JP2006237532A - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing apparatus provided with a gas pool located on the way of a supply line for a reactive gas for substrate processing, the apparatus which efficiently replaces or processes the reactive gas at a downstream side from the gas pool. <P>SOLUTION: The substrate processing apparatus includes: a first gas supply line 232b for supplying a substrate processing gas to a processing chamber 201; a first gas pool 247 provided to the supply line 232b for the substrate processing gas; a second gas supply line 232c connected to the first gas supply line 232b at an upperstream side of the first gas pool 247 and supplying a gas for processing a purge gas or the substrate processing gas; and a second gas pool 251 provided to the second gas supply line 232c. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a substrate processing apparatus that performs film formation by an ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) method used when manufacturing a Si semiconductor device.

First, a film forming process using the ALD method will be briefly described.
In the ALD method, under one film formation condition (temperature, time, etc.), two kinds (or more) of raw material gases used for film formation are alternately supplied onto the substrate one by one, and one atomic layer unit. In this method, the film is adsorbed by using a surface reaction to form a film.

That is, the chemical reaction used is, for example, in the case of forming a SiN (silicon nitride) film. In the ALD method, DCS (SiH ₂ Cl ₂ , dichlorosilane) and NH ₃ (ammonia) are used. A membrane is possible. Further, the gas supply alternately supplies a plurality of types of reactive gases one by one. And film thickness control is controlled by the cycle number of reactive gas supply. (For example, assuming that the film formation rate is 1 mm / cycle, the process is performed 20 cycles when a film of 20 mm is formed.)

  In such an ALD method, when supplying at least one kind of reactive gas, it has been proposed to provide a gas reservoir in the middle of the reactive gas supply line.

  By providing a gas reservoir in this way, the reactive gas stored in the gas reservoir can be supplied to the processing chamber at once, and a desired amount of reactive gas can be instantaneously saturated and adsorbed, so that the processing time Can be shortened.

  However, even if the reactive gas is purged and removed from the downstream side of the gas reservoir of the reactive gas supply line, the inside of the gas reservoir cannot be completely replaced or removed, and the film is formed for a long period of time or is paused for a long time. If left unattended, the gas remaining in the gas reservoir will be adsorbed in the gas reservoir, causing an abnormal reaction, or reacting with internal materials, and if the piping is opened to the atmosphere for maintenance, etc., it will corrode due to the reaction with the atmosphere. It was the cause of foreign matter generation.

  Accordingly, the main object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing capable of efficiently replacing or processing a reactive gas downstream from a gas reservoir of a substrate processing apparatus provided with a gas reservoir in the middle of a reactive gas supply line for substrate processing. To provide an apparatus.

According to the present invention,
A processing chamber for processing the substrate;
A first gas supply line for supplying a substrate processing gas to the processing chamber;
A first gas reservoir provided in the substrate processing gas supply line;
A second gas supply line connected to the first gas supply line upstream of the first gas reservoir and supplying a purge gas or a gas for processing the substrate processing gas;
A second gas reservoir provided in the second gas supply line;
A substrate processing apparatus is provided.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the substrate processing apparatus which can replace or process the reactive gas downstream from the gas reservoir of the substrate processing apparatus which provided the gas reservoir in the middle of the supply line of the reactive gas for substrate processing is provided. The

Next, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a gas supply line for supplying a purge gas or a reactive gas processing gas is connected to a reactive gas supply line for substrate processing provided with a gas reservoir. A separate gas reservoir is provided in the supply line.

  In a preferred embodiment, a gas supply line provided with another gas reservoir is connected to a reactive gas supply line for substrate processing upstream of the gas reservoir. In this way, the gas reservoir of the reactive gas supply line for substrate processing can be replaced or processed at once by a gas containing another gas reservoir.

  Preferably, the volume of the other gas reservoir is equal to or greater than the volume of the gas reservoir of the reactive gas supply line for substrate processing.

  In another preferred embodiment, a gas supply line provided with another gas reservoir is connected to a reactive gas supply line for substrate processing downstream of the gas reservoir.

Next, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view for explaining a vertical substrate processing furnace of a substrate processing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing a processing furnace part in a longitudinal section, and FIG. 2 shows the present invention. It is a schematic cross-sectional view for demonstrating the vertical-type substrate processing furnace of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on this preferable Example, and shows a processing furnace part in a cross section.

  A reaction tube 203 made of quartz is provided inside a heater 207 serving as a heating means as a reaction container for processing the wafer 200 serving as a substrate, and the lower end opening of the reaction tube 203 is an airtight member by a seal cap 219 serving as a lid. It is airtightly closed through an O-ring 220. A heat insulating member 208 is provided outside the reaction tube 203 and the heater 207. The heat insulating member 208 is provided so as to cover the upper end of the heater 207. The processing furnace 202 is formed by at least the heater 207, the heat insulating member 208, the reaction tube 203, and the seal cap 219. Further, the processing chamber 201 is formed by the reaction tube 203, the seal cap 219, and a buffer chamber 237 formed in the reaction tube 203 described later. A boat 217 as a substrate holding means is erected on the seal cap 219 via a quartz cap 218, and the quartz cap 218 serves as a holding body for holding the boat 217. Then, the boat 217 is inserted into the processing furnace 202. A plurality of wafers 200 to be batch-processed are stacked on the boat 217 in a horizontal posture in multiple stages in the tube axis direction in the vertical direction. The heater 207 heats the wafer 200 inserted into the processing furnace 202 to a predetermined temperature.

  The processing furnace 202 is provided with two gas supply pipes 232a and 232b as supply pipes for supplying a plurality of types, here two types of gases. Here, the reaction gas is supplied from the gas supply pipe 232a to the processing chamber 201 through a mass flow controller 241a serving as a flow control means and a valve 243a serving as an on-off valve, and further through a buffer chamber 237 formed in a reaction tube 203 described later. Processed from the gas supply pipe 232b through a mass flow controller 241b as a flow control means, a valve 243b as an on-off valve, a gas reservoir 247, and a valve 243c as an on-off valve, and further through a gas supply unit 249 described later. A reaction gas is supplied to the chamber 201.

The two gas supply pipes 232a and 232b are equipped with pipe heaters (not shown) that can be heated to about 120 ° C. in order to prevent adhesion of NH ₄ Cl as a reaction byproduct.

  A gas supply pipe 232c is connected to the gas supply pipe 232b on the upstream side of the gas reservoir 247 and between the gas reservoir 247 and the valve 243b. From the upstream side, the gas supply pipe 232c is provided with a mass flow controller 241c as a flow rate control means, a valve 243f as an on-off valve, a gas reservoir 251 and a valve 243e as an on-off valve in this order. The volume of the gas reservoir 251 is the same as the volume of the gas reservoir 247 or larger than the volume of the gas reservoir 247. From the gas supply pipe 232c, a gas for purging or processing the gas flowing from the gas supply pipe 232b safely and reliably is supplied to the gas supply pipe 232b.

  The processing chamber 201 is connected to a vacuum pump 246 which is an exhaust means via a valve 243d by a gas exhaust pipe 231 which is an exhaust pipe for exhausting gas, and is evacuated. The valve 243d is an open / close valve that can open and close the valve to stop evacuation / evacuation of the processing chamber 201, and further adjust the valve opening to adjust the pressure.

  The arc-shaped space between the inner wall of the reaction tube 203 constituting the processing chamber 201 and the wafer 200 is a gas dispersion space along the loading direction of the wafer 200 on the inner wall above the lower part of the reaction tube 203. A buffer chamber 237 is provided. A gas supply hole 248a which is a supply hole for supplying a gas is provided in the vicinity of the end of the inner wall adjacent to the wafer 200 of the buffer chamber 237. The gas supply hole 248 a opens toward the center of the reaction tube 203. The gas supply holes 248a have the same opening area over a predetermined length from the lower part to the upper part along the stacking direction of the wafers 200, and are further provided at the same opening pitch.

  In the vicinity of the end of the buffer chamber 237 opposite to the end where the gas supply hole 248 a is provided, a nozzle 233 is also disposed along the stacking direction of the wafer 200 from the lower part to the upper part of the reaction tube 203. Yes. The nozzle 233 is provided with a plurality of gas supply holes 248b that are gas supply holes. The plurality of gas supply holes 248b are arranged along the stacking direction of the wafers 200 over the same predetermined length as that of the gas supply holes 248a. The plurality of gas supply holes 248b and the plurality of gas supply holes 248a are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence.

  Further, the opening area of the gas supply hole 248b may be the same opening area from the upstream side to the downstream side with the same opening pitch when the differential pressure between the buffer chamber 237 and the processing furnace 202 is small. If it is larger, the opening area should be increased from the upstream side toward the downstream side, or the opening pitch should be reduced.

  By adjusting the opening area and the opening pitch of the gas supply holes 248b from the upstream side to the downstream side, first, the gas having the same flow rate is ejected from each gas supply hole 248b, although the flow rate is almost the same. The gas ejected from each gas supply hole 248b can be ejected into the buffer chamber 237 and introduced once, and the difference in gas flow velocity can be made uniform.

  That is, in the buffer chamber 237, the gas ejected from each gas supply hole 248b is ejected from the gas supply hole 248a to the processing chamber 201 after the particle velocity of each gas is reduced in the buffer chamber 237. During this time, the gas ejected from each gas supply hole 248b can be a gas having a uniform flow rate and flow velocity when ejected from each gas supply hole 248a.

  Further, a rod-shaped electrode 269 and a rod-shaped electrode 270 having an elongated structure are disposed in the buffer chamber 237 while being protected by an electrode protection tube 275 that protects the electrode from the upper part to the lower part, and the rod-shaped electrode 269 or the rod-shaped electrode. Any one of 270 is connected to the high frequency power supply 273 via the matching device 272, and the other is connected to the ground which is a reference potential. As a result, plasma is generated in the plasma generation region 224 between the rod-shaped electrode 269 and the rod-shaped electrode 270.

  The electrode protection tube 275 has a structure in which each of the rod-shaped electrode 269 and the rod-shaped electrode 270 can be inserted into the buffer chamber 237 while being isolated from the atmosphere of the buffer chamber 237. Here, if the inside of the electrode protection tube 275 has the same atmosphere as the outside air (atmosphere), the rod-shaped electrode 269 and the rod-shaped electrode 270 inserted into the electrode protection tube 275 are oxidized by the heating of the heater 207. Therefore, an inert gas purge mechanism is provided for filling or purging the inside of the electrode protection tube 275 with an inert gas such as nitrogen to prevent oxidation of the rod-shaped electrode 269 or the rod-shaped electrode 270 by suppressing the oxygen concentration sufficiently low.

  Furthermore, a gas supply unit 249 is provided on the inner wall of the reaction tube 203 that is rotated about 120 ° from the position of the gas supply hole 248a. The gas supply unit 249 is a supply unit that shares the gas supply species with the buffer chamber 237 when a plurality of types of gases are alternately supplied to the wafer 200 one by one in the film formation by the ALD method.

  Similarly to the buffer chamber 237, the gas supply unit 249 has gas supply holes 248c that are gas supply holes at the same pitch at positions adjacent to the wafer, and a gas supply pipe 232b is connected to the lower part.

  When the differential pressure between the buffer chamber 237 and the processing chamber 201 is small, the gas supply hole 248c may have the same opening area from the upstream side to the downstream side with the same opening pitch, but when the differential pressure is large. Is preferable to increase the opening area or decrease the opening pitch from the upstream side toward the downstream side.

  At the center of the reaction tube 203 is provided a boat 217 for mounting a plurality of wafers 200 in the vertical direction in multiple stages at the same interval. This boat 217 is attached to the reaction tube 203 by a boat elevator mechanism (not shown). You can go in and out. Further, in order to improve the uniformity of processing, a boat rotation mechanism 267 that is a rotation means for rotating the boat 217 is provided. By rotating the boat rotation mechanism 267, the boat 217 held by the quartz cap 218 is removed. It is designed to rotate.

  The controller 321 serving as the control means includes mass flow controllers 241a, 241b, 241c, 241d, valves 243a, 243b, 243c, 243d, 243e, 243f, 243g, 243h, heater 207, vacuum pump 246, boat rotation mechanism 267, boat elevator 121. Are connected to the high frequency power supply 273 and the matching unit 272, the flow rate adjustment of the mass flow controllers 241a, 241b, 241c, 241d, the opening / closing operation of the valves 243a, 243b, 243c, 243e, 243f, 243g, 243h, the opening / closing of the valve 243d and Pressure adjustment operation, opening and closing of regulator 302 and pressure adjustment operation, temperature adjustment of heater 207, start / stop of vacuum pump 246, adjustment of rotation speed of boat rotation mechanism 267, raising and lowering of boat elevator 121 Work control, power supply control of the high-frequency electrode 273, the impedance control is performed by the matching device 272.

Next, an example of film formation by the ALD method will be described using an example of forming an SiN film using DCS and NH ₃ gas.

  First, a wafer 200 to be deposited is loaded into a boat 217 and loaded into a processing furnace 202. After carrying in, the following three steps are sequentially executed.

[Step 1]
In Step 1, NH ₃ gas that requires plasma excitation and DCS gas that does not require plasma excitation are caused to flow in parallel. First, the valve 243a provided in the gas supply pipe 232a and the valve 243d provided in the gas exhaust pipe 231 are both opened, and NH ₃ gas whose flow rate is adjusted by the mass flow controller 243a from the gas supply pipe 232a is supplied to the gas supply hole 248b of the nozzle 233. The high frequency power is applied from the high frequency power supply 273 via the matching unit 272 between the rod-shaped electrode 269 and the rod-shaped electrode 270 to excite NH ₃ and supply it to the processing chamber 201 as active species. The gas is exhausted from the gas exhaust pipe 231. When flowing the NH ₃ gas as the active species by plasma excitation, a properly adjusted to the pressure inside the process chamber 201 the valve 243d and 10-100 Pa. The supply flow rate of NH ₃ controlled by the mass flow controller 241a is 1000 to 10000 sccm. The time for which the wafer 200 is exposed to the active species obtained by plasma excitation of NH ₃ is 2 to 120 seconds. The temperature of the heater 207 at this time is set so that the wafer becomes 500 to 600 ° C. Since NH ₃ has a high reaction temperature, it does not react at the above-mentioned wafer temperature. Therefore, the NH ₃ is flowed as an active species by plasma excitation, so that the wafer temperature can be kept in a set low temperature range.

When this NH ₃ is supplied as an active species by plasma excitation, the upstream valve 243b of the gas supply pipe 232b is opened, the downstream valve 243c is closed, and DCS is also allowed to flow. As a result, DCS is stored in the gas reservoir 247 provided between the valves 243b and 243c. At this time, the gas flowing in the processing chamber 201 is an active species obtained by plasma-exciting NH ₃ , and DCS does not exist. Therefore, NH ₃ does not cause a gas phase reaction, NH ₃ became active species excited by plasma is base film and the surface reaction on the wafer 200.

Further, when this NH ₃ is supplied as an active species by plasma excitation, the upstream valve 243f of the gas supply pipe 232c is opened, the downstream valve 243e is closed, and the gas reservoir 251 is different from the DCS. Accumulate gas. As the gas different from the DCS, an inert gas such as N ₂ or a gas having a long mean free process, for example, Ar gas, He, or a gas for safely and reliably processing DCS flowing from the gas supply pipe 232b is used. and so on.

[Step 2]
In Step 2, the valve 243a of the gas supply pipe 232a is closed to stop the supply of NH ₃ , but the supply to the gas reservoirs 247 and 251 is continued. When a predetermined pressure and a predetermined amount of DCS accumulate in the gas reservoir 247, the upstream valve 243b is also closed, and the DCS is confined in the gas reservoir 247. When a predetermined pressure, a predetermined amount of inert gas or the like is accumulated in the gas reservoir 251, the upstream valve 243 f is also closed, and the inert gas or the like is confined in the gas reservoir 521. Further, the valve 243 d of the gas exhaust pipe 231 is kept open, and the processing chamber 201 is exhausted to 20 Pa or less by the vacuum pump 246, and residual NH ₃ is removed from the processing chamber 201. At this time, if an inert gas such as N ₂ is supplied to the processing chamber 201, the effect of eliminating residual NH ₃ is further enhanced. DCS is stored in the gas reservoir 247 so that the pressure is 20000 Pa or more. In addition, the apparatus is configured so that the conductance between the gas reservoir 247 and the processing chamber 201 is 1.5 × 10 ⁻³ m ³ / s or more. Considering the ratio between the volume of the reaction tube 203 and the volume of the necessary gas reservoir 247, the volume of the reaction tube 203 is preferably 100 to 300 cc in the case of the volume 1001 (liter). The gas reservoir 247 is preferably 1/1000 to 3/1000 times the volume of the reaction chamber.

[Step 3]
In step 3, when the exhaust of the processing chamber 201 is finished, the valve 243c of the gas exhaust pipe 231 is closed to stop the exhaust. The valve 243c on the downstream side of the gas supply pipe 232b is opened. As a result, the DCS stored in the gas reservoir 247 is supplied to the processing chamber 201 at once. At this time, since the valve 243d of the gas exhaust pipe 231 is closed, the pressure in the processing chamber 201 is rapidly increased to about 931 Pa (7 Torr). The time for supplying DCS was set to 2 to 4 seconds, and then the time for exposure to the increased pressure atmosphere was set to 2 to 4 seconds, for a total of 6 seconds. The wafer temperature at this time is 500 to 600 ° C., as in the case of supplying NH ₃ . By supplying DCS, NH ₃ and DCS on the base film react with each other to form a SiN film on the wafer 200.

  After the film formation, the valve 243d is opened to evacuate the processing chamber 201, and the gas after contributing to the film formation of the remaining DCS is removed. At this time, the valve 243e of the gas supply pipe 232c is opened, the inert gas or the like stored in the gas reservoir 251 is supplied to the gas reservoir 247 all at once, and then supplied to the processing chamber 201 at once.

  Thereafter, the valve 243c and the valve 243e are closed, the valve 243b is opened, and the supply of DCS to the gas reservoir 247 is started. Further, the valve 243f is opened to start supplying an inert gas or the like to the gas reservoir 251.

  Steps 1 to 3 are defined as one cycle, and this cycle is repeated a plurality of times to form a SiN film having a predetermined thickness on the wafer.

  In the ALD apparatus, gas is adsorbed on the surface of the base film. The amount of gas adsorption is proportional to the gas pressure and the gas exposure time. Therefore, in order to adsorb a desired amount of gas in a short time, it is necessary to increase the gas pressure in a short time. In this respect, in the present embodiment, since the DCS stored in the gas reservoir 247 is instantaneously supplied after the valve 243d is closed, the pressure of the DCS in the processing chamber 201 can be rapidly increased. The desired amount of gas can be instantaneously adsorbed.

Further, in this embodiment, while DCS is stored in the gas reservoir 247, NH ₃ gas, which is a necessary step in the ALD method, is excited as plasma to be supplied as active species and the processing chamber 201 is exhausted. As a result, no special steps are required to store the DCS. Further, since DCS is flowed after exhausting the inside of the processing chamber 201 to remove NH ₃ gas, both do not react on the way to the wafer 200. The supplied DCS can be effectively reacted only with NH ₃ adsorbed on the wafer 200.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view for explaining a vertical substrate processing furnace of a substrate processing apparatus according to a comparative example. In this comparative example, only the mass flow controller 241c and the valve 243e are provided in the gas supply pipe 232c, and the gas reservoir 251 and the valve 243f are not provided. In this comparative example, an inert gas is flowed from the gas supply system 232c for the purpose of purging the gas remaining on the downstream side including the gas reservoir 247 of the gas supply pipe 232b. However, in this comparative example, even if the gas supply system 232b is purged with an inert gas, sufficient replacement / treatment gas does not reach the corners and stagnation parts inside the gas reservoir 247, and the DCS in the gas reservoir 247 is not removed. If the film cannot be completely replaced / removed, and the film is left for a long period of time, or is left for a long period of time, the gas remaining in the gas reservoir 247 is adsorbed in the gas reservoir 247 and reacts abnormally or reacts with internal materials. If the piping is opened to the atmosphere for maintenance, etc., it will corrode due to the reaction with the atmosphere, etc., causing foreign matter.

  In order to completely replace and remove the DCS in the gas reservoir 247, it is conceivable to increase the flow rate of the replacement / treatment gas or extend the time. However, when the flow rate is increased, pressure fluctuations in the reaction chamber 201 occur, and there is a concern that new foreign matter may be generated. In addition, prolonging the time leads to deterioration of productivity.

  In contrast, in the preferred embodiment described above, the inert gas or the like stored in the gas reservoir 251 is supplied to the gas reservoir 247 all at once, so that the DCS in the gas reservoir 247 can be sufficiently replaced and removed. Then, by setting the volume of the gas reservoir 251 to be equal to or larger than that of the gas reservoir 247, replacement and processing can be performed more reliably and in a short time. Further, the inert gas or the like can be stored in the gas reservoir 251 before DCS is stored in the gas reservoir 247 or at the same time as the DCS is stored in the gas reservoir 247, so that the replacement / processing gas flow time can be significantly reduced. It becomes possible.

  As described above, in this embodiment, for the purpose of saturated adsorption of atoms on the wafer, in the substrate processing apparatus that flows gas in a short time, the replacement of the residual gas is efficiently performed or the reactive gas is safely used. The problem of foreign matter generation in a substrate processing apparatus having a gas reservoir can be solved by processing to reliably eliminate foreign matter.

  In addition, it is possible to provide a reliable and simplified structure for improving productivity, which is increasingly demanded by the market, and shifting to production in a short time after a long stoppage.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view for explaining a vertical substrate processing furnace of a substrate processing apparatus according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

  In this example, a gas supply pipe 232c is connected to the gas supply pipe 232b on the upstream side of the gas reservoir 247 between the gas reservoir 247 and the valve 243b, and on the downstream side of the valve 243c, the gas supply pipe 232d. Is connected. From the upstream side, the gas supply pipe 232c is provided with a mass flow controller 241c as a flow rate control means and a valve 243e as an on-off valve in this order. From the upstream side, the gas supply pipe 232d is provided with a mass flow controller 241d as a flow rate control means, a valve 243h as an on-off valve, a gas reservoir 252 and a valve 243g as an on-off valve in this order. From the gas supply pipe 232c, a gas for purging or processing the gas flowing from the gas supply pipe 232b safely and reliably is supplied to the gas supply pipe 232b. Depending on the gas type used in the gas supply pipe 232a, the gas supply pipe 232d may be used alone or in combination with the gas supply pipe 232b, instead of the gas supply pipe 232b.

  Next, an outline of a substrate processing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  A cassette stage 105 is provided on the front side of the inside of the housing 101 as a holder transfer member that transfers the cassette 100 as a substrate storage container to and from an external transfer device (not shown). Is provided with a cassette elevator 115 as lifting means, and a cassette transfer machine 114 as a conveying means is attached to the cassette elevator 115. A cassette shelf 109 as a means for placing the cassette 100 is provided on the rear side of the cassette elevator 115, and a spare cassette shelf 110 is also provided above the cassette stage 105. A clean unit 118 is provided above the spare cassette shelf 110 so that clean air is circulated inside the housing 101.

  A processing furnace 202 is provided above the rear portion of the housing 101, and a boat 217 as a substrate holding unit that holds the wafers 200 as substrates in a horizontal posture in multiple stages is raised and lowered to the processing furnace 202 below the processing furnace 202. A boat elevator 121 as an elevating means is provided, and a seal cap 219 as a lid is attached to the tip of an elevating member 122 attached to the boat elevator 121 to support the boat 217 vertically. Between the boat elevator 121 and the cassette shelf 109, a transfer elevator 113 as an elevating means is provided, and a wafer transfer machine 112 as a transfer means is attached to the transfer elevator 113. Next to the boat elevator 121, a furnace port shutter 116 is provided as a closing means that has an opening / closing mechanism and hermetically closes the lower side of the processing furnace 202.

  The cassette 100 loaded with the wafers 200 is loaded into the cassette stage 105 from an external transfer device (not shown) in an upward posture, and is rotated by 90 ° on the cassette stage 105 so that the wafer 200 is in a horizontal posture. Further, the cassette 100 is transported from the cassette stage 105 to the cassette shelf 109 or the spare cassette shelf 110 by cooperation of the raising / lowering operation of the cassette elevator 115, the transverse operation, the advance / retreat operation of the cassette transfer machine 114, and the rotation operation.

  The cassette shelf 109 has a transfer shelf 123 in which the cassette 100 to be transferred by the wafer transfer device 112 is stored. The cassette 100 to which the wafer 200 is transferred is transferred by the cassette elevator 115 and the cassette transfer device 114. Transferred to the transfer shelf 123.

  When the cassette 100 is transferred to the transfer shelf 123, the wafers 200 are transferred from the transfer shelf 123 to the boat 217 in a lowered state by the cooperation of the advance / retreat operation, the rotation operation, and the lifting / lowering operation of the transfer elevator 113. Is transferred.

  When a predetermined number of wafers 200 are transferred to the boat 217, the boat 217 is inserted into the processing furnace 202 by the boat elevator 121, and the processing furnace 202 is hermetically closed by the seal cap 219. In the processing furnace 202 that is hermetically closed, the wafer 200 is heated and a processing gas is supplied into the processing furnace 202 to process the wafer 200.

When the processing on the wafer 200 is completed, the wafer 200 is transferred from the boat 217 to the cassette 100 of the transfer shelf 123 by the reverse procedure of the operation described above, and the cassette 100 is transferred from the transfer shelf 123 by the cassette transfer device 114. It is transferred to the cassette stage 105 and carried out of the housing 101 by an external transfer device (not shown). The furnace port shutter 116 hermetically closes the lower surface of the processing furnace 202 when the boat 217 is in the lowered state, and prevents outside air from being caught in the processing furnace 202.
The transport operation of the cassette transfer machine 114 and the like is controlled by the transport control means 124.

It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view for demonstrating the vertical type | mold substrate processing furnace of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on one preferable Example of this invention. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining a vertical substrate processing furnace of a substrate processing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view for demonstrating the vertical type | mold substrate processing furnace of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on a comparative example. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view for demonstrating the vertical type | mold substrate processing furnace of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on the other preferable Example of this invention. 1 is a schematic perspective view for explaining a substrate processing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view for explaining a substrate processing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Cassette 101 ... Case 105 ... Cassette stage 109 ... Cassette shelf 110 ... Reserve cassette shelf 112 ... Wafer transfer machine 113 ... Transfer elevator 114 ... Cassette transfer machine 115 ... Cassette elevator 116 ... Furnace shutter 118 ... Clean unit DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 121 ... Boat elevator 122 ... Elevating member 123 ... Transfer shelf 124 ... Transfer control means 200 ... Wafer 201 ... Processing chamber 202 ... Processing furnace 203 ... Reaction tube 207 ... Heater 208 ... Thermal insulation member 217 ... Boat 218 ... Quartz cap 219 ... Seal Cap 220 ... O-ring 224 ... Plasma generation region 231 ... Gas exhaust pipe 232a ... Gas supply pipe 232b ... Gas supply pipe 232c ... Gas supply pipe 232d ... Gas supply pipe 233 ... Nozzle 237 ... Buffer chamber 241a ... Mass flow controller 241b ... Mass flow controller 241c ... Mass flow controller 241d ... Mass flow controller 243a ... Valve 243b ... Valve 243c ... Valve 243d ... Valve 243e ... Valve 243f ... Valve 243g ... Valve 243h ... Valve 246 ... Vacuum pump 247 ... Gas reservoir 248a ... Gas supply hole 248b ... Gas supply hole 248c ... Gas supply hole 249 ... Gas supply part 251 ... Gas reservoir 252 ... Gas reservoir 267 ... Boat rotation mechanism 269 ... Rod electrode 270 ... Rod electrode 272 ... Matching device 273 ... High frequency power supply 275 ... Electrode protection tube 321 ... controller

Claims (1)

A processing chamber for processing the substrate;
A first gas supply line for supplying a substrate processing gas to the processing chamber;
A first gas reservoir provided in the substrate processing gas supply line;
A second gas supply line connected to the first gas supply line upstream of the first gas reservoir and supplying a purge gas or a gas for processing the substrate processing gas;
A second gas reservoir provided in the second gas supply line;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:

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