JP2006093411A - Substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to improve a temperature drop rate and suppress a temperature difference between wafers and in a wafer surface.
In a CVD apparatus including a process tube constituting a wafer processing chamber, a heater unit for heating the processing chamber, and a boat for carrying out a group of wafers to the processing chamber. The gas supply unit 70 is installed along the inner peripheral surface of the processing chamber 32. The cooling gas supply unit 70 is composed of suction nozzles 71, 72, 73 that form the respective suction chambers, and blow nozzles 81, 82 that form the respective discharge chambers, and the nitrogen gas 90 is blown into the three suction nozzles. Slits 71b, 72b, and 73b that are ejected to 81b and 82b are opened, and blowout slits 81c and 82c that blow the nitrogen gas blown to the blowout chambers 81b and 82b to the processing chamber 32 are opened in the two blowout nozzles 81 and 82. . Since the nitrogen gas 90 is uniformly blown from the blow slits 81c and 82c to the processing chamber 32, the wafer group can be rapidly and evenly cooled.
[Selection] Figure 8

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus, and is used, for example, in a heat treatment apparatus (furnace) such as a CVD apparatus, a diffusion apparatus, an oxidation apparatus, and an annealing apparatus used in a method for manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device (hereinafter referred to as an IC). Related to effective.

In the IC manufacturing method, a step of forming a CVD film such as silicon nitride (Si ₃ N ₄ ), silicon oxide, or polysilicon on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer) in which an integrated circuit including a semiconductor element is formed, A batch type vertical hot wall type low pressure CVD apparatus is widely used.
A batch type vertical hot wall type low pressure CVD apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a CVD apparatus) is composed of an inner tube into which a wafer is loaded and an outer tube surrounding the inner tube, and a process tube installed in a vertical shape and a process tube. A gas supply pipe for supplying a film forming gas as a processing gas to the processed chamber, an exhaust pipe for evacuating the processing chamber, a heater unit installed outside the process tube to heat the processing chamber, and a boat elevator A seal cap that opens and closes the furnace port of the processing chamber, and a boat that is vertically installed on the seal cap and holds a plurality of wafers. The plurality of wafers are vertically aligned by the boat. In this state, the processing chamber is loaded from the bottom furnace port (boat loading) and sealed. With the furnace port closed by the cap, the film forming gas is supplied to the processing chamber from the gas supply pipe, and the processing chamber is heated by the heater unit so that the CVD film is deposited on the wafer. (For example, refer patent document 1).
JP 2002-110556 A

  In general, in a CVD apparatus, a process chamber is purged with nitrogen gas after film formation and the temperature is lowered to a predetermined temperature, and then the boat is unloaded from the process chamber (boat unloading). This is to prevent the boat from being unloaded while the processing temperature is maintained, so that the temperature deviation between the wafers and the temperature deviation within the wafer surface are increased and the IC characteristics are not adversely affected. Nitrogen gas is supplied to the processing chamber through a gas supply pipe fixed to the manifold.

  However, in the conventional CVD apparatus, since nitrogen gas is supplied to the processing chamber by the gas supply pipe fixed to the manifold, there is a problem that the temperature drop of the wafer group becomes uneven. That is, since the gas supply pipe is disposed at one position below the boat in the processing chamber, it cannot contact the wafer group with a uniform flow. That is, since the flow of nitrogen gas becomes non-uniform, the wafer group is cooled non-uniformly in the region of the wafer group and the wafer surface, and only the wafer and wafer surface in the region where the flow rate of nitrogen gas is high are cooled.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of improving a temperature drop rate and preventing temperature deviation between substrates and in a substrate surface.

Representative inventions disclosed in the present application are as follows.
(1) A processing chamber for storing and processing a substrate, a boat for holding the substrate and carrying it into the processing chamber, a cooling gas supply means for supplying a cooling gas to the processing chamber, and exhausting the cooling gas With an exhaust port,
The cooling gas supply means includes a first jet port that does not jet the cooling gas toward the direction in which the substrate at the first position carried into the processing chamber by the boat is located, and the first jet port through the first jet port. And a second ejection port for ejecting the cooling gas in a direction horizontal to the principal surface of the substrate at the first position and in the direction of the substrate. Processing equipment.
(2) A processing chamber for storing and processing a substrate, a boat for holding the substrate and carrying it into the processing chamber, a cooling gas supply means for supplying a cooling gas to the processing chamber, and exhausting the cooling gas With an exhaust port,
The cooling gas supply means is composed of two or more layers, and the first layer is directly connected to the upstream side of the cooling gas, and the substrate at the first position carried into the processing chamber by the boat is directed to a direction. The first layer has a first outlet that does not eject the cooling gas, and the second layer has a horizontal direction with respect to the main surface of the substrate at which the cooling gas passes through the first outlet. And a second jetting outlet for jetting a cooling gas toward a certain direction.
(3) The substrate processing apparatus according to (1) or (2), wherein the cooling gas supply means includes one or more nozzles.
(4) The substrate processing apparatus according to (1), (2) or (3), wherein the cooling gas supply means is divided into a plurality of sections.
(5) In the above (1), (2), (3) or (4), the first jet port and the second jet port are at least vertically across a plurality of the substrates in the first position. A substrate processing apparatus, which is a slit opening in a direction.
(6) A processing chamber for storing and processing a substrate, a boat for holding the substrate and carrying it into the processing chamber, a cooling gas supply means for supplying a cooling gas to the processing chamber, and exhausting the cooling gas An exhaust port, and the cooling gas supply means includes a first jet port that does not jet the cooling gas toward the direction in which the substrate at the first position carried into the processing chamber by the boat is located, A second ejection port for ejecting the cooling gas in a direction parallel to the main surface of the substrate at the first position and in the direction in which the substrate is located. In a manufacturing method of a semiconductor device for processing the substrate using a substrate processing apparatus,
Carrying the boat into the processing chamber;
Jetting the cooling gas from the first jet port;
A step in which the cooling gas through the first outlet is ejected from the second outlet;
The cooling gas contacting the substrate;
Exhausting the cooling gas from the exhaust port;
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising:

  According to the above (1), the temperature of the processed substrate can be rapidly and uniformly lowered by ejecting the cooling gas from the cooling gas supply means.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is a CVD apparatus (batch type vertical hot wall type) for performing a film forming process in an IC manufacturing method. (Low pressure CVD apparatus) 10.
In this CVD apparatus, a FOUP (front opening unified pod, hereinafter referred to as a pod) 2 is used as a wafer carrier for transporting the wafer 1.

  As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the CVD apparatus 10 includes a housing 11 constructed in a rectangular parallelepiped box shape by using a steel plate or a steel plate. A pod loading / unloading port 12 is opened on the front wall of the housing 11 so as to communicate with the inside and outside of the housing 11, and the pod loading / unloading port 12 is opened and closed by a front shutter 13. A pod stage 14 is installed in front of the pod loading / unloading port 12, and the pod stage 14 is configured to place the pod 2 and perform alignment. The pod 2 is loaded onto the pod stage 14 by an in-process transfer device (not shown) and is also unloaded from the pod stage 14.

A rotary pod shelf 15 is installed in an upper portion of the housing 11 at a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction, and the rotary pod shelf 15 is configured to store a plurality of pods 2. That is, the rotary pod shelf 15 includes a support column 16 that is vertically set up and intermittently rotated in a horizontal plane, and a plurality of shelf plates 17 that are radially supported by the support column 16 at each of the upper, middle, and lower levels. The plurality of shelf boards 17 are configured to hold the pod 2 in a state where a plurality of the pods 2 are respectively placed.
A pod transfer device 18 is installed between the pod stage 14 and the rotary pod shelf 15 in the housing 11, and the pod transfer device 18 is provided between the pod stage 14 and the rotary pod shelf 15 and the rotary pod shelf 15. The pod 2 is transported between the pod shelf 15 and the pod opener 21.

A sub-housing 19 is constructed across the rear end of the lower portion of the housing 11 at a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction. A pair of wafer loading / unloading ports 20 for loading / unloading the wafer 1 into / from the sub-casing 19 are arranged on the front wall of the sub-casing 19 in two vertical rows. A pair of pod openers 21 and 21 are respectively installed at the wafer loading / unloading ports 20 and 20.
The pod opener 21 includes a mounting table 22 for mounting the pod 2 and a cap attaching / detaching mechanism 23 for attaching and detaching the cap of the pod 2 mounted on the mounting table 22. The pod opener 21 is configured to open and close the wafer loading / unloading port of the pod 2 by attaching / detaching the cap of the pod 2 mounted on the mounting table 22 by the cap attaching / detaching mechanism 23. The pod 2 is carried into and out of the mounting table 22 of the pod opener 21 by the pod transfer device 18.

A transfer chamber 24 in which a wafer transfer device 25 is installed is formed in the front region within the sub-housing 19. The wafer transfer device 25 is configured to load (charge) and unload (discharge) the wafer 1 with respect to the boat 30. A standby chamber 26 is formed at the rear end of the sub-housing 19 to accommodate and wait for the boat. A boat elevator 27 for raising and lowering the boat is installed in the waiting room 26. The boat elevator 27 is configured by a motor-driven feed screw shaft device, a bellows, or the like.
A seal cap 29 is horizontally installed on the arm 28 connected to the elevator platform of the boat elevator 27, and the seal cap 29 is configured to support the boat 30 vertically. The boat 30 includes a plurality of holding members, and is configured to hold a plurality of (for example, about fifty to fifty to fifty) wafers 1 with their centers aligned and horizontally supported. Has been.

As shown in FIG. 3, the CVD apparatus 10 includes a vertical process tube 31 that is vertically arranged and supported so that the center line is vertical, and the process tube 31 is a heat ray of a heating lamp to be described later. Quartz (SiO ₂ ), which is an example of a material that transmits (infrared rays, far-infrared rays, etc.), is used, and is integrally formed into a cylindrical shape with the upper end closed and the lower end opened. The cylindrical hollow portion of the process tube 31 substantially forms a processing chamber 32 into which a plurality of wafers held in a state of being long aligned by the boat 30 are carried. The inner diameter of the process tube 31 is set to be larger than the maximum outer diameter (for example, a diameter of 300 mm) of the wafer to be handled.

  The lower end of the process tube 31 is supported by a manifold 36 constructed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and the lower end opening of the manifold 36 constitutes a furnace port 35. The manifold 36 is detachably attached to the process tube 31 for replacement of the process tube 31 and the like. Since the manifold 36 is supported by the sub casing 19, the process tube 31 is installed vertically.

  As shown in FIG. 3, one end of an exhaust pipe 37 that exhausts the processing chamber 32 is connected to the manifold 36, and the other end of the exhaust pipe 37 is controlled by a pressure controller 41. Are connected via a pressure sensor 40. The pressure controller 41 is configured to feedback control the exhaust device 39 based on the measurement result from the pressure sensor 40.

  Below the process tube 31, a gas supply pipe 42 is piped so as to communicate with the processing chamber 32, and a raw material gas supply apparatus and an inert gas supply apparatus (controlled by a gas flow rate controller 44) are connected to the gas supply pipe 42. Hereinafter, the gas supply device) 43 is connected. The gas introduced into the furnace port 35 by the gas supply pipe 42 flows through the processing chamber 32 and is exhausted by the exhaust pipe 37.

A seal cap 29 that is constructed in a disc shape substantially equal to the outer diameter of the manifold 36 and closes the furnace port 35 is in contact with the lower end opening of the manifold 36 from the lower side in the vertical direction. A rotation shaft 45 is inserted on the center line of the seal cap 29 and is rotatably supported. The rotation shaft 45 is configured to be rotationally driven by a motor 47 controlled by a drive controller 46. The drive controller 46 is also configured to control the motor 27 a of the boat elevator 27.
The boat 30 is vertically supported and supported at the upper end of the rotating shaft 45, and a heat insulating cap portion 48 is disposed between the seal cap 29 and the boat 30. The boat 30 is supported by the rotating shaft 45 in a state where the boat 30 is lifted from the upper surface of the seal cap 29 so that the lower end of the boat 30 is separated from the position of the furnace port 35 by an appropriate distance. And a cap portion that fills the space between the seal cap 29 and the seal cap 29.

A heater unit 50 is installed outside the process tube 31. The heater unit 50 includes a heat insulating tank 51 having a small heat capacity that covers the entire process tube 31, and the heat insulating tank 51 is vertically supported by the sub-housing 19. Inside the heat insulating tank 51, a plurality of L-tube halogen lamps (hereinafter referred to as heating lamps) 52 as heating means are arranged concentrically and arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. The heating lamps 52 are arranged in a combination of a plurality of standards having different lengths, and are configured to increase the amount of heat generated at the upper and lower portions of the process tube 31 where heat can easily escape.
The terminals 52a of the heating lamps 52 are respectively disposed at the upper and lower portions of the process tube 31, and a decrease in the amount of heat generated due to the interposition of the terminals 52a is avoided. The heating lamp 52 is configured by covering a filament such as carbon or tungsten with an L-shaped quartz tube and sealing the inside of the quartz tube with an inert gas or a vacuum atmosphere. The heating lamp 52 is configured to irradiate heat rays having a peak wavelength of thermal energy of about 1.0 μm to 2.0 μm, and can heat the wafer 1 by radiation without substantially heating the process tube 31. Is set to

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a plurality of L-tube halogen lamps (hereinafter referred to as ceiling heating lamps) 53 are parallel to each other at the center of the heat insulating tank 51 below the ceiling surface. The ceiling heating lamps 53 are configured to heat the group of wafers held on the boat 30 from above the process tube 31. The ceiling heating lamp 53 is configured by covering a filament such as carbon or tungsten with an L-shaped quartz tube and sealing the inside of the quartz tube with an inert gas or a vacuum atmosphere. The ceiling heating lamp 53 is configured to irradiate heat rays having a peak wavelength of thermal energy of about 1.0 μm to 2.0 μm, and can heat the wafer 1 by radiation without substantially heating the process tube 31. It is set to be possible.
Further, a group of cap heating lamps 53 </ b> A is configured between the boat 30 and the heat insulating cap unit 48 so as to heat from the lower side of the group of wafers 1 and the process tube 31.

As shown in FIG. 3, the heating lamp 52 group, the ceiling heating lamp 53 group, and the cap heating lamp 53A group are connected to a heating lamp driving device 54, and the heating lamp driving device 54 is controlled by a temperature controller 55. It is configured to be.
A cascade thermocouple 56 is laid in the vertical direction inside the process tube 31, and the cascade thermocouple 56 transmits a measurement result to the temperature controller 55. The temperature controller 55 is configured to feedback control the heating lamp driving device 54 based on the measured temperature from the cascade thermocouple 56. That is, the temperature controller 55 obtains an error between the target temperature of the heating lamp driving device 54 and the measured temperature of the cascade thermocouple 56, and executes feedback control for eliminating the error if there is an error. Furthermore, the temperature controller 55 is configured to perform zone control on the heating lamps 52 group.
Here, the zone control means that the heating lamp is divided into a plurality of ranges in the vertical direction, the measurement points of the cascade thermocouples are arranged in each zone (range), and the cascade thermocouples are arranged in each zone. This is a method of controlling feedback control based on the temperature to be measured independently or correlated.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a reflector (reflector) 57 formed in a cylindrical shape is disposed outside the group of heating lamps 52 in a concentric circle with the process tube 31, and the reflector 57 is heated. The heat rays from the group of lamps 52 are all reflected in the direction of the process tube 31. The reflector 57 is made of a material excellent in oxidation resistance, heat resistance and thermal shock resistance, such as a material formed by coating a stainless steel plate with quartz.
A cooling water pipe 58 through which cooling water flows is laid spirally on the outer peripheral surface of the reflector 57. The cooling water pipe 58 is set to cool the reflector 57 to 300 ° C. or less, which is the heat resistant temperature of the quartz coating on the reflector surface. When the reflector 57 exceeds 300 ° C., it easily deteriorates due to oxidation or the like. However, by cooling the reflector 57 to 300 ° C. or less, the durability of the reflector 57 can be improved and the particles accompanying the deterioration of the reflector 57 can be improved. Can be suppressed. Further, when the temperature inside the heat insulating tank 51 is lowered, the cooling effect can be improved by cooling the reflector 57.
Further, the cooling water pipe 58 is configured to be able to control the cooling area of the reflector 57 by dividing it into upper, middle and lower zones. By controlling the zone of the cooling water pipe 58, when the temperature of the process tube 31 is lowered, cooling can be performed corresponding to the zone of the process tube 31. For example, the zone in which the wafer group is placed has a heat capacity that is increased by the amount of the wafer group, so that it is difficult to cool compared to the zone in which the wafer group is not placed. It is possible to control the zone so as to cool it preferentially.
Further, the heater zone and the cooling water piping zone can be arranged in the same manner, and the cooling water piping zone can be controlled in accordance with the control of the heater zone. Thereby, controllability and speed (rate) of temperature rising / falling are further improved.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a ceiling reflector 59 formed in a disk shape is installed on the ceiling surface of the heat insulating tank 51 concentrically with the process tube 31, and the ceiling reflector 59 is a ceiling heating lamp. The heat rays from the 53 group are all reflected in the direction of the process tube 31. The ceiling reflector 59 is also made of a material excellent in oxidation resistance, heat resistance and thermal shock resistance.
A cooling water pipe 60 is laid in a serpentine shape on the upper surface of the ceiling reflector 59, and the cooling water pipe 60 is set to cool the ceiling reflector 59 to 300 ° C. or lower. When the ceiling reflector 59 exceeds 300 ° C., it tends to deteriorate due to oxidation or the like. However, by cooling the ceiling reflector 59 to 300 ° C. or less, the durability of the ceiling reflector 59 can be improved, and the ceiling reflector 59 Generation of particles due to deterioration can be suppressed. Further, when the temperature inside the heat insulating tank 51 is lowered, the cooling effect can be improved by cooling the ceiling reflector 59.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a cooling air passage 61 through which cooling air as a cooling gas flows between the heat insulating tank 51 and the process tube 31 surrounds the process tube 31 as a whole. Is formed. An air supply pipe 62 for supplying cooling air to the cooling air passage 61 is connected to the lower end portion of the heat insulating tank 51, and the cooling air supplied to the air supply pipe 62 diffuses over the entire circumference of the cooling air passage 61. ing.

An exhaust port 63 for discharging cooling air from the cooling air passage 61 is formed at the center of the ceiling wall of the heat insulating tank 51. The exhaust port 63 has an exhaust duct (not shown) connected to an exhaust device. It is connected. A buffer part 64 communicating with the exhaust port 63 is formed on the ceiling wall of the heat insulating tank 51 below the exhaust port 63, and a plurality of sub exhaust ports 65 are provided in the periphery of the bottom surface of the buffer part 64. 64 and the cooling air passage 61 are opened.
These sub exhaust ports 65 allow the cooling air passage 61 to be efficiently exhausted. Further, by arranging the sub exhaust port 65 in the peripheral part of the ceiling wall of the heat insulating tank 51, the ceiling heating lamp 53 can be laid at the center of the ceiling surface of the heat insulating tank 51, and the ceiling heating lamp 53 is exhausted. The ceiling heating lamp 53 can be prevented from deteriorating by retreating from the flow path to prevent stress and chemical reaction due to the exhaust flow.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, a cooling gas supply for supplying a cooling gas to the processing chamber 32 is provided at a position 180 degrees away from the connection portion of the exhaust pipe 37 on the inner periphery of the process tube 31. A cooling gas supply unit 70 as a means is installed along the inner peripheral surface of the processing chamber 32.
As shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, the cooling gas supply unit 70 according to the present embodiment includes a first suction nozzle 71, a second suction nozzle 72, and a third suction nozzle that are all formed in a cylindrical shape. 73, the first suction nozzle 71, the second suction nozzle 72, and the third suction nozzle 73 are arranged next to each other at intervals, and are laid vertically. Cooling gas supply pipes 67 are respectively connected to lower ends of the first suction nozzle 71, the second suction nozzle 72, and the third suction nozzle 73, and these cooling gas supply pipes 67 are radially connected to the side walls of the manifold 36. The cooling gas supply unit 70 is installed along the inner peripheral surface of the processing chamber 32 by being inserted and supported.

Between the first suction nozzle 71 and the second suction nozzle 72, a pair of connecting walls 81a and 81a formed in a rectangular flat plate shape are respectively constructed. Both the connecting walls 81a and 81a and the first suction nozzle 71 are provided. The first blowing nozzle 81 is formed between the first suction nozzle 71 and the second suction nozzle 72 by the arc wall of the second suction nozzle 72 and the arc wall of the second suction nozzle 72.
Between the second suction nozzle 72 and the third suction nozzle, a pair of connecting walls 82a and 82a formed in a rectangular flat plate shape are respectively constructed. Both the connecting walls 82a and 82a and the second suction nozzle 72 are connected to each other. A second blowing nozzle 82 is formed between the second suction nozzle 72 and the third suction nozzle 73 by the arc wall and the arc wall of the third suction nozzle 73.
The upper ends of the first suction nozzle 71, the first blow nozzle 81, and the second suction nozzle 72 are covered with a first upper cap 75 that closes the upper end opening, and the second blow nozzle 82 and the second suction nozzle 72. Is covered with a second upper cap 76 which closes the upper end opening. A lower cap 77 that closes the lower end opening is covered on the lower end surfaces of the first suction nozzle 71, the first blowing nozzle 81, the second suction nozzle 72, the second blowing nozzle 82, and the third blowing nozzle.

  The hollow portion of the first suction nozzle 71 forms a first suction chamber 71a, the hollow portion of the second suction nozzle 72 forms a second suction chamber 72a, and the hollow portion of the third suction nozzle 73 is the first suction chamber 71a. Three suction chambers 73a are formed. The hollow portion of the first blowing nozzle 81 forms a first blowing chamber 81b, and the hollow portion of the second blowing nozzle 82 forms a second blowing chamber 82b.

At the upper end of the first suction nozzle 71, a first slit 71b for opening the cooling gas supplied from the cooling gas supply pipe 67 to the first suction chamber 71a into the first blowing chamber 81b is provided. The first slit 71b is configured as a first ejection port that does not eject cooling gas toward the wafer. That is, the ejection direction of the first slit 71b is the inclination angle Θ with respect to the line segment connecting the center of the first suction nozzle 71 and the center of the second suction nozzle 72, as shown in FIG. It is inclined in the direction opposite to the direction of the wafer 1, and its inclination angle Θ is set to about 30 degrees.
The opening width of the first slit 71b is formed to be the same dimension over the entire length so that the flow velocity of the jetted cooling gas is uniform in the vertical direction, and the opening width dimension is set to 1 to 1.5 mm. . The length of the first slit 71 b is set to about a quarter of the length of the first suction nozzle 71.

A partition plate 78 that divides the second suction chamber 72a up and down is placed at a position corresponding to the lower end of the first slit 71b of the second suction chamber 72a. A second slit 72b for opening the cooling gas supplied from the cooling gas supply pipe 67 to the second suction chamber 72a into the first blowing chamber 81b is provided below the partition plate 78 of the second suction nozzle 72. . The second slit 72b is configured as a first ejection port that does not eject cooling gas toward the wafer. That is, the ejection direction of the second slit 72b is the inclination angle Θ with respect to the line segment connecting the center of the first suction nozzle 71 and the center of the second suction nozzle 72, as shown in FIG. It is inclined in the direction opposite to the direction of the wafer 1, and its inclination angle Θ is set to about 30 degrees.
The opening width of the second slit 72b is formed to have the same dimension over the entire length so that the flow velocity of the cooling gas to be ejected is uniform in the vertical direction, and the dimension of the opening width is set to 1 to 1.5 mm. . The length of the second slit 72 b is set so as to extend from the partition plate 78 to about half the height of the second suction nozzle 72.

The length of the third suction nozzle 73 is set to half of the length of the second suction nozzle 72, and the upper end of the third suction nozzle 73 is located at half the height of the second suction nozzle 72. At the upper end portion of the third suction nozzle 73, a third slit 73b for opening the cooling gas supplied from the cooling gas supply pipe 67 to the third suction chamber 73a into the second blowing chamber 82b is provided. The third slit 73b is configured as a first ejection port that does not eject cooling gas toward the wafer. That is, the ejection direction of the third slit 73b is the inclination angle Θ with respect to the line segment connecting the center of the second suction nozzle 72 and the center of the third suction nozzle 73, as shown in FIG. It is inclined in the direction opposite to the direction of the wafer 1, and its inclination angle Θ is set to about 30 degrees.
The dimension of the opening width of the third slit 73b is formed to be the same dimension over the entire length so that the flow velocity of the jetted cooling gas is uniform in the vertical direction, and the width is set to 1 to 1.5 mm. The length of the third slit 73 b is set so as to extend from the second upper cap 76 to about half the height of the third suction nozzle 73.

At the upper end portion of the first blowing nozzle 81, a first blowing slit 81c for blowing the cooling gas supplied from the first suction chamber 71a and the second suction chamber 72a to the first blowing chamber 81b into the processing chamber 32 is opened. Yes. The first blow-off slit 81 c is configured as a second blow-out port that blows out a cooling gas in a direction horizontal to the main surface of the wafer 1 and toward the wafer 1. That is, the blowing direction of the first blowing slit 81c is relative to the line connecting the center of the first suction nozzle 71 and the center of the second suction nozzle 72 as shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and (b). Are almost orthogonal.
Moreover, the dimension of the opening width of the 1st blowing slit 81c is formed in the same dimension over the full length so that the flow velocity of the cooling gas to eject may become equal in the orthogonal | vertical direction. If the cooling gas blowing speed from the first blowing slit 81c is too large, the contact time with the wafer 1 is insufficient and heat cannot be taken away efficiently. Therefore, the first blowing slit 81c has an opening width of the first dimension. It is set larger than the dimension of the opening width of the slit 71b or the second slit 72b.
The length of the first blowing slit 81 c is set to about one half of the length of the first blowing nozzle 81. That is, the first blowing slit 81c is opened from the upper end of the first blowing nozzle 81 to the position facing the lower end of the second slit 72b.

At the upper end of the second blowing nozzle 82, a second blowing slit 82c for blowing the cooling gas supplied from the second suction chamber 72a to the second blowing chamber 82b into the processing chamber 32 is opened. The second blow-out slit 82 c is configured as a second blow-out port that blows out a cooling gas in a direction horizontal to the main surface of the wafer 1 and toward the wafer 1. That is, the ejection direction of the second blowing slit 82c is substantially orthogonal to the line segment connecting the center of the second suction nozzle 72 and the center of the third suction nozzle 73, as shown in FIG. ing.
Moreover, the dimension of the opening width of the 2nd blowing slit 82c is formed in the same dimension over the full length so that the flow velocity of the cooling gas to eject may become equal in the orthogonal | vertical direction. If the blowing speed of the cooling gas from the second blowing slit 82c is too large, the contact time with the wafer 1 is insufficient and heat cannot be taken efficiently, so the size of the opening width of the second blowing slit 82c is third. It is set larger than the dimension of the opening width of the slit 73b.
The length of the second blowing slit 82 c is set to about one half of the length of the second blowing nozzle 82. That is, the second blowing slit 82c is opened from the upper end of the second blowing nozzle 82 to the position facing the lower end of the third slit 73b.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a nitrogen gas supply device 68 is connected to the cooling gas supply unit 70, and the nitrogen gas supply device 68 is configured to be controlled by a flow rate adjustment controller 69. The cooling capacity of the cooling gas supply unit 70 can be adjusted by controlling the amount of nitrogen gas ejected by the nitrogen gas supply device 68.

  A film forming process in the IC manufacturing method by the CVD apparatus having the above-described configuration will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when the pod 2 is supplied to the pod stage 14, the pod loading / unloading port 12 is opened by the front shutter 13, and the pod 2 above the pod stage 14 is connected to the pod transfer device. 18 is carried into the housing 11 from the pod loading / unloading port 12.
The loaded pod 2 is automatically transferred to the designated shelf plate 17 of the rotary pod shelf 15 by the pod transfer device 18 and delivered, and temporarily stored on the shelf plate 17.
The stored pod 2 is transferred to one pod opener 21 by the pod transfer device 18 and transferred to the mounting table 22. At this time, the wafer loading / unloading port 20 of the pod opener 21 is closed by the cap attaching / detaching mechanism 23, and the transfer chamber 24 is filled with nitrogen gas. For example, the oxygen concentration in the transfer chamber 24 is set to 20 ppm or less, which is much lower than the oxygen concentration inside the housing 11 (atmosphere).

The pod 2 mounted on the mounting table 22 has its opening-side end face pressed against the opening edge of the wafer loading / unloading port 20 on the front surface of the sub-housing 19, and the cap is removed by the cap attaching / detaching mechanism 23. Mouth open.
The plurality of wafers 1 stored in the pod 2 are picked up by the wafer transfer device 25, loaded into the standby chamber 26 through the transfer chamber 24 from the wafer loading / unloading port 20, and loaded into the boat 30 (charging). . The wafer transfer device 25 that has transferred the wafer 1 to the boat 30 returns to the pod 2 and loads the next wafer 1 into the boat 30.

  Thereafter, by repeating the operation of the wafer transfer device 25 described above, all the wafers 1 of the pod 2 on the mounting table 22 of one pod opener 21 are sequentially loaded into the boat 30.

During the loading operation of the wafer into the boat 30 by the wafer transfer device 25 in the one (upper or lower) pod opener 21, the other (lower or upper) pod opener 21 receives another pod from the rotary pod shelf 15. 2 is transferred and transferred by the pod transfer device 18, and the opening operation of the pod 2 by the pod opener 21 is simultaneously performed.
As described above, when the opening operation is simultaneously performed in the other pod opener 21, the pod 2 set in the other pod opener 21 is completed simultaneously with the completion of the operation of loading the wafer 1 into the boat 30 in the one pod opener 21. The loading operation of the wafer into the boat 30 by the wafer transfer device 25 can be started. That is, since the wafer transfer device 25 can continuously carry out the loading operation of the wafers into the boat 30 without wasting a waiting time for the replacement operation of the pod 2, the throughput of the CVD apparatus 10 can be increased. it can.

As shown in FIG. 3, when a predetermined number of wafers 1 are loaded into the boat 30, the boat 30 holding the group of wafers is lifted by the boat elevator 27 by the seal cap 29 being lifted. The process tube 31 is loaded into the processing chamber 32 (boat loading), and remains in the processing chamber 32 while being supported by the seal cap 29 as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8, the seal cap 29 reaching the upper limit is pressed against the manifold 36 to seal the inside of the process tube 31.

  Subsequently, the inside of the process tube 31 is exhausted by the exhaust pipe 37 and heated to the target temperature of the sequence control of the temperature controller 55 by the heating lamp 52 group and the ceiling heating lamp 53 group. The actual temperature rise inside the process tube 31 due to heating of the heating lamp 52 group, ceiling heating lamp 53 group and cap heating lamp 53A group, and sequence control of the heating lamp 52 group, ceiling heating lamp 53 group and cap heating lamp 53A group Is corrected by feedback control based on the measurement result of the cascade thermocouple 56. Further, the boat 30 is rotated by the motor 47.

When the internal pressure and temperature of the process tube 31 and the rotation of the boat 30 become constant and stable as a whole, the source gas is introduced into the processing chamber 32 of the process tube 31 from the gas supply pipe 42 by the gas supply device 43. The source gas introduced by the gas supply pipe 42 flows through the processing chamber 32 of the process tube 31 and is exhausted by the exhaust pipe 37. When flowing through the processing chamber 32, a CVD film is formed on the wafer 1 by a thermal CVD reaction caused by the source gas contacting the wafer 1 heated to a predetermined processing temperature.
Incidentally, an example of processing conditions when silicon nitride (Si ₃ N ₄ ) is formed is as follows. The processing temperature is 700 to 800 ° C., the flow rate of SiH ₂ Cl ₂ as a raw material gas is 0.1 to 0.5 SLM (standard liter per minute), the flow rate of NH ₃ is 0.3 to 5 SLM, and the processing pressure is 20 to 100 Pa.

By the way, the temperature of the process tube 31 and the heater unit 50 does not need to be maintained at the processing temperature or higher, but is preferably lowered to a temperature lower than the processing temperature. Therefore, in the film forming step, cooling air is supplied from the air supply pipe 62. By being supplied and exhausted from the sub exhaust port 65, the buffer unit 64, and the exhaust port 63, the air flows through the cooling air passage 61. At this time, since the heat capacity of the heat insulating tank 51 is set smaller than usual, it can be rapidly cooled. Thus, by forcibly cooling the process tube 31 and the heater unit 50 by the flow of the cooling air in the cooling air passage 61, for example, a silicon nitride film can prevent adhesion of NH ₄ Cl at 150 ° C. The temperature of the process tube 31 can be maintained to an extent.
Since the cooling air passage 61 is isolated from the processing chamber 32, cooling air can be used as the refrigerant gas. However, an inert gas such as nitrogen gas may be used as the refrigerant gas in order to further enhance the cooling effect or to prevent corrosion at high temperatures due to impurities in the air.

  When a predetermined processing time has elapsed, after the introduction of the processing gas is stopped, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, nitrogen gas 90 as a cooling gas is supplied from each cooling gas supply pipe 67 to the first suction chamber. 71a, the second suction chamber 72a, and the third suction chamber 73a are respectively supplied. The supply flow rate of the nitrogen gas 90 at this time is controlled by the flow rate adjustment controller 69 at 300 to 1000 liters per minute.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the nitrogen gas 90 supplied from the cooling gas supply pipe 67 to the first suction chamber 71a is uniformly diffused in the vertical direction in the first suction chamber 71a, and then the first From the 1st slit 71b opened in the upper end part of the suction chamber 71a, it ejects to the 1st blowing chamber 81b.
At this time, since the ejection direction of the first slit 71b is set in the direction opposite to the direction of the first blow slit 81c provided in the upper half of the first blow chamber 81b, it is directed toward the first blow slit 81c. Absent. Moreover, since the opening width of the 1st slit 71b is the same dimension over the full length, and the dimension of the opening width is set to comparatively narrow 1-1.5 mm, from the 1st slit 71b, it is the 1st blowing chamber. The flow rate of the nitrogen gas 90 ejected to 81b is uniform in the vertical direction. Furthermore, since the first slit 71b is opened at about a quarter of the length of the first suction nozzle 71, the nitrogen gas 90 supplied to the first suction chamber 71a is supplied to the first blow-out chamber 81b. It will be in the state supplied to the area of the upper end part.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the nitrogen gas 90 supplied from the cooling gas supply pipe 67 to the second suction chamber 72a is uniformly diffused in the vertical direction in the second suction chamber 72a, It blows out into the 1st blowing chamber 81b from the 2nd slit 72b opened in the lower side of the partition plate 78 which is near upper side than the center height of the suction chamber 72a.
At this time, since the ejection direction of the second slit 72b is set in the direction opposite to the direction of the first blow slit 81c provided in the upper half of the first blow chamber 81b, the second slit 72b is directed toward the first blow slit 81c. Absent. Moreover, since the opening width of the second slit 72b is the same dimension over the entire length, and the opening width dimension is set to a relatively narrow 1 to 1.5 mm, the first blowing chamber extends from the second slit 72b. The flow rate of the nitrogen gas 90 ejected to 81b is uniform in the vertical direction. Further, since the second slit 72b is opened in a portion closer to the upper side than the center height of the second suction nozzle 72, the nitrogen gas 90 supplied to the second suction chamber 72a is more than the center height of the first blow-out chamber 81b. Is also supplied to the upper area.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the nitrogen gas 90 supplied from the cooling gas supply pipe 67 to the third suction chamber 73a is uniformly diffused in the vertical direction in the third suction chamber 73a, From the 3rd slit 73b opened under the 2nd upper side cap 76 which is an upper end part of the suction chamber 73a, it ejects to the 2nd blowing chamber 82b.
At this time, the ejection direction of the third slit 73b is set in the direction opposite to the direction of the second blowout slit 82c provided in the upper half of the second blowout chamber 82b. Absent. Further, the opening width of the third slit 73b is the same dimension over the entire length, and the opening width dimension is set to a relatively narrow 1 to 1.5 mm, so that the second blowing chamber extends from the third slit 73b. The flow rate of the nitrogen gas 90 ejected to 82b is uniform in the vertical direction. Furthermore, since the third slit 73b is opened in the upper half of the third suction nozzle 73, the nitrogen gas 90 supplied to the third suction chamber 73a is supplied to the upper half area of the second blowing chamber 82b. become.

As described above, the nitrogen gas 90 supplied from the first suction chamber 71a and the second suction chamber 72a to the first blowing chamber 81b is blown out to the processing chamber 32 from the first blowing slit 81c. At this time, since the first blowing slit 81 c is substantially orthogonal to the line segment connecting the center of the first suction nozzle 71 and the center of the second suction nozzle 72, the nitrogen gas 90 is directed toward the wafer 1. Blow out in the horizontal direction with respect to the main surface of the wafer 1. Moreover, since the dimension of the opening width of the 1st blowing slit 81c is formed in the same dimension over the full length, the flow velocity of the nitrogen gas 90 becomes equal over the whole height in the perpendicular direction. Furthermore, since the dimension of the opening width of the first blowing slit 81c is set larger than the dimension of the opening width of the first slit 71b and the second slit 72b, the blowing speed of the nitrogen gas 90 from the first blowing slit 81c is Will be attenuated.
And since the 1st blowing slit 81c is established in the upper half of the 1st blowing nozzle 81, the nitrogen gas 90 will be in the state blown off to the upper half of the process chamber 32. FIG. At this time, since the first slit 71b and the second slit 72b correspond to the upper and lower halves of the first blowing slit 81c, the flow rate of the nitrogen gas 90 blown from the first blowing slit 81c is uniform over the entire height in the vertical direction. become.

As described above, the nitrogen gas 90 supplied from the third suction chamber 73a to the second blowing chamber 82b is blown out from the second blowing slit 82c to the processing chamber 32. At this time, since the second blowing slit 82 c is substantially orthogonal to the line segment connecting the center of the second suction nozzle 72 and the center of the third suction nozzle 73, the nitrogen gas 90 is directed toward the wafer 1. Blow out in the horizontal direction with respect to the main surface of the wafer 1. Moreover, since the dimension of the opening width of the 2nd blowing slit 82c is formed in the same dimension over the full length, the flow velocity of the nitrogen gas 90 is equal over the whole height in the perpendicular direction. Furthermore, since the dimension of the opening width of the second blowing slit 82c is set larger than the dimension of the opening width of the third slit 73b, the blowing speed of the nitrogen gas 90 from the second blowing slit 82c is attenuated. Become.
And since the 2nd blowing slit 82c is opened in the upper half of the 2nd blowing nozzle 82, the nitrogen gas 90 is the upper half in the lower half of the process chamber 32, ie, the area of three quarters of the height of the process chamber 32. It will be in a state to be blown out. Therefore, the nitrogen gas 90 is not blown out to an area of the quarter from the bottom of the processing chamber 32. However, there is no problem because the wafer 1 to be cooled by the nitrogen gas 90 is not placed in this area.

As described above, the nitrogen gas 90 blown into the processing chamber 32 from the first blowing slit 81c and the second blowing slit 82c, respectively, comes into contact with the wafer group 1 placed in the processing chamber 32 by the boat 30, and the processing chamber 32 is sucked and exhausted by the exhaust port of the exhaust pipe 37 connected to the opposite side of the cooling gas supply unit 70 at the lower end of 32.
At this time, since the blowing speed of the nitrogen gas 90 blown into the processing chamber 32 from the first blowing slit 81c and the second blowing slit 82c is slow, the nitrogen gas 90 slowly contacts the group of wafers, The heat of the wafer 1 can be efficiently taken away.
Further, since the flow rate of the nitrogen gas 90 blown from the first blow slit 81c and the flow rate of the nitrogen gas 90 blown from the second blow slit 82c are equal, the nitrogen gas 90 extends the entire length of the wafer 1 group. Can be evenly cooled over.
In this way, the nitrogen gas 90 directly contacts the wafer 1 to take heat away and evenly contacts the entire length of the group of wafers 1, so that the temperature of the group of wafers rapidly decreases at a large rate. At the same time, it descends uniformly over the entire length of the group of wafers 1 and within the plane of the wafer 1.
Note that the blowing slit may be arranged in the same manner as the zone of the heater and / or the cooling water pipe 58, and the cooling by the nitrogen gas may be controlled in accordance with the control of the zone of the heater and / or the cooling water pipe 58. . Thereby, controllability and speed (rate) of temperature rising / falling are further improved.

  Further, when the boat 30 is rotated by the motor 47 when the nitrogen gas 90 is blown onto the group of wafers 1, the temperature difference in the plane of the wafer 1 can be further reduced. That is, by rotating the wafer 1 together with the boat 30 while bathing the nitrogen gas 90 on the wafer 1, the nitrogen gas 90 can be uniformly contacted over the entire circumference of the wafer 1. Can be reduced.

  After the group of wafers is forcibly cooled by the nitrogen gas 90 as described above, the boat 30 supported by the seal cap 29 is lowered by the boat elevator 27 to be unloaded from the processing chamber 32 (boat unloading). ) Also during this boat unloading, the nitrogen gas 90 is blown onto the wafer group 1 by the cooling gas supply unit 70, so that the temperature of the wafer group 1 is rapidly lowered at a high rate (speed), and the entire length of the wafer group 1 is increased. And it is lowered uniformly in the plane of the wafer 1.

The processed wafer 1 of the boat 30 carried out to the standby chamber 26 is detached (discharged) from the boat 30 by the wafer transfer device 25 and inserted into the pod 2 opened in the pod opener 21 for storage. .
Even when the processed wafers 1 are detached from the boat 30, the number of wafers 1 batch processed by the boat 30 is many times larger than the number of wafers 1 stored in one empty pod 2. The base pod 2 is repeatedly supplied to the upper and lower pod openers 21 and 21 alternately by the pod transfer device 18. Also in this case, during the wafer transfer operation to one (upper or lower) pod opener 21, transfer to the empty pod 2 and preparation operations to the other (lower or upper) pod opener 21 are simultaneously performed. As a result, the wafer transfer device 25 can continuously perform the detaching operation without wasting the waiting time for the replacement operation of the pod 2, so that the throughput of the CVD apparatus 10 can be increased.

When a predetermined number of processed wafers 1 are stored, the pod 2 is closed with a cap attached thereto by a pod opener 21.
Subsequently, the pod 2 storing the processed wafer 1 is transferred from the mounting table 22 of the pod opener 21 to the specified shelf plate 17 of the rotary pod shelf 15 by the pod transfer device 18 and temporarily stored. .
Thereafter, the pod 2 storing the processed wafer 1 is transferred from the rotary pod shelf 15 to the pod loading / unloading port 12 by the pod transfer device 18, and unloaded from the pod loading / unloading port 12 to the outside of the casing 11 to be a pod stage. 14. The pod 2 placed on the pod stage 14 is transferred to the next process by the in-process transfer apparatus.
The loading / unloading operation of the old and new pod 2 to / from the pod stage 14 and the replacement operation between the pod stage 14 and the rotary pod shelf 15 are performed during the loading / unloading operation of the boat 30 and the film forming process in the processing chamber 32. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the working time of the entire CVD apparatus 10 from being extended.

  Thereafter, the film forming process is performed on the wafer 1 by the CVD apparatus 10 by repeating the above operation.

  According to the embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

1) After the heat treatment, nitrogen gas as cooling gas is blown out from the blowing slit of the cooling gas supply unit and blown onto the wafer group, so that the wafer group can be cooled directly and evenly over the entire length. And the uniformity of the in-plane temperature between wafers and the wafer can be enhanced.

2) By preventing the temperature difference between wafers in the wafer group and the temperature difference within the wafer surface, adverse effects on IC characteristics can be avoided, and the temperature of the wafer group can be lowered sufficiently. Therefore, it is possible to prevent generation of a natural oxide film due to exposure of a heated wafer to an oxygen-rich atmosphere.

3) By sufficiently lowering the temperature of the wafer group after the heat treatment and at the time of boat unloading, the temperature lowering waiting time after boat unloading can be omitted or shortened, so that the throughput of the CVD apparatus can be improved.

4) Since the temperature drop rate depends on the temperature difference between the object to be cooled and the surrounding atmosphere, it has been processed in the high temperature range (1200 ° C or higher) to medium temperature range (600 ° C to 1200 ° C) where the heat treatment temperature is high. The temperature of the wafer group drops rapidly without forced cooling. On the other hand, in the low temperature range (600 ° C. or lower) where the temperature of the heat treatment is low, the temperature drop rate is small, so if the processed wafer group is not forcibly cooled, the temperature drop time of the processed wafer group becomes long. End up. That is, forcibly cooling the processed wafer group by blowing nitrogen gas as a cooling gas from the blowing slit of the cooling gas supply unit to the wafer group applies the temperature of the heat treatment to a low temperature range. In the case, an effect superior to the case where the heat treatment temperature is applied to a high temperature range or a medium temperature range can be obtained.

5) The cooling gas supply unit is composed of the suction pipe that forms the suction chamber and the blow pipe that forms the blow chamber, and a slit is formed in the suction pipe to blow nitrogen gas into the blow chamber. By opening a blow slit that blows out the blown nitrogen gas into the processing chamber, the nitrogen gas can be decelerated and blown out uniformly over the entire length, so that the wafer group in the processing chamber can be cooled directly and evenly over the entire length. Can do.

6) By providing a plurality of suction pipes and outlet pipes, a plurality of nitrogen gas blowing areas can be set in the vertical direction, so that the wafer group in the processing chamber can be cooled more uniformly over the entire length.

7) By dividing the suction pipe and the blow pipe in the length direction, a plurality of nitrogen gas blowing areas can be set in the vertical direction, so that the wafer group in the processing chamber can be cooled more uniformly over the entire length. it can.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the cooling gas supply unit.
This embodiment differs from the above embodiment in that the nitrogen gas blowing area is set to three, which is an example of an odd number, in the embodiment, but is an example of an even number. It is a point set to.
That is, in the present embodiment, the first cooling gas supply unit 70A and the second cooling gas supply unit 70B are provided to set four blowing areas. Since the configuration of the first cooling gas supply unit 70A and the second cooling gas supply unit 70B is similar to that of the cooling gas supply unit 70 according to the above-described embodiment, its characteristic points will be described.

The first cooling gas supply unit 70 </ b> A includes a first suction nozzle 71 and a second suction nozzle 72, and a first blowing nozzle 81 is formed between the first suction nozzle 71 and the second suction nozzle 72. Yes. An upper cap 75 that closes the upper end opening is covered on the upper end surfaces of the first suction nozzle 71, the first blowout nozzle 81, and the second blowout nozzle 72, and the first suction nozzle 71, the first blowout nozzle 81, A lower cap 77 that closes the lower end opening is put on the lower end surface of the two suction nozzles 72.
The hollow portion of the first suction nozzle 71 forms a first suction chamber 71a, and the hollow portion of the second suction nozzle 72 forms a second suction chamber 72a. The hollow portion of the first blowing nozzle 81 forms a first blowing chamber 81b.
At the upper end of the first suction nozzle 71, a first slit 71b for opening the cooling gas supplied from the cooling gas supply pipe 67 to the first suction chamber 71a into the first blowing chamber 81b is provided. The first slit 71b is configured as a first ejection port that does not eject cooling gas toward the wafer. The length of the first slit 71 b is set to about a quarter of the length of the first suction nozzle 71.
A partition plate 78 that divides the second suction chamber 72a up and down is placed at a position corresponding to the lower end of the first slit 71b of the second suction chamber 72a. A second slit 72b for opening the cooling gas supplied from the cooling gas supply pipe 67 to the second suction chamber 72a into the first blowing chamber 81b is provided below the partition plate 78 of the second suction nozzle 72. . The second slit 72b is configured as a first ejection port that does not eject cooling gas toward the wafer. The length of the second slit 72 b is set so as to extend from the partition plate 78 to about half the height of the second suction nozzle 72.
In the upper half of the first blowing nozzle 81, a first blowing slit 81c for blowing the cooling gas supplied from the first suction chamber 71a and the second suction chamber 72a to the first blowing chamber 81b into the processing chamber 32 is opened. Yes. The first blow-off slit 81 c is configured as a second blow-out port that blows out a cooling gas in a direction horizontal to the main surface of the wafer 1 and toward the wafer 1. The length of the first blowing slit 81 c is set to about one half of the length of the first blowing nozzle 81. That is, the first blowing slit 81c is opened from the upper end of the first blowing nozzle 81 to the position facing the lower end of the second slit 72b.

The height of the second cooling gas supply unit 70B is set to approximately half the height of the first cooling gas supply unit 70A, and is installed adjacent to the lower half of the first cooling gas supply unit 70A. The second cooling gas supply unit 70 </ b> B includes a third suction nozzle 73 and a fourth suction nozzle 74, and a second blowing nozzle 82 is formed between the third suction nozzle 73 and the fourth suction nozzle 74. Yes. An upper cap 75 that closes the upper end opening is covered on the upper end surfaces of the third suction nozzle 73, the second blowing nozzle 82, and the fourth suction nozzle 74, and the third suction nozzle 73, the second blowing nozzle 82, A lower cap 77 that closes the lower end opening is covered on the lower end surface of the four suction nozzles 74.
The hollow portion of the third suction nozzle 73 forms a third suction chamber 73a, and the hollow portion of the fourth suction nozzle 74 forms a fourth suction chamber 74a. The hollow portion of the second blowing nozzle 82 forms a second blowing chamber 82b.
At the upper end portion of the third suction nozzle 73, a third slit 73b for opening the cooling gas supplied from the cooling gas supply pipe 67 to the third suction chamber 73a into the second blowing chamber 82b is provided. The third slit 73b is configured as a first ejection port that does not eject cooling gas toward the wafer. The length of the third slit 73 b is set to about one half of the length of the third suction nozzle 73.
At a position corresponding to the lower end of the third slit 73b of the fourth suction chamber 74a, a partition plate 78 that divides the fourth suction chamber 74a up and down is covered. Below the partition plate 78 of the fourth suction nozzle 74, a fourth slit 74b is formed for ejecting the cooling gas supplied from the cooling gas supply pipe 67 to the fourth suction chamber 74a into the second blowing chamber 82b. . The fourth slit 74b is configured as a first ejection port that does not eject cooling gas toward the wafer. The length of the fourth slit 74 b is set so as to extend from the partition plate 78 to the vicinity of the lower end of the fourth suction nozzle 74.
The second blowing nozzle 82 is provided with a second blowing slit 82c for blowing the cooling gas blown from the third suction chamber 73a and the fourth suction chamber 74a to the second blowing chamber 82a into the processing chamber 32. The second blow-out slit 82 c is configured as a second blow-out port that blows out a cooling gas in a direction horizontal to the main surface of the wafer 1 and toward the wafer 1. The second blowing slit 82c is opened from the upper end of the second blowing nozzle 82 to a position facing the lower end of the fourth slit 74b.

  According to the first cooling gas supply unit 70A and the second cooling gas supply unit 70B according to the above configuration, the first slit 71b and the second slit 72b are opposed to the first blowing slit 81c, and the second Since the third slit 73b and the fourth slit 74b are opposed to the blowing slit 82c, four nitrogen gas blowing areas are set.

  Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

The nitrogen gas blowing area as the cooling gas is not limited to three or four, but may be set to one, two, or five or more.
Incidentally, the plurality of blowout areas can be freely set by combining the cooling gas supply unit according to the first embodiment and the cooling gas supply unit according to the second embodiment.

  The slit of the suction nozzle and the slit of the blowout nozzle are not limited to the same width, and may be set so that the width increases or decreases in the vertical direction.

  The first jet port and the second jet port are not limited to being formed by slits, but may be formed by circular or square through holes.

  The cooling gas supply unit is not limited to be disposed on the processing chamber side, and may be disposed on the seal cap side.

  The heating means is not limited to using a halogen lamp with a peak wavelength of heat energy of 1.0 μm, but other heat rays (infrared rays, far-infrared rays, etc.) wavelength (for example, 0.5 to 3.5 μm) are irradiated. A heating lamp (for example, a carbon lamp) may be used, or an induction heater, a metal heating element such as molybdenum silicide or Fe—Cr—Al alloy may be used.

  Although the CVD apparatus has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention can be applied to all substrate processing apparatuses such as an oxidation / diffusion apparatus and an annealing apparatus.

  The substrate to be processed is not limited to a wafer, but may be a photomask, a printed wiring board, a liquid crystal panel, a compact disk, a magnetic disk, or the like.

It is a partially-omission perspective view which shows the CVD apparatus which is one embodiment of this invention. FIG. FIG. It is a partially omitted rear cross-sectional view showing the main part. It is a plane sectional view showing the principal part. It is the expanded perspective view which shows a cooling gas supply unit. 6A is a plan view taken along the line aa in FIG. 6, FIG. 6B is a plan sectional view taken along the line bb in FIG. 6, FIG. 6C is a plan sectional view taken along the line cc, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a plan sectional view taken along the line dd in FIG. 6, and FIG. 7E is a plan sectional view taken along the line ee in FIG. 6. It is a partially omitted rear sectional view showing the time of forced cooling. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows other embodiment of a cooling gas supply unit.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Wafer (substrate), 2 ... Pod, 10 ... CVD apparatus (substrate processing apparatus), 11 ... Housing | casing, 12 ... Pod loading / unloading exit, 13 ... Front shutter, 14 ... Pod stage, 15 ... Rotary pod shelf, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 16 ... Support | pillar, 17 ... Shelf board, 18 ... Pod conveyance apparatus, 19 ... Sub housing | casing, 20 ... Wafer loading / unloading exit, 21 ... Pod opener, 22 ... Mounting stand, 23 ... Cap attaching / detaching mechanism, 24 ... Transfer chamber, 25 ... Wafer transfer device, 26 ... Standby chamber, 27 ... Boat elevator, 28 ... Arm, 29 ... Seal cap, 30 ... Boat (substrate holder), 31 ... Process tube, 32 ... Processing chamber, 35 ... Furnace port, 36 ... Manifold, 37 ... Exhaust pipe, 38 ... Exhaust port, 39 ... Exhaust device, 40 ... Pressure sensor, 41 ... Pressure controller, 42 ... Gas supply pipe, 43 ... Gas supply device, 44 ... Gas flow rate condenser Roller, 45 ... Rotating shaft, 46 ... Drive controller, 47 ... Motor, 48 ... Heat insulation cap part, 50 ... Heater unit, 51 ... Heat insulation tank, 52 ... Heating lamp (heating means), 53 ... Ceiling heating lamp, 53A ... Cap Heating lamp, 54 ... heating lamp driving device, 55 ... temperature controller, 56 ... cascade thermocouple, 57 ... reflector, 58 ... cooling water piping, 59 ... ceiling reflector, 60 ... cooling water piping, 61 ... cooling air passage, 62 ... Supply pipe, 63 ... exhaust port, 64 ... buffer section, 65 ... sub exhaust port, 67 ... cooling gas supply pipe, 68 ... nitrogen gas supply device, 69 ... flow rate controller, 70, 70A, 70B ... cooling gas supply unit ( (Cooling gas supply means), 71 ... first suction nozzle, 71a ... first suction chamber, 71b ... first slit (first jet port), 72 ... second suction nozzle 72a ... second suction chamber, 72b ... second slit (first jet port), 73 ... third suction nozzle, 73a ... third suction chamber, 73b ... third slit (first jet port), 74 ... first Four suction nozzles, 74a ... fourth suction chamber, 74b ... fourth slit (first outlet), 75 ... first upper cap, 76 ... second upper cap, 77 ... lower cap, 78 ... partition plate, 81 ... 1st blowing nozzle, 81a ... connecting wall, 81b ... 1st blowing chamber, 81c ... 1st blowing slit (2nd outlet), 82 ... 2nd blowing nozzle, 82a ... connecting wall, 82b ... 2nd blowing chamber, 82c ... 2nd blowing slit (2nd outlet), 90 ... Nitrogen gas (cooling gas).

Claims (1)

A processing chamber for accommodating and processing the substrate; a boat for holding the substrate and carrying it into the processing chamber; a cooling gas supply means for supplying a cooling gas to the processing chamber; and an exhaust port for exhausting the cooling gas; With
The cooling gas supply means includes a first jet port that does not jet the cooling gas toward the direction in which the substrate at the first position carried into the processing chamber by the boat is located, and the first jet port through the first jet port. And a second ejection port for ejecting the cooling gas in a direction horizontal to the principal surface of the substrate at the first position and in the direction of the substrate. Processing equipment.

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