KR20200013930A - Apparatus for processing substrate and method for processing substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method, and more specifically, to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method, which deposit a thin film on a substrate. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the substrate processing apparatus includes: a substrate processing unit for processing the substrate; a tray transferred through the substrate processing unit; a substrate loading unit connected to one side of the substrate processing unit to load the substrate on the tray; a substrate unloading unit connected to the other side of the substrate processing unit to unload the substrate from the tray; and a cleaning unit installed in a tray transfer path connected to the substrate loading unit from the substrate unloading unit to clean the tray.

Description

Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method {APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING SUBSTRATE AND METHOD FOR PROCESSING SUBSTRATE}

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method, and more particularly, to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for depositing a thin film on a substrate.

Solar cells are devices that convert light energy into electrical energy using the properties of semiconductors.

Here, the solar cell may be classified into a substrate type solar cell and a thin film type solar cell. Substrate solar cells are manufactured using a silicon wafer as a substrate, and thin film solar cells are manufactured by forming a semiconductor layer in a thin film form on a substrate such as glass. Substrate-type solar cells have the advantage that the efficiency is somewhat superior to the thin-film solar cells, thin-film solar cells have the advantage that the manufacturing cost is reduced compared to the substrate-type solar cells. Therefore, in recent years, heterojunction solar cells combining a substrate type and a thin film type have been proposed.

In order to manufacture a device such as a solar cell, a plurality of process treatments are performed on a predetermined substrate. Accordingly, the substrate is imported into various process equipment, and the substrate processing process is performed on the imported substrate, and then the substrate is taken out. The process is repeated several times.

The system for this series of processes is divided into inline type and cluster type according to the arrangement of various process equipments. Generally, systems for manufacturing solar cells are arranged in an inline type. That is, a tray loaded with a plurality of substrates sequentially passes through the load lock equipment, the substrate processing equipment, and the unload lock equipment. After the substrate processing is completed, the substrate is unloaded from the tray, and the tray on which the substrate is unloaded is loaded again. It is brought back into the equipment.

However, in the system for such a series of processes, the by-products of the substrate treatment process remain in the tray where the substrate is loaded, and the treatment by-products remaining in the tray adversely affect subsequent substrate processing processes. there was.

KR 10-2016-0088610 A

The present invention provides a substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method capable of removing processing by-products remaining in a tray.

Substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, a substrate processing unit for processing a substrate; A tray transferred through the substrate processing unit; A substrate loading unit connected to one side of the substrate processing unit for loading a substrate into the tray; A substrate unloading unit connected to the other side of the substrate processing unit to unload the substrate from the tray; And a cleaning unit installed in a tray conveying path connected to the substrate loading unit from the substrate unloading unit to clean the tray.

The substrate processing unit may include a first deposition unit for forming an amorphous silicon layer on the substrate; And a second deposition unit for forming a silicon layer doped with an impurity on the amorphous silicon layer.

The cleaning unit includes a moving unit for moving the tray along the tray conveying path; And a gas supply unit installed on the mobile unit to supply a cleaning gas to the tray.

The cleaning unit may further include an exhaust unit for sucking and discharging the cleaning gas, and the gas supply unit and the exhaust unit may be sequentially disposed on the moving unit along the tray conveying path.

The gas supply unit may include a gas supply pipe extending in a direction crossing the tray conveying path; And a plurality of supply holes formed to face the moving unit and arranged along an extension direction of the gas supply pipe.

The gas supply unit may further include a plurality of gas injection nozzles respectively connected to the gas supply pipe through the plurality of supply holes and extending toward the moving unit.

A plurality of seating areas for loading a plurality of substrates may be formed in the tray, respectively, and the plurality of supply holes may be arranged at intervals corresponding to the plurality of seating areas.

The tray may include a plurality of alignment pins for aligning a plurality of substrates, and the plurality of supply holes may be arranged to be respectively positioned on the plurality of alignment pins when the tray is moved.

The cleaning unit may further include a housing that forms an isolated space and accommodates the mobile unit, the gas supply unit, and the exhaust unit.

The tray conveyance path may be formed under the substrate processing part.

In addition, the substrate processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, loading the substrate in the tray in the substrate loading unit; Processing the substrate loaded in the tray by bringing the tray into a substrate processing unit; Removing the tray from the substrate processing unit to unload the substrate from the tray in the substrate unloading unit; And cleaning the tray on a tray conveying path connected from the substrate unloading part to the substrate loading part.

Processing the loaded substrate may include forming an amorphous silicon layer on the substrate; And forming a silicon layer doped with impurities on the amorphous silicon layer.

The forming of the amorphous silicon layer and the forming of the doped silicon layer may be performed by a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process.

The cleaning of the tray may be performed to form the silicon layer doped with the impurity to remove impurities remaining in the tray.

The cleaning of the tray may include moving the tray along a tray conveying path; Supplying a cleaning gas to the tray while the tray is in motion; And sucking and discharging the cleaning gas.

The impurity includes boron, and in the step of supplying a cleaning gas to the tray, the boron remaining in the tray may react with the cleaning gas and volatilize.

The cleaning gas may comprise water vapor.

According to the substrate processing apparatus and the substrate processing method according to the embodiment of the present invention, the substrate is unloaded, and the cleaning gas is supplied to the tray being conveyed along the tray conveying path to be cleaned so that a separate process and time for cleaning are not required. The productivity can be improved.

In addition, in the process of forming the silicon layer doped with impurities, the impurities remaining in the tray are reacted with the cleaning gas to be volatilized to prevent deterioration of the characteristics of the manufactured device, and to reduce the efficiency of subsequent processes due to impurity contamination. Can be minimized.

In addition, according to the substrate processing apparatus and the substrate processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, by controlling the position and interval of the gas injection nozzle for injecting the cleaning gas for removing the impurities, the region of impurities remaining on the tray to be concentrated The cleaning efficiency can be maximized.

1 schematically shows the structure of a heterojunction solar cell.
2 is a schematic view of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a schematic view of a first deposition unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a view showing a state in which a plurality of substrates are seated in a tray according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a view schematically showing a cleaning unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a schematic view of a substrate processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in various different forms, only the embodiments of the present invention to complete the disclosure of the present invention, to those skilled in the art the scope of the invention It is provided to inform you completely. In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like elements.

1 is a view schematically showing the structure of a heterojunction solar cell.

Referring to FIG. 1, a heterojunction solar cell has a structure in which an amorphous silicon layer is deposited on both surfaces of a substrate S made of a crystalline silicon wafer, and a current is generated by a photoelectric effect. Here, one surface of the substrate S (the lower surface of the substrate S in FIG. 1) includes a silicon layer 20 doped with a first amorphous intrinsic silicon layer 10 and a P-type impurity, for example, boron B. The other surface (the upper surface of the substrate S in FIG. 1) opposite to one surface of the substrate S is doped with a second amorphous intrinsic silicon layer 50 and N-type impurities such as phosphorus (P). The silicon layer 60 is formed to form a solar cell. In addition, the first electrode 30 and the second electrode 70 may be formed on the outer side 60 of the silicon layer 20 doped with the P-type impurity and the silicon layer doped with the N-type impurity, respectively.

In order to mass-produce such heterojunction solar cells, a substrate (S), i.e., a crystalline silicon wafer, is loaded in a tray, and then an amorphous intrinsic silicon layer is passed through respective plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) equipment. And the deposition of the silicon layer doped with impurities is performed continuously. Thereafter, the substrate S is unloaded from the tray, and the tray on which the substrate S is unloaded is conveyed for the next process.

However, after the deposition process of the silicon layer doped with impurities is completed, impurities supplied in the deposition process remain in the tray. Thus, when the crystalline silicon wafer is loaded on the conveyed tray for the next process to deposit the amorphous intrinsic silicon layer, impurities remaining in the tray penetrate into the amorphous intrinsic silicon layer. This problem occurs more seriously when impurities are activated when the amorphous intrinsic silicon layer is deposited using plasma.

Here, phosphorus (P) used as an N-type impurity has a relatively stable property compared to boron (B) used as a P-type impurity. Therefore, when phosphorus (P) remains in the tray, it hardly penetrates into the amorphous intrinsic silicon layer. However, in the case of boron (B) it remains in the tray in a very unstable state and more easily penetrates into the amorphous intrinsic silicon layer. Thus, when boron (B) penetrates into the amorphous intrinsic silicon layer, the solar cell is manufactured. There is a problem that the voltage is reduced, the photoelectric conversion efficiency is sharply lowered.

On the other hand, in order to solve such a problem, a method of using a dedicated tray in the deposition process of the amorphous intrinsic silicon layer and the deposition process of the silicon layer doped with impurities is also proposed, but in this case, the substrate (S) in each tray Excessive time is required for loading and unloading the process, and the lateral development of the process is not smoothly performed, resulting in a markedly lower productivity compared to the inline type system.

2 is a view schematically showing a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 is a view schematically showing a deposition unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. In addition, Figure 4 is a view showing a state in which a plurality of substrates are seated in a tray according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 to 4, a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a substrate processing unit 100 for processing a substrate S; A tray 200 which is transferred via the substrate processing unit 100; A substrate loading unit 300 connected to one side of the substrate processing unit 100 to load the substrate S into the tray 200; A substrate unloading unit 400 connected to the other side of the substrate processing unit 100 to unload the substrate S from the tray 200; And a cleaning unit 700 installed on a tray conveying path connected to the substrate loading unit 300 from the substrate unloading unit 400 to clean the tray 200. In addition, the substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, between the load lock unit 500 and the substrate processing unit 100 and the substrate unloading unit 400 disposed between the substrate loading unit 300 and the substrate processing unit 100. It may further include an unload lock unit 600 disposed in.

Here, the substrate S may include, for example, a crystalline silicon wafer as the substrate S used to manufacture a solar cell. Here, the crystalline silicon wafer is included for the production of the heterojunction solar cell, the type of the substrate (S) is not limited to this, of course, may include a variety of other semiconductor wafer or glass substrate. Hereinafter, the substrate S having a rectangular shape will be described as an example, but the shape of the substrate S is not limited thereto and may be formed in various shapes such as a circle.

The substrate processing unit 100 deposits and processes a thin film on the substrate S. Here, the substrate processing unit 100 deposits a thin film on the substrate S while the substrate S is loaded on the tray 200. The substrate processing unit 100 may sequentially form an amorphous silicon layer and a silicon layer doped with impurities on the substrate S. For this purpose, the substrate processing unit 100 may form an amorphous silicon layer on the substrate S. First deposition unit 110 for; And a second deposition unit 130 for forming a silicon layer doped with impurities on the amorphous silicon layer.

Only the type of the thin film to be deposited is different between the first deposition unit 110 and the second deposition unit 130, and the basic structure is similar, which will be described with reference to FIG. 3 in relation to the first deposition unit 110. It will be described below, which can of course be equally applied to the second deposition unit 130.

The first deposition unit 110 may include a deposition chamber 111 that provides a processing space in which the substrate S is loaded and processed therein. The chamber may include a chamber body 111a having an upper surface open and a lead 111b coupled to an open upper surface of the chamber body and insulated from the chamber body. Here, the space formed by the chamber body 111a and the lead 111b is a processing space in which the substrate S is loaded and processed.

One side of the chamber body 111a may be formed with an inlet 112a through which the tray 200 loaded with the substrate S is loaded, and a substrate S on which the deposition is completed on the other side of the chamber body 111a. An outlet 112b through which the loaded tray 200 is carried out may be formed. In addition, although not shown, a discharge port for discharging the process gas and the like may be formed on the lower surface of the chamber body 111a.

A gas supply pipe receiving the process gas from the gas supply part 113 may be installed in the lid 111b, which is the upper surface of the chamber, and a shower head which uniformly injects the process gas into the lower portion of the chamber body on the lower surface of the lid 111b. 114 may be installed. In this case, the shower head 114 may function as a plasma electrode for generating plasma.

The susceptor 115 may be supported and installed on the support shaft 116 on the lower surface of the chamber body 111a. The support shaft 116 may be connected to a driving unit such as a motor or a cylinder to elevate and rotate, thereby allowing the susceptor 115 to elevate and rotate.

The susceptor 115 may function as a counter electrode of the showerhead 114, which is a plasma electrode, and a heating unit such as a heater may be installed therein and may be grounded through the support shaft 116. A power supply unit 117 may be installed at the outside of the chamber to be connected to the shower head 114 to apply a radio frequency (RF) power to the shower head 114.

Here, the second deposition unit 130 having the same structure as the first deposition unit 110 may be connected to the other side (the right side of the drawing) of the first deposition unit 110. That is, the first deposition unit 110 may form a first amorphous intrinsic silicon layer on the substrate S by, for example, spraying SiH ₄ and H ₂ with a process gas, and the second deposition unit 130. Is a process gas, for example, SiH ₄ , H ₂ and B ₂ H ₆ may be sprayed to form a silicon layer doped with a P-type impurity including boron (B) on the first amorphous intrinsic silicon layer.

The tray 200 is transferred via the substrate processing unit 100. That is, the tray 200 is loaded into the first deposition unit 110 through the inlet 112a of the first deposition unit 110 while the substrate S is loaded, and of the first deposition unit 110. It is carried out from the carrying out port 112b, and is carried in to the 2nd deposition part 130 as the carrying in of the 2nd deposition part 130. FIG. For example, when the tray 200 loaded with the substrate S is loaded into the first deposition unit 110, the susceptor 115 is raised to raise the tray 200, and the tray 200 is raised. The substrate S is thereby positioned at the position for processing. Thereafter, when RF power is applied to the shower head 114 while spraying the process gas through the shower head 114 to the substrate S side, plasma is generated between the shower head 114 and the susceptor 115, The process gas is activated by the plasma to deposit the first amorphous intrinsic silicon layer on the substrate S.

This process is performed in the same way for the second deposition unit 130 only by changing the type of process gas, and in the second deposition unit 130, impurities, ie, boron (B), are deposited on the first amorphous intrinsic silicon layer. The doped silicon layer is to be deposited.

Here, a plurality of substrates S may be loaded in the tray 200. To this end, a plurality of seating areas A for loading the plurality of substrates S may be spaced apart in one direction and the other direction crossing the one direction. Here, the tray 200 may include a plate 210 and a plurality of alignment pins 220 on which the substrate S is seated, and a plurality of plates for loading the plurality of substrates S on the plate 210. Seating areas A are formed, and the plurality of alignment pins 220 are disposed at outer edges of the seating areas A, respectively, to guide the substrates S to be seated on the seating areas A, respectively. Can be. The mounting area A and the plurality of alignment pins 220 formed in the tray 200 will be described later with reference to the cleaning unit 700.

The substrate loading unit 300 is connected to one side of the substrate processing unit 100 to load the substrate S on the tray 200. Here, the board | substrate loading part 300 loads the board | substrate S on the tray 200 conveyed along the tray conveyance path | route (solid arrow of FIG. 2). Meanwhile, the substrate S may include a crystalline silicon wafer, and a second amorphous intrinsic silicon layer and an N-type impurity, such as phosphorus (P), are already present on the lower surface of the crystalline silicon wafer loaded on the tray 200. It may be a substrate S on which a doped silicon layer is formed. In addition, the substrate loading unit 300 may include a first elevating unit (not shown) for elevating the tray 200, whereby the substrate loading unit 300 is conveyed along a tray conveying path formed under the substrate processing unit 100. The tray 200 may be raised to move along the substrate processing path (dashed arrow in FIG. 2).

In the substrate loading unit 300, a pretreatment for removing a natural oxide film formed on the substrate S may be performed. That is, on the substrate S, a natural oxide film may be generated by bonding with oxygen atoms in the atmosphere, and the substrate loading unit 300 may perform a pretreatment for removing the natural oxide film. Such pretreatment is performed by hydrogen plasma treatment or heat treatment by a lamp in the substrate loading unit 300, whereby the natural oxide film generated on the substrate S may be removed.

The load lock part 500 may be disposed between the substrate loading part 300 and the substrate processing part 100. Here, the load lock unit 500 receives the tray 200 loaded with the substrate S from the outside in the atmospheric pressure state and delivers the tray 200 to the substrate processing unit 100 in the vacuum state, and for this purpose, a vacuum pump capable of changing the internal pressure. (Not shown) may be installed.

The substrate unloading unit 400 is connected to the other side of the substrate processing unit 100 to unload the substrate S from the tray 200. Here, the substrate unloading unit 400 unloads the substrate S from the tray 200 transferred along the substrate processing path. The substrate S unloaded by the substrate unloading part 400 is doped with a first amorphous intrinsic silicon layer and a P-type impurity, for example boron B, on the substrate S by the substrate processing part 100. It may be a substrate S on which the silicon layer is formed. In addition, the substrate unloading unit 400 may include a second elevating unit (not shown) for elevating the tray 200, thereby lowering the tray 200 transferred along the substrate processing path to convey the tray. It may be arranged to be conveyed along a path.

The unload lock part 600 may be disposed between the substrate processing part 100 and the substrate unloading part 400. The unload lock unit 600 receives the tray 200 loaded with the substrate S from the substrate processing unit 100 in a vacuum state and transfers the tray 200 to the outside of the atmospheric pressure state, and for this purpose, a vacuum pump (not shown) C) may be installed as described above in the load lock unit 500.

The cleaning unit 700 is installed in a tray conveying path connected from the substrate unloading unit 400 to the substrate loading unit 300, and the tray 200 in which the substrate S is unloaded by the substrate unloading unit 400. )). As described above, the tray 200 sequentially passes through the first deposition unit 110 and the second deposition unit 130 along the substrate processing path, and the tray 200 includes the second deposition unit 130. In the process of forming the silicon layer doped with the impurity, which is performed in the C), impurities supplied to the substrate S, for example, boron B, remain. Thus, the cleaning unit 700 removes the impurities remaining in the tray 200 while the tray 200 is conveyed from the substrate unloading unit 400 to the substrate loading unit 300 along the tray conveying path. .

Here, the cleaning unit 700 flushes the tray 200 on which the substrate S is unloaded with an inert gas, for example, nitrogen (N ₂ ), to remove impurities remaining in the tray 200. Can be. Nitrogen flushing may be performed by repeating the injection and purge of nitrogen gas to the tray 200 in which the substrate S is unloaded a plurality of times, and impurities remaining in the tray 200 by such nitrogen flushing, for example Boron (B) can be removed. In addition, the cleaning unit 700 may supply a cleaning gas to the tray 200 to remove impurities remaining in the tray 200, which will be described in more detail below.

5 is a view schematically showing a cleaning unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the cleaning unit 700 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a moving unit 710 for moving the tray 200 along the tray conveying path; And a gas supply unit 720 installed on the mobile unit 710 to supply a cleaning gas to the tray 200.

Here, the cleaning gas may include an oxygen (O) containing gas. That is, in forming the silicon layer doped with impurities, boron (B) may be used as the impurity, and the cleaning gas needs to react with the boron (B). That is, boron (B) reacts with oxygen (O) to form boron oxide (B ₂ O ₃ ) having a very low melting point and boiling point, boron oxide (B ₂ O ₃ ) is a highly volatile material. Therefore, the boron (B) remaining in the tray 200 by forming boron oxide (B ₂ O ₃ ) by reacting with the boron (B) remaining in the tray 200 including the oxygen (O) -containing gas as a cleaning gas. Can be removed by volatilization. As such an oxygen (O) -containing gas, water vapor (H ₂ O) can be used.

The movement unit 710 moves the tray 200 in which the board | substrate S was unloaded along the tray conveyance path | route. The moving unit 710 may have various structures for moving the tray 200, and may be configured of, for example, a plurality of rollers. Here, of course, a plurality of rollers may be used to move the tray 200 throughout the substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In addition, in FIG. 5, although the moving unit 710, that is, the plurality of rollers, is positioned only in the lower portion of the tray 200, the plurality of rollers are also disposed in the lower portion of the gas supply unit 720 and the exhaust unit 730, which will be described later. The substrate 200 may be continuously disposed to continuously move the tray 200 in which the substrate S is unloaded in the cleaning unit 700.

The gas supply unit 720 is installed on the mobile unit 710 to supply the cleaning gas to the tray 200 in which the substrate S is unloaded. Here, the gas supply unit 720 is formed to face the gas supply pipe 722 and the moving unit 710 extending in the direction crossing the tray conveyance path, a plurality of arranged in the extending direction of the gas supply pipe 722 It may include a supply hole.

The gas supply pipe 722 extends in a direction crossing the tray conveying path, for example, a direction perpendicular to the tray conveying path. The gas supply pipe 722 may be formed in a hollow shape, whereby the gas flowing from the gas storage unit (not shown) in which the cleaning gas is stored may be supplied to flow therein. Here, the gas storage unit may be connected to one end of the gas supply pipe 722 or the center of the gas supply pipe 722.

The supply holes may be formed in plural numbers to be arranged along the extending direction of the gas supply pipe 722. The supply hole communicates with the internal space of the gas supply pipe 722 to supply the cleaning gas flowing from the gas storage unit to the tray 200 in which the substrate S is unloaded so as to face the moving unit 710. For example, it may be formed under the gas supply pipe 722. As described above, the gas storage part may be connected to one end of the gas supply pipe 722 or the center of the gas supply pipe 722, and the supply hole may be connected to the gas storage part to uniformly supply the cleaning gas onto the tray 200. It can be formed so that the diameter gradually increases along the extending direction of the gas supply pipe 722 from. That is, the pressure inside the gas supply pipe 722 gradually decreases away from the connection position of the gas reservoir, and as the distance from the connection position of the gas reservoir increases, the diameter of the supply hole gradually increases to supply a larger amount of cleaning gas. It can be formed to.

Here, the gas supply unit 720 may further include a plurality of gas injection nozzles 724 respectively communicating with the gas supply pipe 722 through the plurality of supply holes and extending toward the moving unit 710. Even when only a supply hole is formed below the gas supply pipe 722, the cleaning gas may be supplied to the tray 200, but the cleaning gas may be supplied closer to the tray 200, and the pressure of the supplied cleaning gas may be adjusted. For this purpose, the gas supply unit 720 may further include a plurality of gas injection nozzles 724. In this case, the gas injection nozzles 724 may be formed by extending the plurality of gas injection nozzles 724 toward the moving unit 710 from the plurality of supply holes, respectively, as shown in FIG. 5. It may be formed extending in the lower direction of the).

Here, the supply holes or the gas injection nozzles 724 may be arranged at intervals d corresponding to the plurality of seating areas A, which are formed to be spaced apart from the tray 200, respectively. The supply holes and the gas injection nozzles 724 are arranged at the same position. Hereinafter, the positions of the gas injection nozzles 724 will be described as an example.

As shown in FIG. 5, the gas injection nozzles 724 may be arranged at intervals d corresponding to the plurality of seating areas A. Referring to FIG. Here, the distance d corresponding to the plurality of seating areas A refers to the distance between the spaced spaces located between the plurality of seating areas A. FIG. As such, when the gas injection nozzles 724 are arranged at intervals d corresponding to the plurality of seating areas A, the cleaning gas supplied from the gas injection nozzles 724 is positioned between the plurality of seating areas A. FIG. Can be fed directly towards the space. That is, since the substrate S is loaded on the plurality of mounting regions A when the silicon layer doped with impurities is formed, almost no impurities remain in each of the plurality of mounting regions A. FIG. However, since the substrate S was not loaded in the spaces between the plurality of mounting regions A, a large amount of impurities remain. Therefore, by arranging the gas injection nozzles 724 at intervals corresponding to the plurality of seating areas A, the cleaning gas is directly injected into the spaces between the plurality of seating areas A in which the substrate S is not loaded. Impurities remaining in the tray 200 can be effectively cleaned.

Here, as described above, the tray 200 may include a plate 210 and a plurality of alignment pins 220 on which the substrate S is to be seated, wherein the plurality of alignment pins 220 may each have a plurality of seats. It is arranged in the spaced space between the regions A. Therefore, since a large amount of impurities remain in each of the alignment pins 220, the plurality of gas injection nozzles 724 may be arranged when the tray 200 moves and is disposed below the gas supply unit 720. It may be arranged to be located on the pins 220, respectively.

In addition, the cleaning unit 700 may further include an exhaust unit 730 for sucking and discharging the cleaning gas. The exhaust unit 730 may include an exhaust pipe 732 extending in a direction crossing the tray conveying path and a suction port 734 formed in the exhaust pipe 732. Here, the exhaust pipe 732 extends in a direction crossing the tray conveying path, for example, a direction perpendicular to the tray conveying path, and may be formed in a hollow shape. The exhaust pipe 732 may be connected to an exhaust pump (not shown) and the like, and the cleaning gas remaining after being supplied from the gas supply unit 720 on the tray 200 is sucked through the inlet 734 to exhaust the exhaust pipe 732. It is discharged to the outside through. To this end, the gas supply unit 720 and the exhaust unit 730 may be sequentially disposed on the moving unit 710 along the tray conveying path. That is, the exhaust unit 730 may be disposed at the rear end of the tray conveying path than the gas supply unit 720, from which the tray 200 moving by the moving unit 710 first starts from the gas supply unit 720. The cleaning gas is supplied, and the cleaning gas remaining after the supply can be exhausted from the exhaust unit 730 to the outside.

Although not shown, the cleaning unit 700 may form an isolated space, and further include a housing that accommodates the mobile unit 710, the gas supply unit 720, and the exhaust unit 730. This is to prevent leakage of the cleaning gas supplied from the gas supply unit 720 to the outside. In general, since the cleaning of the tray 200 is performed under atmospheric pressure, the material and structure thereof prevent the cleaning gas from leaking to the outside. Any configuration is possible if it can.

As such, the tray 200 cleaned by the cleaning unit 700 is moved to the substrate loading unit 300. A new substrate S is loaded on the tray 200 moved to the substrate loading part 300, and an amorphous silicon layer and a silicon layer doped with impurities are deposited on the substrate S loaded on the tray 200. It is possible to implement an inline type substrate processing apparatus.

6 is a view schematically illustrating a substrate processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, a substrate processing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes loading a substrate S on a tray 200 in a substrate loading unit 300 (S100); Importing the tray 200 into the substrate processing unit 100 to process the substrate S loaded in the tray 200 (S200); Taking out the tray 200 from the substrate processing unit 100, and unloading the substrate S from the tray 200 in the substrate unloading unit 400 (S300); And cleaning the tray 200 on a tray conveying path connected from the substrate unloading part 400 to the substrate loading part 300 (S400).

In the loading of the substrate S into the tray 200 (S100), the substrate S is loaded onto the tray 200 by the substrate loading unit 300. In the step S100 of loading the substrate S, the plurality of substrates S may be loaded in the plurality of seating areas A formed in the tray 200, and the plurality of substrates S may be arranged in a plurality. The position is controlled by the pins 220 so that they can be seated in each seating area (A).

Substrate processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, after the step (S100) of loading the substrate (S) in the tray 200; may further include a step; The pretreatment of the substrate S may be performed by the substrate loading unit 300, and the substrate S loaded on the tray 200 may be subjected to hydrogen plasma treatment or heat treatment by a lamp or the like. As described above, the generated natural oxide film can be removed.

In operation S200 of processing the substrate S loaded in the tray 200, the tray 200 is loaded into the substrate processing unit 100 to process the substrate S loaded in the tray 200. As described above, the load lock unit 500 may be disposed between the substrate loading unit 300 and the substrate processing unit 100, and the tray 200 in which the substrate S is loaded by the load lock unit 500 may be vacuumed. The substrate processing unit 100 is transferred to the substrate processing unit 100 in a state, and the substrate processing unit 100 performs a processing process on the substrate S loaded in the tray 200.

In addition, the substrate loading unit 300 loads the substrate S on the tray 200 conveyed along the tray conveying path (solid arrow in FIG. 2), and the substrate loading unit 300 moves the tray 200. Including a first lifting unit (not shown) for lifting up and down, the tray 200 conveyed along the tray conveying path formed under the substrate processing unit 100 is raised to follow the substrate processing path (dotted arrow in FIG. 2). You can move it.

Here, the step S200 of processing the substrate S loaded on the tray 200 may include forming an amorphous silicon layer on the substrate S and forming a silicon layer doped with impurities on the amorphous silicon layer. It may include. As described above, the substrate processing unit 100 includes a first deposition unit 110 for forming an amorphous silicon layer on the substrate S and a second layer for forming an impurity doped silicon layer on the amorphous silicon layer. Since the deposition unit 130 may be included, in the step S200 of processing the substrate S loaded on the tray 200, an amorphous silicon layer and a silicon layer doped with impurities are sequentially formed on the substrate S. do.

Here, the forming of the amorphous silicon layer and the forming of the silicon layer doped with impurities may be performed by a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process. That is, by forming an amorphous silicon layer and forming an impurity doped silicon layer by a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition process, the amorphous silicon layer and the impurity doped silicon layer can be stably formed at a relatively low temperature state. You can do it.

The step S300 of unloading the substrate S from the tray 200 unloads the substrate S loaded on the tray 200 by the substrate unloading unit 400. Here, the unload lock part 600 may be disposed between the substrate processing part 100 and the substrate unloading part 400, and the unload lock part 600 is loaded with the substrate S from the substrate processing part 100 in a vacuum state. The tray 200 is received and transferred to the outside of the atmospheric pressure state, and the substrate unloading unit 400 unloads the substrate S in the atmospheric pressure state.

In the cleaning of the tray 200 (S400), the tray 200 on which the substrate S is unloaded is cleaned on a tray conveying path connected from the substrate unloading part 400 to the substrate loading part 300. Here, the step of cleaning the tray 200 (S400) is supplied in the step of forming a silicon layer doped with impurities to remove impurities remaining in the tray 200.

That is, in the processing of the substrate S loaded in the tray 200, a step of forming a silicon layer doped with an impurity on the amorphous silicon layer is performed. After the deposition process of the impurity doped silicon layer is completed, the tray is completed. Impurities supplied in the deposition process remain in 200. Thus, when the crystalline silicon wafer is loaded again on the conveyed tray 200 for the next process to deposit the amorphous intrinsic silicon layer, impurities remaining in the tray 200 may penetrate into the amorphous intrinsic silicon layer. This is more seriously caused when boron (B) is used as an impurity.

In step S400 of cleaning the tray 200, the tray 200 may be flushed with an inert gas, for example, nitrogen (N ₂ ), to remove impurities remaining in the tray 200. Here, nitrogen flushing may be performed by repeatedly spraying and purging nitrogen gas on the tray 200 in which the substrate S is unloaded a plurality of times, and impurities remaining in the tray 200 by the nitrogen flushing, for example For example, boron (B) can be removed.

In addition, in the step S400 of cleaning the tray 200, boron B remaining in the tray 200 may be removed using a gas containing oxygen (O) as a cleaning gas. That is, the boron (B) remaining in the tray 200 is reacted with the boron (B) remaining in the tray 200 by using an oxygen (O) -containing gas as a cleaning gas. ₂ O ₃ ) to form a volatilization can be removed. As described above, water (H ₂ O) may be used as the oxygen (O) -containing gas.

Here, the cleaning of the tray 200 (S400) may include moving the tray 200 along a tray conveying path, supplying a cleaning gas to the tray 200 while the tray 200 is moving, and And sucking and discharging the cleaning gas.

The moving of the tray 200 along the tray conveying path may be performed by the moving unit 710, and the moving unit 710 may include a plurality of rollers, for example, a tray on which the substrate S is unloaded. 200 is continuously moved along the tray conveyance path.

In the step of supplying the cleaning gas, the cleaning gas is supplied to the tray 200 while the tray 200 moves along the tray conveying path by the moving unit 710. The cleaning gas is supplied by the gas supply unit 720, and the gas supply unit 720 is formed in the gas supply pipe 722 and the lower portion of the gas supply pipe 722 extending in a direction crossing the tray conveying path. The cleaning gas may be supplied to the tray 200 by including a plurality of supply holes arranged along the extending direction of the gas supply pipe 722.

Here, the supply of the cleaning gas may be configured to supply the cleaning gas to the remaining area except the seating area A formed in the tray 200, and for this purpose, a gas injection nozzle extending from the supply hole or the supply hole may be provided. Since the position and spacing of the 724 can be controlled as described above, a description thereof will be omitted.

The suctioning and discharging of the cleaning gas is performed by the exhaust unit 730. The exhaust unit 730 is supplied from the gas supply unit 720 to the tray 200 including an exhaust pipe 732 extending in a direction crossing the tray conveying path and a suction port 734 formed in the exhaust pipe 732. The remaining cleaning gas is sucked out and discharged to the outside. In this case, the exhaust unit 730 is disposed at the rear end of the tray conveying path than the gas supply unit 720, and supplies the cleaning gas to the tray 200 from the gas supply unit 720 first, and then exhausts the remaining cleaning gas. It is possible to exhaust from 730 to the outside.

As described above, according to the substrate processing apparatus and the substrate processing method according to the embodiment of the present invention, the substrate S is unloaded, and the cleaning gas is supplied to the tray 200 being conveyed along the tray conveying path and cleaned. No extra process and time is required to improve productivity.

In addition, in the process of forming the silicon layer doped with impurities, the impurities remaining in the tray 200 are reacted with the cleaning gas to be volatilized to prevent deterioration of the characteristics of the manufactured device, and efficiency of subsequent processes due to impurity contamination. This reduction can be minimized.

In addition, according to the substrate processing apparatus and the substrate processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, impurities are retained on the tray 200 by controlling the positions and intervals of the gas injection nozzles 724 for spraying the cleaning gas for removing impurities. It is possible to intensively clean the area to maximize the cleaning efficiency.

In the above, although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described and illustrated using specific terms, such terms are only for clearly describing the present invention, and the embodiments and the described terms of the present invention are the technical spirit of the following claims. It is obvious that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Such modified embodiments should not be understood individually from the spirit and scope of the present invention, but should fall within the claims of the present invention.

100: substrate processing unit 110: first deposition unit
111: deposition chamber 112a, 112b: inlet, outlet
113: gas supply unit 114: shower head
115: susceptor 116: support shaft
117: power supply unit 130: second deposition unit
200: tray 210: plate
220: alignment pin 300: substrate loading portion
400: substrate unloading portion 500: load lock portion
600: unload lock part 700: cleaning part
710: moving unit 720: gas supply unit
722: gas supply pipe 724: gas injection nozzle
730: exhaust unit 732: exhaust pipe
734: inlet

Claims (17)

A substrate processing unit for processing a substrate;
A tray transferred through the substrate processing unit;
A substrate loading unit connected to one side of the substrate processing unit for loading a substrate into the tray;
A substrate unloading unit connected to the other side of the substrate processing unit to unload the substrate from the tray; And
And a cleaning unit disposed on a tray conveying path connected to the substrate loading unit from the substrate unloading unit to clean the tray.
The method according to claim 1,
The substrate processing unit,
A first deposition unit for forming an amorphous silicon layer on the substrate; And
And a second deposition unit for forming a silicon layer doped with an impurity on the amorphous silicon layer.
The method according to claim 1,
The cleaning unit,
A moving unit for moving the tray along the tray conveying path; And
And a gas supply unit installed on the moving unit to supply a cleaning gas to the tray.
The method according to claim 3,
The cleaning unit,
And an exhaust unit for sucking and discharging the cleaning gas.
And the gas supply unit and the exhaust unit are sequentially disposed on the moving unit along the tray conveyance path.
The method according to claim 3,
The gas supply unit,
A gas supply pipe extending in a direction crossing the tray conveying path; And
And a plurality of supply holes formed to face the moving unit and arranged along an extension direction of the gas supply pipe.
The method according to claim 5,
The gas supply unit,
And a plurality of gas injection nozzles respectively communicating with the gas supply pipes through the plurality of supply holes and extending toward the moving unit.
The method according to claim 5,
The tray has a plurality of seating areas for loading a plurality of substrates are spaced apart from each other,
And the plurality of supply holes are arranged at intervals corresponding to the plurality of seating areas.
The method according to claim 5,
The tray includes a plurality of alignment pins for aligning a plurality of substrates,
And the plurality of supply holes are arranged to be respectively positioned on the plurality of alignment pins when the tray is moved.
The method according to claim 4,
The cleaning unit,
And a housing forming an isolated space and accommodating the mobile unit, the gas supply unit, and the exhaust unit.
The method according to claim 1,
The tray conveyance path is formed in the lower portion of the substrate processing unit.
Loading a substrate into the tray at the substrate loading unit;
Processing the substrate loaded in the tray by bringing the tray into a substrate processing unit;
Removing the tray from the substrate processing unit to unload the substrate from the tray in the substrate unloading unit; And
And cleaning the tray on a tray conveyance path connected from the substrate unloading part to the substrate loading part.
The method according to claim 11,
Processing the loaded substrate,
Forming an amorphous silicon layer on the substrate; And
Forming a silicon layer doped with an impurity on the amorphous silicon layer.
The method according to claim 12,
The forming of the amorphous silicon layer and the forming of the silicon layer doped with impurities are performed by a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process.
The method according to claim 12,
The cleaning of the tray may include supplying the silicon layer doped with the impurities to remove impurities remaining in the tray.
The method according to claim 11,
The step of cleaning the tray,
Moving the tray along a tray conveying path;
Supplying a cleaning gas to the tray while the tray is in motion; And
And sucking and discharging the cleaning gas.
The method according to claim 15,
The impurity comprises boron,
And boron remaining in the tray in the supplying of the cleaning gas to the tray reacts with the cleaning gas to volatilize.
The method according to claim 15,
And the cleaning gas comprises water vapor.

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