffer chamber 20 is provided inside the shower head 19, and the process gas introduction pipe 21 is provided in the buffer chamber 20. ) Is connected. The showerhead 19 also has a number of gas holes 22 communicating within the buffer chamber 20 and within the chamber 18. The processing gas introduction pipe 21 is connected to the processing gas supply device 23, and the processing gas supply device 23 introduces the processing gas into the buffer chamber 20 via the processing gas introduction pipe 21. The shower head 19 is a space between the shower head 19 and the lower electrode 25 described later via the gas hole 22 for the processing gas introduced into the buffer chamber 20 (hereinafter referred to as "process space S"). ). In addition, the shower head 19 is engaged with the ceiling of the chamber 18 by the peripheral insulating member 24 and is electrically connected to the ceiling of the chamber 18 by the conductive plate 40. Thus, the showerhead 19 functions as an upper electrode. As the processing gas, for example, a gas containing halogen, specifically, a gas made of a halogen compound, an oxygen gas, an argon gas, or the like is used.

At the bottom of the chamber 18, a rectangular lower electrode 25 serving as a mounting table on which the substrate G is mounted is disposed. The lower electrode 25 faces the shower head 19 and is supported by the lower insulating member 26. A chiller flow path (not shown) is provided in the wall of the chamber 18 or in the lower electrode 25, and these are maintained at a predetermined temperature by the refrigerant flowing through the chiller flow path.

The high frequency power supply 29 is connected to the lower electrode 25 via the matching circuit 27 and the conductive path 28. The high frequency power supply 29 supplies a predetermined high frequency power, for example, high frequency power of 13.56 MHz to the lower electrode 25. In the present embodiment, the shower head 19 and the lower electrode 25 correspond to the anode electrode and the cathode electrode, respectively.

An exhaust path 30 is connected to the bottom of the chamber 18, and an exhaust device not shown, for example, a turbo molecular pump or a dry pump, is connected to the exhaust path 30. The exhaust device exhausts the inside of the chamber 18 via the exhaust path 30 to reduce the pressure.

In the plasma processing apparatus 13, a high frequency electric field is generated by supplying a high frequency electric power from the lower electrode 25 to the processing space S to excite the processing gas supplied from the shower head 19 in the processing space S to achieve high density plasma. Is generated to etch the substrate G by the plasma. At this time, the high frequency power source 29 → matching circuit 27 → lower electrode 25 → plasma in the processing space S → showerhead 19 → sidewalls of the chamber 18 → high frequency power source 29 → ground Return current flows.

In addition, the operation of each component of the plasma processing apparatus 13 is controlled by a CPU of a control unit (not shown) included in the plasma processing apparatus 13 in accordance with a program corresponding to an etching process.

In the plasma processing apparatus 13, the transport chamber 11 passes through the side wall 18a of the side wall 18a of the chamber 18 that is connected to the transport chamber 11 via the gate valve 17. ), The conveyance port 31 (first opening) is opened. The size of the conveyance port 31 is set so that the board | substrate G mounted in the conveyance arm and carried in from the conveyance chamber 11 may not contact, specifically, the width is about 2.0 m and the height is about 0.1 m, for example.

In addition, an opening 32 (second opening) having the same opening shape as the transport opening 31 is opened in the side wall 18b facing the side wall 18a, and the opening 32 opens the side wall 18b. Penetrating As a result, the space in the chamber 18 exhibits a symmetrical shape. The opening part 32 is covered by the plate-shaped blocking plate 33 which consists of the metal member which comprises the gate valve 17, for example provided in the outer side of the chamber 18. As shown in FIG.

It is a figure which shows the path distribution of the high frequency return current in the side wall which is connected with the conveyance chamber of the chamber in FIG. 2, and the side wall which opposes the said side wall.

As described above, when the substrate G is etched, a high frequency return current flows through the sidewall of the chamber 18, but the transfer port 31 is provided on the sidewall 18a on the side connected to the transfer chamber 11. Since the high frequency return current does not flow through the X, the path of the high frequency return current (indicated by the arrow) is distributed to avoid the conveyance port 31. In addition, since the high frequency return current does not flow through the opening 32 in the side wall 18b facing the side wall 18a, the path of the high frequency return current (indicated by the arrow) is distributed to avoid the opening 32. Here, since the opening shape of the opening part 32 is the same as the opening shape of the conveyance port 31, the path distribution of the high frequency return current in the side wall 18b is symmetrical with the path distribution of the high frequency return current in the side wall 18a. Becomes

According to the substrate processing system 10 according to the present embodiment, in the rectangular parallelepiped chamber 18 included in the plasma processing apparatus 13, a side wall facing the side wall 18a through which the conveyance port 31 opens ( The opening 32 is opened in 18b, and since the opening shape of the opening 32 is the same as the opening shape of the conveyance port 31, the space in the chamber 18 can be made symmetrical and opposes each other. The path distribution of the high frequency return current flowing through the side wall 18a and the side wall 18b can be made symmetrical. Moreover, in order to make the space in the chamber 18 into a symmetrical shape, it is not necessary to use the movable insulating plate for closing the conveyance opening 31. Therefore, the plasma can be uniformly distributed in the space in the chamber 18 without generating particles.

In the substrate processing system 10 mentioned above, the opening part 32 is covered by the obstruction plate 33 which consists of metal members provided in the outer side of the chamber 18, For example, the obstruction plate 33 is a plasma-resistant transparent member. In this configuration, it is possible to observe the situation in the chamber 18, for example, the light emission state of the plasma, via the blocking plate 33.

In addition, in the above-mentioned substrate processing system 10, since the three plasma processing apparatuses 13 are arrange | positioned in the cluster shape around the conveyance chamber 11, the board | substrate G is efficiently conveyed to each plasma processing apparatus 13. It is possible to improve the efficiency of the etching treatment of the substrate G.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, in the chamber 18 of the plasma processing apparatus 13, only the side wall 18a of the side connected to the conveyance chamber 11 and the side wall 18b which opposes this side wall 18a is an opening part. Although the conveyance port 31 and the opening part 32 were provided, you may provide the opening part of the two side walls 18c and 18d (refer FIG. 3) hold | maintained between the side wall 18a and the side wall 18b. In this case, it is preferable that the openings provided in the side walls 18c and 18d have the same opening shape. In addition, the ratio of the width of the opening to the width of the side wall 18c (side wall 18d) is the ratio of the width of the conveyance port 31 (opening part 32) to the width of the side wall 18a (side wall 18b). More preferably the same as the ratio. Thereby, the shape of the space in the chamber 18 can be made more symmetrical.

Moreover, in the substrate processing system 10 in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the some plasma processing apparatus 13 was arrange | positioned in the cluster shape around the conveyance chamber 11, the substrate processing system which can apply this invention is this. It is not limited to this, What is necessary is just a substrate processing system which a chamber in a plasma processing apparatus contacts only a side wall in a conveyance chamber. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of load lock chambers 36, a transfer chamber 37, and a plasma processing apparatus 38 that are connected in series to the loader chamber 35 to which the cassette 34 is connected are provided. It may be a substrate processing system 39 in which the sets are arranged parallel to each other. In addition, in the substrate processing system 39, the plasma processing apparatus 39 is connected by adding a set including the load lock chamber 36, the transfer chamber 37, and the plasma processing apparatus 38 to the loader chamber 35. It can be easily expanded.

In the above-described plasma processing apparatus 13, high frequency electric power is supplied only to the lower electrode 25, but the plasma processing apparatus to which the present invention is applicable is not limited to this, for example, the upper portion disposed in the ceiling of the chamber instead of the lower electrode. The plasma processing apparatus may be a high frequency electric power supplied only to the showerhead which also serves as the electrode, or may be a plasma processing apparatus which includes a showerhead which serves as the lower electrode and the upper electrode, and is supplied with a high frequency electric power to either the lower electrode or the showerhead.

In addition, in the above-mentioned plasma processing apparatus 13, although the blocking plate 33 is comprised by the metal member which comprises the gate valve 17, or the transparent member which has plasma resistance, the member which comprises the blocking plate 33 Is not limited to this, but may be a plate member capable of sealing the opening 32.

In the above-mentioned plasma processing apparatus 13, although the chamber 18 is a rectangular parallelepiped shape, when the board | substrate G is square, a cubic shape may be sufficient according to the shape of the board | substrate G.

1 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of a substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus in FIG. 1; FIG.

3 is a horizontal sectional view schematically showing the configuration of the plasma processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

4 is a diagram showing a path distribution of a high frequency return current in a side wall of the side connected to the transfer chamber of the chamber in FIG. 2 and a side wall opposite to the side wall;

5 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of a substrate processing system to which the present invention is applicable;

6 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing a configuration of a conventional plasma processing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

G: Glass Substrate 10: Substrate Processing System

11: transfer chamber 13 plasma processing apparatus

18: chamber 18a, 18b: side wall

31: return port 32: observation port

33: occlusion plate

Claims (7)

A plurality of substrate processing apparatuses and a conveyance chamber which carries in and out a rectangular board | substrate to each said substrate processing apparatus are provided, At least one said substrate processing apparatus has a cubic shape or a cuboid-shaped accommodation chamber which accommodates the said board | substrate, A substrate processing system in which a plasma treatment is performed on the substrate, wherein the storage chamber has only one sidewall in contact with the transfer chamber, and the first sidewall has a first opening communicating with the transfer chamber. Having a second opening in the other side wall facing said one side wall Substrate processing system, characterized in that. The method of claim 1, The opening shape of the said 1st opening part and the opening shape of the said 2nd opening part are the same, The substrate processing system characterized by the above-mentioned. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And the second opening portion is covered by a plate-shaped member provided outside the storage chamber. The method of claim 3, wherein And the plate-shaped member is transparent. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The plurality of substrate processing apparatuses are arranged in a cluster shape around the transfer chamber. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And the plurality of substrate processing apparatuses are arranged parallel to each other. It has a cube-shaped or cuboid-shaped accommodating chamber which accommodates a rectangular board | substrate, and performs a plasma processing to the said board | substrate, The said accommodating chamber contact | connects the conveyance chamber which only one side wall carries in and out of the said board | substrate, The said one side wall has the said transfer chamber and In the substrate processing apparatus which the 1st opening part which communicates opens, Having a second opening in the other side wall facing said one side wall Substrate processing apparatus, characterized in that.

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