WO2013136916A1

WO2013136916A1 - Load lock device

Info

Publication number: WO2013136916A1
Application number: PCT/JP2013/053874
Authority: WO
Inventors: 仙尚小林
Original assignee: 東京エレクトロン株式会社
Priority date: 2012-03-14
Filing date: 2013-02-18
Publication date: 2013-09-19
Also published as: TW201347067A; JP2013191782A

Abstract

This load lock device (6, 7) is equipped with: a vessel (31); a purge gas supply source (48) that supplies purge gas into the vessel (31); an exhaust mechanism (44) that exhausts the interior of the vessel (31); a pressure adjustment mechanism (49) that adjusts between atmospheric pressure and a pressure corresponding to a conveyance chamber (5) whereby the vessel (31) interior pressure is held at a vacuum; a substrate support member (54) that supports a substrate (W) in the vessel (31); a gas discharge member (51, 52) that is provided facing the upper surface and/or lower surface of the substrate (W) and that comprises a shower structure or a porous body that discharges purge gas towards the upper surface and/or the lower surface of the substrate (W); and a control unit (20) that controls the pressure adjustment mechanism (49) in a manner so that an effect is obtained of the temperature of the gas after discharge decreasing, and so that the pressure difference of both sides sandwiching the gas discharge member (51, 52) is nearly constant.

Description

Load lock device

The present invention relates to a load lock device used in a vacuum processing apparatus that performs vacuum processing on a substrate to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer.

In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, vacuum processing performed in a vacuum atmosphere such as film formation processing or etching processing is frequently used for a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as a wafer) that is a substrate to be processed. Recently, from the viewpoint of improving the efficiency of such vacuum processing and suppressing contamination such as oxidation and contamination, a plurality of vacuum processing units are connected to a transfer chamber held in a vacuum and provided in this transfer chamber. A cluster tool type multi-chamber type vacuum processing system in which a wafer can be transferred to each vacuum processing unit by the transferred transfer device is used (for example, Patent Document 1).

In such a multi-chamber processing system, in order to transfer a wafer from a wafer cassette placed in the atmosphere to a transfer chamber held in a vacuum, a load lock device (load lock device) is provided between the transfer chamber and the wafer cassette. Chamber), and the wafer is transferred through the load lock device.

By the way, when such a multi-chamber processing system is applied to a high temperature process such as a film forming process, the wafer is taken out of the vacuum processing unit at a high temperature exceeding, for example, 500 ° C. and transferred into the container of the load lock device. However, when the wafer is exposed to the atmosphere in such a high temperature state, the wafer is oxidized. Further, if the wafer is stored in the storage container at such a high temperature, there is a problem that the storage container, which is usually made of resin, melts.

In order to avoid such inconvenience, a cooling plate with a cooling mechanism for cooling the wafer is arranged in the container of the load lock device, and gas is introduced into the container of the load lock device in a state where the wafer is close to the cooling plate. Then, the wafer is cooled while the inside of the container is returned from the vacuum to the atmospheric pressure.

JP 2000-208589 A

Since the pressure in the container is low (10 Pa or less) at the time when the wafer is carried into the container of the load lock device and the cooling is started, the pressure region where the effect of conduction heat transfer in the initial stage of cooling is exhibited ( Up to several thousand Pa), it is difficult to perform cooling by the cooling plate. In addition, if the purge gas is rapidly flowed into the container, there is a concern that particles may be rolled up. Therefore, it is necessary to gradually introduce the gas for about 10 seconds until the pressure reaches 1000 Pa (slow vent).

For this reason, the rate of temperature decrease is low, and it takes a long time to cool the wafer, and the cooling time of the wafer in the load lock device determines the processing of the entire processing system, thereby reducing the throughput.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a load lock device that can efficiently cool a high-temperature substrate and increase the throughput of substrate processing.

That is, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a load lock device used when a substrate is transferred from an atmospheric atmosphere to a vacuum chamber held in a vacuum, and a high-temperature substrate is transferred from the vacuum chamber to the atmospheric atmosphere. A container provided such that the pressure can be varied between a pressure corresponding to the vacuum chamber and the atmospheric pressure, a purge gas supply mechanism for supplying a purge gas into the container, an exhaust mechanism for exhausting the inside of the container, By controlling the purge gas supply mechanism and the exhaust mechanism, when the inside of the container communicates with the vacuum chamber, the pressure in the container is adjusted to a pressure corresponding to the vacuum chamber, and the inside of the container is in the atmosphere. A pressure adjusting mechanism that adjusts the pressure in the container to atmospheric pressure when communicating with the space, a substrate support member that supports the substrate in the container, an upper surface of the substrate supported by the substrate support member, and Alternatively, a gas discharge member made of a porous body or a shower structure that is provided facing the lower surface and discharges the purge gas supplied from the purge gas supply mechanism toward the upper surface and / or the lower surface of the substrate, and the pressure in the container The pressure difference between both sides sandwiching the gas discharge member is substantially maintained when the pressure is increased or when the inside of the container is at atmospheric pressure, and the temperature of the gas discharged from the gas discharge member is reduced. And a control unit that controls the pressure adjusting mechanism so as to provide the load lock device.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a load lock device used for transferring a substrate from an atmospheric atmosphere to a vacuum chamber held in a vacuum, and transferring a high-temperature substrate from the vacuum chamber to the atmospheric atmosphere. A container provided such that the pressure can be varied between the pressure corresponding to the vacuum chamber and the atmospheric pressure, a purge gas supply mechanism for supplying a purge gas into the container, an exhaust mechanism for exhausting the inside of the container, and the purge gas By controlling the supply mechanism and the exhaust mechanism, the pressure inside the container is adjusted to a pressure corresponding to the vacuum chamber when the inside of the container communicates with the vacuum chamber. A pressure adjusting mechanism for adjusting the pressure in the container to atmospheric pressure when communicating with the substrate, a substrate support member for supporting the substrate in the container, and an upper surface and / or a lower surface of the substrate supported by the substrate support member And a gas discharge member made of a porous body or a shower structure, which is provided facing the side surface and discharges the purge gas supplied from the purge gas supply mechanism toward the upper surface and / or the lower surface and the side surface of the substrate, and the container When the internal pressure is increased or when the inside of the container becomes atmospheric pressure, the pressure difference between both sides sandwiching the gas discharge member is substantially maintained, and the temperature of the gas discharged from the gas discharge member is A control unit that controls the pressure adjusting mechanism so as to obtain an effect of decreasing, and in addition to a decrease in temperature of the substrate due to the fact that the pressure difference between both sides across the gas discharge member is substantially maintained, the upper surface of the substrate And / or a load lock device in which the temperature of the substrate is lowered due to a collision between the purge gas discharged toward the lower surface and the purge gas discharged toward the side surface of the substrate. To provide.

In the present invention, the control unit can control the pressure adjusting mechanism so as to obtain a Joule-Thomson effect when the pressure in the container is increased or when the inside of the container becomes atmospheric pressure. .

Further, it is preferable that the control unit controls the pressure adjusting mechanism so as to suppress a temperature increase due to adiabatic compression when the pressure in the container is increased. In this case, when the control unit increases the pressure in the container, the pressure adjustment mechanism alternately supplies the purge gas into the container and exhausts the container to thereby reduce the pressure in the container. It is preferable to control the pressure adjusting mechanism to adjust.

Furthermore, the gas discharge member can be made of a porous ceramic.

It is a horizontal sectional view showing a schematic structure of a multi-chamber type vacuum processing system to which the load lock device of the present invention is applied. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing a load lock device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a horizontal sectional view showing the load lock device concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a timing chart which shows the example of the sequence which repeats purge gas supply and exhaust_gas | exhaustion by a pressure adjustment mechanism. It is a figure which shows the temperature fall of the wafer at the time of raising the pressure in a container by the sequence of FIG. It is a vertical sectional view showing a load lock device concerning a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. It is a horizontal sectional view showing a load lock device concerning a 2nd embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<Vacuum processing system to which the load lock device of the present invention is applied>
FIG. 1 is a horizontal sectional view showing a schematic structure of a multi-chamber type vacuum processing system to which a load lock device of the present invention is applied.

The vacuum processing system includes four

vacuum processing units

1, 2, 3, and 4 that perform high-temperature processing such as film formation processing. Each of these vacuum processing units 1 to 4 has a hexagonal transfer chamber 5. Are provided in correspondence with the four sides. In addition,

load lock devices

6 and 7 according to the present embodiment are provided on the other two sides of the transfer chamber 5, respectively. A loading / unloading chamber 8 is provided on the opposite side of the

load lock devices

6 and 7 to the transfer chamber 5, and a wafer W as a substrate to be processed is placed on the loading / unloading chamber 8 on the opposite side of the

load lock devices

6 and 7.

Ports

9, 10, and 11 for attaching three hoops F that can be accommodated are provided. The hoop F is mounted on the mounting table S. The

vacuum processing units

1, 2, 3, and 4 are configured to perform predetermined vacuum processing, for example, etching or film formation processing, with a wafer W as a substrate to be processed placed on a processing plate. .

The vacuum processing units 1 to 4 are connected to each side of the transfer chamber 5 via a gate valve G as shown in the figure, and these are communicated with the transfer chamber 5 by opening the corresponding gate valve G. By closing the corresponding gate valve G, the transfer chamber 5 is shut off. The

load lock devices

6 and 7 are connected to each of the remaining sides of the transfer chamber 5 via the first gate valve G1, and are connected to the carry-in / out chamber 8 via the second gate valve G2. Has been. The

load lock devices

6 and 7 are communicated with the transfer chamber 5 by opening the first gate valve G1, and are disconnected from the transfer chamber 5 by closing the first gate valve G1. The second gate valve G2 is opened to communicate with the loading / unloading chamber 8, and the second gate valve G2 is closed to shut off the loading / unloading chamber 8.

In the transfer chamber 5, a transfer device 12 for loading and unloading the wafer W with respect to the vacuum processing units 1 to 4 and the

load lock devices

6 and 7 is provided. The transfer device 12 is disposed substantially at the center of the transfer chamber 5, and is capable of rotating and expanding / contracting, and a rotation / extension / contraction unit 13, and two support

arms

14 a and 14 b that support the wafer W provided at the tip thereof. These two support

arms

14a and 14b are attached to the rotating / extending / contracting portion 13 so as to face opposite directions. The inside of the transfer chamber 5 is maintained at a predetermined degree of vacuum.

Shutters (not shown) are provided in the

ports

9, 10, and 11, which are wafer storage containers in the loading / unloading chamber 8, and the wafers W are accommodated in these

ports

9, 10, and 11 or empty FOUPs F are directly attached. When attached, the shutter is released to communicate with the carry-in / out chamber 8 while preventing the entry of outside air. An alignment chamber 15 is provided on the side surface of the loading / unloading chamber 8, and the wafer W is aligned there.

In the loading / unloading chamber 8, a transfer device 16 for loading / unloading the wafer W into / from the FOUP F and loading / unloading the wafer W into / from the

load lock devices

6 and 7 is provided. The transfer device 16 has an articulated arm structure and can run on the rail 18 along the direction in which the hoops F are arranged. The wafer W is placed on the support arm 17 at the tip of the transfer device 16 and transferred. I do.

Each component in the vacuum processing system, for example, the vacuum processing units 1 to 4, the transfer chamber 5, the gas supply system and the exhaust system in the

load lock devices

6 and 7, the

transfer devices

12 and 16, the gate valve, etc. It is controlled by a control unit 20 having a computer. The control unit 20 includes a storage unit that stores a process sequence of the vacuum processing system and a process recipe that is a control parameter, an input unit, a display, and the like, and controls the vacuum processing system in accordance with the selected process recipe. Yes.

In the vacuum processing system configured as described above, the wafer W is taken out from the FOUP F connected to the loading / unloading chamber 8 by the transfer device 16 and placed in the container 31 (see FIG. 2) of the load lock device 6 (or 7). Carry in. At this time, the inside of the container 31 of the load lock device 6 is set to an air atmosphere, and then the wafer W is loaded with the second gate valve G2 opened.

Then, the container 31 is evacuated until the pressure corresponding to the transfer chamber 5 is reached, the first gate valve G1 is opened, the wafer W is received from the container 31 by the transfer device 12, and one of the vacuum processing units. The gate valve G is opened and the wafer W is loaded therein, and the wafer W is subjected to vacuum processing at a high temperature such as film formation.

When the vacuum processing is completed, the gate valve G is opened, the transfer device 12 unloads the wafer W from the corresponding vacuum processing unit, the first gate valve G1 is opened, and the wafer W is loaded into the

load lock devices

6 and 7. Then, a purge gas is introduced into the container 31, and the wafer W in the container 31 is cooled by the purge gas while the atmospheric pressure is set to atmospheric pressure (wafer cooling period). Then, the second gate valve G <b> 2 is opened, and the processed wafer W is stored in the FOUP F by the transfer device 16.

In addition, regarding the two

load lock devices

6 and 7, the load lock device 6 may be dedicated to carry-in, and the load lock device 7 may be dedicated to carry-out.

<First Embodiment of Load Lock Device>
Next, the load lock device according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing the load lock device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view thereof. In the present embodiment, the load lock device 6 (7) has a container 31. The container 31 includes a container main body 31a having an upper opening and a lid 31b that closes the upper opening of the container main body 31a. A cooling plate (cooling member) 32 that cools the wafer W is provided at the bottom of the container 31 in a state where the wafer W is close to the container 31. The container 31 and the cooling plate 32 are made of, for example, aluminum or an aluminum alloy.

An opening 34 that can communicate with the transfer chamber 5 held in vacuum is provided on one side wall of the container 31, and an opening that can communicate with the loading / unloading chamber 8 held at atmospheric pressure is provided on the opposite side wall. 35 is provided. The opening 34 can be opened and closed by the first gate valve G1, and the opening 35 can be opened and closed by the second gate valve G2.

The cooling plate 32 is provided with a plurality of wafer elevating pins (not shown) for wafer transfer so as to protrude and retract with respect to the surface (upper surface) of the cooling plate 32. These wafer elevating pins are moved up and down by a drive mechanism (not shown) such as an air cylinder, and the wafer W is transferred from the surface (upper surface) of the cooling plate 32, and the cooling position is submerged in the cooling plate 32. It can be moved between. Three (only two are shown in FIG. 2) wafer support pins (wafer support members) 54 are attached to the upper surface of the cooling plate 32, and the wafer W in the cooling position is cooled by these wafer support pins 54. It is located at a position separated from the plate 32. Since the wafer W is thus separated from the cooling plate 32, the adhesion of particles to the back surface of the wafer W can be reduced.

On the surface of the cooling plate 32, a lower gas discharge member 52 having a rod shape made of a porous body such as a porous ceramic or a shower structure, which discharges a gas serving as a purge gas and a cooling gas so as to face the lower surface of the wafer W. Is provided.

On the other hand, the lower surface of the lid 31b of the container 31 is from a porous body or shower structure such as a porous ceramic that discharges a gas that serves as both a purge gas and a cooling gas so as to face the upper surface of the wafer W on the cooling plate 32. An upper gas discharge member 51 having a rod shape is provided.

In the present embodiment, the upper gas discharge member 51 and the lower gas discharge member 52 are disposed so as to face the central portions of the upper and lower surfaces of the wafer W.

The upper gas discharge member 51 is connected to an upper pipe 45 a extending from the side of the container 31, and the lower gas discharge member 52 is connected to a lower pipe 45 b extending from the side of the container 31. The upper pipe 45 a and the lower pipe 45 b are branched from the purge gas supply pipe 45, and a purge gas source 48 is connected to the purge gas supply pipe 45. The purge gas supply pipe 45 is provided with an opening / closing valve 46 and a flow rate adjusting valve 47. In addition, open /

close valves

55 and 56 are provided in the upper pipe 45a and the lower pipe 45b, respectively. Accordingly, the purge gas serving as the cooling gas supplied from the purge gas source 48 through the purge gas supply pipe 45, the upper pipe 45a, and the lower pipe 45b while adjusting the flow rate by the flow rate adjusting valve 47 is used as the upper gas discharge member 51 and the lower gas discharge valve 51. The upper surface of the wafer W is supplied from either the upper gas discharge member 51 or the lower gas discharge member 52 by supplying the gas from the side gas discharge member 52 toward the upper and lower surfaces of the wafer W or by operating the on-off

valves

55 and 56. And it comes to supply toward the lower surface.

An exhaust port 36 for evacuating the inside of the container 31 is provided at the bottom of the container 31. An exhaust pipe 41 is connected to the exhaust port 36, and an open / close valve 42, an exhaust speed adjustment valve 43, and a vacuum pump 44 are provided in the exhaust pipe 41. Therefore, the inside of the container 31 can be evacuated at a predetermined speed by the exhaust speed adjusting valve 43 and the vacuum pump 44.

When the wafer W is transferred to or from the vacuum-side transfer chamber 5, the opening / closing valve 46 is closed and the opening / closing valve 42 is opened, and the exhaust speed adjustment valve 43 is adjusted to adjust the vacuum pump 44 at a predetermined speed. By evacuating the container 31 through the exhaust pipe 41, the pressure in the container 31 is set to a pressure corresponding to the pressure in the transfer chamber 5, and in this state, the first gate valve G1 is opened and the container 31 and the transfer chamber 5 are opened. Communicating with When transferring the wafer W to / from the atmosphere-side loading / unloading chamber 8, the opening / closing valve 42 is closed and the opening / closing valve 46 is opened, and the flow rate adjusting valve 47 is adjusted to adjust nitrogen gas or the like. The purge gas is supplied from the purge gas source 48 to the upper gas discharge member 51 and the lower gas discharge member 52 made of a porous body or a shower structure through the purge gas supply pipe 45, the upper pipe 45a and the lower pipe 45b. Are discharged onto the upper and lower surfaces of the wafer W, and the pressure in the container 31 is increased to near atmospheric pressure by the discharged purge gas. In this state, the second gate valve G2 is opened to open the container 31 and the loading / unloading chamber 8; Communicate between the two. When the pressure is increased, supply of purge gas and exhaust may be used in combination in order to adjust the rate of increase in pressure. Also, by operating the on-off

valves

55 and 56, purge gas is supplied from the upper pipe 45a or the lower pipe 45b to the upper gas discharge member 51 or the lower gas discharge member 52 and discharged onto the upper or lower surface of the wafer W. Also good.

The pressure in the container 31 is adjusted between the atmospheric pressure and a predetermined vacuum atmosphere by the pressure adjusting mechanism 49. The pressure adjusting mechanism 49 controls the opening / closing valve 42, the exhaust speed adjusting valve 43, the flow rate adjusting valve 47, and the opening / closing valve 46 based on the pressure in the container 31 measured by the pressure gauge 59. Adjust pressure. The pressure adjustment mechanism 49 is controlled by the control unit 20 described above. The control unit 20 is configured so that the pressure difference between the both sides of the upper gas discharge member 51 and the lower gas discharge member 52 which are porous bodies or shower structures is substantially maintained, and the temperature of the purge gas after discharge is reduced. The pressure adjustment mechanism 49 is controlled to control the pressure in the container 31.

Next, the operation of the

load lock devices

6 and 7 in this embodiment will be described.
First, the wafer W taken out from the FOUP F by the transfer device 16 is loaded into the container 31. At this time, the inside of the container 31 is set to an atmospheric atmosphere, and then the wafer W is loaded with the second gate valve G2 opened.

Then, the gate valve G2 is closed, the inside of the container 31 is evacuated until a predetermined degree of vacuum corresponding to the transfer chamber 5 is reached, and then the first gate valve G1 is opened to support the

support arm

14a or 14b of the transfer device 12. Thus, the wafer W is unloaded from the container 31. The unloaded wafer W is subjected to vacuum processing at a high temperature (for example, a temperature exceeding 500 ° C.) such as film formation by any vacuum processing unit.

Next, the pressure in the container 31 is adjusted to a predetermined degree of vacuum corresponding to the transfer chamber 5, the first gate valve G <b> 1 is opened, and the processed high-temperature wafer W is loaded into the container 31. The wafer W is cooled in the process of introducing the purge gas to increase the pressure in the container 31 to atmospheric pressure. When the inside of the container 31 becomes atmospheric pressure and the wafer W is cooled to a predetermined temperature of about 100 ° C. or less, the second gate valve G2 is opened to support the wafer W in the container 31 by the transfer device 16. It is taken out by the arm 17 and accommodated in a predetermined hoop F.

At this time, the cooling of the wafer W is conventionally performed by passing a cooling medium through the cooling plate 32. However, since the pressure in the container 31 is low (10 Pa or less) when the wafer W is loaded into the container 31 of the

load lock devices

6 and 7 and cooling is started, the conduction heat transfer in the initial stage of cooling is low. Until the pressure range (several thousand Pa or more) where the effect is exhibited, cooling by the cooling plate 32 through which the cooling medium is passed is difficult. Further, if the purge gas is rapidly flowed into the container, there is a concern that particles are wound up. Therefore, it is necessary to perform a slow vent for about 10 seconds until the pressure reaches 1000 Pa. For this reason, the temperature drop rate becomes low, and it takes a long time to cool the wafer.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, a porous body or a shower structure provided so as to face the central portion of the upper surface of the wafer W when the processed high-temperature wafer W is carried in and returned to the air atmosphere while cooling the wafer. The upper gas discharge member 51 made of or the lower gas discharge member 52 made of a porous body or shower structure provided so as to face the central portion of the lower surface of the wafer W, or both of them also served as a cooling gas. The purge gas is discharged toward the upper surface, the lower surface, or both of the wafer W, and the pressure difference between both sides of the upper gas discharge member 51 and / or the lower gas discharge member 52 is substantially maintained by the control unit 20. Then, the pressure adjusting mechanism 49 is controlled so as to obtain an effect of lowering the temperature of the purge gas after being discharged.

That is, when the gas is expanded by discharging the gas from the high pressure region to the low pressure region while maintaining the pressure difference through the porous body or the shower structure, the temperature of the gas is lowered by the Joule-Thomson effect. Therefore, the purge gas is supplied under the condition that the pressure difference is substantially maintained so that the Joule-Thomson effect is established.

Thereby, the wafer W can be efficiently cooled by the purge gas. Further, since the upper gas discharge member 51 and the lower gas discharge member 52 are formed of a porous body or a shower structure, and purge gas is gently discharged by the filter function, particles are not generated even when the purge gas is directly supplied to the wafer W. It is difficult for the roll-up to occur.

As the rate of pressure increase due to the supply of purge gas increases, the purge gas discharged from the upper gas discharge member 51 and the lower gas discharge member 52 is adiabatically compressed and the temperature rises, so that adiabatic compression is suppressed. For example, the pressure adjusting mechanism 49 controls the opening / closing valve 46 for the purge gas provided in the purge gas supply pipe 45 and the opening / closing valve 42 provided in the exhaust pipe 41, while repeating supply and exhaust of purge gas in a short time. A method of gradually increasing the pressure so that the pressure difference does not increase can be employed.

Actually, as shown in FIG. 4, the purge gas on / off valve 46 provided on the purge gas supply pipe 45 and the on / off valve 42 provided on the exhaust pipe 41 are turned on / off at intervals of 0.5 sec. As shown in FIG. 5, it was confirmed that a cooling effect of 20 ° C. or more was obtained in one cycle.

Also, the temperature rise due to adiabatic compression can be suppressed by reducing the flow rate of the purge gas by the flow rate adjusting valve 47.

In the phase where the purge gas is introduced into the container 31 to increase the pressure, there is a concern that the temperature may increase due to adiabatic compression. Therefore, as described above, relatively complicated control such as repeated supply of the purge gas and evacuation is performed. In some cases, the pressure difference between the upper gas discharge member 51 and the lower gas discharge member 52, which are porous or shower structures, can be kept constant when the pressure reaches atmospheric pressure. The Joule-Thompson effect can be effectively exhibited easily, and a good cooling effect can be obtained.

As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the porous body provided to face the upper surface and / or the lower surface of the substrate (wafer) supported by the substrate support member (wafer support pins). Alternatively, a purge gas is discharged from the gas discharge member having a shower structure toward the upper surface and / or lower surface of the substrate, and when the pressure in the container is increased by the control unit or when the pressure in the container becomes atmospheric pressure, The pressure adjustment mechanism is controlled so that the pressure difference between the both sides across the gas discharge member composed of a material or a shower structure is substantially maintained and the temperature of the gas discharged from the gas discharge member is reduced. Thereby, the substrate can be efficiently cooled by the purge gas. Further, the gas discharge member is made of a porous body or a shower structure, and the purge gas is gently discharged by the filter function. Therefore, even if the purge gas is directly supplied to the substrate, it is difficult for particles to be rolled up.

<Second Embodiment of Load Lock Device>
Next, a load lock device according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view showing a load lock device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a horizontal sectional view thereof. In the present embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

In the present embodiment, in addition to the upper gas discharge member 51 and the lower gas discharge member 52, the wafer on the cooling plate 32 is provided on the side wall other than the

openings

34 and 35 of the container 31, and on the side surface opposite to the exhaust port 36 in the figure. On the side surface of W, there is provided a side gas discharge member 53 in the form of a rod made of a porous body such as a porous ceramic or a shower structure that discharges a gas that serves both as a purge gas and a cooling gas. The side gas discharge member 53 is disposed so as to face the end surface of the wafer W. A side pipe 45c extending from the side of the container 31 is connected to the side gas discharge member 53, and the side pipe 45c branches off from the purge gas pipe 45, as with the upper pipe 45a and the lower pipe 45b.

As a result, the purge gas that also serves as the cooling gas is branched from the purge gas source 48 through the purge gas supply pipe 45 to the upper pipe 45a, the lower pipe 45b, and the side pipe 45c while the flow rate is adjusted by the flow control valve 47. From these, the upper gas discharge member 51, the lower gas discharge member 52, and the side gas discharge member 53 can be supplied toward the upper surface, the lower surface, and the side surface of the wafer W. Due to the presence of the on-off

valves

55 and 56, the purge gas that also serves as the cooling gas can be discharged from the upper gas discharge member 51, the lower gas discharge member 52, and the side gas discharge member 53. The gas can be discharged from the side gas discharge member 53, or from the lower gas discharge member 52 and the side gas discharge member 53.

Also in this embodiment, when the wafer W is transferred to or from the transfer chamber 5 on the vacuum side, the opening / closing valve 46 is closed and the opening / closing valve 42 is opened, and the exhaust speed adjustment valve 43 is adjusted. The inside of the container 31 is evacuated by the vacuum pump 44 through the exhaust pipe 41 at a predetermined speed, the pressure in the container 31 is set to a pressure corresponding to the pressure in the transfer chamber 5, and the first gate valve G1 is opened in that state. The container 31 communicates with the transfer chamber 5. When transferring the wafer W to / from the atmosphere-side loading / unloading chamber 8, the opening / closing valve 42 is closed and the opening / closing valve 46 is opened, and the flow rate adjusting valve 47 is adjusted to adjust nitrogen gas or the like. The purge gas from the purge gas source 48 through the purge gas supply pipe 45 and further branched into the upper pipe 45a, the lower pipe 45b, and the side pipe 45c, and the upper gas discharge member 51 and the lower gas made of a porous body or shower structure The discharge gas is supplied to the discharge member 52 and the side gas discharge member 53 and discharged from the upper and lower surfaces and the side surface of the wafer W, and the pressure in the container 31 is increased to near atmospheric pressure by the discharged purge gas. The second gate valve G2 is opened to communicate between the container 31 and the loading / unloading chamber 8.

Note that when the pressure is increased, supply of purge gas and exhaust may be used in combination in order to adjust the rate of increase in pressure. Further, by operating the on-off

valves

55 and 56, purge gas is supplied from the upper pipe 45 a or the lower pipe 45 b to the upper gas discharge member 51 or the lower gas discharge member 52, and the side surface of the wafer W and the side surface gas discharge member 53 and The purge gas may be discharged to the upper surface of the wafer W, or may be discharged from the side surface gas discharge member 53 to the side surface and the lower surface of the wafer W.

The pressure in the container 31 is adjusted between the atmospheric pressure and a predetermined vacuum atmosphere by the pressure adjusting mechanism 49. The pressure adjusting mechanism 49 controls the opening / closing valve 42, the exhaust speed adjusting valve 43, the flow rate adjusting valve 47, and the opening / closing valve 46 based on the pressure in the container 31 measured by the pressure gauge 59. Adjust pressure. The pressure adjustment mechanism 49 is controlled by the control unit 20 described above. After the controller 20 discharges the upper gas discharge member 51, the lower gas discharge member 52, and the side gas discharge member 53, which are porous bodies or shower structures, the pressure difference between both sides is almost maintained. The pressure adjustment mechanism 49 is controlled to control the pressure in the container 31 so that the temperature of the purge gas decreases.

Also in this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, first, the wafer W taken out from the FOUP F by the transfer device 16 is loaded into the container 31. At this time, the inside of the container 31 is set to an atmospheric atmosphere, and then the wafer W is loaded with the second gate valve G2 opened.

support arm

In the present embodiment, when a high-temperature wafer W after processing is carried in and returned to the atmospheric atmosphere while cooling the wafer, the porous body or shower structure is provided so as to face the central portion of the upper surface of the wafer W. The upper gas discharge member 51 and / or one of the lower gas discharge member 52 made of a porous body or shower structure provided so as to face the central portion of the lower surface of the wafer W, and the porous provided on the side surface of the wafer W A purge gas that also serves as a cooling gas is discharged from the side surface gas discharge member 53 formed of a material or a shower structure toward the upper and lower surfaces of the wafer W or one of them and the side surface of the wafer W, and the control unit 20 Thus, the pressure adjustment mechanism 49 is controlled so that the pressure difference between the two sides sandwiching these is substantially maintained, and the effect of lowering the temperature of the purge gas after being discharged is obtained.

That is, in this embodiment as well as the first embodiment, when the gas is expanded by discharging the gas from the high pressure region to the low pressure region while maintaining the pressure difference through the porous body or the shower structure, Since the temperature of the gas can be lowered by the Joule-Thomson effect, the purge gas is supplied under a condition in which the pressure difference is substantially maintained so that the Joule-Thomson effect is established.

Thereby, the wafer W can be efficiently cooled by the purge gas. Further, the purge gas supplied from the side by the side gas discharge member 53 and the purge gas supplied from the upper side and / or the lower side supplied from the upper gas discharge member 51 and / or the lower gas discharge member 52 are efficient. The collision cooling effect can be obtained by supplying the purge gas so as to collide well on the wafer surface. Further, the upper gas discharge member 51, the lower gas discharge member 52, and the side gas discharge member 53 are made of a porous body or a shower structure, and purge gas is gently discharged by the filter function. Even if the purge gas is supplied, the particles are hardly wound up.

Also in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, for example, the pressure adjustment mechanism 49 causes the purge gas on-off valve 46 provided in the purge gas supply pipe 45 and the exhaust pipe 41 to be suppressed by the pressure adjustment mechanism 49. It is possible to employ a method of controlling the provided on-off valve 42 and gradually increasing the pressure while repeating supply and exhaust of purge gas in a short time so that the pressure difference does not increase.

As described above, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the upper surface and / or the lower surface and the side surface of the substrate (wafer) supported by the substrate support member (wafer support pins) are provided to face each other. A purge gas is discharged from a gas discharge member made of a porous body or a shower structure toward the side surface of the substrate in addition to the upper surface and / or the lower surface of the substrate. When the atmospheric pressure is reached, the pressure difference between the two sides sandwiching the gas discharge member composed of the porous body or the shower structure is substantially maintained, and the temperature of the gas discharged from the gas discharge member is reduced. The pressure adjustment mechanism is controlled as follows. Thus, in addition to the same effect as the first embodiment, the purge gas discharged toward the upper surface and / or the lower surface of the substrate collides with the purge gas discharged toward the side surface of the substrate. A temperature drop occurs, and the substrate can be cooled more efficiently.

<Other applications>
The present invention can be variously modified without being limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a multi-chamber type vacuum processing system provided with four vacuum processing units and two load lock devices has been described as an example, but the number is not limited thereto. Further, the load lock device of the present invention is not limited to such a multi-chamber type vacuum processing device, and can be applied to a system having one vacuum processing unit.

In the above-described embodiment, the gas discharge member made of a porous body or a shower structure is provided so as to face the upper surface and the lower surface of the wafer. However, the gas discharge member may be provided on only one of them. Further, the shape of the gas discharge member is not limited to a rod shape, and may be other shapes such as a planar shape, and a plurality of gas discharge members may be provided on the upper surface side, the lower surface side, or the side surface side of the wafer.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, in order to avoid a temperature rise due to adiabatic expansion, a sequence in which the supply of purge gas and evacuation are alternately performed a plurality of times in the pressure increasing process is used. If an effect can be exhibited effectively, it will not restrict to this.

Furthermore, it goes without saying that the substrate to be processed is not limited to a semiconductor wafer, but can be other substrates such as a glass substrate for FPD.

This international application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-057978 filed on March 14, 2012, and the entire contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-057978 are hereby incorporated by reference. Included in international applications.

1 to 4; vacuum processing unit, 5; transfer chamber, 6, 7; load lock device, 8; loading / unloading chamber, 12, 16; transfer device, 20: control unit, 31: container, 32: cooling plate, 36; Exhaust port, 42; Open / close valve, 44; Vacuum pump, 46; Open / close valve, 47; Flow rate adjustment valve, 48; Purge gas source, 49; Pressure adjustment mechanism, 51: Upper gas discharge member, 52; 53; Side-side gas discharge member, 54; Wafer support pins, W; Semiconductor wafer

Claims

A load lock device used for transporting a substrate from a vacuum chamber to a vacuum chamber held in a vacuum, and transporting a high temperature substrate from the vacuum chamber to the atmospheric atmosphere,
A container provided so that the pressure can be varied between the pressure corresponding to the vacuum chamber and the atmospheric pressure;
A purge gas supply mechanism for supplying a purge gas into the container;
An exhaust mechanism for exhausting the inside of the container;
By controlling the purge gas supply mechanism and the exhaust mechanism, when the inside of the container communicates with the vacuum chamber, the pressure in the container is adjusted to a pressure corresponding to the vacuum chamber, and the inside of the container is in the atmosphere. A pressure adjusting mechanism that adjusts the pressure in the container to atmospheric pressure when communicating with the space;
A substrate support member for supporting the substrate in the container;
A porous body or shower that is provided facing the upper surface and / or lower surface of the substrate supported by the substrate support member and discharges the purge gas supplied from the purge gas supply mechanism toward the upper surface and / or lower surface of the substrate. A gas discharge member having a structure;
When the pressure inside the container is increased or when the inside of the container becomes atmospheric pressure, the pressure difference between both sides sandwiching the gas discharge member is substantially maintained, and the gas discharged from the gas discharge member A load lock device comprising: a control unit that controls the pressure adjusting mechanism so as to obtain an effect of lowering the temperature.
The said control part controls the said pressure adjustment mechanism so that a Joule-Thompson effect may be acquired, when raising the pressure in the said container or when the inside of the said container becomes atmospheric pressure. Load lock device.
The load lock device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the pressure adjusting mechanism so as to suppress a temperature increase due to adiabatic compression when the pressure in the container is increased.
The control unit adjusts the pressure in the container by alternately supplying the purge gas into the container and evacuating the container when the pressure in the container is increased. The load lock device according to claim 3 which controls said pressure regulation mechanism.
The load lock device according to claim 1, wherein the gas discharge member is made of a porous ceramic.
A load lock device used for transporting a substrate from a vacuum chamber to a vacuum chamber held in a vacuum, and transporting a high temperature substrate from the vacuum chamber to the atmospheric atmosphere,
A container provided so that the pressure can be varied between the pressure corresponding to the vacuum chamber and the atmospheric pressure;
A purge gas supply mechanism for supplying a purge gas into the container;
An exhaust mechanism for exhausting the inside of the container;
By controlling the purge gas supply mechanism and the exhaust mechanism, when the inside of the container communicates with the vacuum chamber, the pressure in the container is adjusted to a pressure corresponding to the vacuum chamber, and the inside of the container is in the atmosphere. A pressure adjusting mechanism that adjusts the pressure in the container to atmospheric pressure when communicating with the space;
A substrate support member for supporting the substrate in the container;
The purge gas supplied from the purge gas supply mechanism is discharged toward the upper surface and / or the lower surface and the side surface of the substrate, which is provided facing the upper surface and / or the lower surface and the side surface of the substrate supported by the substrate support member. A gas discharge member comprising a porous body or a shower structure;
When the pressure inside the container is increased or when the inside of the container becomes atmospheric pressure, the pressure difference between both sides sandwiching the gas discharge member is substantially maintained, and the gas discharged from the gas discharge member A control unit that controls the pressure adjusting mechanism so as to obtain an effect of lowering the temperature,
Purging gas discharged toward the upper surface and / or lower surface of the substrate and purge gas discharged toward the side surface of the substrate in addition to the temperature drop of the substrate due to the pressure difference between both sides sandwiching the gas discharging member being substantially maintained A load lock device in which the temperature of the substrate is reduced due to collision with the substrate.
The said control part controls the said pressure adjustment mechanism so that the Joule-Thompson effect may be acquired when raising the pressure in the said container or when the inside of the said container becomes atmospheric pressure. Load lock device.
The load lock device according to claim 6, wherein the control unit controls the pressure adjusting mechanism so as to suppress a temperature increase due to adiabatic compression when the pressure in the container is increased.
The control unit adjusts the pressure in the container by alternately supplying the purge gas into the container and evacuating the container when the pressure in the container is increased. The load lock device according to claim 8 which controls said pressure regulation mechanism.
The load lock device according to claim 6, wherein the gas discharge member is made of a porous ceramic.