Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
  • H01J37/32—Gas-filled discharge tubes
  • H01J37/32009—Arrangements for generation of plasma specially adapted for examination or treatment of objects, e.g. plasma sources
  • H01J37/32422—Arrangement for selecting ions or species in the plasma
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
  • H01J37/32—Gas-filled discharge tubes
  • H01J37/32009—Arrangements for generation of plasma specially adapted for examination or treatment of objects, e.g. plasma sources
  • H01J37/32357—Generation remote from the workpiece, e.g. down-stream
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
  • G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
  • G03F7/00—Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
  • G03F7/26—Processing photosensitive materials; Apparatus therefor
  • G03F7/42—Stripping or agents therefor
  • G03F7/427—Stripping or agents therefor using plasma means only
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
  • H01J37/32—Gas-filled discharge tubes
  • H01J37/32431—Constructional details of the reactor
  • H01J37/32733—Means for moving the material to be treated
  • H01J37/32752—Means for moving the material to be treated for moving the material across the discharge
  • H01J37/32761—Continuous moving
  • H01J37/32779—Continuous moving of batches of workpieces
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
  • H01L21/673—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere using specially adapted carriers or holders; Fixing the workpieces on such carriers or holders
  • H01L21/67303—Vertical boat type carrier whereby the substrates are horizontally supported, e.g. comprising rod-shaped elements
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/04—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer
  • H01L21/18—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer the devices having semiconductor bodies comprising elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table or AIIIBV compounds with or without impurities, e.g. doping materials
  • H01L21/30—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26
  • H01L21/31—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26 to form insulating layers thereon, e.g. for masking or by using photolithographic techniques; After treatment of these layers; Selection of materials for these layers
  • H01L21/3105—After-treatment
  • H01L21/311—Etching the insulating layers by chemical or physical means
  • H01L21/31127—Etching organic layers
  • H01L21/31133—Etching organic layers by chemical means
  • H01L21/31138—Etching organic layers by chemical means by dry-etching

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a batch-type ashing apparatus, and more specifically to a batch-type ashing apparatus using a remote radical generator.
• Semiconductor device fabrication generally involves a photolithographic process to form patterns.
• the photolithographic process employs a photosensitive film as a mask layer.
• the photosensitive film must be removed after being completely used.
• the ashing method oxidizes the photosensitive film using radicals.
• the photosensitive film is made of a polymer comprising carbon (C) and hydrogen (H). For this reason. oxygen radicals are commonly used in order to vaporize the polymer into a gas such as CO 2 and H 2 O.
• a radical electrode is adhered to a reactor, and an RF power with a frequency of about 13.56 MHz is applied thereto. That is, the photosensitive film present on the substrate is removed by directly generating oxygen radicals in the reactor.
• the radicals directly generated in the reactor are stronger, thus causing damage to the substrate and the reactor due to ion collision.
• the method has a low radical generation ratio, thus disadvantageously causing low process efficiency, increased process time and deteriorated production efficiency.
• Semiconductor device fabrication processes involve repetition of the same process.
• the photolithographic process is also repeated several times.
• the ashing process should be repeated several times.
• One method for increasing ashing time is to increase a high frequency power applied to generate radicals.
• the increased power causes an increase in charged particles having a high energy among radicals present in the reactor, abrasion of parts inside the reactor and surface damage of the substrate to be treated.
• another method for increasing ashing time is to increase the temperature of the substrate to be treated.
• this method has a problem in that, when the substrate temperature increases under an oxygen atmosphere, it is oxidized, causing variation of electrical properties of a device.
• Korean Patent No. 427,524 discloses a batch-type ashing apparatus using a remote radical generator.
• a remote radical generator there is a need for great improvement to increase an etch ratio of the apparatus.
• one object of the present invention is to provide a batch-type ashing apparatus using a remote radical generator wherein an etch ratio can be increased through prevention of excessive temperature deterioration of radicals, improvement of exhaust ratio, prevention of radical loss in a reactor, and extended supply of radicals.
• a batch-type ashing apparatus using a remote radical generator comprising: a reactor to perform an ashing process; a plurality of batch-type substrate supports provided in the reactor such that a plurality of horizontally arranged substrates are laminated, while being spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance in a vertical direction; a remote radical generator; a radical supply channel connecting the remote radical generator to the reactor such that radicals are supplied to the substrates; a heat sink arranged on the external surface of the radical supply channel; and an upper exhaust pipe and a lower exhaust pipe, each being connected to the reactor, to exhaust a gas present inside the reactor.
• the batch-type ashing apparatus may further comprise a radical loss prevention ring arranged in a region provided above the batch-type substrate supports in the reactor such that the radical loss prevention ring is closely adhered to the inner surface of the reactor.
• the upper exhaust pipe or the lower exhaust pipe may be at least two.
• the remote radical generator may be at least two.
• a source gas of the radicals supplied to the remote radical generator may be an O 2 gas, or a mix gas of O 2 and N 2.
• an etch ratio is increased and overall production efficiency is thus improved through prevention of excessive temperature deterioration of radicals, improvement of exhaust ratio, prevention of radical loss in a reactor, and extended supply of radicals, as compared to conventional cases, i.e., an RF supplier provided in the reactor, and Korean Patent No. 427,524.
• abrasion of parts inside the reactor and damage of a wafer can be prevented by using the remote radical generator.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a batch-type ashing apparatus using a remote radical generator according to one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a batch-type ashing apparatus using a remote radical generator according to one embodiment of the present invention.
• the batch-type ashing apparatus comprises a reactor 100 wherein an ashing process is performed, a plurality of batch-type substrate supports 200, a remote radical generator 300, a radical supply channel 400, a heat sink 500, exhaust pipes 610 and 620, and a radical loss prevention ring 700.
• an etch ratio can be increased through prevention of excessive temperature deterioration of radicals, improvement of exhaust ratio, prevention of radical loss in a reactor, and extended supply of radicals.
• the batch substrate supports 200 are arranged in the reactor 100 such that a plurality of horizontally arranged substrates 10 are laminated, while being spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance in a vertical direction. It is preferable that the distance between the adjacent batch-type substrate supports 200 be 10 to 30 mm, to supply radicals to the respective substrates without any loss. In particular, the distance between the batch-type substrate supports 200 may be suitably used in the range of 10.0 mm to 20 mm.
• the radical supply channel 400 connects the remote radical generator 300 to the reactor, thus allowing the radicals to be supplied to the substrates 10.
• the external surface of the radical supply channel 400 is cooled in accordance with a water cooling method using cooling water (about 20 0 C) for semiconductor process applications, radicals that pass through the radical supply channel 400 undergo reduction in temperature, and an etch ratio through the ashing process is thus decreased.
• the heat sink 500 instead of using water cooling, the heat sink 500 is installed to improve an etch ratio. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that the heat sink 500 may be formed separately from the radical supply channel 400 or integrally formed therewith.
• the exhaust pipes 610 and 620 are installed on the top and bottom of the reactor 100, respectively, to improve an etch ratio due to improvement of an exhaust ratio.
• the exhaust pipes installed on the top and bottom of the reactor 100 may be two or more and preferably have an outlet with a size of 40 mm or more.
• the radical loss prevention ring 700 is arranged in a region provided above the batch-type substrate support 200 and is installed in the reactor 100 such that it is closely adhered to the inner surface of the reactor 100.
• etch ratios of upper substrates is generally lower than those of lower substrates. This is the reason that radicals flow along the sidewalls of the reactor 100 and are then lost. Accordingly, in the embodiment of the present invention, the radical loss prevention ring 700 is installed in the reactor 100 to improve etch ratios of the upper substrates.
• the method of the present invention employs a mixed gas of O 2 and N 2 as a radical source gas, thereby improving an etch ratio more efficiently.
• Table 1 below shows comparison of photosensitive film etch ratio between a case (A) where plasma is directly generated inside the reactor, a case (B) according to Korean Patent No. 427,624, and cases (C) and (D) according to the embodiments of the present invention.
• a photosensitive film deposited on a SiO 2 layer to a thickness of 15,000 A was used.
• the embodiments of the present invention exhibit a superior etch ratio.

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Plasma & Fusion (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Analytical Chemistry (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
• Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
• Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
• Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
• Power Engineering (AREA)
• Drying Of Semiconductors (AREA)

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• 2007
  • 2007-07-04 KR KR1020070067115A patent/KR100857541B1/ko not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2007-08-13 WO PCT/KR2007/003865 patent/WO2009005183A1/en active Application Filing

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