KR20110105324A - Processing chamber, apparatus for manufacturing semiconductor including the same and method for processing substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for transferring substrates between chambers.
The present invention is a chamber body formed with a substrate entrance on the side; A substrate support provided in the chamber body; And a divider provided inside the chamber body, the divider dividing a plurality of substrates.
Therefore, multiple substrates can be processed at the same time in the process chamber, the divider prevents interference between adjacent substrates, and a plurality of substrates are pre-aligned in the load lock chamber and then supplied to the process chamber to improve process efficiency. have.

Description

Process chamber, apparatus for manufacturing semiconductor and substrate processing method including same

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly, to an apparatus and a method for transferring a substrate between chambers and a process chamber for processing a substrate such as a semiconductor device.

In general, a thin film deposition process for depositing a thin film of a specific material on a wafer or glass to manufacture a semiconductor device, a flat panel display device, a solar cell, or the like, or using a photosensitive material to expose or select a selected region of the thin film. There is a need for a photolithography process for concealment and an etching process for removing a thin film of a selected region and patterning it as desired.

In addition, a thin film deposition process, an etching process, and the like are performed in the plurality of process chambers, respectively, in order to perform the above-described process. The substrate is moved between the plurality of process chambers by a transfer chamber.

However, the above-described conventional process chamber and semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including the same have the following problems.

In each process chamber, one substrate is processed. Since one substrate is moved to each process chamber, the process is performed in a vacuum atmosphere, and then moved to another process chamber, productivity is reduced.

That is, there is a problem in that the transfer chamber should be operated every time one substrate is moved, and the opening and closing of the substrate entrance is made every time one substrate is moved into and out of the process chamber, and the vacuum atmosphere of each process chamber is formed again.

The present invention is to solve the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to solve the problem that excessive load is consumed in the transfer chamber by moving between chambers for each substrate separately.

Another object of the present invention is to solve the problem that the opening and closing of the substrate entrance and the formation of a vacuum atmosphere is frequently performed by performing a separate process for each substrate in each process chamber.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a chamber body having a substrate entrance on the side; A substrate support provided in the chamber body; And a divider provided inside the chamber body, the divider dividing a plurality of substrates.

Here, the divider may be provided in a line shape to distinguish a pair of substrates facing each other, or may be provided in a straight line crossing each other to distinguish four substrates.

The divider may separate the plurality of substrates by at least 4 to 60 millimeters.

The divider may be made of ceramic or anodizing coated aluminum.

The substrate support may include at least one of a loading frame supporting a surface of the substrate facing the chamber body and a pin supporting the surface of the substrate facing the divider.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a transfer chamber including a substrate moving apparatus for moving a substrate; A load lock chamber that aligns the substrate and allows the substrate to enter and exit the transfer chamber; And at least one process chamber performing a process of processing the substrate received from the transfer chamber, wherein the process chamber comprises: a chamber body having a substrate entrance at a side thereof; A substrate support provided in the chamber body; And a divider provided inside the chamber body to divide a plurality of substrates.

Here, the substrate transfer device includes a substrate transfer unit for transferring the substrate in a horizontal direction, and a substrate transfer unit provided in the substrate transfer unit to transfer the substrate to the load lock chamber and the process chamber through sliding.

The substrate carrier may include a vertical moving part and a horizontal moving part, the vertical moving part may load and unload the substrate, and the horizontal moving part may slide the substrate.

The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus may further include an alignment member provided in the load lock chamber to align the substrate.

The alignment member may be provided at four corners of the support on which the substrate is to be seated.

In addition, two substrates facing each other may be provided in the load lock chamber, and the alignment member may be provided as a fixing member or a rotating member between the two substrates.

In addition, four substrates may be seated in the load lock chamber, and the alignment member may be provided as a pair of straight lines crossing each other at a central portion where the four substrates meet. Two rotating members are provided between the four substrates, and the four substrates can be aligned by the rotation of the rotating member.

The alignment member in the load lock chamber and the divider in the process chamber may align the substrate in the same pattern.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the step of sequentially loading a plurality of substrates in a first chamber having an alignment member; Aligning corners of the plurality of substrates in the first chamber with the alignment member; Conveying the plurality of substrates from the first chamber into the second chamber using a substrate carrier; And conveying the plurality of substrates from the second chamber to the third chamber by using the substrate conveying unit, wherein the plurality of substrates are arranged in a pattern aligned in the first chamber. In the same pattern, it is provided in the third chamber is provided a substrate processing method.

Here, two substrates are aligned in the first chamber and are loaded into the second chamber and the third chamber, and the alignment member is provided in a line shape at the center where the two substrates meet to form the two substrates. You can align.

In addition, four substrates are aligned in the first chamber and are loaded into the second chamber and the third chamber, and the alignment member is provided in a pair of straight lines crossing each other at the center where the four substrates meet. The four substrates can be aligned in the horizontal and vertical directions.

In addition, the steps of conveying the substrate may be mounted by vertically raising the substrate in the unloading chamber, horizontally moving the substrate from the unloading chamber to the loading chamber, and then lowering the substrate vertically on the loading chamber. .

Referring to the effects of the above-described process chamber, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and a substrate processing method including the same as follows.

First, a plurality of substrates are loaded in a process chamber to perform a process such as deposition to process several substrates at the same time.

Second, a divider is provided on a plurality of substrates in the process chamber, and the thin films are prevented from being connected to each other and deposited between adjacent substrates in a thin film deposition process.

Third, the plurality of substrates may be aligned in advance in the load lock chamber and then supplied to the process chamber, thereby improving process efficiency.

1a to 1f are views showing one embodiment of a process chamber according to the present invention,
2A and 2B are views illustrating a substrate seated on a substrate support in FIG. 1A;
3 is a view showing an embodiment of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention,
4 is a view showing alignment of the substrate in the load lock chamber in FIG.
5A to 5F are views illustrating one embodiment of an alignment member in FIG. 4;
6 and 7 are views showing an embodiment of a substrate transfer apparatus,
8 is a view showing another embodiment of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of the present invention that can specifically realize the above object will be described. The same components as in the prior art are given the same names and the same reference numerals for convenience of description, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

1A to 1F illustrate one embodiment of a process chamber according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 illustrates a substrate seated on a substrate support in FIG. 1A. Hereinafter, an embodiment of a process chamber according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1A to 2.

In the present embodiment, a plurality of substrates 16 may be simultaneously seated in a process chamber, and a process such as deposition may be performed at once.

FIG. 1A illustrates an interior of a process chamber, in which a total of four substrates 16 are provided in the chamber body 10. Here, each substrate 16 is seated on a substrate support inside the chamber body 10.

Here, the substrate support is composed of a loading frame 12 and a pin 14. The loading frame supports the side facing the chamber body 10 of each substrate 16. That is, if all four substrates 16 are viewed as one, the loading frame 12 supports one edge of the substrate.

The pins 14 support the edge of each substrate 16 facing the divider 40. That is, when the cross section of each substrate 16 is in the shape of a quadrangular shape, two sides facing the chamber body 10 are supported by the loading frame 12, and the other two sides are supported by the pin 14. Can be supported.

The substrate 16 may be supported only by the loading frame 12 or only the pin 14. At this time, it is obvious that each of the loading frame 12 or the pins 14 should be provided to support all the edges of the four substrates 16.

The four substrates 16 are divided by a divider 40. Here, when four substrates are provided in the process chamber, the divider 40 may be provided in a straight line crossing each other to distinguish four substrates. That is, when the divider 40 divides four substrates, the divider 40 may have a shape similar to a cross.

FIG. 2A is a view showing a substrate seated on a substrate support in FIG. 1A, wherein the substrate 16 is supported by the susceptor 50, and the loading frame 12 is shown from the side, but in reality, the substrate 16 is shown. Only the edge of the support.

FIG. 2B is an enlarged view of a portion 'D' of FIG. 2A.

As shown, the divider 40 includes a support member 40a and a separating member 40b, which may support a portion of the edges of the substrates and the separating member 40b is an adjacent substrate. Keep them away from contact. Here, although the separating member 40b has a trapezoidal shape, it is possible to prevent damage to the substrate by reducing the area in direct contact with the substrate while separating the substrates.

Here, the adjacent substrates are separated by at least the width T1 of the lower side of the separation member 40b, but may be spaced apart from 4 to 60 millimeters (mm) in this embodiment. That is, when the divider 40 is symmetrical, the substrates are spaced at least 2 to 30 millimeters from the center to prevent interference that may occur between the substrates in the process chamber.

That is, since the margin for seating adjacent substrates on the robot is 4 millimeters, when the separating member 40b of the divider 40 is formed with a width of 4 millimeters or less, the margin of the margin when the substrate is seated on the susceptor is determined. Lack of damage can occur due to collisions between adjacent substrates. In addition, when the area on which the substrate is seated on the divider 40 becomes wider, the divider 40 is an insulator in which no ground is formed, and thus the uniformity of the thin film formed on the substrate may decrease.

In addition, for example, during the deposition process of the thin film, the separating member 40b of the divider 40 prevents the thin films from being connected to each other between adjacent substrates during deposition, thereby increasing the uniformity of the thin film at the edge of the substrate, and also the divider 40 ), The separating member 40b has a width of 4 mm or less, so that the susceptor and the divider 40 supporting the substrate minimize the exposure of the plasma and the like to deposit a thin film having a desired thickness on the substrate. It can play a role.

In addition, when the separating member 40b of the divider 40 has a width of 60 millimeters or more, the space utilization is not sufficient when considering the space of the limited chamber body 10. That is, when the line width of the divider 40 is widened, the area of the susceptor is also widened.

In addition, when the line widths of the divider 40 and the separating member 40b are widened, the substrate may be seated only on the susceptor. When the susceptor is exposed to plasma, arcing may occur on the susceptor, and the thin film may be disposed on the susceptor. This deposit may cause misalignment of the substrate in the next substrate processing process.

In addition, the divider 40 minimizes direct exposure of the plasma and the etchant in a process such as thin film deposition or etching in the chamber so that the divider 40 does not directly affect the deposition and etching of the substrate. In the embodiment, the divider 40 is manufactured from an insulator such as ceramic or anodizing coated aluminum. In addition, since the susceptor is grounded, when the area of the insulator of the divider 40 is enlarged, a region where no plasma is generated is widened, and thus a lower plasma may be formed, thereby decreasing the uniformity of the thin film.

In addition, since the divider 40 only needs to have a height sufficient to achieve the above-described effect, the separating member 40b of the divider 40 may have a difference within ± 10 millimeters from the height of the adjacent substrate.

In FIG. 1B, the chamber body 10 is closed after the substrate is seated in the chamber body 10 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A. That is, in FIG. 1A, the arms Arm 22 of the substrate carrier 20 move the substrate 16 into the chamber body 10, and in FIG. 1B, the valve 16 is seated on the substrate support. The valve 30 shows a state in which the chamber body 10 is closed.

Here, the valve 30 comprises a valve housing and a blade for opening and closing the opening on the valve housing while moving inside the valve housing, the configuration of which is the same as in the prior art.

1C is basically the same as the embodiment shown in FIG. 1B except that two substrates 16 are provided in one chamber body 10. At this time, as shown, the divider 40 is formed in a line type, and it is sufficient to distinguish between two substrates 16, and the line width and height of the divider 40 are as described above. And, the surfaces facing each other in the two substrates 16 are supported by the pins 14 as shown.

1D to 1E show a process chamber in which the substrate 16 is supported by only the pins 14 without the loading frame in FIGS. 1A to 1C.

That is, in FIG. 1D, each of the substrates 16 in the chamber body 10 is provided with a pin 14 along an edge portion to support the substrate 16, and FIG. 1E shows the embodiment shown in FIG. 1D. The chamber body 10 is shown in a closed state after the substrate is seated in the chamber body 10.

1F shows that two substrates 16 are provided in one chamber body 10, and the pins 14 support the edge portions of each substrate 16. That is, this embodiment If the process chamber according to the example is a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) apparatus of a substrate and is a 8.5G size (2200 millimeters * 2600 millimeters) chamber capable of processing a large area substrate, the 5G size (in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A) Four substrates of 1100 millimeters * 1300 millimeters) may be loaded and processed at one time, but in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1C, two larger substrates may be loaded and processed at one time.

In addition, it is also possible to simultaneously load and process other sizes and numbers of substrates in addition to the four or two substrates as described above, wherein the divider 40 is sufficient to separate or isolate each substrate.

3 is a view showing an embodiment of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 4 is a view showing the alignment of the substrate in the load lock chamber in Figure 3, Figures 5a to 5f is aligned in Figure 4 A diagram showing one embodiment of the member. Hereinafter, an embodiment of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5F.

This semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including the process chamber mentioned above. That is, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes a load lock chamber (LC), a transfer chamber (TC) and a process chamber (PC), and a gate (Gate) between each chamber. 100 and 110 are provided.

Here, the load lock chamber LC loads the substrate S from the outside into the transfer chamber TC or unloads the substrate S supplied from the transfer chamber TC to the outside.

In addition, the transfer chamber TC may be provided with a substrate moving device 120 that moves the substrate S in the chamber to move the substrate S to another chamber. Here, the arm Arm 125 connected to the substrate moving apparatus may support the substrate S in the fixing and moving of the substrate S.

Specifically, the process chamber PC has the same configuration as the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1A to 2. That is, the process chamber PC may include a chamber body having a substrate access part formed at a side thereof, and a divider provided inside the chamber body to divide a plurality of substrates.

Therefore, the dividers in the process chamber PC may be provided in a straight line crossing each other to separate four substrates, and may be made of ceramic or anodizing coated aluminum.

In addition, the substrate support may include a loading frame supporting the surface of the substrate facing the chamber body and a pin (Pin) supporting the surface of the substrate facing the divider.

In addition, an alignment member is provided in the load lock chamber LC to align the substrate S. That is, when the load lock chamber LC is supplied with the substrate S from the outside, the load lock chamber LC is aligned with the substrate S and then supplied to the transfer chamber TC.

That is, when four substrates S are supplied to the process chamber PC, the four substrates S should be aligned and seated by a divider. If the alignment process is performed inside the process chamber PC, it is not preferable for process efficiency and the process chamber PC Open for a long time is not preferable for the deposition process to be followed.

Here, each of the process chambers PC may be a deposition process, a cleaning process, a preheating process, a drying process, a heat treatment process, a photo process, an etching process, a diffusion process, and ion implantation on the substrate S conveyed from the transfer chamber TC. Treatment processes such as processes may be performed, and a plurality of them may be provided as described below.

Accordingly, after the substrate S is aligned in the unloading chamber LC, the substrate S is supplied to the transfer chamber TC in the A direction, and the transfer chamber TC is transferred to the process chamber PC in the C direction. To supply.

In this case, the substrate S may move horizontally in the B direction in the transfer chamber TC. The substrate moving device 120 and the arm 125 move to move the substrate without the transfer chamber TC itself moving. You can.

That is, in FIG. 3, the substrate moving apparatus 120 may move in the B direction, and the arm 125 may move in the A direction and the C direction. In addition, although only one process chamber PC is provided in FIG. 3, a plurality of process chamber PC arrays may be provided together to perform various processes in succession, which will be described below with reference to FIG. 8.

4 is a view illustrating the interior of the load lock chamber LC, and shows the alignment of the substrate S in detail.

In FIG. 4, the load lock chamber LC includes a substrate S in the body 150, and an alignment member for aligning the substrate S. Here, four substrates S are provided in the load lock chamber LC, and the substrates S may be aligned at the center A or at the edge B. FIG.

That is, the alignment member aligns the substrates S at the center A, as shown in FIGS. 5A, 5C, and 5D, or the substrates S at the edge B, as shown in FIG. 5B. Align. In this case, the two alignment members described above may be selectively provided or provided together.

In addition, the alignment member may be formed of a fixing member or a rotating member. In FIG. 5A, 5E, and 5F, a roller is illustrated as an embodiment of the rotating member, and in FIG. 5B, 5D and 5E, an embodiment of the fixing member is illustrated. As a straight alignment member is shown. Here, the rotating member such as the roller is in contact with the substrate (S) and can be aligned by moving the substrate (S) by the friction force by the rotation.

5A illustrates an alignment member 170 provided in the center of the load lock chamber LC. As shown, the alignment member 170 is provided at the point where the four substrates S meet. Here, the alignment members 170 are provided at portions where the edges of the respective substrates S are interviewed, and in the present embodiment, four alignment members 172, 174, and 176 are provided at the points where the four substrates S meet. , 178 are provided respectively.

In addition, each of the alignment members 172, 174, 176, and 178 may have a size (diameter) of 4 to 60 millimeters, which may be the same as the line width of the separating member of the divider in the process chamber.

In FIG. 5A, each of the alignment members 172, 174, 176, and 178 is formed of a plurality of circular rollers, and the aforementioned 20 to 30 millimeters refer to the total distance of adjacent substrates S. In FIG. In addition, the alignment members 172, 174, 176, and 178 are provided in a roller type at the point where the alignment members 172, 174, 176, and 178 are interviewed with each substrate S. In order to align the substrate S to a fine distance by friction.

5C and 5D are provided with other embodiments of the alignment member. In FIG. 5C, the alignment member 180 is provided in a cross shape similar to the divider in the process chamber, that is, a pair of straight lines intersecting with each other at the center where four substrates S meet. At this time, the line width of the alignment member 180 may be 4 ~ 60 millimeters.

However, since the alignment member in the load lock chamber LC is for aligning the arrangement of the substrate, unlike the divider 40 in the process chamber PC, the aligning member does not interview the entire edge of the substrate S and does not interview the center of the substrate. It is sufficient to adjust the spacing between the substrates.

In FIG. 5D, an embodiment in which only two substrates S are provided in one chamber is illustrated, and therefore, the alignment member 182 may be provided in a line shape.

FIG. 5B shows an alignment member for aligning the substrates S at the edge B in FIG. 4. In FIG. 5B, the edge of the substrate S is surrounded by the alignment member 162, and the alignment member 162 is controlled by the fine adjustment device 160.

That is, the adjacent substrates S are controlled not to be too close by the alignment member illustrated in FIG. 5A or the like, and the alignment member 162 of FIG. 5B controls the substrates S not to be opened too far. And, it is natural that the alignment member 162 in FIG. 5B should be provided at the corner of each substrate S. As shown in FIG.

In addition, in FIG. 5E, the alignment members 172, 174, 176, and 178 are formed of circular rollers. Unlike the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5A, each of the alignment members has two rollers in one line. It is provided.

5F shows an embodiment in which only two substrates S are provided in one chamber, where the alignment member 170 is provided in a roller type. The substrates S aligned by the phosphorus equipment may be moved to the process chamber TC through the transfer chamber TC, and in this case, the substrates S may be moved to the process chamber TC in the same pattern as the load lock chamber LC. do.

And the movement of the board | substrate between the chambers mentioned above is performed by a board | substrate movement apparatus. Here, the substrate transfer apparatus may include a substrate transfer unit for transferring the substrate in a horizontal direction, and a substrate transfer unit for transferring the substrate to the load lock chamber and the process chamber through sliding.

Here, the substrate transfer part may move the substrate in the B direction in FIG. 3. And the board | substrate conveyance part can move a board | substrate to A direction or C direction in FIG. That is, the substrate transfer part and the substrate transfer part may move the substrate in a direction perpendicular to each other.

The substrate carrier may include a vertical moving part and a horizontal moving part. That is, the horizontal moving part slides the substrate in the A direction or the C direction by sliding the substrate.

In addition, the vertical moving part is responsible for loading and unloading of the substrate, in order to prevent damage to an edge portion of the substrate by contact with the divider when loading or unloading the substrate into the process chamber. By horizontally moving the substrate to the optimum position by the vertical moving portion raises or lowers the substrate.

8 is a view showing another embodiment of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, Figures 6 and 7 is a view showing an embodiment of a substrate transfer apparatus in FIG.

That is, in FIG. 3, the transfer of the substrate between one load lock chamber LC and one process chamber PC is performed in the transfer chamber TC. In FIG. 8, the transfer chamber is provided between the plurality of process chambers PC. (TC) is provided.

Accordingly, the movement between the different process chambers PC of the substrate in FIG. 8 corresponds to the movement in the A direction or the C direction in FIG. 3, and the horizontal movement along the transfer guider 201 of the substrate in FIG. This corresponds to the movement in the B direction at.

Here, the substrate moving device includes a substrate transfer part 200 and a substrate transfer part 300. The substrate transfer unit 200 is installed along the longitudinal direction of the transfer chamber TC to transfer the bidirectional substrate transfer unit 300 in the horizontal direction. To this end, the substrate transfer part 200 may be configured as a linear motor.

The substrate transfer part 200 includes a transfer guider 210 and a transfer block part 220. Here, the transfer guider 210 guides the horizontal transfer of the transfer block 220. For example, the transfer guider 210 may be a stator of the linear motor.

In addition, the transfer block unit 220 is installed to be transported to the transfer guider 210 and transfers in the horizontal direction along the transfer guider 210. For example, the transfer block 220 may be a rotor (or coil) of the linear motor.

The substrate conveyance unit 300 includes a base frame 310, a fork frame 320, first and second bidirectional sliding forks 330 and 340, a fork elevating unit 350, and a fork elevating guide unit 360. )

The base frame 310 is installed on the transfer block unit 220 of the substrate transfer unit 200 and is transferred along with the transfer block unit 220 in the horizontal direction.

The fork frame 320 includes a first support frame 322, a plurality of sidewall supports 324, and a second support frame 326.

The first support frame 322 is installed at a predetermined height on the base frame 310 and is supported to be liftable by the fork lifter 350. At this time, each of the first and second side surfaces of the first support frame 322 is formed with a protrusion 328 through which the fork lift unit 350 is connected.

The plurality of sidewall supports 324 are installed at regular intervals along the edge of the first support frame 322 to support the second support frame 326.

The second support frame 326 is installed on the plurality of sidewall supports 324 to overlap the first support frame 322. This, the second support frame 326 is raised and lowered with the lifting of the first support frame 322.

The first bidirectional sliding fork part 330 according to an embodiment includes first and second sliding forks 410 and 420, a first fork slider 430, and a plurality of first substrate support pads 440. Can be.

Each of the first and second sliding forks 410 and 420 is installed side by side on the first support frame 322 at regular intervals so that the first and second sliding forks 410 and 420 are driven in the first horizontal direction or the first horizontal direction according to the driving of the first fork slider 430. Is conveyed in the second horizontal direction opposite to. Each of the first and second sliding forks 410 and 410 includes a first guide block 412 and first to third sliding bars 414, 416, and 418.

The first guide block 412 is installed between both sides on the first support frame 322 to guide the sliding of the first sliding bar 414.

The first sliding bar 414 is installed in the first guide block 412 and transferred in the first horizontal direction or the second horizontal direction opposite to the first horizontal direction according to the driving of the first fork slider 430.

The second sliding bar 416 is installed on the side of the first sliding bar 414 and is linked to the sliding of the first sliding bar 414 and is transferred in the horizontal direction.

The third sliding bar 418 is installed on the side of the second sliding bar 416 is linked to the sliding of the second sliding bar 416 is transported in the horizontal direction.

Meanwhile, each of the second and third sliding bars 416 and 418 may be sequentially stacked on an upper surface of the first sliding bar 414 and may be transferred in a horizontal direction in association with sliding of the first sliding bar 414.

The first fork slider 430 is installed between both sides on the first support frame 322 so as to be disposed between the first and second sliding forks 410 and 420 to simultaneously move the first and second sliding forks 410 and 420. Transfer in the first horizontal direction or the second horizontal direction opposite to the first horizontal direction.

In addition, the first fork slider 430 is installed to be transportable to the first guide rod 432 and the first guide rod 432 provided between both side surfaces on the first support frame 322 so as to be supported by the bracket. And a first transfer cylinder 434 having a link (not shown) connected to each of the second sliding forks 410 and 420. The first fork slider 430 may include a hydraulic or pneumatic drive cylinder for transferring the first transfer cylinder 434 by hydraulic or pneumatic pressure supplied to at least one side of the first guide rod 432.

The plurality of first substrate support pads 440 are installed on the third sliding bar 418 at regular intervals to support one side rear surface of the substrate when the substrate is transported.

On the other hand, the first two-way sliding fork 330 has been described as consisting of two sliding forks 410, 420, but this is not stable for stable and stable substrate conveyance may be composed of two or more. In addition, the first fork slider 430 in the first two-way sliding fork 330 has been described as being composed of a hydraulic or pneumatic drive cylinder, but is not limited to this, without the first fork slider 430, LM guider, ball screw , And at least one or at least two of the belts may be combined to slide the sliding forks 410 and 420.

On the other hand, the first two-way sliding fork 330 is configured to further include a position detection sensor for controlling the first fork slider 430 by detecting the sliding position during the two-way sliding of the sliding bar (414, 416, 418) Can be.

As described above, the first bidirectional sliding fork part 330 uses the first fork slider 430 to convey the first and second sliding forks 410 and 420 in a first conveying direction or a second conveying direction opposite to the first conveying direction. By folding or unfolding in the direction and sliding at the same time, the substrate is conveyed in both directions to the process chamber TC disposed on one side or the other side of the transfer chamber TC.

The second bidirectional sliding fork part 340 according to an embodiment includes third and fourth sliding forks 510 and 520, a second fork slider 530, and a plurality of second substrate support pads 540. Can be.

Each of the third and fourth sliding forks 510 and 520 is installed side by side on the second support frame 326 at regular intervals so that the first and fourth sliding forks 530 are driven in the first horizontal direction or the first horizontal direction. Is conveyed in the second horizontal direction opposite to. To this end, each of the third and fourth sliding forks 510 and 510 may include a second guide block 512; And fourth to sixth sliding bars 514, 516, and 518.

The second guide block 512 is installed between both sides on the second support frame 322 to guide the sliding of the fourth sliding bar 514.

The fourth sliding bar 514 is installed in the second guide block 512 and is transferred in the first horizontal direction or the second horizontal direction opposite to the first horizontal direction according to the driving of the second fork slider 530.

The fifth sliding bar 516 is installed on the side of the fourth sliding bar 514 and is linked with the sliding of the fourth sliding bar 514 to be transferred in the horizontal direction.

The sixth sliding bar 518 is installed on the side of the fifth sliding bar 516 and is linked to the sliding of the fifth sliding bar 516 to be transferred in the horizontal direction.

Meanwhile, each of the fifth and sixth sliding bars 516 and 518 may be sequentially stacked on the upper surface of the fourth sliding bar 514 and may be transferred in the horizontal direction in association with the sliding of the fourth sliding bar 514.

The second fork slider 530 is installed between both sides on the second support frame 326 so as to be disposed between the third and fourth sliding forks 510 and 520 to simultaneously move the third and fourth sliding forks 510 and 520. Transfer in the first horizontal direction or the second horizontal direction opposite to the first horizontal direction.

In addition, the second fork slider 530 may include a second guide rod 532 installed between both sides of the second support frame 326 to be supported by the bracket; And a second transfer cylinder 534 which is installed to be transferable to the second guide rod 532 and has a link 536 connected to each of the third and fourth sliding forks 510 and 520. The second fork slider 530 may be configured as a hydraulic or pneumatic drive cylinder for transferring the second transfer cylinder 534 by hydraulic or pneumatic pressure supplied to at least one side of the second guide rod 532.

The plurality of second substrate support pads 540 are provided on the sixth sliding bar 518 at regular intervals to support one side rear surface of the substrate when the substrate is conveyed.

Meanwhile, although the sliding forks 510 and 520 are described as being composed of two in the second bidirectional sliding fork 340, two or more sliding forks may be configured for stable and stable substrate transfer. In addition, although the second fork slider 530 in the second bidirectional sliding fork part 340 has been described as being configured as a hydraulic or pneumatic drive cylinder, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the LM guider and the ball screw without the second fork slider 530 are described. , And at least one or at least two of the belts may be combined to slide the sliding forks 510 and 520.

In addition, the second bidirectional sliding fork 340 may further include a position detection sensor for controlling the second fork slider 530 by detecting a sliding position during bidirectional sliding of the sliding bars 514, 516, and 518. have.

As described above, the second bidirectional sliding fork portion 340 uses the second fork slider 530 to convey the third and fourth sliding forks 510 and 520 in the first conveyance direction or the second conveyance direction opposite to the first conveyance direction. By folding or unfolding in the direction and sliding at the same time, the substrate is conveyed in both directions to the process chamber TC disposed on one side or the other side of the transfer chamber TC.

Fork lift unit 350 according to an embodiment includes a first lifting support 352a, the second lifting support 352b and the first lifting motor 354a; And a second lifting motor (not shown), a first ball screw 356a, a second ball screw 356b, and an interlocking shaft 358.

The first lifting support 352a is installed perpendicular to the base frame 310 so as to face the first side surface of the fork frame 320.

The second lifting support 352b is installed perpendicular to the base frame 310 to face the first lifting support 352a on the second side of the fork frame 320.

The first lifting motor 354a is installed in the base frame 310 so as to be adjacent to the inner side surface of the first lifting support 352a so that the first ball screw 356a is in the first direction or the second direction opposite to the first direction. Rotate

The second lifting motor is installed on the base frame 310 to be adjacent to the inner side surface of the second lifting support 352b to rotate the second ball screw 356b in the same direction as the first ball screw 356b.

The first ball screw 356a is installed between the first lifting support 352a and the first lifting motor 354a so as to pass through the protrusion 328 formed in the first supporting frame 322 of the fork frame 320. As the lifting motor 354a rotates, the first side of the fork frame 320 is lifted. At this time, the protrusion 328 formed on the first support frame 322 is formed with a screw thread that is engaged with the first ball screw 356a.

The second ball screw 356b is installed between the second lifting support 352b and the second lifting motor so as to penetrate the protrusion 328 formed in the first supporting frame 322 of the fork frame 320, so that the second lifting motor ( The second side of the fork frame 320 is elevated in accordance with the rotation of 354b. At this time, the protrusion 328 formed on the first support frame 322 is formed with a screw thread that is engaged with the second ball screw 356b.

The interlocking shaft 358 is installed between the first lifting motor 354a and the second lifting motor to transfer the rotational force of the first lifting motor 354a or the second lifting motor to another lifting motor, thereby providing the first lifting motor 354a with the first lifting motor 354a. Rotation of the second lifting motor is synchronized to synchronize.

As such, the fork lift unit 350 lifts the fork frame 320 according to the rotation of the first and second ball screws 356a and 356b according to the rotation of the first lift motor 354a and the second lift motor. The first or second bidirectional sliding fork portions 330 and 340 are raised and lowered to a desired height.

On the other hand, the fork lift unit 350 may further include a position sensor for detecting the position at the time of lifting the fork frame 320 to control the rotation of the first lifting motor 354a and the second lifting motor.

The fork elevating guide unit 360 according to an embodiment may include a plurality of elevating guide blocks 362 and a plurality of elevating guide rails 364.

The plurality of lifting guide blocks 362 are installed on the sidewall support 324 corresponding to the first and second side edge portions of the fork frame 320. Here, the plurality of lifting guide blocks 362 may be installed on each of the first and second side surfaces of the fork frame 320.

The plurality of lifting guide rails 364 are installed perpendicular to the base frame 310 so as to be connected to each lifting guide block 362 to guide the lifting of each lifting guide block 362 during the lifting of the fork frame 320.

As described above, the substrate transfer device moves the substrate in the transfer chamber through the horizontal movement by the substrate transfer part 200, and moves to the process chamber PC or the load lock chamber LC by the substrate transfer part 300. The substrate can be conveyed in both directions.

In the above-described semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a method of processing a substrate, that is, a method of moving the substrate will be described.

First, a plurality of substrates are sequentially loaded into a first chamber (load lock chamber) provided with an alignment member. In this case, the alignment member in the above-described load lock chamber may align four corners of the plurality of substrates. Here, the alignment member may be aligned by moving the four substrates by a roller as described above.

In this case, in addition to the alignment member near the corner of the substrate in the load lock chamber, another alignment member may be provided at a portion where a plurality of substrates meet. At this time, if four substrates are provided in the load lock chamber, the another alignment member is provided in a cross shape, that is, a pair of straight lines that cross each other at the center where the four substrates meet to cross the four substrates in a horizontal direction and It can be aligned in the vertical direction.

Then, the plurality of substrates are transferred from the load lock chamber into the second chamber (transfer chamber) using a substrate transfer unit.

Then, the substrate is transferred using the substrate transfer unit in the transfer chamber, which is a process of moving from the position parallel to the load lock chamber to the position parallel to the process chamber.

Subsequently, the plurality of substrates are transferred from the transfer chamber to the third chamber (process chamber) using a substrate transfer unit. In this case, the plurality of substrates are seated in the process chamber in the same pattern as the pattern aligned in the load lock chamber.

In addition, a divider may be provided in the third chamber, and the divider may be provided in the same pattern as the alignment member, that is, in a straight line that crosses each other to align the four substrates in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. .

When the substrate is transported by the substrate transfer unit, the substrate is vertically raised in the unloading chamber, the substrate is horizontally moved from the unloading chamber to the loading chamber, and then the substrate is vertically lowered to the loading chamber to be seated. Let's do it.

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 embodiments, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains various modifications and variations from such descriptions. This is possible.

Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be determined not only by the claims below but also by the equivalents of the claims.

10: chamber body 12: loading frame
14 pin 16 substrate
20: substrate transfer part 22, 125: arm
30: valve 40: divider
40a: support member 40b: separation member
50: susceptor 100, 110: gate
120: substrate moving device 150: body
160: fine adjustment device 162, 170, 180, 182: alignment member
200: substrate transfer unit 300: substrate transfer unit

Claims (26)

A chamber body having a substrate entrance at a side thereof;
A substrate support provided in the chamber body; And
And a divider provided inside the chamber body to divide a plurality of substrates. The method of claim 1, wherein the divider,
The process chamber is provided in a line shape, characterized in that for distinguishing a pair of substrate facing each other. The method of claim 1, wherein the divider,
Process chamber characterized in that it is provided in a straight line crossing each other to distinguish the four substrates. The method of claim 1,
Wherein the divider separates the plurality of substrates by at least 4 to 60 millimeters (mm). The method of claim 1, wherein the divider,
Process chamber, characterized in that consisting of ceramic (Ceramic) or anodizing coated Aluminum (Anodizing coated Aluminum). The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate support,
And at least one of a loading frame supporting a surface of the substrate facing the chamber body and a pin supporting the surface of the substrate facing the divider. A transfer chamber equipped with a substrate moving apparatus for moving a substrate;
A load lock chamber that aligns the substrate and allows the substrate to enter and exit the transfer chamber; And
It includes at least one process chamber (Process Chamber) for performing a process of processing the substrate received from the transfer chamber,
Here, the process chamber,
A chamber body having a substrate entrance at a side thereof;
A substrate support provided in the chamber body; And
And a divider provided inside the chamber body to divide a plurality of substrates. The method of claim 7, wherein the substrate transfer device,
And a substrate transfer unit configured to transfer the substrate in a horizontal direction, and a substrate transfer unit provided in the substrate transfer unit to transfer the substrate to the load lock chamber and the process chamber through sliding. The method of claim 8,
And the substrate transfer part comprises a vertical moving part and a horizontal moving part, the vertical moving part loading and unloading the substrate, and the horizontal moving part sliding the substrate. The method of claim 7, wherein
And an alignment member provided in the load lock chamber to align the substrate. The method of claim 10, wherein the alignment member,
The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that provided in the corner (corner) of the four points of the support on which the substrate is to be seated. The method of claim 7 or 10, wherein the divider,
A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus characterized by being provided in a line shape to distinguish a pair of substrates facing each other. The method of claim 7 or 10, wherein the divider,
A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus characterized by being provided in a straight line crossing each other to distinguish four substrates. The method of claim 11,
Two substrates opposed to each other are provided in the load lock chamber, and the alignment member is provided as a fixing member or a rotating member between the two substrates. The method of claim 11,
Four substrates are provided in the load lock chamber, and the alignment member is provided with a pair of straight lines intersecting with each other at a central portion where the four substrates meet. The method of claim 15, wherein the alignment member,
At least four rotary members are respectively provided between the four substrates, and the four semiconductor substrates are aligned by rotation of the rotary member. The method of claim 15,
The alignment member in the load lock chamber and the divider in the process chamber align the substrate in the same pattern. The method of claim 7, wherein the divider,
A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that consisting of ceramic (Ceramic) or anodizing coated Aluminum (Anodizing coated Aluminum). The method of claim 7, wherein the substrate support,
And at least one of a loading frame supporting a surface of the substrate facing the chamber body and a pin supporting the surface of the substrate facing the divider. Sequentially loading a plurality of substrates into a first chamber having an alignment member;
Aligning corners of the plurality of substrates in the first chamber with the alignment member;
Conveying the plurality of substrates from the first chamber into the second chamber using a substrate carrier; And
And conveying the plurality of substrates from the second chamber to the third chamber using the substrate conveying unit,
Here, the plurality of substrates, the substrate processing method, characterized in that seated in the third chamber in the same pattern as the pattern aligned in the first chamber. The method of claim 20,
Two substrates are aligned in the first chamber and are loaded into the second chamber and the third chamber, and the alignment member is provided in a line shape at the center where the two substrates meet to align the two substrates. The substrate processing method characterized by the above-mentioned. The method of claim 20,
Four substrates are aligned in the first chamber and are loaded into the second chamber and the third chamber, and the alignment member is provided in a pair of straight lines that cross each other at a central portion where the four substrates meet. A substrate processing method characterized by aligning a long substrate in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction. The method of claim 21 or 22, wherein the alignment member,
And the substrate is aligned by rotation of a rotating member. The method of claim 21,
A divider is provided in the third chamber, and the divider is provided in a straight line to align two substrates. The method of claim 22, wherein the divider,
A substrate processing method characterized by being provided in a straight line crossing each other to distinguish four substrates. The method of claim 20, wherein the conveying of the substrate comprises:
And respectively lifting the substrate vertically in the unloading chamber, horizontally moving the substrate from the unloading chamber to the loading chamber, and then seating the substrate by lowering the substrate vertically.

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