KR20230040662A - Semiconductor substrate processing equipment with reduced substrate replacement time - Google Patents

Abstract

A semiconductor substrate processing device having a reduced substrate replacement time, of the present invention, comprises: an EFEM for accommodating a plurality of substrates; a loadlock chamber for receiving a substrate to be processed from the EFEM or transferring a processed substrate back to the EFEM, wherein three substrates supplied from the EFEM or to be transferred thereto are standing by after being placed on retaining pins while being spaced apart from each other in a triangular configuration on a plane; a process chamber radially connected/disposed by including the loadlock chamber, thereby forming a vacuum area, and including three sets of electrostatic chucks and lift pins being provided therein such that three substrates can be loaded or unloaded in a triangular configuration on a plane; and a substrate transportation unit for loading a substrate from the loadlock chamber into the process chamber while being provided in the vacuum area between the loadlock chamber and the process chamber, or unloading a fully processed substrate from the process chamber back to the loadlock chamber, wherein the substrate transportation unit has a fork having three branches such that three substrates that are standing by in the loadlock chamber are simultaneously lifted and loaded into the process chamber, or three fully processed substrates are simultaneously unloaded back to the loadlock chamber, and hands being provided on ends of the fork such that the three substrates can be placed thereon, respectively.

Description

Semiconductor substrate processing equipment with reduced substrate replacement time {Semiconductor substrate processing equipment with reduced substrate replacement time}

The present invention relates to a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus with reduced substrate replacement time, and more particularly, to transfer and load three semiconductor substrates arranged in a triangular shape from a load-lock chamber to a process chamber at one time or to the load-lock chamber again. Semiconductor substrate processing that significantly improves the throughput of the entire semiconductor process as well as shortening the replacement time of the substrate by sequentially loading it on the lift pin while quickly teaching only the substrate that requires teaching among the three substrates when loading the substrate. It's about the device.

In general, a substrate transfer unit of a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus includes an upper arm and a lower (upper arm) and a lower ( lower) arm is composed of multiple arms in a coaxial manner in which the upper and lower arms are stacked.

At this time, the outermost shaft is coupled to a hub for rotating the multiple arms around the central axis of rotation, and the two inner shafts may be connected to each other through independent belt and pulley configurations.

One example of such a multi-arm structure substrate transfer unit is disclosed in Korean Registered Patent No. 0912432 (hereinafter referred to as 'Prior Document 1').

However, since such a substrate transfer unit having a multi-arm structure has one hand for each layer, a wafer is transferred from an EFEM (Equipment Front End Module) via a loadlock chamber to deposit or etch a thin film. When transferring to the process chamber (P/M chamber) for processing, etc., the substrate replacement time is inevitably increased because the substrate is transferred and replaced one by one between the EFEM and the process chamber, and in addition, the load lock during the substrate replacement time Since the vacuum atmosphere of the chamber and the vacuum chamber is partially destroyed, a vacuum atmosphere must be formed again whenever the substrate is replaced. As a result, the process efficiency of the semiconductor substrate is greatly reduced due to the increase in the overall throughput for substrate processing. there was.

For this reason, a multi-arm structured substrate transfer unit having a pair of double hands in the horizontal direction at the top and bottom to simultaneously transfer and load/unload two wafers at a time for faster substrate replacement than before (domestic registered patent no. 1338857, hereinafter referred to as 'Prior Document 2') has been disclosed.

1 shows a conventional substrate processing apparatus to which a substrate transfer unit having a multi-arm structure having such a double hand is applied.

The substrate transfer unit 10 of Prior Document 2 is disposed in a vacuum chamber and transfers a substrate between a process chamber (P/M chamber) and a space for storing substrates such as wafers, two each at the top and bottom, It has a total of 4 hands.

That is, the four hands include an upper hand (double hand) having two hands slidably disposed above the linear guide module having a long rectangular shape, and the linear guide module below the upper hand. A left member disposed on the left side and having a single hand (single hand) and a lower hand (left and right sides of the linear guide module) having a right member disposed on the right side of the linear guide module and having a single hand (single hand) 1 for each single hand).

Accordingly, the upper and lower hands are configured to move forward and backward along the linear guide module.

In addition, semiconductor substrates (wafers) to be processed or processed substrates are loaded into the EFEM, and the transfer robot (ATM Robot) provided inside the EFEM supplies or processes the substrates to be processed one by one into the load lock chamber (L / L) The removed substrates are taken out from the load lock chamber one by one.

Therefore, since the substrate transfer unit 10 in the vacuum region has a pair of hands in multiple upper and lower portions, when loading substrates into the process chamber, the upper or lower hands are individually driven to load or load up to two substrates at a time. can be unloaded.

However, the conventional semiconductor substrate transfer unit 10 disclosed in Prior Document 2 has a linear guide module and increases the load and volume of the arm by sliding the upper and lower hands mounted on the linear guide module in the forward and backward directions. As a result, deflection occurs at the end of the hand over time, resulting in a decrease in structural rigidity and a decrease in precision of substrate transfer and loading/unloading operations due to the deflection.

In addition, recently, in order to increase the throughput, the structure of the process chamber (P/M chamber) is loaded on a lift pin and an electrostatic chuck (ESC) so that three substrates are placed in a triangular shape on a plane in the chamber, and then 3 Batch type process chambers for simultaneously performing thin film deposition or etching on a substrate have been developed and are common.

However, with the single-handed or double-handed conventional substrate transfer unit disclosed in Prior Documents 1 and 2, one or up to two substrates are loaded or unloaded in a triangular shape on a plane in a batch-type process chamber. Since the transfer and loading/unloading must be divided into several times, the replacement time of the substrate is still delayed, and thus the process efficiency and throughput of substrate processing are reduced.

In addition, consumable parts such as electrostatic chucks installed in these process chambers are unavoidable to be replaced on a regular basis. In the process of replacing the electrostatic chuck with a new product, the center point of the electrostatic chuck is slightly distorted. A teaching process for calibrating the loading position of the substrate so that it can be accurately placed at the new central point of the chuck is absolutely necessary.

However, in the prior art, the transferred substrates are transferred from the load lock chamber to the process chamber one by one using a substrate transfer unit having a single hand arm structure, and then teaching and loading are carried out repeatedly in the process chamber. Accordingly, substrates are repeatedly performed. Since the substrate replacement time is inevitably required repeatedly from transfer of the substrate to loading after teaching, this also remains a problem of delay in substrate replacement time and lowering of process efficiency.

Korean Registered Patent No. 0912432 (2009.08.10. Registration)

Republic of Korea Patent No. 1338857 (registered on November 27, 2013)

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and three semiconductor substrates arranged in a triangular shape on a plane can be transferred and loaded from the load-lock chamber to the process chamber at once or unloaded back to the load-lock chamber. To provide a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus in which the substrate replacement time is shortened and the overall semiconductor processing throughput is remarkably improved by sequentially loading on the lift pin while quickly teaching only the substrate requiring teaching among the three substrates when loading the substrate. The purpose.

The present invention for achieving the above object according to an embodiment, EFEM for accommodating a plurality of substrates; A load lock that receives substrates to be processed from the EFEM or transfers the processed substrates back to the EFEM, and waits by being placed on a fixing pin with three sheets spaced apart so that the substrates to be supplied or transferred from the EFEM form a triangular arrangement on a plane. chamber; A process chamber having three sets of electrostatic chucks and lift pins arranged radially including the load lock chamber to form a vacuum area, and inside which three substrates can be loaded or unloaded in a triangular arrangement on a plane. ; and loading a substrate into the process chamber from the load-lock chamber in a vacuum region between the load-lock chamber and the process chamber or unloading the substrate processed in the process chamber back to the load-lock chamber, In order to scoop up three substrates in standby at once and load them into the process chamber, or to unload three substrates that have been processed back into the loadlock chamber at once, a fork with three branches and three substrates are placed at the end of the fork, respectively. It is configured to include; a substrate transfer unit equipped with a hand so that it can be carried.

’ 형상을 갖는다.In addition, according to one embodiment, the fork of the substrate transfer unit has a long length of the middle prong '

' It has a shape.

’ 형상을 갖는다.In addition, according to another embodiment, a reinforcing bar is further connected between the three prongs of the fork.

' It has a shape.

In addition, according to one embodiment, a rotation chuck having a shape branched into three branches on a plane is coupled to the inside of the load lock chamber around the rotational axis of a motor installed upward, and the rotation chuck rotates by 120 degrees from the EFEM. Three substrates are sequentially loaded and supplied to the fixing pin provided at each end of the rotation chuck, or the three substrates placed on the fixing pin are sequentially taken out by the EFEM.

In addition, according to an embodiment, the three sets of lift pins provided in the process chamber have different protruding heights for each set of lift pins that are maximally raised from the upper surface of the electrostatic chuck for substrate loading.

As described above, the present invention can transfer and load three semiconductor substrates arranged in a triangular shape on a plane from the load-lock chamber to the process chamber at once or unload them back to the load-lock chamber. Since only the substrate requiring teaching is quickly taught and sequentially loaded on the lift pin, the substrate replacement time is shortened and the throughput of the entire semiconductor process is remarkably improved.

1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional semiconductor substrate processing apparatus to which a substrate transfer unit having a double hand arm structure is applied.
Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus in which the substrate replacement time of the present invention is reduced according to an embodiment
Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the substrate transfer unit of Figure 2, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a side view
Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the load lock chamber of Figure 2, (a) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the main part, (b) is a plan view
5 is an enlarged view of the process chamber of FIG. 2, wherein (a) is a perspective view of a main part and (b) is a side view of a main part

Terms used in this specification are used only to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this specification, terms such as "comprise" or "having" to "include" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in this specification, but one or other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof, or any combination thereof, is not precluded from being excluded in advance.

Unless otherwise defined herein, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs.

Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and unless explicitly defined in this specification, it should not be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning. Should not be.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the structure and operational relationship of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus with reduced substrate replacement time according to the present invention will be described in detail.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus in which the substrate replacement time of the present invention is reduced according to an embodiment, and Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the substrate transfer unit of Figure 2, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a side view, Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the load lock chamber of Figure 2, (a) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of main parts, (b) is a plan view, Figure 5 is an enlarged view of the process chamber of Figure 2, (a) is a perspective view of the main part, (b) is a side view of the main part.

Hereinafter, a configuration of a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus with reduced substrate replacement time according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5 .

First, the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus 100 with reduced substrate replacement time according to the present invention includes an EFEM 110 for accommodating a plurality of semiconductor substrates S on one side of the layout of the apparatus (left side in FIG. 2).

In addition, adjacent to one side (right side in FIG. 2) of the EFEM 110, the substrate S to be processed is supplied from the EFEM 110 or the processed substrate S is transferred back to the EFEM 110, and the EFEM A load that stands by being placed on three sets of fixing pins (123, see FIG. 4) with three substrates (S) spaced apart so that the substrates (S) to be supplied or delivered from (110) form a triangular arrangement on a plane. A lock chamber 120 is provided.

In addition, a plurality of process chambers 130 are radially connected to each other, including the load lock chamber 120, to form an enclosed vacuum space (VS; see FIG. 2).

Inside the process chamber 130, three sets of electrostatic chucks (ESC1, ESC2, ESC3) and lift pins (LP) are respectively provided so that the three substrates (S) can be loaded or unloaded while forming a triangular arrangement on a plane. do. (See Fig. 5)

Here, the process chamber 130 is a vacuum area in which semiconductor substrate processing, such as deposition or etching of a thin film, is performed on the semiconductor substrate S loaded therein. ) is provided with an opening/closing valve (131, see FIG. 5) that is selectively opened so that it can be loaded/unloaded.

In addition, a substrate transport unit 140 is provided in the vacuum region VS between the load lock chamber 120 and the process chamber 130 .

The substrate transfer unit 140 scoops three substrates (S) waiting in the load lock chamber 120 at once, transfers and loads them into the process chamber 130, or transfers and loads three substrates (S) that have been processed in the process chamber 130 ( In order to unload and transfer S) back to the load lock chamber 120 at once, together with the fork 142 branched into three branches, the three substrates S can be placed at the end of the fork 142, respectively. A hand 143 is provided.

’ 형상을 가질 수 있다.According to one embodiment, the fork 142 of the substrate transfer unit 140 basically has a long middle prong '

' can have a shape.

’ 형상을 가질 수 있다.According to another embodiment, referring to FIG. 3, the fork 142 has mechanical rigidity reinforced by further connecting a reinforcing bar 144 between the three prongs of the fork body.

' can have a shape.

In addition, referring to FIG. 4, looking at the configuration of the load-lock chamber 120 in more detail, inside the load-lock chamber 120, on a plane around the rotational axis (not shown) of the motor 121 installed upward, 3 The rotation chuck 122 having a branched shape is coupled, and while the rotation chuck 122 rotates by 120 degrees, 3 Each of the substrates S is sequentially loaded and supplied, or three substrates S mounted on the fixing pin 123 are sequentially taken out to the EFEM 110 .

Also, referring to FIG. 5 , the three sets of lift pins LP provided inside the process chamber 130 have a protruding height (h1) of an end that is maximally raised from the upper surface of the electrostatic chuck (ESC) for loading of the substrate (S). , h2, h3) are formed differently for each set.

As described above, by forming the protruding heights (h1, h2, h3) of the three sets of lift pins (LP) differently, if necessary, selective teaching is performed for each of the three sets of lift pins (LP), and then the loading of the substrate (S) is performed. It is possible, and this will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 5 as follows.

First, inside each process chamber 130, three electrostatic chucks (ESC1, ESC2, ESC3) arranged in a triangular shape on a plane and three sets of lift pins with different protruding heights (h1>h2>h3) from the electrostatic chucks (LP) is provided.

Thereafter, the three substrates (S1, S2, and S3) placed on the fork 142 and the hand 143 of the substrate transfer unit 140 above the electrostatic chucks (ESC1, ESC2, and ESC3) and the lift pin (LP) When the inside of the chamber 130 is entered through the opening/closing valve 131 of the process chamber 130, the substrates S1, S2, and S3 are placed on the protruding upper ends of the lift pins LP, respectively, so that the three substrates are placed. (S1, S2, S3) can be loaded at once.

At this time, if all of the electrostatic chucks (ESC1, ESC2, and ESC3) do not require teaching, the fork 142 descends as it is, and three sheets are placed on top of lift pins having different protruding heights (h1>h2>h3). As the substrates are sequentially placed on the first, second, and third substrates S1, S2, and S3, the loading of the substrates S1, S2, and S3 is quickly completed.

However, assuming that the center point of the second electrostatic chuck ESC2 among the three electrostatic chucks ESC1, ESC2, and ESC3 is slightly shifted to the right by 1 mm due to replacement, in this case, the second substrate S2 ) on the lift pin (LP) of the second electrostatic chuck (ESC2), it is necessary to teach after teaching by 1 mm to the right just before loading.

Therefore, in this case, the fork 142 first descends to the upper end h1 of the lift pin LP of the first electrostatic chuck ESC1, so that the first substrate S1 among the three substrates S1, S2, and S3 is lifted. It is loaded on top of the pin (LP), and at this time, the remaining two substrates (S2, S3) are still loaded on the top (h2, h3) of the lift pin (LP) of the second and third electrostatic chucks (ESC2, ESC3). it is not done

Subsequently, before loading the second substrate S2 on the second electrostatic chuck ESC2 in the above state, teaching is first performed to move the fork 142 to the right by 1 mm, and then the fork 142 moves the second substrate S2 onto the second electrostatic chuck ESC2. By descending to the upper end h2 of the lift pins LP of the chuck ESC2, the second substrate S2 is loaded onto the upper end h2 of the lift pins LP of the second electrostatic chuck ESC2.

Continuing, at this time, only the third substrate S3 remains in the left hand 143 of the fork 142. As described above, since teaching was performed 1 mm from the second substrate S2 to the right, this time In order for the fork 142 to return to its original position, on the contrary, teaching is performed by 1 mm to the left, and then the fork 142 descends to the upper end (h3) of the lift pin (LP) of the third electrostatic chuck (ESC3). S3) is finally loaded by being placed on the upper end h3 of the lift pin LP.

Thus, after the teaching and loading of all three substrates (S1, S2, S3) on the electrostatic chucks (ESC1, ESC2, ESC3) is completed, in this state, the fork 142 retracts through the opening/closing valve 131 as it is, By exiting, the loading process of the substrates S1, S2, and S3 is completed.

Conversely, after processing of the substrates S1, S2, and S3 in the process chamber 130 is completed, the process of unloading the substrate and transferring it to the load-lock chamber 120 may be performed in the reverse order of the above-described loading process. .

In addition, the present invention is not limited only by the above-described embodiment, and since the same effect can be created even when the detailed configuration or number and arrangement structure of the device is changed, those of ordinary skill in the art can use the present invention It is stated that addition, deletion, and modification of various configurations are possible within the scope of the technical idea of

100: semiconductor substrate processing apparatus (of the present invention) 110: EFEM
120: load lock chamber (L / L chamber) 121: motor
122: rotation chuck 123: fixing pin
130: process chamber (P/M chamber) 131: open/close valve
140: substrate transfer unit 141: arm
142: Fork 143: Hand
ESC: Electrostatic chuck LP: Lift pin
S: Substrate

Claims (5)

EFEM accommodating a plurality of substrates;
A load lock that receives substrates to be processed from the EFEM or transfers the processed substrates back to the EFEM, and waits by being placed on a fixing pin with three sheets spaced apart so that the substrates to be supplied or transferred from the EFEM form a triangular arrangement on a plane. chamber;
A process chamber having three sets of electrostatic chucks and lift pins arranged radially including the load lock chamber to form a vacuum area, and inside which three substrates can be loaded or unloaded in a triangular arrangement on a plane. ; and
In a state provided in the vacuum region between the load-lock chamber and the process chamber, a substrate is loaded into the process chamber from the load-lock chamber or a substrate processed in the process chamber is unloaded back to the load-lock chamber, and the load-lock chamber is in standby. In order to load three substrates in process at once and load them into the process chamber, or to unload three substrates that have been processed back into the loadlock chamber at once, the three substrates are placed at the end of the fork along with a fork that is branched into three. A substrate transfer unit provided with a hand so as to be able to; Including,
Semiconductor substrate processing device with reduced substrate replacement time. According to claim 1,
The fork of the substrate transfer unit has a long middle prong '

' Characterized by having a shape,
Semiconductor substrate processing device with reduced substrate replacement time. According to claim 2,
A reinforcing bar is further connected between the three prongs of the fork.

' Characterized by having a shape,
Semiconductor substrate processing device with reduced substrate replacement time. According to claim 1,
Inside the load lock chamber, a rotation chuck having a shape branched into three branches on a plane is coupled around the rotational axis of a motor installed upward, and the rotation chuck is rotated by 120 degrees, provided at each end of the rotation chuck from the EFEM 3 boards placed on the fixing pin are supplied sequentially or 3 boards placed on the fixing pin are sequentially taken out by the EFEM.
Semiconductor substrate processing device with reduced substrate replacement time. According to claim 1,
The three sets of lift pins provided inside the process chamber are characterized in that each set has a different protruding height of an end that is maximally raised from the upper surface of the electrostatic chuck for substrate loading.
Semiconductor substrate processing device with reduced substrate replacement time.

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