KR20110072336A - Substrate processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A substrate processing device is provided to prevent particles or damaged due to plasma by suppressing the plasma on a specific region. CONSTITUTION: A chamber(10) has a space to process a substrate. A substrate support(20) is rotatably installed in the chamber. A plurality of spray plates(50) are installed in a top lead to spray process gas to the substrate along a circumference direction. An electrode is connected to a selected spray plate among the spray plates and generates plasma between the selected spray plate and the substrate support. A gas spray unit includes a partition member between a selection region and a non-selection region. The spray plate in the selection region is electrically connected to the spray plate in the non-selection region.

Description

Substrate processing device

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a substrate processing apparatus for forming a plasma among various types of thin film deposition apparatuses such as an atomic layer deposition apparatus and a chemical vapor deposition apparatus for depositing a thin film on a semiconductor substrate. It is about.

In general, the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device is a process of realizing an electronic circuit that performs a certain function by combining thin films, such as conductive films, semiconductor films, and insulating films, having different properties on a substrate, by combining the order of stacking and the shape of a pattern. I can speak. Accordingly, in the semiconductor device manufacturing process, various thin film deposition and etching unit processes are repeatedly performed. In order to perform the unit process, the substrate is loaded and processed into a substrate processing apparatus that provides optimum conditions for the process. .

Among the substrate processing apparatuses, a device for depositing a thin film on a substrate includes a sputtering apparatus, a chemical vapor deposition apparatus, an atomic layer deposition apparatus, and the like. Hereinafter, an atomic layer deposition apparatus, in particular, a form in which a plurality of substrates are processed while rotating An atomic layer deposition apparatus will be described as an example.

A conventional atomic layer deposition apparatus is shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional atomic layer deposition apparatus 9 includes a chamber 1 having a space formed therein, a substrate rotatably installed in the chamber 1, and a plurality of substrates s mounted thereon. The support part 2 is provided. In the upper part of the chamber 1, a gas injection device 3 for supplying gas toward the substrate s is provided.

The gas injection device 3 is composed of a plurality of shower heads 4, which are arranged at angular intervals along the circumferential direction. That is, a plurality of arc-shaped shower heads 4 are coupled to the lower part of the top lid 5 above the chamber 1. The top lead 5 is provided with a plurality of gas injection holes 7 based on the center point, and supplies gas to each shower head 4 through each gas injection hole 7. Gas injected through the gas injection hole 7 is diffused between the shower head 4 and the top lid 5 (c), the substrate (through a plurality of gas injection holes 8 formed in the shower head 4) s).

The substrate support part 2 rotates in the chamber 1, and receives the gas supplied from each shower head 4 sequentially, and thin film deposition is performed. For example, the first raw material gas is supplied at the start of the process, and the thin film deposition is performed by sequentially receiving the purge gas, the second raw material gas, and the purge gas, and the gases are discharged through the pumping flow path p to process the process. Is completed.

In more detail, when the first raw material gas is supplied into the chamber, the monoatomic layer is chemisorbed on the surface of the substrate through reaction with the surface of the substrate. However, when the surface of the substrate is saturated with the first raw material gas, the first raw material gases of the monoatomic layer or more do not form a chemisorption state due to non-reactivity between the same ligands, and are in a physical adsorption state. When a purge gas is supplied, the first raw material gases in the physical adsorption state are removed by the purge gas. When the second raw material gas is supplied on the first monolayer, the second layer grows through the substitution reaction between the ligands of the first raw material gas and the second raw material gas, and the second raw material gases that do not react with the first layer are physically adsorbed. To be removed by the purge gas. And the surface of this second layer is in a state capable of reacting with the first raw material gas. The above process forms one cycle and the thin film is deposited by repetition of several cycles.

On the other hand, in the conventional atomic layer deposition apparatus 9 having the above-described configuration, a plasma is formed between the substrate support 2 and the gas injection apparatus 3 to promote thin film deposition. That is, an electrode connected to a DC power source or an RF power source is installed on the metal top lid 5 or the shower head 4, and the substrate support part 2 of the metal material is grounded, so that the power is applied to the substrate support part 2. And plasma are formed between the showerhead and the showerhead 4.

In the conventional atomic layer deposition apparatus (9), plasma is formed in the entire area above the substrate support (2). In reality, the area where the plasma is required is the area where the source gas (the source gas and the reaction gas) is injected, and the purge gas is injected. Rather, damage may be caused by plasma.

In addition, the formation of plasma in an unnecessary area not only lowers the efficiency of thin film deposition but also generates particles in the chamber, which is not preferable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus having an improved structure so that plasma can be formed only in a selected region, thereby improving processing efficiency with respect to a substrate.

Substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object has a main body and a top lid for opening and closing the main body, a chamber having a space formed therein to perform a predetermined process for the substrate, rotatably inside the chamber And a plurality of spraying plates installed along the circumferential direction of the top support and the substrate support on which the plurality of substrate seating portions are formed so as to seat the plurality of substrates, and the process gas is sprayed toward the substrate. An electrode that is electrically connected to a selected spraying plate among the spraying plates to form a plasma between the selected spraying plate and the substrate support, and the selection region and the non-selection so that the plasma is formed only in a selection region including the selected spraying plate. A partition member provided between the regions, wherein the selection It said jet plate disposed in the station is characterized in comprising an gas distribution member configured to be electrically insulated and the jet plate disposed in the non-selection area.

According to the present invention, the partition member is preferably formed to protrude downward from the lower surface of the top lead toward the substrate support, more preferably the spacing between the partition member and the substrate support is the injection plate and the substrate support It is smaller than the thickness of the plasma sheath formed in between.

In addition, according to the present invention, the electrode is connected to the injection plate through the top lead, it is preferable to further include an insulating member surrounding the electrode to be electrically insulated from the top lead.

In addition, according to the present invention, the partition member is an electrical insulator, the insertion portion protruding between the top lead and the injection plate is formed on the upper portion of the partition member, it is preferable that the injection plate and the top lead is electrically insulated from each other.

In addition, according to the present invention, the plasma inert gas such as ammonia or inert gas is injected from the injection plates disposed on both outside of the selection region, and the pressure of the injected gas is injected from the injection plate disposed inside the selection region. It is preferable that it is larger than the pressure of.

Preferably, the distance between the spray plate disposed in the selection area and the substrate support and the distance between the spray plate disposed in the non-selection area and the substrate support are equal to or greater than.

The substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention has the advantage of being able to economically operate the apparatus while maintaining the throughput of the substrate processing since the plasma can be formed to be limited to the selected region by separating the selected region and the non-selected region.

In addition, the present invention can solve the problem of damage or particle generation by the plasma by suppressing the plasma in the region where the plasma is unnecessary.

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

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic exploded perspective view of a gas injection body of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is shown in FIG. 3. It is a schematic perspective view of the combined state of the gas injector.

2 to 4, the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a chamber 10, a substrate support 20, and a gas sprayer 90.

The chamber 10 includes a main body 18 and a top lead 19 rotatably installed on the upper part of the main body 18 to open and close the inside of the main body 18. When the top lid 19 closes the inside of the main body 18, a space 11 is formed inside the chamber 10 in which a constant treatment is performed on the substrate s, such as, for example, a deposition process.

Since the space 11 inside the chamber 10 should be generally formed in a vacuum atmosphere, an exhaust system for exhausting gas is provided. That is, an annular groove portion 14 is formed in the lower portion of the chamber 10, and the upper portion of the groove portion 14 is covered with a baffle 12, so that the exhaust passage surrounded by the groove portion 14 and the baffle 12 is provided. Is formed. Pumping passages p are provided at both sides of the exhaust passage, respectively, connected to an external pump (not shown). The inlet 12 is formed in the baffle 12, so that the gases in the space 11 are introduced into the exhaust passage through the inlet 13, and then exhausted through the pumping passage p.

In addition, a through hole 15 into which the rotating shaft 22 of the substrate support 20 to be described later is inserted is formed at the bottom surface of the chamber 10. The substrate s flows into and out of the chamber 10 through a gate valve (not shown) provided on the sidewall of the chamber 10.

The substrate support 20 is for supporting the substrate s, and includes a support plate 21 and a rotation shaft 22. The support plate 21 is formed flat in a disc shape and disposed in parallel in the chamber 10, and the rotation shaft 22 is vertically disposed to be provided below the support plate 21. The rotary shaft 22 extends to the outside through the through hole 15 of the chamber 10 and is connected to a driving means such as a motor (not shown) to rotate and lift the support plate 21. In order to prevent the vacuum inside the chamber 10 from being released between the rotating shaft 22 and the through hole 13, the rotating shaft 22 is wrapped by a bellows (not shown).

A plurality of substrate seats 23 are formed on the support plate 21 along the circumferential direction. The substrate seating part 23 is formed to be concave so that the substrate s can be supported on the support plate 21 without being separated even when the support plate 21 is rotated. In addition, a heater (not shown) is embedded below the support plate 21 to heat the substrate s to a constant process temperature.

The gas injection body 90 is for injecting process gases such as source gas, reaction gas, and purge gas toward the substrate s seated on the substrate support 20, and includes a plurality of injection plates 50. Each spray plate 50 is formed in a substantially arc shape and is disposed along the circumferential direction with respect to the center point of the top lead 19.

When the injection plate 50 is installed on the top lead 19, a gas diffusion space c is formed between the injection plate 50 and the top lead 19. Each gas diffusion space c communicates with a gas injection hole 55 formed in the top lead 19. Each process gas is introduced into the gas diffusion space c through the gas injection hole 55. A plurality of gas injection holes 51 are formed in the injection plate 50 so that the process gas diffused in the gas diffusion space c can be evenly supplied to the entire substrate s.

And the intermediate plate 60 is interposed between the top lead 19 and the injection plate 50, in this embodiment serves to allow the gas to be evenly diffused in the gas diffusion space (c). That is, the process gas introduced through the gas injection hole 55 must be completely diffused in the gas diffusion space c and then supplied to the substrate s so that the process gas can be supplied evenly over the entire area of the substrate s. have. By interposing the intermediate plate 60, the process gas is primarily diffused between the intermediate plate 60 and the top lead 19 to be discharged through the injection hole 66 formed in the intermediate plate 60, The second plate is secondly diffused between the intermediate plate 60 and the injection plate 50 and then supplied to the substrate s. The process gas is completely diffused in the gas diffusion space (c) through two diffusion processes, thereby being evenly sprayed on the entire area of the substrate (s).

Although not shown, in another embodiment, an intermediate plate may be used to supply heterogeneous gases. That is, after interposing the intermediate plate, unlike the present embodiment, after separating the upper space between the top lead and the intermediate plate and the lower space between the intermediate plate and the injection plate, the different types of gas can be injected into each space. have. Some of the plurality of injection holes formed in the injection plate is in communication with only the upper space, the other part is configured to communicate only with the lower space may supply heterogeneous gas to the substrate.

In addition, the gas injection body 90 includes an electrode 81. The electrode 81 is used to form a plasma between the gas injector 90 and the substrate support 20, and is connected to the selected injection plate 50. That is, one end of the electrode 81 is connected to a DC power source or a high frequency power source provided outside the chamber 10 and the other end is connected to the injection plate 50 of the conductor material, and similarly, the substrate support 20 of the conductor material is grounded. Therefore, when power is applied, plasma is formed between the selected injection plate 50 and the substrate support 20. When the plasma is formed, the deposition of the thin film may be promoted to efficiently perform the deposition process.

However, in the related art, the plasma is formed not only in an area requiring plasma formation, that is, in an area in which process gas or reaction gas is injected, but in an entire area of the upper portion of the substrate support, including an area in which purge gas is injected. Accordingly, in the region where the purge gas is injected, the damage caused by the plasma or the contamination of the chamber due to the particle generation occurs.

Therefore, in the present invention, the plasma can be formed only in the selected region determined by the user's needs, such as the region in which the process gas or the reaction gas is injected.

To this end, the electrode 81 is connected only to the selected spray plate 50 and not connected to the other spray plate and the top lead 19, and the selected spray plate 50 is also different from other spray plates or the top lead 19. To be electrically insulated.

That is, the electrode 81 connected to the injection plate 50 selected through the top lead 19 is covered with an insulating member 82 made of an insulator material to insulate the top lead 19, the intermediate plate 60, and the like. It was made. And between the top lead 19 of the conductive material and the selected injection plate 50 was electrically insulated by interposing a partition member 70 of the insulating material to be described later.

However, even when the electrode 81 and the selected spray plate 50 are insulated from other spray plates, top lids 19, etc., when the power is applied to the selected spray plate 50, the selected spray plate 50 is applied. The plasma is not formed only between the substrate support 20 and the substrate support 20, but in the entire region of the substrate support 20.

In order to form the plasma only in the selected region including the selected injection plate 50, it is necessary to separate the selected region from the non-selected region. Here, the selection region is a region that necessarily includes the spraying plate 50 (the spraying plate to which the electrode is connected) selected by the user according to the process necessity, and as shown in FIG. 4, the region including only the spraying plate 50 selected only. In another embodiment, the injection plate 50 may include injection plates disposed beside the selected injection plate 50. That is, it may be an area including two or more spray plates including the selected spray plate 50.

In general, the region requiring the formation of plasma will be a region including an injection plate for injecting source gas and reaction gas. In the atomic layer deposition apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4, the injection plates for injecting the source gas and the reaction gas are generally disposed opposite to each other, and in this case, two or more selected injection plates may be provided. have. That is, the selected injection plates need not necessarily be one, and may be a plurality of injection plates in the gas injection body 90. In addition, the plurality of selected injection plates need not be adjacent to each other since the electrodes are connected to each other.

As described above, when the selection region is determined, the partition member 70 separates the selection region from the non-selection region. The partition member 70 is formed of an insulator material, and is formed between the selected area and the non-selected area to protrude from the lower surface of the top lead 19 toward the substrate support 20 to isolate the selected and non-selected areas. Let's do it.

The important point here is that the distance d between the partition member 70 and the substrate support 20 should be smaller than the thickness of the plasma sheath. That is, when a plasma is formed between the substrate support 20 and the selected injection plate 50, a sheath region in which no plasma is formed is formed immediately above the substrate support 20, and the thickness of the plasma sheath is 200 to 300 μm. It is common to be If the distance between the partition member 70 and the substrate support 20 is smaller than the thickness of the plasma sheath, the plasma generated in the selected area between the selected spray plate 50 and the substrate support 20 is separated from the partition member 70. The gap between the substrate supports 20 may not be diffused into the non-selected area. As a result, plasma can be formed only in the selected region, and generation of plasma can be suppressed in the non-selected region.

And the upper portion of the partition member 70 is provided with an insertion portion 72 protruding between the top lead 19 and the injection plate 50, the top lead 19 and the selected injection plate by the insertion portion 72 50 may be electrically insulated from each other.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, the plasma inert gas may be injected from the injection plates 50 disposed on both sides of the selection region so that the plasma can be formed only in the selection region. That is, since gas such as ammonia acts to suppress the activity of the plasma, if the problem does not matter in the process, plasma inert gas such as ammonia is injected from the spray plates disposed on both sides of the outside of the selection area so that the plasma is not selected. It can further prevent the diffusion into the area.

In addition, in the injection plates arranged on both sides of the selection area, the plasma is not diffused into the non-selection area by suppressing the process gas injection, that is, utilizing the dummy injection plate.

In addition, in the injection plates (for example, the purge gas injection plates) disposed on both sides of the selection region, the plasma is moved to the non-selection region by injecting an inert gas such as nitrogen gas while making the pressure of the gas higher than that of the gas injected in the selection region. It can also be prevented from spreading.

In the substrate processing apparatus 100 having the above-described configuration, since the plasma is formed only in the selected region including the injection plate on which the source gas or the reaction gas is injected, the plasma in the region where the formation of the plasma is unnecessary while maintaining the throughput of thin film deposition is maintained. Problems such as damage or particle generation can be solved.

Meanwhile, in the substrate processing apparatus 100 illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4, the injection plate and the other injection plate to which the electrodes are connected are disposed at the same height, but the injection plate is the same as the embodiment shown in FIG. 5. May be arranged differently from each other.

That is, although a certain height or more must be ensured in order to form plasma, it is preferable that the injection plate and the substrate s are disposed in close proximity to each other in the region where the plasma is not required. Thus, in the embodiment shown in Figure 5 may be disposed at a position higher than the selected injection plate 50 and the non-selected injection plate. Other components in FIG. 5 are completely the same as the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

So far, the top lid of the chamber has been described and illustrated as being in the form of a plate, but the shape of the top lid may vary.

That is, the top lid is provided only with a frame, and an arc-shaped top plate is fitted to each of these frames, and the injection plates are inserted at a predetermined distance below each top plate, thereby providing a gas diffusion space between the top plate and the injection plate. Can be formed. That is, the top lead is formed in a frame such that a plurality of fitting portions formed in an arc shape are installed, and the top plate and the injection plate are spaced apart in the vertical direction.

In addition, other parts of the top lead may be formed in a plate shape as in the present embodiment, and only an area of a selected injection plate (selective area for forming plasma, which is mainly a source gas injection plate) may be formed as a frame. In this case, a frame is formed in an area where the source gas injection plate is disposed in the top lead, and a top plate is fitted in the upper part of the frame, and a raw gas injection plate is inserted in the lower part, so that the gas diffusion space is formed between the top plate and the raw material spray plate. Can be formed.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to one embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, this is merely exemplary, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible. Could be. Accordingly, the true scope of protection of the invention should be defined only by the appended claims.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional substrate processing apparatus.

2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a schematic exploded perspective view of a gas injection body of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the gas sprayer shown in FIG.

5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

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

100 ... Substrate Processing Unit 10 ... Chamber

20 ... substrate support 50 ... spray plate

60 ... intermediate plate 70 ... bulkhead member

81 ... electrode 90 ... gas spray

s ... PCB

Claims (9)

A chamber having a main body and a top lid for opening and closing the main body, the chamber having a space formed therein to perform a predetermined process on the substrate; A substrate support rotatably installed in the chamber, the substrate support on which the plurality of substrates are seated; And A plurality of injection plates installed in the circumferential direction on the top lead to inject a process gas toward the substrate, and electrically connected to a selected injection plate among the injection plates, between the selected injection plate and the substrate support. And a partition member disposed between the selected region and the non-selected region so that the plasma is formed only in the selected region including the selected spray plate, and the spray plate disposed in the selected region includes: And a gas injection body configured to be electrically insulated from the injection plate disposed in the non-selection area. The method of claim 1, The partition member is formed to protrude downward from the lower surface of the top lead toward the substrate support. The method of claim 2, And a gap between the partition member and the substrate support is smaller than a thickness of the plasma sheath formed between the spray plate and the substrate support. The method of claim 1, The electrode is connected to the injection plate through the top lead, And an insulating member surrounding the electrode to be electrically insulated from the top lead. The method of claim 1, The partition member is an electrical insulator, and an insertion portion protruding between the top lead and the injection plate is formed on the partition member. And the injection plate and the top lead are electrically insulated from each other. The method of claim 1, And an injection plate disposed on both outer sides of the selection region to inject a plasma deactivation gas. The method of claim 1, And a pressure of the gas injected from the injection plates disposed on both sides of the selection region outside is higher than a pressure of the gas injected from the injection plates disposed inside the selection region. The method of claim 1, And the process plates are not sprayed on the spray plates disposed on both outer sides of the selection area. The method of claim 1, And a spacing between the spray plate disposed in the selection region and the substrate support and a spacing between the spray plate disposed in the non-selection region and the substrate support.

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