KR20110045570A - Transfer Chamber having Plate for Heat Exchange and Semiconductor Fabrication Equipment having The same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A transfer chamber with a plate for heat exchange and semiconductor manufacturing equipment with the same are provided to heat a substrate at a temperature which is required until a substrate is inserted into a process chamber, thereby increasing profitability by preventing the waste of heat energy. CONSTITUTION: A chamber base(170) forms the lower surface of a transfer chamber(100) making a moving space in which a substrate is transferred. At least one plate(110) is installed in the chamber base to exchange heat with the substrate. The plate comprises a heater supplying heat to the substrate A shelf(140) transfers a substrate to the transfer robot and the plate. A jetting nozzle(180) supplies nitrogen and/or a helium gas to the transfer chamber.

Description

Transfer chamber having plate for heat exchange and semiconductor manufacturing equipment having same {Transfer Chamber having Plate for Heat Exchange and Semiconductor Fabrication Equipment having The same}

The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor, and more particularly, to a transfer chamber connected between a load lock chamber and a process chamber to provide a space for transferring a substrate, and a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus having the same.

In general, a semiconductor manufacturing process is performed by repeatedly performing various processes such as photographing, etching, diffusion, and deposition on a semiconductor substrate, and many processes such as etching and deposition are performed in a high vacuum process chamber. 1 is a plan view illustrating the structure of a conventional semiconductor etching apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, a semiconductor etching apparatus for performing a semiconductor etching process in a high vacuum process chamber includes a process chamber 10, a load lock chamber 20 for inputting and removing a semiconductor substrate, and a process chamber 10. And a transfer chamber 30 in which the substrate is moved between the load lock chambers 20 or between the process chambers 10. In particular, the cluster type semiconductor etching apparatus as shown in FIG. 1 is a multi-chamber type apparatus including a transfer robot (or handler, 31) and a plurality of processing chambers provided around the same.

Until now, the transfer chamber has only a transfer robot therein, which merely serves as a passage for moving the substrate between the load lock chamber and the process chamber.

In the semiconductor manufacturing process, it is sometimes necessary to heat the substrate above a predetermined temperature before the substrate to be processed is inserted into the process chamber, or when the processed substrate is discharged from the process chamber, the temperature of the substrate is cooled below a certain level. There is a case to be done. Conventionally, both cooling and heating of the substrate have been accomplished in the load lock chamber.

Thus, the time for which the substrate waits in the load lock chamber is long, which causes a so-called bottleneck of substrate flow. In addition, in view of the fact that the temperature of the substrate is lowered while the heated substrate is inserted into the process chamber through the transfer robot, there is a problem in that the substrate must be heated to a temperature higher than the required temperature of the substrate.

In addition, since the temperature of the load lock chamber is kept constant, there is a problem that does not accommodate the requirement to set the temperature of the substrate differently depending on the substrate inserted into the process chamber.

Accordingly, the technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to provide a means for heating or cooling the substrate inside the transfer chamber to save time waiting for the substrate in the load lock chamber to prevent the flow of the substrate.

Another technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to prevent waste of thermal energy by heating the substrate to the required temperature immediately before inserting the substrate into the process chamber.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a transfer module and a semiconductor manufacturing equipment using the same that can accommodate the need to set a different temperature for each substrate.

However, the technical problem of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned matters, and other objects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, a transfer chamber according to the present invention includes a chamber base forming a lower surface of a transfer chamber, at least one plate provided on the chamber base for heat exchange with a substrate, and a substrate mounted thereon. It may include a shelf (shelf) for transferring the substrate to the transfer robot and the plate and a lift module connected to the shelf to move the shelf up and down.

Preferably, the plate may include a heater that supplies heat to the substrate. Here, the chamber base may further include a first guide through which the refrigerant flows along the outer periphery of the plate and a second guide through which the coolant flows along the outer periphery of the first guide.

Also preferably, the plate may include a cooler that absorbs heat from the substrate.

Also preferably, the plate may comprise at least one or more plates comprising a heater and the remaining plates may comprise a cooler. Here, the chamber base may further include a first guide through which the refrigerant flows along the outer periphery of the plate including the heater, and a second guide through which the coolant flows along the outer periphery of the first guide.

Also preferably, the chamber base may form at least one pump connection hole connected to a pump module for vacuuming the transfer chamber.

Also preferably, the plate may form a pump connection hole connected to a pump module for vacuuming the transfer chamber at a central portion thereof.

Also preferably, the shelf may be formed in a structure for seating the substrate by supporting the edge portion of the substrate.

The chamber base may include at least one injection nozzle for injecting gas into the transfer chamber.

Also preferably, the transfer robot may include a robot arm on which at least one substrate is seated, a first connection part to which the robot arm is rotatably connected, a second connection part to which the first connection part is rotatably connected, and a second connection part. Is rotatably connected may include a support shaft that is moved up and down.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention includes a process chamber provided with at least one or more semiconductor manufacturing processes, and a substrate or a substrate subjected to a predetermined process in a process chamber or a process chamber. A load lock chamber having at least one temporarily stored therein, a transfer robot provided between the process chamber and the load lock chamber to load or unload a substrate, and connected to the process chamber and the load lock chamber, A transfer chamber to be defined, at least one plate formed inside the transfer chamber to exchange heat with the substrate, and a lifting module which is connected to a shelf and a shelf provided to transfer the substrate between the transfer robot and the plate and moves the shelf up and down. Can be.

Preferably, the transfer robot has a robot arm on which at least one substrate is seated, a first connection part to which the robot arm is rotatably connected, a second connection part to which the first connection part is rotatably connected, and a second connection part to be rotatable. It may include a support shaft that is connected to and moved up and down.

According to the present invention, it is possible to save the time waiting for the substrate in the load lock chamber to prevent congestion of the substrate flow, thereby improving the process speed.

In addition, there is an effect of improving the economics by preventing the waste of thermal energy by heating the substrate to the required temperature until just before inserting the substrate into the process chamber.

In addition, by varying the heating temperature of the plurality of plates provided in the transfer chamber, it is possible to accommodate the requirement to set the temperature differently for each substrate.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention 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. At this time, the configuration and operation of the present invention shown in the drawings and described by it will be described as at least one embodiment, by which the technical spirit of the present invention and its core configuration and operation is not limited.

2 is a plan view illustrating a transfer chamber according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the transfer chamber 100 includes a chamber base 170, a plate 110, a shelf 140, and a lift module (not shown).

The chamber base 170 defines the area of the transfer chamber 100 by forming the bottom surface of the transfer chamber 100.

The plate 110 is formed in the chamber base 170 to mount the substrate to heat transfer to or absorb heat from the substrate, and at least one, preferably in various numbers in consideration of the number of process chambers and load lock chambers. do.

According to the role of the plate 110, a heater or a cooler is mounted on the lower portion of the plate 110 to exchange heat with the substrate, which will be described later.

Shelf 140 receives the substrate from the transfer robot for transporting the substrate to drive to seat on the plate 110 described above. In addition, the plate 110 transfers the heat exchanged substrate back to the transfer robot to allow the process to proceed. The shelf 140 is preferably provided between the transfer robot and the plate 110 to move up and down. The lifting module (not shown) for driving the shelf 140 will be described later with reference to other accompanying drawings.

In addition, the transfer chamber 100 forms a pump connection hole 130 that is connected to a pump module (not shown) for discharging the air inside the chamber to make and maintain a vacuum inside the chamber. The pump connection hole 130 is provided according to the number of pump modules. In one embodiment, the pump connection hole 130 is formed in the chamber base 170.

FIG. 2A illustrates an example of a transfer chamber 100 having four plates for cooling (hereinafter referred to as a cooling plate 110), and FIG. 2B illustrates two cooling units. The transfer chamber 100 is provided with a plate 110 and two heating plates (hereinafter referred to as a heating plate 120). Comparing the (A) (B), although the cooling plate 110 is not shown in the drawing, a cooler (cooler) is mounted on the lower portion of the cooling plate 110 to cool the substrate, the heating plate ( 120 is a heater (heater) is mounted on the bottom to heat the substrate.

The heating plate 120 is generally heated to 300 to 400 degrees Celsius by a heater. The chamber base 170 on which the heating plate 120 is mounted forms a first guide 150 and a second guide 160 along the outer circumference of the heating plate 120.

In addition, the injection nozzle 180 for supplying nitrogen (N) and / or helium (He) gas into the chamber 100 in the transfer chamber 100 to improve heat transfer from the heating plate 120 to the substrate. ) Is provided.

The first and second guides 150 and 160 absorb high temperature heat generated by the heating plate 120 to prevent heat transfer to the transfer robot and other devices provided in the transfer chamber 100. . The first guide 150 and the second guide 160 are formed in the chamber base 170 while surrounding the outer periphery of the heating plate 120 in turn, the first guide 150 is a refrigerant for heat exchange flows, Process Cooling Water (PCW) flows through the second guide 160. Forming the first guide 150 and the second guide 160 in order to sequentially lower the high temperature heat generated from the heating plate 120, the first guide 150 is the heating plate 120 The ambient temperature is lowered to about 75 degrees Celsius, and the second guide 160 lowers the temperature of the gas in the transfer chamber 100 to about 20 degrees Celsius.

3 is a cross-sectional view showing a transfer chamber according to another embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, in another embodiment, a pump connection hole 170 is formed in the plate 100. In the drawing, since the four plates 110 are illustrated as the cooling plate 100, the first guide and the second guide (see (B) 150 and 160 of FIG. 2) that surround and form the plate 100 are not illustrated. Of course, it is also possible to mix or arrange the cooling or heating plates or any one of them, in particular, in the case of heating plates, the first and second guides as described above (FIG. 2B 150). , 160).

The description of the other part of the transfer chamber in this embodiment is the same as that of the above-described embodiment, and the description is omitted here.

Figure 4a is a view showing a cross section inside the transfer chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4b is a view showing a side of the transfer chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the transfer chamber has a chamber base 170, a heating plate 120, a first guide 150, a second guide 160, a heater 200, and a spray nozzle 180 therein. ), The shelf 140 and the elevating module 190.

Here, the chamber base 170, the heating plate 120, the first guide 150, the second guide 160, the heater 200, and the injection nozzle 180 have been described above, and thus descriptions thereof will be omitted. The shelf 140 and the elevating module 190 will be described.

Shelf 140 is a means for receiving the substrate 1000 from the transfer robot to be seated on the heating plate 120 or to transfer the heat exchanged substrate 1000 back to the transfer robot. As will be described later, the shelf 140 should be capable of raising and lowering for smooth movement of the transport robot.

The lifting and lowering movement of the shelf 140 is made by the lifting module 190 connected to the shelf 140. The elevating module 190 is controlled to ascend or descend according to the order of processes performed in the transfer chamber 100. Here, the elevating module 190 may be a lift pin assembly.

The transfer chamber includes a plurality of plates, which plates can be freely changed according to process needs. In other words, it is preferable that the plate can be freely separated from the transfer chamber so that the arrangement and configuration of the heating plate or the cooling plate can be arbitrarily manipulated.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the substrate undergoes a process of being transferred to the robot arms 510a and 510b and the shelf 140, and the lifting module 190 connected to the shuff 140 raises the shelf 140. The down control allows the substrate to be transferred from the shelf 140 to the robot arms 510a and 510b or vice versa.

5 is a perspective view of a transfer chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention.

By referring to FIG. 5, the configuration of the transfer chamber 100 will be more effectively understood.

The shelf 140 for transferring the substrate to the robot arms 510a and 510b and the plate is formed along the outer periphery of the plate, as shown in FIG. 5. In order not to interfere with the operation of the robot arms 510a and 510b, the robot arms 510a and 510b may be formed in a ring shape around the circular plate as shown in FIG. 5. In the ring-shaped shelf 140, a plurality of small protrusions are formed so that the substrate can be stably seated without disturbing the operation of the robot arms 510a and 510b. In addition, the shelf 140 is connected to the elevating gravel module 190 to move up and down.

Hereinafter, the process of transferring the substrate in the transfer chamber according to the present invention will be described.

6 is a plan view illustrating a structure of a semiconductor etching apparatus using a transfer chamber according to the present invention, FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a process of transferring a substrate in a transfer chamber according to the present invention, and FIG. A diagram for describing a driving process of a transfer robot in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 6, the transfer chamber 100 is provided at the center of the cluster type semiconductor etching apparatus. 6 illustrates a semiconductor etching apparatus including two load lock chambers 210 and 220 and six process chambers 310, 320, 330, 340, 350 and 360.

The movement of the substrate made in the transfer chamber according to the present invention in the semiconductor etching apparatus shown in FIG. 6 will be described with reference to FIG. 7.

As shown in FIG. 7, a transfer robot 520 is provided at an inner central portion of the transfer chamber 100.

The transfer robot 520 seats a substrate waiting in the load lock chambers 210 and 220 on the robot arms 510a and 510b and introduces the substrate into the transfer chamber 520 so that the substrate is fed into the front end of the process chambers 310 and 320. The substrate is moved above the heating plate 120 formed at the site. Then, the transfer robot 520 moves downward in the vertical direction (z-axis motion) to seat the substrate on the shelf 140 formed between the heating plate 120 and the chamber base 170. The transfer robot 520 seated on the shelf 140 moves further downward so that the robot arm 520 is completely separated from the substrate and then retracted. Then, the shelf 140 on which the substrate is mounted is lowered by the elevating module 190 connected to the shelf 140. At this time, the shelf 140 is sufficiently lowered to allow the heating plate 120 and the substrate to contact each other. The substrate seated on the heating plate 520 receives a heat from the heated plate 120 to increase the temperature. When the substrate reaches the temperature required for the process, the elevating module 190 is driven to raise the shelf 140. Then, the transfer robot 520 inserts the robot arms 510a and 510b into the lower portion of the substrate and then moves upward to receive the substrate seated on the shelf 140. When the substrate is seated on the robot arms 510a and 510b by the raised robot arms 510a and 510b, the transfer robot 520 moves forward to inject the substrate into the process chambers 310 and 320.

On the other hand, the transfer chamber according to the present invention may include a mixture of a heating plate and a cooling plate as appropriate. The above description of the process of transferring the substrate may be applied to the process of transferring the substrate from the process chamber to the transfer chamber and then discharging it to the load lock chamber in reverse order.

Hereinafter, a description of a semiconductor manufacturing equipment having a transfer chamber according to the present invention.

8 is an exemplary diagram for explaining a driving process of a transfer robot in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 8, in a preferred embodiment, the semiconductor manufacturing equipment includes load lock chambers 210 and 220, process chambers 310 and 320, transfer chamber 100, heating plate 120, transfer robot 520, and cooling devices. Plate 110.

Since the description of the load lock chambers 210 and 220, the process chambers 310 and 320, the transfer chamber 100, the heating plate 120, and the cooling plate 110 has been described above, the description thereof will be omitted.

The transfer robot 520 may include two robot arms 510a and 510b capable of handling the substrate 1000. In addition, the transfer robot 520 includes a first connection part 530 connected to the robot arms 510a and 510b and a second connection part 540 connected to the first connection part 530. The second connector 540 is connected to a support shaft (not shown) forming the main body of the transfer robot 520.

Hereinafter, a driving process of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment will be described with reference to FIG. 8. Here, the driving process of the transfer robot 520 will be described, but in the present specification, the Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-0805278 'Wafer transfer robot for the contents registered and filed by Tess Co. It is noted that reference is made to a 'cluster tool provided'.

 In a preferred embodiment, two substrates 1000 are waiting in the load lock chambers 210 and 220. The transfer robot 520 located inside the transfer chamber 100 includes two robot arms 510a and 510b to simultaneously seat the substrate 1000 waiting in the load lock chamber on the robot arms 510a and 510b. In order to seat the substrate 1000, the transfer robot 520 must be properly driven, which is due to the interaction of the first connection part 530, the second connection part 540, and the support shaft (not shown). That is, in order to seat the substrates 1000 of the load lock chambers 210 and 220 on the robot arms 510a and 510b, the first connecting portion 530 and the second connecting portion 540 rotate to move the transfer robot 520 to advance the robot. The arms 510a and 510b are positioned at the lower ends of the substrates 1000 which are waiting in the load lock chambers 210 and 220. 8A and B, the second connection part 540 rotates clockwise and the first connection part 530 counterclockwise to extend the reach of the transport bot 520. The transfer robot 520 advances by rotating in (counter clock wise).

 Next, as the support shaft of the transfer robot 520 rises, the substrates 1000 of the load lock chambers 210 and 220 are seated on the robot arms 510a and 510b (FIG. 8A).

Thereafter, the transfer robot 520 introduces the substrate 1000 into the transfer chamber 100. The transfer robot 520 is operated by the operation of the first connection portion 530 and the second connection portion 540 of the transfer robot 520. 520 retreats. When comparing the bar shown in A and B of FIG. 8, the second connector 540 rotates in a counter clock wise direction and the first connector 530 is clocked in order for the transport robot 520 to retreat. Rotate clockwise.

Next, the transfer robot 520 rotates in the transfer chamber 100 to position the upper portion of the plate on which the substrate 1000 is to be seated. In FIG. 8C, a driving process for seating two substrates 1000 on the heating plate 120 is illustrated. Rotation of the transfer robot 520 is made as the support shaft (not shown) is rotated. Since the support shaft rotates, the second connection portion 540, the first connection portion 530, and the robot arms 510a and 510b connected to the support shaft are positioned on the heating plate 120. After that, the support shaft descends to transfer the substrate 1000 seated on the robot arms 510a and 510b to the above-described shelf (see 140 in FIG. 5) provided along the outer circumference of the heating plate 120. do. After that, the support shaft is further lowered to completely separate the substrate 1000 from the robot arms 510a and 510b.

After seating the substrate 1000 on the shelf, the transfer robot 520 retreats to remove the robot arms 510a and 510b from the heating plate 120 on which the substrate 1000 is located. (D in FIG. 8). Since there is no difference from that described in FIG. 8B, description thereof will be omitted.

As described above, in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the preferred embodiment, the transfer of the substrate is performed by driving the transfer robot, and the transfer robot can shorten the process time by mounting two substrates at the same time. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that it is possible to simultaneously process two or more substrates by providing two or more robot arms, depending on the process conditions.

Alternatively, only one robot arm is provided to transfer a single wafer to be loaded into or unloaded from a process chamber or load lock chamber, and the substrate is seated on a heating or cooling plate provided in the transfer chamber. It will be possible to go through the pre- and post-treatment process.

In addition, all of the above-described processes may include a process of seating a substrate transferred from the process chamber on a cooling plate in the transfer chamber to cool down. In particular, it should be noted that the present invention can vary the number and type of plates formed in the transfer chamber, for heating or cooling, and can freely change the configuration thereof.

As described above, the present invention has been described by way of limited embodiments and drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, which can be variously modified and modified by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Modifications are possible. Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined solely by the claims appended hereto, and that all equivalents or equivalent variations thereof fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

1 is a plan view showing the structure of a conventional semiconductor etching apparatus;

2 is a plan view showing a transfer chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a cross-sectional view showing a transfer chamber according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4a is a view showing a cross section inside the transfer chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention,

Figure 4b is a view showing the side of the transfer chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention,

5 is a perspective view of a transfer chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention;

6 is a plan view showing the structure of a semiconductor etching apparatus using a transfer chamber according to the present invention,

7 is a view illustrating a process of transferring a substrate in a transfer chamber according to the present invention;

8 is a view for explaining a driving process of the transfer robot in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: transfer chamber 140: shelf

150: first guide 160: second guide

180: spray nozzle

Claims (13)

A chamber base defining a bottom surface of the transfer chamber defining a movement space of the transfer robot for transferring the substrate from the first chamber to the second chamber; At least one plate provided in the chamber base to exchange heat with a substrate; A shelf for seating a substrate and transferring the substrate to the transfer robot and the plate; And And a lift module connected to the shelf to move the shelf up and down. The method of claim 1, And the plate comprises a heater for supplying heat to the substrate. The method of claim 2, The chamber base may include a first guide through which a coolant formed along the outer circumference of the plate and a second guide through which coolant formed along the outer circumference of the first guide flow. The method of claim 1, And the plate comprises a cooler that absorbs heat from the substrate. The method of claim 1, Wherein said at least one plate comprises a heater and said remaining plate comprises a cooler. The method of claim 5, The chamber base may include a transfer chamber including a first guide through which a coolant formed along the outer circumference of the plate including the heater and a second guide through which the coolant formed along the outer circumference of the first guide flows. . The method of claim 1, And the chamber base forms at least one pump connection hole connected to a pump module for vacuuming the transfer chamber. The method of claim 1, The plate is a transfer chamber, characterized in that the central portion formed in the pump connection hole connected to the pump module for vacuuming the transfer chamber. The method of claim 1, The shelf is characterized in that the transfer chamber, characterized in that for supporting the edge (edge) portion of the substrate to form a shape to seat the substrate. The method of claim 1, The chamber base includes at least one injection nozzle for injecting gas into the transfer chamber. The method of claim 1, The transfer robot includes a robot arm on which at least one substrate is mounted; A first connection part to which the robot arm is rotatably connected; A second connector connected to the first connector to be rotatable; And The second chamber is connected to the rotatable transfer chamber, characterized in that it comprises a support shaft which is moved up and down. A process chamber including at least one semiconductor manufacturing process; A load lock chamber provided with at least one substrate temporarily placed in the process chamber or a substrate that has undergone a predetermined process in the process chamber; A transfer robot provided between the process chamber and the load lock chamber to load or unload a substrate; A transfer chamber connected to the process chamber and the load lock chamber to define a moving space of the transfer robot; At least one plate provided in the transfer chamber to exchange heat with a substrate; A shelf provided to enable substrate transfer between the transfer robot and the plate; And And a lift module connected to the shelf to move the shelf up and down. The method of claim 12, The transfer robot includes a robot arm on which at least one substrate is mounted; A first connection part to which the robot arm is rotatably connected; A second connector connected to the first connector to be rotatable; And The second connector is connected to the rotatable semiconductor manufacturing equipment, characterized in that it comprises a support shaft which is moved up and down.

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