TWI621178B - Gas supply head, gas supply mechanism, and substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a gas supply head, a gas supply mechanism, and a substrate processing apparatus which are capable of improving the uniformity of gas supply to a processing chamber in accordance with an increase in size of a substrate to be processed, and which can be easily manufactured with high precision and excellent maintainability.

A gas supply mechanism including a substrate processing apparatus (1) (having a stage (4) on which a substrate (G) is placed) includes a gas supply head (6), a gas supply hole (8a) in the first stage, and a first gas Supply line (9a). The first gas supply line (9a) is divided into 2 ⁿ (n; natural number) from the first gas supply source toward the downstream side, and the gas discharge ports of the 2 ⁿ branch tubes at the end are arranged at equal intervals. The gas supply head (6) communicates with the gas supply hole (8a) in the first stage in a state of a straight line, and passes through the first gas supply line (9a) through the long groove-shaped first gas diffusion chamber (42a). The gas supplied from the gas supply hole (8a) in the first stage is uniformly discharged from the plurality of first gas discharge holes (45a).

Description

Gas supply head, gas supply mechanism, and substrate processing apparatus

This invention relates to a gas supply head, a gas supply mechanism, and a substrate processing apparatus that perform a film formation process or the like for supplying a gas to a substrate to be processed.

In a film forming process which is one of the manufacturing processes of an FPD (Flat Panel Display) such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic EL display (Organic Electro-Luminescence Display), the use can be performed with high precision in an atomic hierarchy. Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) method for film formation control. In the ALD method, for example, a precursor gas (source gas) and an oxidant gas are separately and alternately introduced into a processing space, and a film is formed by reacting on a glass substrate as a substrate to be processed. When forming a film by the ALD method in the FPD field, a rectangular glass substrate having a length of one side of the substrate to be processed exceeding 1 m is often used, and a method of supplying a gas to the substrate to be processed is to use a horizontal direction of the substrate to be processed. A gas is introduced and a side flow pattern is formed which is parallel to the gas flow of the substrate surface. In the side stream mode, in order to form a film of uniform thickness, it is necessary to form a laminar flow parallel to the substrate surface on the substrate to be processed, When the laminar flow cannot be maintained, there is a problem that the film quality or the film thickness is uneven, and it is a problem that the particles are not required to be deposited.

In order to form a laminar flow of gas parallel to the substrate surface on the substrate to be processed, it is necessary to introduce the gas into the processing space more uniformly in the horizontal direction to the substrate to be processed. As a method thereof, for example, the following method is proposed, which includes: a plurality of gas discharge ports formed by repeating the bifurcation of the gas supply pipe, a method of supplying the gas to the processing space, or a long gas supply head formed in the longitudinal direction In a method in which a plurality of gas supply ports and a gas discharge port are provided on the side wall of the long side, and the number of gas discharge ports is larger than the number of gas supply ports (see Patent Document 1) 2).

[Previous Technical Literature] [Patent Document]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-10990

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 62-074078

However, in recent years, as the size of the substrate to be processed is increased, the size of the substrate to be processed has increased. In the above-described conventional technique, it is difficult to ensure the accuracy of uniform introduction of gas into the processing space, and it is difficult to uniformly form the entire substrate to be processed. membrane.

For example, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, The gas supply pipe is divided into a plurality of layers and maintained in a laminar flow, and the gas is supplied to the substrate surface. However, since the gas is supplied to the substrate surface in the vertical direction, laminar flow parallel to the substrate surface cannot be formed.

Further, as described in the technique of Patent Document 2, it is known to use a gas reservoir (buffer chamber) to realize a technique of discharging a uniform gas into a processing space, but in order to supply a gas supply head exceeding 1 m in the longitudinal direction. In the entire long-side direction, the gas is introduced into the processing space uniformly with extremely high precision, and the volume of the buffer chamber must be sufficiently large, and accordingly, the introduction amount of the material gas must be more than necessary. Quite a waste. Further, since the buffer chamber is normally in communication with the processing space, the increase in the volume of the buffer chamber means that the processing space is increased. Therefore, it is necessary to lengthen the time for flushing the material gas or the reaction gas, resulting in a decrease in productivity.

Further, in the case of the ALD method, when a plurality of gases having a chemical reaction are introduced into the processing space, a reactant of a gas is formed in the vicinity of the gas discharge port and deposited. Since such a reactant adheres to the substrate to be processed, the quality of the FPD is lowered. Therefore, it is necessary to suppress the formation and deposition of the reactant. However, in order to suppress the uniformity of the supply amount of the gas while suppressing the formation and deposition of the reactants as described above, no consideration has been given in the above-mentioned prior art.

Further, a technique for easily producing a gas supply head having a longitudinal direction of more than 1 m has been sought. For example, in the buffer chamber of Patent Document 2, it is necessary to perform deep hole processing in the longitudinal direction by a deep hole drill or the like for the elongated member that is the body of the gas supply head. But because of Since the depth of the deep hole drilling with high precision is at most 1 m, in order to process the substrate to be processed having a length of one side exceeding 1 m, it is necessary to arrange two or more gas supply heads in series. Further, when a plurality of gas supply heads are arranged in alignment with the processing space, there is a possibility that minute voids are formed in the joint surface and unnecessary products are deposited in the voids.

Moreover, the machining accuracy of the deep hole drill is not as good as that of the end mill, and the processing cost is also high. Therefore, unevenness occurs in the volume or shape of the buffer chamber of each gas supply head processed by the deep hole drill. Therefore, when a plurality of gas supply heads are arranged, an individual difference in gas supply amount is caused, and It is difficult to uniformly introduce the gas into the processing space. In addition, since the buffer chamber formed by the deep hole processing by the deep hole drilling is sealed after the production in the longitudinal direction by the welding, the maintenance property of the washing treatment or the like is not good, and thus, There are also problems with short service life.

An object of the present invention is to provide a gas supply head and a gas supply mechanism capable of improving uniformity of gas supplied to a processing chamber in accordance with an increase in size of a substrate to be processed, and which can be easily manufactured with high precision and excellent maintainability. Substrate processing device.

In order to solve the problem, the gas supply mechanism according to the first aspect of the invention is attached to a substrate processing apparatus, and is characterized in that it includes a gas supply pipe and is divided into two equal lengths from one gas supply source to the downstream side. ⁿ (n; natural number) root, and the gas discharge ports of the 2 ⁿ branch pipes at the end are arranged at equal intervals on a straight line; and one long gas supply head has a long groove-shaped gas diffusion chamber. The gas discharge ports of the 2 ⁿ branch pipes are connected to each other; and a plurality of gas discharge holes are formed at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction, and the gas introduced into the gas diffusion chamber is discharged.

The gas supply mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the gas supply head is in a direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the gas supply head, respectively. The 2 ⁿ branch pipes communicate with each other and communicate with 2 ⁿ head gas supply holes of the gas diffusion chamber, and the gas discharge holes are opposed to the 2 ⁿ head gas supply holes via the gas diffusion chamber The manner in which the equal intervals are arranged on the straight line is plural with respect to each of the 2 ⁿ branch pipes.

The gas supply mechanism according to the third aspect of the invention, wherein the gas discharge hole and the gas discharge hole are orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the gas supply head. When viewed in the direction, it is set at a position that is not repeated.

The gas supply unit according to the fourth aspect of the invention is the gas supply unit of the second or third aspect of the patent application, wherein the gas supply unit includes two systems in which two different types of gases are independently supplied, and the gas supply is provided. The head system has two gas diffusion chambers, and the two gas diffusion chambers are independent of each other and communicate with the two-system gas supply pipe.

The gas supply mechanism described in claim 5 is the gas supply mechanism of claim 4, wherein the gas is The body supply head has a head body having a substantially H-shaped cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, and a cover body respectively attached to the recesses of the head body, the two gas diffusion chambers. The long groove-like space is formed by sealing the long groove-shaped space by the cover body, and the long groove-shaped space is formed in each of the bottom faces of the two recesses.

The gas supply mechanism according to claim 6 is the gas supply mechanism of claim 5, wherein the gas diffusion chamber is configured to apply an end mill to a bottom surface of the concave portion of the head body. The way to form.

The gas supply mechanism according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the gas discharge holes are connected to the two gas diffusion chambers, respectively. The two sides of the gas supply head are alternately arranged in two rows in the longitudinal direction.

The gas supply mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the 2 ⁿ branch pipes of the gas supply pipe are horizontally The gas introduced into the gas diffusion chamber and introduced into the gas diffusion chamber is discharged from the gas discharge hole in the horizontal direction.

In order to solve the problem, the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9 is the gas supply mechanism according to any one of the first to eighth aspects of the invention.

The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9 is the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9, comprising a processing container having a stage (a mounting surface having the mounting substrate) and a cover a top cover of the platform, and a processing space for accommodating a substrate placed on the mounting surface, wherein the gas supply head is parallel to a side surface parallel to the longitudinal direction thereof, so as to cover the upper cover a side surface of the one side of the platform is disposed in the processing space, and 2 ^{n in} -platform gas supply holes are provided in parallel with the mounting surface on the side wall of the one side of the processing container. ^The gas supply holes in the ⁿ stages communicate with the gas discharge ports of the 2 ⁿ branch pipes on the downstream side of the gas supply pipe, and communicate with the gas diffusion chamber of the gas supply head.

In order to solve the problem, the gas supply head according to the eleventh aspect of the present invention is intended to discharge the two types of the substrate in the horizontal direction by applying predetermined processing to the substrate placed on the substantially horizontal surface by at least two types of gases. The gas supply head is characterized in that the head body has a long shape and a cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is substantially H-shaped; and the lid body is attached to the aforementioned In the recessed portion of the head main body, the head main body has two gas diffusion chambers which are long groove-shaped and independent, and are formed to be parallel to the longitudinal direction so as to open the bottom wall surface of each of the two recess portions. And being blocked by the cover body; 2 ⁿ (n; natural number) head gas supply holes are respectively disposed on the straight line at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction so as to communicate with the two gas diffusion chambers; discharge holes to the gas diffusion chamber via the 2 ⁿ with the head of the gas supply holes are arranged at equal intervals on a straight line manner, with respect to each of the 2 ⁿ root root branch pipe is provided with a plurality of And discharging the gas introduced into the gas diffusion chamber.

The gas supply head according to claim 12, wherein the gas supply hole and the gas discharge hole are in a direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the gas supply head. When observed, it is set at a position that is not repeated.

According to the present invention, from a gas supply source toward the downstream side, the gas from the isometric divided into 2 ^{n (n;} natural number) 2 ⁿ root branch pipe feeding end roots to form a gas in the long groove-shaped gas supply head of the The gas diffusion system and the gas system supplied to the gas diffusion chamber are discharged through a plurality of gas discharge holes provided at equal intervals. In this manner, after the gas is uniformly supplied to the gas diffusion chamber by the equal length pipe, the gas can be discharged from the plurality of gas discharge holes, and the gas can be uniformly discharged from the plurality of gas discharge holes to form a laminar flow. The substrate is uniformly processed.

Further, the gas supply head is composed of a head body having a substantially H-shaped cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and a lid body attached to the head body, and the head body can be simply and accurately performed by an end mill or the like. A gas diffusion chamber is formed. Therefore, since the shape accuracy in the longitudinal direction of the gas diffusion chamber is high, gas discharge is less likely to occur unevenly in the longitudinal direction, and a long gas supply head can be easily manufactured, and can be easily repaired by decomposition. .

1‧‧‧Substrate processing unit

2‧‧‧Processing space

3‧‧‧Processing container

4‧‧‧ platform

5‧‧‧Upper cover

6‧‧‧ gas supply head

40‧‧‧ head body

42a, 42b‧‧‧ first gas diffusion chamber, second gas diffusion chamber

44a, 44b‧‧‧ gas supply hole in the first head, gas supply hole in the second head

45a, 45b‧‧‧1st gas discharge hole, 2nd gas discharge hole

Fig. 1 is a plan view and a cross-sectional view showing a schematic structure of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a configuration of a gas supply system provided in the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG.

3 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure provided in the vicinity of a gas supply hole in a stage of a side wall of a stage provided in the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective cross-sectional view and an exploded perspective view of a gas supply head provided in the substrate processing apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a plan view, a partial front view, an arrow B-B sectional view, and an arrow C-C sectional view of a portion of the gas supply head of Fig. 4.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 (a) is a plan view showing a schematic structure of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of Figure 1 (a).

Here, the substrate processing apparatus 1 is a film forming apparatus which applies a film forming process by an ALD method to a glass substrate (hereinafter referred to as "substrate G") for producing an FPD such as an organic EL panel. In the following description, the substrate G is formed so that the length of the short side × the long side is about 1500 mm × about 1850 mm. Further, the substrate processing apparatus 1 takes the short side of the substrate G in parallel with the x-axis, and takes the long side parallel to the y-axis to take the substrate G. The thickness direction is the z-axis, and the coordinate axes are suitably used in the following description. In addition, the x-axis and the y-axis are in a horizontal plane, and the z-axis is in a vertical plane.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 is provided with a processing container 3 that forms a processing space 2 for processing the substrate G. The processing container 3 is composed of a stage 4 on which a substrate G is placed, and an upper cover 5 that covers the substrate G placed on the stage 4. In addition, FIG. 1(a) shows a state in which the upper cover 5 is detached.

The stage 4 has a substantially concave cross section, and has a mounting surface 4a on which the substrate G is placed, and a side wall 4b that is erected above the mounting surface 4a (z direction). The platform 4 and the upper cover 5 are configured to be relatively movable in the height direction (z direction). For example, when the upper cover 5 is raised and the upper cover 5 is moved away from the platform 4, the placement surface 4a is exposed to the outside. Thereby, the substrate G can be carried in and carried out to the mounting surface 4a by the substrate transfer device (not shown). On the other hand, when the substrate G is placed on the mounting surface 4a, the upper cover 5 is lowered, and when the upper cover 5 is in close contact with the side wall 4b, the processing space 2 is isolated from the outside. At this time, the abutting surface of the upper cover 5 and the side wall 4b is sealed by a seal ring (O-ring) provided on the side wall 4b. In this way, the substrate G in the processing space 2 can be subjected to a film forming process. Further, the platform 4 may be configured to elevate and lower the fixed upper cover 5, or may be configured to elevate and lower both the platform 4 and the upper cover 5.

In the processing space 2, a gas supply device constituting a supply processing gas is disposed along the side wall 4b1 of one of the long sides of the stage 4. A part of the linear gas supply head 6 is used, and the processing gas system is used to form a film formation process on the substrate G. Further, a linear exhaust groove 7 is provided on the platform 4 along the other side wall 4b2 on the long side of the stage 4. The exhaust duct 7 is connected to the exhaust device 7a, and the exhaust device 7a performs the adjustment of the pressure in the processing space 2 or the replacement (flushing) of the environment by exhausting the inside of the processing space 2.

A detailed description of the structure of the gas supply head 6 will be described later. The gas supply head 6 discharges the processing gas from the plurality of first gas discharge holes 45a and the second gas which are formed in two rows at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction. The hole 45b (see FIGS. 4 and 5) is discharged to the processing space 2. Thereby, the airflow F which is laminar in one direction from the gas supply head 6 toward the exhaust groove 7 can be formed above the surface to be processed of the substrate G placed on the mounting surface 4a, and can be formed on the substrate G. The surface is subjected to a uniform film formation process.

The gas supply head 6 is connected to the gas supply system 9 as a gas supply pipe via the in-stage gas supply hole 8 formed in the side wall 4b1 of the stage 4. Further, the in-stage gas supply hole 8 is collectively referred to as a first in-stage gas supply hole 8a and a second in-stage gas supply hole 8b which will be described later. The gas supply head 6, the in-stage gas supply hole 8, and the gas supply system 9 constitute a gas supply mechanism.

The gas supply system 9 will be described later in detail. The gas supply system 9 is composed of two types of gas pipes for independently performing film forming processing via the gas supply holes 8 in the platform. A type of gas (first gas = source gas, second gas = oxidizing gas) is supplied to the gas supply head 6. Gas supply head 6, which will be supplied independently Two types of gas are discharged to the processing space 2.

For example, when alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ) is formed, a trimethylaluminum ((CH ₃ ) ₃ Al:TMA) gas can be used as the first gas, and water vapor (H ₂ O) gas can be used as the first 2 gas. However, the first gas and the second gas are not limited to these, and may be changed depending on the material constituting the film.

The operation control of the substrate processing apparatus 1 is performed by the control unit 12. The control unit 12 has, for example, a program controller 12a composed of a microprocessor (computer). The program controller 12a is connected to a keyboard for inputting an operation such as an instruction to manage the substrate processing apparatus 1, or a user interface 12b including a display for visually displaying the operation state of the substrate processing apparatus 1.

A memory unit 12c is connected to the program controller 12a. The memory unit 12c may be a hard disk or a semiconductor memory, and may be a portable device such as a CD-ROM, a DVD, or a flash memory. The memory unit 12c stores control programs or processing conditions for realizing various processes executed by the substrate processing device 1 under the control of the program controller 12a, and processes are executed in the respective portions of the substrate processing device 1. Handler. The processing program can also be appropriately transmitted from other devices via a dedicated line. The processing program reads an instruction from the user interface 12b from the storage unit 12c as needed, and causes the program controller 12a to execute processing according to the read processing program, whereby the substrate processing apparatus 1 will make a reservation. The operation further processes the substrate G.

Figure 2 is a plan showing the configuration of the gas supply system 9. Figure. The gas supply system 9 includes a first gas supply line 9a for supplying the first gas to the processing space 2, and a second gas supply line 9b for supplying the second gas to the processing space 2.

The first gas supply line 9a is formed into a so-called multi-puncture type equal length pipe structure. In other words, the original branch pipe 31a on the upstream side is divided into two first branch pipes 31b having the same length in the first branch portion 32a on the downstream side, and the first branch pipe 31b is branched in the second branch portion 32b on the downstream side. The two third branch pipes 31c having the same degree are branched, and the third branch pipe 31c is branched into two fourth branch pipes 31d having the same length by the third branch portions 32c on the downstream side. In total, the eight fourth branch pipes 31d are airtightly connected to the platform 4 by flanges 36 so that the gas discharge ports (ends) are arranged at equal intervals on one straight line parallel to the y direction. The gas supply hole 8a in the first stage at 8 of the side wall 4b1.

The second gas supply line 9b also has a multi-point type isometric pipe structure similar to that of the first gas supply line 9a. In other words, the original branch pipe 33a on the upstream side is branched into two first branch pipes 33b having the same length in the first branch portion 34a on the downstream side, and the first branch pipe 33b is branched in the second branch portion 34b on the downstream side. The two third branch pipes 33c having the same degree are branched, and the third branch pipe 33c is branched into two fourth branch pipes 33d having the same length by the third branch portions 34c on the downstream side. In total, the eight fourth branch pipes 33d are airtightly connected to the platform 4 by flanges 36 so that the gas discharge ports (ends) are arranged at equal intervals on one straight line parallel to the y direction. The gas supply hole 8b in the second stage of the side wall 4b1.

A first gas supply source (not shown) and a carrier gas supply source (not shown) for supplying the first gas are connected to the upstream side of the original pipe 31a of the first gas supply line 9a, and the second gas supply line is connected to the second gas supply line. On the upstream side of the original pipe 33a of 9b, a second gas supply source (not shown) for supplying the second gas and a carrier gas supply source (not shown) are connected. As the carrier gas, for example, an inert gas such as nitrogen (N ₂ ) is used. However, the gas is not limited thereto, and a rare gas such as argon (Ar) may be used.

During the film forming process of the substrate G, the valves V3 and V4 that control the supply/stop of the carrier gas from the carrier gas supply source are constantly maintained in an open state. On the other hand, in order to prevent the first gas and the second gas from being simultaneously supplied to the processing space 2, the timing of opening/closing of the valves V1 and V2 is controlled. First, the valve V1 is turned on for a fixed time (for example, 0.2 second), and the first gas is introduced into the processing space 2, and the molecules of the first gas are attached to the substrate G. When the valve V1 is closed, since the valves V3 and V4 are in the open state, the unnecessary first gas in the processing space 2 is discharged from the processing space 2 by the carrier gas, and the processing space 2 is carried. The gas is rinsed. After maintaining the state for a fixed period of time (for example, 5 seconds) and discharging the unnecessary first gas in the processing space 2, the valve V2 is turned on for a fixed time (for example, 0.2 second), and the second gas is introduced into the processing space 2, so that the second gas is introduced into the processing space 2 The molecules of the first gas attached to the substrate G react with the molecules of the second gas. When the valve V2 is closed and held in this state for a fixed period of time (for example, 5 seconds), since the valves V3 and V4 are in an open state, the second gas in the processing space 2 and the first gas and the first gas are caused by the carrier gas. The gas generated by the reaction of the gas is discharged from the processing space 2. By repeating the supply The first gas and the second gas are discharged to the processing space 2 in such a manner that the first gas and the second gas are reacted on the surface of the substrate G at the atomic level to form a film.

In addition, the timing of opening/closing of the valves V1 and V2 is adjusted in a timely manner in order to achieve the intended film formation.

The pipe length and the pipe diameter of the system from the valve V1 for controlling the supply/stop of the first gas to the gas supply hole 8a in the first stage are all equal. Further, the pipe length and the pipe diameter of the eight systems from the valve V2 for controlling the supply/stop of the second gas to the gas supply hole 8b for the second stage are all equal. By the equal-length pipe structure as described above, the first gas diffusion chamber 42a and the second gas diffusion chamber 42b (see FIGS. 3 to 5), which will be described later, of the gas supply head 6 can be uniformly supplied with the first gas and Further, the second gas and the second gas can be uniformly discharged from the gas supply head 6 to the processing space 2. Further, in the gas supply system 9, since the number of valves to be provided can be suppressed from being reduced, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the cost of the apparatus.

Further, the valve V3 and V4 may be replaced by one valve, which can be clearly understood from FIGS. 1 and 2 .

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure in the vicinity of the gas supply hole 8 in the stage. The gas supply hole 8a in the first stage and the gas supply hole 8b in the second stage correspond to the gas supply hole 44a and the second head gas supply hole 44b provided in the first head of the gas supply head 6, respectively. The method is formed on the side wall 4b1 of the stage 4 by machining of a drill or the like. The wall surface of the gas supply holes 8a and 8b in the stage is subjected to mirror finishing such as electric field polishing or acid-resistant aluminum or fluororesin coating, etc., as required. Surface treatment.

In order to correspond to the case where the interval between the first head inner gas supply hole 44a and the second head inner gas supply hole 44b provided in the gas supply head 6 is narrow (refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 in detail later), the fourth is made. The ends of the branch pipes 31d and 33d are formed in a pair, and are concentrated on one flange 36 attached to the side wall 4b1 of the platform 4. By attaching the flange 36 to the side wall 4b1, the fourth branch pipes 31d and 33d communicate with the in-stage gas supply holes 8a and 8b, respectively, and a gas flow path of the first gas and the second gas is formed.

Further, a sealing ring (not shown) is disposed on the connecting surface between the flange 36 and the side wall 4b1 in order to isolate the gas flow paths of the first gas and the second gas, whereby the connecting surface of the flange 36 and the side wall 4b1 can be provided. The reaction between the first gas and the second gas is prevented.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, when the fourth branch pipes 31d and 33d are concentrated on the flange 36, since the fourth branch pipes 31d and 33d are close to each other and cannot be horizontally arranged, the flange 36 is used. In the reference, the fourth branch pipe 31d that supplies the first gas located on the lower side is bent only to the lower side. Of course, when the fourth branch pipes 31d and 33d can be horizontally arranged, as shown in FIG. 3, it is not necessary to bend the pipes.

The gas supply head 6 is disposed on the stage 4 so as to be fitted into a groove provided between the mounting surface 4a and the side wall 4b1, and the first platform inner gas supply hole 8a and the second platform inner gas supply hole 8b are The first in-head gas supply hole 44a and the second in-head gas supply hole 44b provided in the gas supply head 6 are respectively in communication with each other. Connection between the gas supply head 6 and the side wall 4b1 A sealing ring (not shown) for isolating the gas flow paths of the first gas and the second gas is disposed on the surface, whereby the first gas and the second gas can be prevented from reacting on the connection surface between the gas supply head 6 and the side wall 4b1. .

Fig. 4 (a) is a perspective sectional view of the gas supply head 6. Fig. 4 (b) is an exploded perspective view of the gas supply head 6. The gas supply head 6 is composed of a first vertical wall 40a and a second vertical wall 40b and a horizontal wall 40c which are parallel to each other, and has a head main body 40 which is perpendicular to the first vertical wall 40a and the second vertical wall 40c. The wall 40b is orthogonal to the first vertical wall 40a and the second vertical wall 40b. The shape of the cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the head main body 40 is substantially H-shaped. When the gas supply head 6 is disposed as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the first vertical wall 40a is in contact with the side wall 4b1 of the stage 4, and the second vertical wall 40b is attached to the substrate placed on the mounting surface 4a of the stage 4. The first vertical wall 40a, the second vertical wall 40b, and the horizontal wall 40c are formed integrally with each other on the G opposing surface. The first gas diffusion chamber 42a and the long groove-shaped first gas diffusion chamber 42a extending in the longitudinal direction are formed on both surfaces of the horizontal wall 40c (the bottom surface of the concave portion at the two positions of the head main body 40) so as to face each other with the partition plate 40c1 interposed therebetween. 2 gas diffusion chamber 42b.

The gas supply head 6 includes a lid body 41a and 41b, and a recessed portion that is attached to each of the head main body 40 by a fixing screw or the like, and the seal rings 43a and 43b are disposed on the head main body 40 and the lid body 41a. Between 41b. The opening surface of the first gas diffusion chamber 42a is closed by attaching the lid body 41a to the head main body 40, and the opening of the second gas diffusion chamber 42b is opened by attaching the lid body 41b to the head main body 40. The surface is clogged.

In order to explain the first gas and the second gas of the gas supply head 6. The flow of the body, and further see Figure 5. Fig. 5 (a) is a plan view showing a part of the gas supply head 6. Fig. 5 (b) is a front view of a portion of the gas supply head 6. Figure 5 (c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of Figure 5 (a). Figure 5 (d) is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of Figure 5 (a).

In the head main body 40, a first in-head gas supply hole 44a is formed, and the first in-head gas supply hole 44a penetrates the first vertical wall 40a and the horizontal wall 40c in the x direction and communicates with the first gas diffusion chamber 42a. Further, in a state where the gas supply head 6 is mounted on the stage 4, it communicates with the gas supply hole 8a in the first stage. Further, the head main body 40 is formed with a second head inner gas supply hole 44b that penetrates the first vertical wall 40a and the horizontal wall 40c in the x direction and communicates with the second gas diffusion chamber. 42b, in a state where the gas supply head 6 is mounted on the stage 4, communicates with the gas supply hole 8b in the second stage.

In the head main body 40, a first gas discharge hole 45a is formed which penetrates the second vertical wall 40a and the horizontal wall 40c in the x direction and communicates with the first gas diffusion chamber 42a. The gas supply head 6 is connected to the processing space 2 in a state where it is mounted on the stage 4. Further, the second gas discharge hole 45b is formed to penetrate the second vertical wall 40a and the horizontal wall 40c in the x direction and communicate with the second gas diffusion chamber 42b, and is supplied to the gas supply head 6 by the gas supply head 6. It is connected to the processing space 2 in a state of being mounted on the platform 4.

The first gas supplied from the first gas supply line 9a is introduced into the first gas diffusion chamber 42a through the first in-stage gas supply hole 8a and the first in-head gas supply hole 44a, and is in the first gas diffusion chamber 42a. After the diffusion, the first gas discharge hole 45a is discharged to the processing space 2. Similarly, the second gas supplied from the second gas supply line 9a is introduced into the second gas diffusion chamber 42b through the second in-stage gas supply hole 8b and the second in-head gas supply hole 44b, and is in the second gas. After the diffusion chamber 42b is diffused, it is discharged to the processing space 2 through the second gas discharge hole 45b.

In this manner, the rinsing property caused by the carrier gas in the processing space 2 can be increased only by the gas flow path from the gas supply hole 8 in the stage to the gas supply head 6 in the horizontal direction (x direction). And productivity is improved by shortening the rinsing time.

The head main body 40 can be easily processed into a substantially H-shaped cross section by cutting/grinding a long angular column made of aluminum or the like. In addition, the first gas diffusion chamber 42a and the second gas diffusion chamber 42b can be easily formed with high dimensional accuracy by machining by an end mill or the like, and the first in-head gas supply holes 44a and Since the two inner gas supply holes 44b, the first gas discharge holes 45a, and the second gas discharge holes 45b have a short hole length, they can be formed with high dimensional accuracy by end mill processing or the like. Therefore, even if the gas supply head 6 is required to have a length of more than 1 m, it can be manufactured with high dimensional accuracy in accordance with the shape of the substrate G. Therefore, it can be uniformly discharged from the first gas discharge hole 45a and the second gas discharge hole 45b. The first gas and the second gas.

In this way, the gas supply head 6 can be easily manufactured by assembling the seal rings 43a and 43b and the lid bodies 41a and 41b to the head body 40 which can be easily manufactured, and therefore can be easily decomposed or easily performed. Maintenance of washing treatment, etc. Moreover, the gas supply head 6 can be easily changed. The size of the entire gas supply head 6 due to the shape of the substrate G or the shape of each portion can be changed, and the height of the processing space 2 can be easily reduced.

Further, when the head main body 40 is made of a castable material such as aluminum, for example, after the outer shape is substantially formed by molding, the shape accuracy of each portion can be improved by cutting/grinding. The way to manufacture. The inner surface of the first inner gas supply hole 44a, the second inner gas supply hole 44b, the first gas discharge hole 45a, the second gas discharge hole 45b, the first gas diffusion chamber 42a, and the second gas diffusion chamber 42b If necessary, a surface treatment such as mirror polishing treatment such as electric field polishing or an acid-resistant aluminum or fluororesin coating treatment may be applied, but such processing may be easily performed.

As shown in Fig. 5 (a), the distance L1 between the first head inner gas supply holes 44a adjacent to each other in the y direction of the gas supply head 6 is, for example, the y direction of the processing space 2 when the length of the substrate G in the y direction is 1850 mm. When the length is about 2100 mm, according to Fig. 1, it is formed to be about 300 mm. The distance between the gas supply holes 44b in the second head adjacent in the y direction is also L1. As shown in FIG. 5(b), the interval L2 between the first gas discharge holes 45a in the y direction can be set, for example, to about 15 mm. The interval between the second gas discharge holes 45b in the y direction is also L2, and the first gas discharge holes 45a and the second gas discharge holes 45b are provided at a distance of 1/2 from the y direction. The distance L3 between the gas discharge hole 45a and the gas discharge hole 45b in the z direction may be, for example, about 6 mm.

In addition, when the height of the processing space 2 is increased (long in the z direction) When the degree is increased, the consumption of the expensive first gas is increased, and the film formation cost for the substrate G is increased. Therefore, it is preferable that the height of the processing space 2 is as low as possible, and therefore the height of the head body 40 is defined in accordance with the height of the processing space 2 to be set. Thereby, the positions of the first gas diffusion chamber 42a and the second gas diffusion chamber 42b are set, and the interval L3 in the z direction of the first gas discharge hole 45a and the second gas discharge hole 45b is restricted. In the processing space 2, in order to cause the first gas and the second gas to flow in a laminar flow, the first gas discharge hole 45a and the second gas are provided at positions that are not as high as possible from the mounting surface 4a of the stage 4. The discharge hole 45b is preferable. On the other hand, when the first gas discharge hole 45a and the second gas discharge hole 45b are too close to each other, the trace amount of the first gas remaining in the first gas diffusion chamber 42a after the first gas is discharged and the second gas are discharged. The trace amount of the second gas remaining in the second gas diffusion chamber 42b may leak into the processing space 2, and the first gas and the second gas may be generated in the vicinity of the first gas discharge hole 45a and the second gas discharge hole 45b. The reactants are attached to the head body 40 or formed to adhere to the substrate G. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the formation of reactants like this.

In consideration of such a problem, in the present embodiment, the interval L3 in the z direction of the first gas discharge hole 45a and the second gas discharge hole 45b is set to be short, and the first arrangement is alternately arranged. The gas discharge hole 45a and the second gas discharge hole 45b extend the distance between the adjacent first gas discharge hole 45a and the second gas discharge hole 45b, and further suppress the unnecessary reaction between the first gas and the second gas. The reactants are formed. In addition, laminar flow and narrow terrain are formed in the processing space 2 as much as possible. The first gas diffusion chamber 42a and the second gas diffusion chamber 42b can prevent the first gas and the second gas from remaining in the first gas diffusion chamber 42a and the second gas diffusion chamber 42b, and can suppress unnecessary reactions. The generation of objects.

As shown in FIG. 5(b), the first head inner gas supply hole 44a is formed so as not to overlap the first gas discharge hole 45a as viewed in the x direction, and the second head inner gas supply hole 44b is formed. It is formed so as not to overlap with the second gas discharge hole 45b. For example, when the gas discharge hole is provided at a position overlapping with the gas supply hole in one head from the x direction, the gas discharge from the gas discharge hole is advantageous, and the gas discharge amount from the other gas discharge holes is lowered. And it is difficult to form a laminar flow in the processing space 2. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the gas supply hole and the gas discharge hole are not overlapped in the x-direction, and the gas introduced into the gas diffusion chamber from the gas supply hole in the head is caused to impinge on the gas diffusion chamber. The wall surface is diffused to achieve uniformization of gas discharge from the gas discharge port.

According to the first embodiment of the present invention, the first gas and the second gas are independently supplied to the gas supply head 6 by the first gas supply line 9a and the second gas supply line 9b having the same length of the pipe structure. 1 gas diffusion chamber 42a and second gas diffusion chamber 42b. Thereby, the first gas and the second gas can be uniformly supplied to the first gas diffusion chamber 42a and the second gas diffusion chamber 42b, respectively, by the equal length pipe.

Further, in the first gas diffusion chamber 42a and the second gas diffusion chamber 42b, the first gas and the second gas that are further supplied are uniformized. At this time, the first gas diffusion chamber 42a and the second gas diffusion chamber 42b, the head main body 40 having a substantially H-shaped cross section that is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction (y direction) is formed with high precision by an end mill or the like, and therefore is first in the longitudinal direction. The gas discharge hole 45a and the second gas discharge hole 45b are less likely to cause unevenness in the discharge of the first gas and the second gas, and the first gas and the second gas can be uniformly discharged onto the substrate G to form a laminar flow on the substrate G. Thereby, the substrate G can be uniformly processed.

Further, in the manufacture of the gas supply head 6, the first gas diffusion chamber 42a and the second gas diffusion chamber 42b having the long groove shape can be formed in the head main body 40 in a simple and highly accurate manner, and the gas supply hole 44a in the first head can be formed. Since the second inner gas supply hole 44b, the first gas discharge hole 45a, and the second gas discharge hole 45b have a short hole length, they can be easily and accurately formed by end mill processing. Further, since the lid bodies 41a and 41b can be attached only to the head main body 40, the gas supply head 6 can be completed, and therefore, it can be easily disassembled. Therefore, the gas supply head 6 and the substrate G can be more uniformly processed. Further, the gas supply head 6 has an advantage that the length corresponding to the size of the substrate G can be easily and accurately manufactured, and can be easily repaired by decomposition.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, in the above description, the substrate G is a glass substrate for an organic EL display. However, the substrate G is not limited thereto. The substrate G may be a glass substrate for LCD production or a glass substrate for solar cell production.

Moreover, in the above description, the short side of the substrate G × the length of the long side The degree is set to be about 1500 mm × about 1850 mm, and the number of divergence of the gas supply pipe of the gas supply system 9 is defined in accordance with the size of the substrate. On the other hand, in recent years, the substrate size has been oriented toward a size of about 2,200 mm × about 2,500 mm, and has been increased in size toward a size of about 2,800 mm × about 3,100 mm. The present invention can be easily adapted to the enlargement of the substrate size as described above. That is, the change in the size of the substrate can be easily made by adjusting the number of divergence of the gas supply pipe in the gas supply system or the number of gas supply holes 8 in the stage. Further, the required gas supply amount can be easily adjusted by the pipe diameter of the gas supply system, the volume of the gas diffusion chamber in the gas supply head, and the shape of the gas discharge hole.

However, in order to make the gas supply system 9 an equal-length pipe structure, the number of pipes at the end (the most downstream) of the first gas supply line 9a and the second gas supply line 9b in the gas supply system 9 (that is, the first platform) The number of the inner gas supply holes 8a and the number of the inner gas supply holes 8b in the second stage are limited to 2 ⁿ (n; natural number). The above embodiment corresponds to the case where n=3.

The gas to be introduced into the processing space 2 is not limited to the two types proposed in the above embodiment, and the type of the film to be formed may be more than three types. In this case, for example, it can be matched by laminating the gas supply head 6.

In the above-described embodiment, the first gas and the second gas are supplied to the gas supply head 6 in the horizontal direction so that the gas supply hole 8 is formed in the side wall 4b1 of the stage 4. Limited to this, it can also be set to penetrate the platform in the vertical direction (z direction). After that, the gas introduction pipe that is bent in the horizontal direction is disposed, and the gas introduction pipe is connected to the first in-head gas supply hole 44a and the second in-head gas supply hole 44b of the gas supply head 6.

Claims (12)

A gas supply mechanism is attached to a substrate processing apparatus, and is characterized in that it includes a gas supply pipe that is branched into a 2 ⁿ (n; natural number) from one gas supply source toward the downstream side, and the end is 2 The gas discharge ports of the ⁿ branch pipes are arranged at equal intervals on a straight line; and one long gas supply head having a long groove-shaped gas diffusion chamber and a plurality of gas discharge holes, the long groove-shaped gas diffusion chamber 2 ⁿ root in communication with the gas outlet of the manifold, a plurality of gas discharge holes is formed at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction, and the gas is introduced into the discharge chamber of the gas diffusion. The gas supply mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the gas supply head is in communication with the 2 ⁿ branch pipes and communicates with the gas diffusion in a direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the gas supply head 2 ^{n in-} head gas supply holes of the chamber, wherein the gas discharge holes are arranged on the straight line at equal intervals with respect to the 2 ^{n in-} head gas supply holes via the gas diffusion chamber, and are opposite to the above 2 Each of the ⁿ branch pipes is provided with a plurality of branches. The gas supply mechanism according to the second aspect of the invention, wherein the gas discharge hole and the gas discharge hole are provided at positions that are not overlapped when viewed from a direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the gas supply head. Such as the gas supply mechanism of claim 2 or 3, The gas supply pipe includes two systems in which two different types of gases are independently supplied, and the gas supply head has two gas diffusion chambers, and the two gas diffusion chambers are independent of the two systems. The gas supply pipe is connected. The gas supply mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the gas supply head has a head main body having a substantially H-shaped cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, and a lid body attached to the front surface The two recessed portions of the head main body are formed by sealing the long groove-shaped space by the lid body, and the long groove-shaped space is formed on each of the bottom surfaces of the recessed portions. The gas supply mechanism according to claim 5, wherein the gas diffusion chamber is formed by applying an end mill to a bottom surface of the concave portion of the head body. The gas supply mechanism according to claim 5, wherein the gas discharge holes are alternately arranged in two rows in the longitudinal direction of the gas supply head so as to communicate with the two gas diffusion chambers. The gas supply mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the 2 ⁿ branch pipes of the gas supply pipe are connected to the gas diffusion chamber from a horizontal direction, and are The gas introduced into the gas diffusion chamber is discharged from the gas discharge hole in the horizontal direction. A substrate processing apparatus is provided with the gas supply mechanism according to any one of the above-mentioned claims. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising: a processing container having a stage (a mounting surface having the mounting substrate) and an upper cover covering the platform, and covering the upper cover In the method of the platform, a processing space for accommodating the substrate placed on the mounting surface is formed, and the gas supply head is disposed such that one side surface parallel to the longitudinal direction thereof is in close contact with the side wall of one side of the platform In the processing space, the side wall of the one side of the processing container is provided with 2 ⁿ intra-stage gas supply holes in parallel with the mounting surface, and the 2 ⁿ platform gas supply holes and the gas supply tube The gas discharge port of the 2 ⁿ branch pipes on the downstream side is in communication with the gas diffusion chamber of the gas supply head. A gas supply head for discharging a predetermined type of gas to a substrate placed on a substantially horizontal surface by at least two kinds of gases, and discharging the two types of gas in a horizontal direction to the substrate, the gas supply head being characterized by The head body has a long strip shape, and the shape of the cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is substantially H-shaped; and the lid body is respectively attached to the recessed portion of the head body, and the head body is The utility model has two gas diffusion chambers which are long groove-shaped and independent, and are formed to be parallel to the longitudinal direction and blocked by the cover body so as to open the bottom wall surfaces of the concave portions at the two places; 2 ⁿ (n a natural gas) gas supply hole in the head is provided on the straight line at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction so as to communicate with the two gas diffusion chambers, and a gas discharge hole interposed between the gas diffusion chamber and the gas diffusion chamber The ^{n n in-} head gas supply holes are arranged at equal intervals on the straight line, and a plurality of the respective ^{n n} branch pipes are provided, and the gas introduced into the gas diffusion chamber is discharged. The gas supply head according to the eleventh aspect of the invention, wherein the gas discharge hole and the gas discharge hole are provided at positions that are not overlapped when viewed from a direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the gas supply head.