JPH06314729A - Vacuum processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a vacuum processing device to surely deliver a processing work to a vessel, be improved in general-purpose properties, and enhanced in throughput. CONSTITUTION:A first and a second cassette chamber, 2A and 2B, are connected to a first transfer chamber 1, a first and a second pre-vacuum chamber, 3A and 3B, each equipped with a cooling means and a heating means are interposed between the first transfer chamber 1 and a second transfer chamber 4, and vacuum processing chambers 5A to 5C are connected to the first transfer chamber 1. The transfer of wafers between a cassette 22, the first transfer chamber 1, and the pre-vacuum chamber 3A (3B) is carried out in an inert gas atmosphere of certain pressure higher than an atmospheric pressure. Various wafer transfer routes are so provided between the first transfer chamber 1 and the second transfer chamber 4 as to be optionally selected, and furthermore a vacuum processing apparatus of this design is so constituted that a continuous processing or the same processing is optionally selected for wafers.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a vacuum processing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the miniaturization and integration of semiconductor devices, various innovations have been made in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. For example, in vacuum processing equipment, process reforms and changes can be easily dealt with, and integrated processing A multi-chamber system called a cluster tool has been developed to shorten the process.

As a vacuum processing apparatus adopting such a system, for example, a multistage vacuum isolation type processing apparatus described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 19252/1993 is known. This processing apparatus includes a plurality of vacuum processing chambers that perform processing such as etching and deposition, a transfer robot station that transfers an object to be processed so that predetermined processing is performed in each selected vacuum processing chamber, and a transfer robot station. First and second intermediate processing chambers that are connected to each other and perform the pre-processing and the post-processing of the respective vacuum processing, and a buffer robot chamber that transfers the object to be processed between the intermediate processing chamber and the load lock chamber. And is configured. When processing the object to be processed, as described above, each of the chambers and the robot station is evacuated in multiple stages, and the respective processes are performed under vacuum.

[0004]

However, in the case of the conventional vacuum processing apparatus, since the transfer of the object to be processed between the load lock chamber and the intermediate processing chamber is carried out in a vacuum, the object to be processed is subjected to frictional force. It is necessary to convey the object to be processed while holding the object on the support, and the positional deviation of the object to be processed or the object to be processed is accompanied by the operation of taking out the object from the cassette or the operation of storing the object in the cassette. There has been a problem that the transfer operation becomes inaccurate because the processing body is missed.

Further, since the object to be processed between the load lock chamber and the intermediate processing chamber is received in a vacuum, auxiliary equipment such as a vacuum pump and a vacuum gauge is required,
In particular, since the vacuum pump is very expensive, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost of the vacuum processing apparatus increases.

Furthermore, since the first and second intermediate processing chambers are dedicated to pre-processing and post-processing, respectively, the unprocessed object is the first intermediate processing chamber and the processed object is Although the atmospheres of the transfer robot station and the buffer robot chamber are different from each other, the atmospheres are switched in the intermediate processing chambers, so that, for example, when an object to be processed is loaded from the cassette, the second intermediate processing chambers are passed through. There is a problem that the waiting time of the object to be processed becomes long and the throughput is lowered, and the purpose of shortening the total processing time of the multi-chamber cannot be sufficiently achieved.

The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and an object thereof is to reliably deliver an object to be processed to a container in an apparatus having a plurality of vacuum processing chambers. Another object is to provide a vacuum processing apparatus with high throughput and high versatility.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a loader chamber having a container mounting portion for mounting a container for storing an object to be processed and a first transfer means, and the loader chamber. A first preliminary vacuum chamber and a second preliminary vacuum chamber, which are respectively connected to each other and have a heating means and a cooling means, and a second transfer means which is connected to the first and second preliminary vacuum chambers. Transfer room,
A plurality of vacuum processing chambers connected to the transfer chamber;
Mode selecting means for selecting a transfer path of the object to be processed between the loader chamber and the transfer chamber sandwiching the auxiliary vacuum chamber and the second auxiliary vacuum chamber, and the container placing part and the loader chamber. First
Alternatively, the transfer of the object to be processed between the second preparatory vacuum chamber and the second preparatory vacuum chamber is carried out by the first transposing means in a gas atmosphere at an atmospheric pressure or higher, and the first or second preparatory vacuum chamber and the vacuum processing chamber. The transfer of the object to be processed between and is performed by the second transfer means in a vacuum atmosphere.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a loader chamber having a container mounting portion for mounting a container for storing the object to be processed and a first transfer means, and a loader chamber via a preliminary vacuum chamber. A transfer chamber that is connected and has a second transfer unit, a plurality of vacuum processing chambers that are connected to the transfer chamber, and an object to be processed that is continuously processed by the plurality of vacuum processing chambers. And a mode selecting means capable of selecting one of a transporting mode for carrying out processing by only one vacuum processing chamber, and transfer of the object to be processed between the container mounting part and the preliminary vacuum chamber. Is performed in a gas atmosphere at atmospheric pressure or higher by the first transfer means, and the object to be processed is transferred between the preliminary vacuum chamber and the vacuum processing chamber in a vacuum atmosphere by the second transfer means. Is characterized by.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the container placing section comprises a first container placing section and a second container placing section, and the mode selecting means is First
Alternatively, a transfer mode in which an object to be processed taken out from one of the containers on the second container mounting portion is returned to the one container after vacuum processing, and the object to be processed is received in the other container after vacuum processing. It is characterized by having a function of selecting one of the delivered transfer modes.

[0011]

The object to be processed is transferred from the container mounting portion to the preliminary vacuum chamber in a gas atmosphere at atmospheric pressure or higher, and is carried into the vacuum processing chamber via the transfer chamber in a vacuum atmosphere. Then, for example, it is continuously processed in a plurality of vacuum processing chambers or processed in one vacuum processing chamber and then stored in the container mounting portion via the preliminary vacuum chamber. Since the object to be processed is transferred to and from the container in a gas atmosphere at atmospheric pressure or higher, for example, vacuum adsorption can be used, and the transfer is ensured.

In addition, since various heating modes and cooling modes are prepared in the preliminary vacuum chamber so as to serve as heating means and cooling means, a high throughput can be obtained by selecting a mode according to the situation. Further, it is possible to perform transfer more efficiently by making it possible to freely select which cassette to return the wafer taken out from one of the first and second cassettes.

[0013]

1 and 2 are a plan view and a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, respectively. In the figure, 1 is a first transfer chamber, and gate valves G1 and G1 are provided on both sides of the transfer chamber 1, respectively.
The first cassette chamber 2A and the second cassette chamber 2B are connected via G2. These cassette chambers 2A, 2B
Corresponds to the carry-in / carry-out port of the vacuum processing apparatus of this embodiment, and is provided with a cassette stage 21 that can be raised and lowered. In this example, the cassette stages 2A and 2B correspond to a container for accommodating a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer) W, for example, a container mounting portion for mounting a wafer cassette (hereinafter referred to as a cassette) 22. .

The transfer chamber 1 and the cassette chambers 2A, 2B are constructed in an airtight structure to form a loader chamber 10.
In the cassette chambers 2A and 2B, gate doors G3 and G4 are provided so as to open and close to the outside (work chamber atmosphere), respectively, and a loading / unloading robot 23 (see FIG. 2) having a U-shaped holding member is provided. It is provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the loading / unloading robot 23 is configured to load the cassette 22 which is set outward and is set in the cassette chambers 2A and 2B to set the cassette 22 horizontally. After being loaded into the chambers 2A and 2B, it is pushed up by the cassette stage 21 and raised to a predetermined position. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a gas supply pipe 20 for supplying an inert gas such as N ₂ gas is connected to each of the first transfer chamber 1 and the cassette chambers 2A and 2B, and a pressure regulator (not shown) is provided. As a result, the inside of the first transfer chamber 1 and the cassette chambers 2A and 2B is set to an inert gas atmosphere at or above atmospheric pressure.

Inside the first transfer chamber 1, there are arranged a first transfer means 11 comprising, for example, an articulated arm, and a rotary stage 12 for aligning the center of the wafer W and the orientation flat (orientation). The rotary stage 12 constitutes a positioning unit together with a light emitting / receiving unit (not shown). The first transfer means 11 is for transferring a wafer between the cassette 22 in the first and second cassette chambers 2A and 2B, the rotary stage 12 and a preliminary vacuum chamber described later. In addition, suction holes 11a for vacuum-sucking the wafer W are formed on both sides of the tip of the arm that is the wafer holding unit. The suction hole 11a is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) via a suction path (not shown).

A first preliminary vacuum chamber 3A and a second preliminary vacuum chamber 3B are connected to the rear side of the first transfer chamber 1 via gate valves G5 and G6, respectively, and these preliminary vacuum chambers 3A and 3B are connected. A gate valve G7 is provided on the rear side of the vacuum chambers 3A and 3B.
The second transfer chamber 4 is connected via G8. The first and second preliminary vacuum chambers 3A and 3B have the same structure, and although not shown, for example, upper and lower heating means and cooling means are provided, and, for example, the wafer W is placed on the upper and lower sides, respectively. It is equipped with a two-stage mounting tool that can move up and down. A vacuum pump (not shown) is connected to the preliminary vacuum chambers 3A and 3B, and a gas supply pipe for supplying N ₂ gas, for example, is also connected to the auxiliary vacuum chambers 3A and 3B.

In the second transfer chamber 4, the first and second transfer chambers are provided.
Preliminary vacuum chambers 3A, 3B and three vacuum processing chambers 5A described later.
Second transfer means 41, which is composed of, for example, an articulated robot, is provided for transferring the wafer W to and from 5C.

The second transfer chamber 4 is connected to three vacuum processing chambers 5A to 5C on the left, right, and rear three sides via gate valves G9 to G11, respectively. Vacuum processing chamber 5A
Is, for example, 400 to 400 on a wafer on which a fine pattern is formed.
This is for forming a titanium film by sputtering at a temperature of 500 ° C., the vacuum processing chamber 5B is for forming a tungsten layer in a fine pattern by CVD, and the vacuum processing chamber 5C is tungsten. It is for etching back the layer. That is, in this example, the vacuum processing chambers 5A to 5C perform continuous processing on the wafer W, but the vacuum processing chambers 5A to 5C may be configured to perform the same processing, for example, CVD.

Further, the vacuum processing apparatus of this embodiment is provided with a mode selecting means 6 for selecting a wafer transfer path as schematically shown in FIG. This mode selection means 6 is the first
Of the cassette chambers 2A and 2B and the vacuum processing chambers 5A to 5C, each of which has a function of selecting a mode from various modes corresponding to a wafer transfer path, for example, a mode 1 to a mode n. Specifically, for example, it is configured by a unit including a control unit including a memory storing a program of each mode and a central processing unit, and an operation panel for selecting the program and setting conditions.

Here, an example of the mode is shown in FIGS. FIG. 3 shows that the wafer W housed in the cassette 22 (one cassette 22) of the first cassette chamber 2A includes the rotary stage 12 (reference numerals are omitted in FIGS. 3 to 8 for convenience of illustration), After passing through the preliminary vacuum chamber 3A of No. 1, it is sequentially transported to the vacuum processing chambers 5A, 5B, 5C to perform continuous processing,
After that, the mode is shown in which the second preliminary vacuum chamber 3B is passed through and the cassette 22 (the other cassette 22) in the second cassette chamber 2B is accommodated.

FIG. 4 shows that the wafer W after processing in the mode of FIG.
The mode for returning to 2 (the original cassette 22) is shown. FIG. 5 shows that the wafer W uses both the route passing through the first preliminary vacuum chamber 3A and the route passing through the second preliminary vacuum chamber 3B in both cases of loading and unloading in the mode of FIG. Mode, that is, a mode in which the two preliminary vacuum chambers 3A and 3B are alternately transported, for example.

In the mode of FIG. 5, one cassette 2
The wafer W taken out from the No. 2 wafer is stored in the other cassette 22 after processing, whereas in the mode shown in FIG. 6, the wafer W in one cassette 22 and the wafer W in the other cassette 22 are taken out alternately. In this mode, the sheets are alternately conveyed in the first and second preliminary vacuum chambers 3A and 3B and returned to the original cassette 22.

In the mode shown in FIG. 7, the wafer W is transferred alternately in the first and second preliminary vacuum chambers 3A and 3B at the time of loading,
This mode is a mode in which one of the auxiliary vacuum chambers 3B (or 3A) is passed during unloading. Further, in FIG. 8, instead of continuously processing the wafer W, for example, the respective vacuum processing chambers 5A to 5C are set so as to perform the same processing, and the wafer W in one cassette 22 is set to the vacuum processing chambers 5A to 5C. In this mode, the sheet is loaded into any one of 5C and stored in the other cassette 22 after processing.

The above modes are merely examples, and when the same processing is performed in each vacuum processing chamber 5A to 5C as shown in FIG. 8, a mode in which the modes shown in FIGS. 3 to 7 are combined may be created. However, modes other than the above may be created. When selecting these modes, the operator may specify each mode. For example, each vacuum processing chamber 5A
The computer may select the optimum mode depending on the type of processing of 5C or the state of the interface between the vacuum processing apparatus and the external station.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. For example, taking the mode shown in FIG. 5 as an example, first, a cassette 22 containing, for example, 25 wafers W is opened on the cassette stage 21 in the first cassette chamber 2A by the loading / unloading robot 23 (see FIG. 2). The first transfer room 1
It is placed facing the side. Then close the gate door G3,
The inside of the first cassette chamber 2A is set to an inert gas atmosphere at atmospheric pressure, and the cassette stage 21 raises the cassette 22 to a predetermined position.

Next, the gate valve G1 is opened, and the cassette 2
The wafer W in 2 is vacuum-sucked by the arm of the first transfer means 41, and is carried in by the first transfer means 11 into the first transfer chamber 1 in which an inert gas atmosphere has been set in advance. Further, the vacuum suction is released and transferred to the rotary stage 12 which is a part of the alignment means, where the orientation flat alignment and the center alignment are performed.

Thereafter, the wafer W is loaded into the first preliminary vacuum chamber 3A which has been previously made to have an inert gas atmosphere at atmospheric pressure, and is placed on the upper stage side of, for example, the two-stage placing tool, and the gate is placed on the gate. The valve G5 is closed and, for example, the inside of the preliminary vacuum chamber 3A
^-3 to 10 ^-6 Torr and reduce the vacuum to 5
Preheated to 00 ° C. The subsequent wafer W is similarly loaded into the second preliminary vacuum chamber 3B and preheated. After preheating, open the gate valve G7 and set 10 ^-7 in advance.
Second transfer chamber 4 depressurized to a vacuum degree of -10 ^-8 Torr
And the preliminary vacuum chamber 3A are communicated with each other, and after the wafer W that has already been continuously processed is mounted on the mounting tool on the lower side of the first preliminary vacuum chamber 3A by the second transfer means 41, By the second transfer means 41, the wafer W on the upper side that has been preheated is taken out from the first preliminary vacuum chamber 3A and carried into the first vacuum processing chamber 5A. The second auxiliary vacuum chamber 3
The transfer of the wafer W between B and the second transfer means 41 is performed in the same manner.

Then, the wafer W on which the titanium film is formed by, for example, sputtering in the vacuum processing chamber 5A is successively carried into the vacuum processing chamber 5B and the vacuum processing chamber 5C, and as described above, the formation of the tungsten film by the CVD and the deposition of the tungsten film, respectively. Etching back is performed, and thereafter, as described in the description of the loading of the wafer W, the wafer W is mounted on the mounting tool on the lower stage side of the preliminary vacuum chamber 3A (or 3B) and cooled.

Further, after making the inside of the preliminary vacuum chamber 3A (or 3B) into an inert gas atmosphere at atmospheric pressure, the gate valve G7 (or G8) is opened, and the cooled wafer W is transferred to the second by the first transfer means 11. It is stored in the cassette 22 in the cassette chamber 2B. After that, the cassette 22 is carried out by the carry-in / carry-out robot 23 by the reverse operation of the carry-in operation described above.

Regarding the mode for transferring the wafer W, depending on the type of vacuum processing, continuous processing or processing using only one vacuum processing chamber (for example, the same vacuum processing)
Depending on other circumstances, for example, due to a failure of the carry-in / carry-out robot, an operator or an upper host computer selects an appropriate mode from the modes stored in the mode selection means 6.

According to such an embodiment, the cassette 22
Since the area in which the first transfer means 41 is placed is partitioned from the outside, a clean atmosphere is provided in the area to minimize the mixture of impurities into the vacuum processing chambers 5A to 5C. In addition, since the atmosphere is an inert gas atmosphere at atmospheric pressure, it is possible to transfer the wafer W by utilizing vacuum suction, and therefore, the wafer W can be prevented from being displaced or dropped and can be reliably transferred. be able to.
Further, since the atmosphere of the inert gas is used, it is not necessary to immediately expose the wafer W after the vacuum processing to the atmosphere, so that the chemical reaction on the surface of the wafer can be suppressed. Further, since it is not necessary to provide auxiliary equipment such as a vacuum pump and a vacuum gauge for evacuating the cassette chambers 2A and 2B and the first transfer chamber 1, the device can be manufactured inexpensively and compactly.

The first and second preliminary vacuum chambers 3A, 3
B is provided with both heating means and cooling means, and various modes for passing through the preliminary vacuum chambers 3A and 3B are prepared. An appropriate mode is selected from these modes, and one cassette 2
Since it is possible to select which cassette 22 to store the wafer W taken out from No. 2, the efficiency depends on the processing time of the vacuum processing chambers 5A to 5C and the timing when the next cassette 22 is sent. The wafer W can be transferred in a good mode, so that the throughput can be improved.

Further, since one of a mode in which continuous processing is performed in the vacuum processing chambers 5A to 5C and a mode in which the same processing is performed in parallel in the vacuum processing chambers 5A to 5C can be selected, the application is wide and versatile. can get.

The vacuum processing chambers 5A to 5C are detachably connected to the second transfer chamber 4 so as to be applicable to both continuous processing and the same processing, and to be compatible with various vacuum processing. . Examples of the vacuum treatment in the vacuum treatment chamber include various treatments such as sputtering, CVD, etching, ashing, oxidation and diffusion.

In the present invention, the first transfer chamber 1 is provided with a first
Also, the configuration in which the second cassette 22 is arranged and the configuration in which only one preliminary vacuum chamber is provided may be adopted, and the atmosphere when the wafer is transferred between the cassette 22, the first transfer chamber 1 and the preliminary vacuum chamber. As the gas, in addition to the inert gas, for example, dry air from which water is sufficiently removed may be used. When an inert gas is used, argon gas or carbon dioxide gas may be used instead of nitrogen gas. The number of vacuum processing chambers may be two or four or more, and the object to be processed may be an LCD substrate or the like.

[0036]

According to the invention of claim 1, in a vacuum processing apparatus provided with a plurality of vacuum processing chambers called a cluster tool or the like, an object to be processed between the container mounting portion and the preliminary vacuum chamber is provided. Since the transfer is performed in a gas atmosphere at atmospheric pressure or higher, the object to be processed can be held on the transfer means by utilizing vacuum adsorption,
Therefore, the object to be processed can be reliably delivered to and from the container. Further, since the heating means and the cooling means are combined in the first and second preliminary vacuum chambers and various passing modes are prepared, a high throughput can be obtained by selecting a mode according to the situation. . Further claim 3
As in the invention described above, by more freely selecting which cassette to return the wafer taken out from one of the first and second cassettes, more efficient transfer can be performed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to select a mode in which continuous processing is performed by a plurality of vacuum processing chambers and a mode in which processing is performed in only one vacuum processing chamber, so that high versatility can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an overview of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a wafer transfer mode according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a wafer transfer mode according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a wafer transfer mode in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a wafer transfer mode according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a wafer transfer mode according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a wafer transfer mode according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st transfer chamber 10 loader chamber 11 1st transfer means 2A 1st cassette chamber 2B 2nd cassette chamber 21 cassette stage 22 cassette 3A 1st preliminary vacuum chamber 3B 2nd preliminary vacuum chamber 4 4th 2 transfer chamber 5A-5C vacuum processing chamber

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location H01L 21/302 B 9277-4M

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A loader chamber provided with a container placement part for placing a container for containing an object to be processed and a first transfer means, and a loader chamber connected respectively to the heating means and a cooling means. The first preliminary vacuum chamber and the second preliminary vacuum chamber, the transfer chamber that is connected to the first and second preliminary vacuum chambers and that includes the second transfer means, and the transfer chamber that is connected to the transfer chamber. A plurality of vacuum processing chambers, and a mode selecting unit capable of selecting a transfer path of the object to be processed between the loader chamber and the transfer chamber sandwiching the first preliminary vacuum chamber and the second preliminary vacuum chamber, The transfer of the object to be processed between the container mounting section and the first or second preliminary vacuum chamber is performed by the first transfer means in a gas atmosphere at atmospheric pressure or higher, Alternatively, the transfer of the object to be processed between the second preliminary vacuum chamber and the vacuum processing chamber is performed in the vacuum atmosphere by the second transfer means. Vacuum processing apparatus, which comprises carrying out. 2. A loader chamber provided with a container placing section for placing a container for containing an object to be processed and a first transfer means, and a loader chamber connected to the loader chamber via a preliminary vacuum chamber, A transfer chamber having a transfer means, a plurality of vacuum processing chambers connected to the transfer chamber, and a mode for transporting an object to be continuously processed by the plurality of vacuum processing chambers. A mode selecting means capable of selecting one of a mode of carrying so as to be processed only by the vacuum processing chamber, and a transfer of the object to be processed between the container mounting part and the preliminary vacuum chamber. The transfer means performs the transfer in a gas atmosphere at atmospheric pressure or higher, and the transfer of the object to be processed between the preliminary vacuum chamber and the vacuum processing chamber is performed in the vacuum atmosphere by the second transfer means. Vacuum processing equipment. 3. The container placing part comprises a first container placing part and a second container placing part, and the mode selecting means is one of the containers on the first or second container placing part. A function capable of selecting one of a transfer mode in which an object to be processed taken out from one side is returned to the one container after vacuum processing and a transfer mode in which the object to be processed is transferred to the other container after vacuum processing The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: