JPH03194924A - Vertical processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To uniformly diffuse process gas in a processing furnace by making a process gas introducing pipe protrude inside from a furnace wall on the end side of the processing furnace, closing the end of the protruding part, and opening a gas introducing inlet on the side wall. CONSTITUTION:A vertical processing equipment is equipped with a vertical processing furnace 10 and a process gas introducing pipe 16, and an object 14 to be processed is processed in the processing furnace 10. Said pipe 16 is made to protrude inside from the furnace wall on the end of the processing furnace 10. The end of the protruding part is closed, and a side introducing inlet 26 is opened on the sidewall. For example, the process gas introducing pipe 16 is made to protrude inside an upper protruding part 22 being the end side of the furnace 10, and the end of the pipe 16 is closed. On the central axis of the furnace 10, a gas introducing inlet 26 is opened on the sidewall of the gas introducing pipe 16 so as to face upward. A buffer plate 28 wherein innumerable fine apertures are formed in the surface is formed between the gas introducing inlet 26 and a wafer boat 12 in the vertical processing furnace 10.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Purpose of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a vertical processing device.

(Prior Art) Vertical processing equipment is equipment that processes objects to be processed in a vertical processing furnace, and examples of such equipment include, for example, vertical vapor phase growth equipment for semiconductor wafers, vertical thermal growth equipment, etc. There are diffusion furnaces, etc.

In this type of vertical processing apparatus, as shown in FIG.
A plurality of wafers 14, which are substrates to be processed, are arranged and supported in a horizontal state at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. Furthermore, a heater (not shown) is provided around the vertical processing furnace 10 to heat the temperature inside the vertical processing furnace 10 to a desired temperature. The temperature inside the vertical processing furnace 10 is heated to, for example, about 1000''C.

On the other hand, a gas inlet 18 of a process gas inlet pipe 16 that supplies a process gas used when processing a wafer 14
is connected via a joint 2o to the side surface of the upper protrusion 22, which is the end side on the central axis of the vertical processing furnace 1O, and the process gas is introduced into the vertical processing furnace 1 through the gas inlet 18.
While the gas is being supplied approximately evenly within the range 0, the gas is exhausted from the gas exhaust port 24.

In the above configuration, the process gas introduced from the gas inlet 18 is introduced into the vertical processing furnace 10 heated to a predetermined temperature from the side surface of the upper protrusion 20 of the vertical processing furnace 10, as shown in the figure. The wafers are supplied approximately evenly and diffused to reach the vicinity of the wafers 14 placed on the wafer boat 12. Then, due to the reaction of the process gas, an oxide film, a diffusion layer, etc. are formed on the surface of the wafer 14.

Techniques for uniformly introducing gas as described above are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 61-97821.1 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-114522.
Utsukai Showa 52-1.31958. Jitsukai Showa 61-17973
It is disclosed in Publication No. 5.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the conventional vertical processing apparatus as described above, the gas inlet 18 for the process gas faces the side surface of the upper protrusion 22 of the vertical processing furnace 10 as described above. Since it is connected,
The process gas is introduced from the side of the upper protrusion 22 and diffused in the furnace to form the wafers 14 placed on the wafer boat 12.
However, in this case, the process gas diffuses in a specific direction, that is, the installation of the gas inlet 18 has a direction that depends on the location, so the process gas does not spread uniformly in the furnace. As a result, it has been difficult to uniformly process the wafer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vertical processing apparatus that can uniformly diffuse process gas into a processing furnace.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention includes a vertical processing furnace and a process gas introduction pipe for supplying a process gas into the processing furnace. In a vertical processing apparatus for processing objects to be processed, the process gas inlet pipe is inserted into the processing furnace from a furnace wall on the end side, the end of the projecting part is sealed, and a gas inlet is provided in the side wall. It is characterized by being open.

(Function) According to the above configuration, the gas introduction pipe for the process gas is inserted into the processing furnace, and the end thereof is sealed.
Gas is not ejected directly in the axial direction of the pipe where the gas supply pressure acts, but is ejected from the gas inlet opening in the side wall of the inserted pipe. Therefore, the process gas does not have a specific directionality and is uniformly diffused inside the processing furnace to reach the vicinity of the object to be processed.

Furthermore, by providing the direction in which the gas inlet opens toward the furnace wall at the end of the processing furnace, as shown in claim (2), the process gas introduced from the gas inlet is once located at the end of the processing furnace. Since it is ejected onto the furnace wall, reflected by the furnace wall, and diffused, more uniform treatment can be achieved.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example in which the present invention is applied to a diffusion device for semiconductor wafers will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a vertical diffusion device according to an embodiment, and among the members shown in the figure, members having the same functions as those shown in FIG. 4 are designated with the same reference numerals. Detailed explanation will be omitted.

The apparatus of this embodiment differs from the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. 4 in the following points.

Process gas introduction pipe 1 of vertical processing equipment according to non-implemented example
6 is provided so as to protrude into the upper protrusion 22 which is the end side of the vertical processing furnace 10 , the end of this gas introduction pipe 16 is sealed, and the gas introduction port 26 is connected to the axis of the vertical processing furnace 10 . It opens into the side wall of the gas introduction pipe 20 at the center. In this embodiment, the gas inlet 26 is provided in the upper direction as shown in the figure.

Further, in the apparatus of this embodiment, a buffer plate 28 is provided between the gas inlet 26 in the vertical processing furnace 10 and the wafer boat 12, which will be described in detail later.

In the vertical processing apparatus configured as described above, the process gas supplied through the gas introduction pipe 20 is not ejected from the axial direction of the pipe on which the supply pressure directly acts, but the gas is opened at the side wall of the pipe. Ejects from the inlet. Therefore, the gas is introduced into the vertical heat treatment furnace 10 without having a specific ejection direction depending on the gas supply pressure. Moreover, the process gas introduced from the gas inlet 26 is
After hitting the upper wall of No. 2 and sufficiently diffusing, it diffuses toward the lower part of the furnace. That is, since the gas inlet 26 is provided in the upper part of the vertical processing furnace 10 and on the axis, the process gas is introduced without having a specific directionality in the horizontal direction. wafer 1 in a uniform state.
The boat reaches the wafer boat 12 on which 4 wafers are loaded.

In particular, when the gas inlet 26 opens upward as in this embodiment, the introduced process gas hits the upper wall of the upper protrusion 22 of the vertical processing furnace 10 and is sufficiently diffused. Since the gas is later diffused downward, the uniformity of the process gas diffusion increases.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a surface of the vertical processing furnace 10 including the buffer plate 28. As shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, numerous fine openings are provided within the plane of this buffer plate 28, and the process gas diffuses toward the wafer 14 through these openings 30.

This buffer plate 28 can be made of quartz or the like, for example, similar to the vertical processing furnace 1°, and the opening 30 is made of a hole with a diameter of 0.5 to 2 mm formed by laser light or the like. Further, this buffer plate 28 may be formed integrally with the vertical processing furnace 10, or may be formed and attached separately from the vertical processing furnace 10.

Due to this buffer plate 28, the process gas introduced from the gas inlet 26 first hits the furnace wall of the upper protrusion 22 of the vertical processing furnace 10, and is diffused toward the wafer 14. Then, due to the presence of the buffer plate 28 on the way, the light is further diffused and reaches the vicinity of the wafer 14 through an opening 30 provided in the buffer plate 28 . In this state, the process gas is sufficiently uniformly diffused, making it possible to process the wafer extremely uniformly.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the vertical processing apparatus viewed from above. In this embodiment, the process gas introduction pipe 32 is bifurcated, and the gas introduction ports 34 are provided at two locations. Therefore, since the process gas is supplied from three locations, it is possible to diffuse the process gas more uniformly than in the first embodiment. In this case, gas inlet 3
4 need not be limited to three locations, and may be provided at three or more locations.

In addition, in each of the above embodiments, an example was shown in which the gas inlet was opened upward, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the gas inlet may be opened downward. Needless to say.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the shape and number of gas inlet ports described above, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

Further, the present invention is applicable not only to a vertical diffusion device but also to various devices having a vertical furnace such as a vertical hot vapor phase growth furnace. Further, in a vertical furnace of the type in which objects to be processed are carried in and out from the upper end side, a gas introduction pipe may be inserted and connected to the lower end side, which is the end thereof.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, the gas inlet of the process gas inlet pipe is inserted into the processing furnace interior, the end of this intrusion is sealed, and the gas inlet is formed in the side wall of the tube. By opening the vertical processing furnace, the process gas can be uniformly diffused into the vertical processing furnace, so that the objects to be processed in the processing furnace can be processed extremely uniformly.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an embodiment of the vertical processing apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the vertical processing apparatus with a buffer plate provided, and FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view showing an embodiment of the vertical processing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional vertical processing apparatus. 10... Vertical processing furnace, 12... Wafer boat, 14
...Wafer, 16.32...Process gas introduction pipe, 18.26. ．．
34...Gas inlet, 20...Joint, 22...
...Top protrusion, 24...Gas discharge port, 28...Buffer plate, 30...Opening.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A vertical processing apparatus that has a vertical processing furnace and a process gas introduction pipe that supplies a process gas into the processing furnace, and processes objects to be processed in the processing furnace, wherein the process gas is 1. A vertical processing apparatus, characterized in that an introduction pipe is inserted into the processing furnace from a furnace wall on a distal side, the end of the protrusion is sealed, and a gas introduction port is opened in the side wall. (2) The vertical processing apparatus according to claim (1), wherein the gas inlet is opened toward the furnace wall at the end of the processing furnace.