JPH06196391A - Sample introduction method and aligner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make an apparatus simple as a whole and to obtain its high reliability by a method wherein the pressure of a second chamber is reduced down to a prescribed pressure in a state that a gate valve is closed, the second chamber is then made to communicate with a first chamber, the gate valve is then opened and a sample inside the second chamber is introduced into the first chamber. CONSTITUTION:First, the inside of a first chamber 1 is set to a state that its pressure and its atmospheric purity are kept with high accuracy. Then, a wafer is put into a second chamber 2 from a door 4 for wafer introduction, and the door 4 is closed. Then, the inside of the second chamber 2 is evacuated to produce a vacuum down to a prescribed high-vacuum pressure, and a high- vacuum valve 72 is closed. Then, a communication valve 18 is opened, and the first chamber 1 is made to communicate with the second chamber 2. At this time, a variable orifice 19 is adjusted to a flow rate at which the atmosphere of the first chamber 1 is maintained within a certain range. In this state, a gate valve 3 is opened, the wafer in the second chamber 2 is transferred to the first chamber 1 and mounted on a wafer holder 24. After it has been transferred, the gate valve 3 is closed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for introducing a sample from one of two chambers partitioned by a gate valve into the other, an exposure apparatus using the same, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a sample is introduced into a first chamber whose internal pressure and atmospheric purity are controlled from a second chamber partitioned by this and a gate valve, the second chamber is evacuated to a predetermined pressure. After drawing, the same gas as the atmosphere of the first chamber is introduced until the pressure becomes the same as that of the first chamber, the second chamber is adjusted to the atmosphere of the first chamber, and then the gate valve is opened to start the second chamber from the second chamber. The sample was introduced into one chamber.

[0003]

However, in this conventional example, since the atmospheric gas is introduced into each chamber, a pipe for introducing the gas is required in each chamber, and the structure becomes complicated. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a sample introduction method and an exposure apparatus having a simple structure and improved reliability.

[0005]

According to the sample introduction method of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems, a second chamber partitioned by a gate valve is provided inside a first chamber having a predetermined pressure and atmospheric purity. A method of introducing a sample from a chamber, wherein the second chamber is depressurized to a predetermined pressure with the gate valve closed, the second chamber is communicated with the first chamber, and then the gate valve is opened. The sample in the second chamber is then introduced into the first chamber.

The exposure apparatus of the present invention has a first chamber having a predetermined pressure and atmosphere purity and capable of containing a wafer; a second chamber partitioned from the first chamber by a gate valve; A communication path for communicating the first chamber and the second chamber, and after decompressing the two chambers to a predetermined pressure with the gate valve closed, the communication path is opened, and then the gate valve is opened. And a control means for controlling the transfer of the wafer in the second chamber to the first chamber, and an exposure means for exposing the wafer contained in the first chamber.

[0007]

<Embodiment 1> FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to an X-ray exposure apparatus used for manufacturing a semiconductor device or the like. In the figure, 1 is an exposure chamber in which the pressure, atmosphere purity, and temperature are controlled with high precision.
It is a chamber. Reference numeral 2 is a second chamber provided between the first chamber 1 and the outside, and a semiconductor wafer which is a sample to be introduced into the first chamber is first placed here. 3 is the first
Gate valves 4 for partitioning the chamber 1 and the second chamber 2 are doors for putting wafers into the second chamber 2 from the outside.

6 is a low vacuum pump, 51 is a low vacuum pump 6
Is a roughing valve provided in the connection line between the first chamber 1 and the first chamber 1, and similarly 52 is a roughing valve provided between the vacuum pump 6 and the second chamber 2. Further, 8 is a high vacuum pump, 9 is a back pump of the high vacuum pump 8, 71, 7
Reference numeral 2 is a high vacuum valve provided in a connection line between the high vacuum pump 8 and each of the first and second chambers. Again 1
4 is a low vacuum pump for pressure control, 10 is an automatic variable conductance valve, 11 is an automatic variable conductance valve 1
0 is a controller, 12 is a pressure gauge, and 13 is a controller of the pressure gauge 12.

Reference numeral 17 is a cylinder for supplying an atmospheric gas (high-purity helium in this embodiment), 20 is a constant temperature tank for keeping the atmospheric gas from the cylinder 17 at a constant temperature, 15 is a variable flow valve, and 16 is an atmosphere. It is a bypass valve for introducing gas into the first chamber 1. Further, reference numeral 18 is a valve, and 19 is a variable throttle, which are provided in the middle of a line connecting the first chamber and the second chamber.

Reference numeral 21 is an X-ray radiation source such as SOR or a laser plasma X-ray source, and reference numeral 22 is an X-ray transmission window provided in the first chamber 1. Reference numeral 23 is a mask holder for holding a mask on which a transfer pattern is formed, and 24 is a wafer holder for holding a semiconductor wafer on which the mask pattern is exposed and transferred. These are X-rays introduced from the X-ray transmission window 22. Is provided inside the first chamber 1, which is an exposure chamber. Reference numeral 5 is a control device that controls the above-mentioned valves and throttles to control the entire device.

A procedure for introducing a wafer into the first chamber 1 in the apparatus having the above structure will be described below. First, the gate valve 3 is closed and the roughing valve 51 is opened, and the roughing pump 6 roughens the first chamber 1. After the rough evacuation, the rough evacuation valve 51 is closed and the high vacuum valve 71 is opened, and the high vacuum pump 8 evacuates to a predetermined high vacuum pressure. When this is completed, the high vacuum valve 71 is closed and the bypass valve 16 is opened to open the cylinder 17
A gas of higher purity is introduced until a predetermined pressure is reached. Next, the bypass valve 16 is closed, and while the flow rate is adjusted by the variable flow rate valve 15, a high-purity gas having a constant flow rate is introduced from the cylinder 17 so that the first chamber has a predetermined purity. At the same time, the automatic variable conductance valve 10 is adjusted by the detection signal of the pressure gauge 12 in order to maintain the inside of the first chamber at a predetermined pressure. As described above, the pressure and the atmosphere purity inside the first chamber 1 are maintained with high accuracy.

Here, a wafer is put into the second chamber from the wafer introduction door 4 and the door 4 is closed. Next, the roughing valve 52 is opened, and the inside of the second chamber 2 is roughly pulled by the low vacuum pump 6. After this is completed, the roughing valve 52 is closed and the high vacuum valve 72 is opened to evacuate the inside of the second chamber at a predetermined high vacuum pressure. Then, the high vacuum valve 72 is closed. Next, the communication valve 18 is opened to connect the first chamber and the second chamber. At this time, the variable throttle 19 is adjusted to a flow rate such that the atmosphere of the first chamber is maintained within a certain range. By the above operation, the atmospheres of the first chamber and the second chamber are the same. In this state, the gate valve 3 is opened, the wafer in the second chamber 2 is transferred to the first chamber 1 by a transfer mechanism (not shown), and is mounted on the wafer holder 24. When the transfer is completed, the gate valve 3 is closed. In this way, the introduction of the wafer into the first chamber is completed.

After that, X-rays from the X-ray radiation source 21 are introduced into the first chamber 1 through the X-ray transmission window 22 to irradiate the mask, and the mask pattern is exposed and transferred onto the wafer. The above operation is repeated every time the wafer is replaced.

Although the example of the X-ray exposure apparatus has been shown in the above embodiments, the technical idea of the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to, for example, a thin film forming apparatus.

According to the present embodiment described above, the piping for introducing the high-purity gas is only one system of the first chamber. The entire device can be simplified and high reliability can be obtained.

<Embodiment 2> Next, an embodiment of a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device using the exposure apparatus described above will be described. FIG. 2 shows a flow of manufacturing a semiconductor device (semiconductor chip such as IC or LSI, or liquid crystal panel, CCD or the like). In step 1 (circuit design), a semiconductor device circuit is designed. In step 2 (mask manufacturing), a mask having the designed circuit pattern is manufactured. on the other hand,
In step 3 (wafer manufacturing), a wafer is manufactured using a material such as silicon. Step 4 (wafer process) is called a pre-process, and an actual circuit is formed on the wafer by the lithography technique using the mask and the wafer prepared above. The next step 5 (assembly) is called a post-process, and is a process of forming a semiconductor chip by using the wafer manufactured in step 4, such as an assembly process (dicing, bonding), a packaging process (chip encapsulation), and the like. including. In step 6 (inspection), the semiconductor device manufactured in step 5 undergoes inspections such as an operation confirmation test and a durability test. Through these steps, the semiconductor device is completed and shipped (step 7).

FIG. 3 shows a detailed flow of the wafer process. In step 11 (oxidation), the surface of the wafer is oxidized. In step 12 (CVD), an insulating film is formed on the wafer surface. In step 13 (electrode formation), electrodes are formed on the wafer by vapor deposition. In step 14 (ion implantation), ions are implanted in the wafer. In step 15 (resist processing), a photosensitive agent is applied to the wafer.
In step 16 (exposure), the circuit pattern of the mask is printed and exposed on the wafer by the exposure apparatus described above. In step 17 (development), the exposed wafer is developed. In step 18 (etching), parts other than the developed resist image are removed. In step 19 (resist stripping), the resist that is no longer needed after etching is removed. By repeating these steps, multiple circuit patterns are formed on the wafer.

[0018]

According to the present invention, the apparatus can be simplified and reliability can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of an X-ray exposure apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a semiconductor device manufacturing flow.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a detailed flow of a wafer process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 1st chamber 2 2nd chamber 3 Gate valve 4 Wafer introduction door 5 Controller 6 Low vacuum pump 8 High vacuum pump 9 High vacuum pump 9 back pump 10 Automatic variable conductance valve 11 Automatic variable conductance valve controller 12 Pressure Meter 13 Controller of pressure gauge 14 Low vacuum pump for pressure control 15 Variable flow valve 16 Bypass valve for gas introduction 17 Gas cylinder 18 Communication valve 19 Variable throttle 20 Constant temperature bath 21 X-ray radiation source 22 X-ray transmission window 23 Mask holder 24 Wafer holder 51, 52 Roughing valve 71, 72 High vacuum valve

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A first having a predetermined pressure and atmospheric purity
A method of introducing a sample into a chamber from a second chamber partitioned by the first chamber and a gate valve, the method comprising: depressurizing the second chamber to a predetermined pressure with the gate valve closed; A method for introducing a sample, characterized in that the two chambers are communicated with the first chamber, and then the gate valve is opened to introduce the sample in the second chamber into the first chamber. 2. A first chamber having a predetermined pressure and atmosphere purity and capable of containing a wafer; a second chamber partitioned by a gate valve; and a first chamber and a second chamber communicating with each other. A communication path for allowing the two chambers to be depressurized to a predetermined pressure with the gate valve closed, then the communication path is opened, and then the gate valve is opened to make the wafer in the second chamber first An exposure apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls transfer to a chamber; and an exposure unit that exposes a wafer contained in the first chamber.