KR20130050422A - Chemical of vapor phase deposition system for continuous process - Google Patents

Abstract

Chemical vapor deposition apparatus for a continuous process according to the present invention, a plurality of wafer carriers formed with at least one wafer pocket on which the wafer is deposited; A plurality of reaction chambers forming reaction spaces each having a predetermined size for accommodating the wafer, and imparting different reaction conditions to the wafers accommodated in each reaction space; A position change member for changing a position of the wafer carrier so that the wafer is selectively received in a reaction space of a specific reaction chamber; And an outer chamber that fixes the position of the reaction chamber and protects the reaction wafer from exposure to external contaminants.

Description

Chemical vapor deposition apparatus for continuous process {CHEMICAL OF VAPOR PHASE DEPOSITION SYSTEM FOR CONTINUOUS PROCESS}

The present invention relates to a chemical vapor deposition apparatus for a continuous process. More particularly, it relates to a chemical vapor deposition apparatus for growing or depositing one or more semiconductor layers at the same time.

Group III nitride compound semiconductors (hereinafter referred to as nitride semiconductors) are widely used as light emitting devices and high output electric devices, and various studies are being actively conducted to improve device properties.

In general, nitride semiconductors are epitaxial growth methods, and metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) and hydrogen gas phases on substrates (Al ₂ O ₃ , SiC, Si, LiAlO ₂ ), which have different physical and chemical properties. It is grown by a deposition method (HVPE (Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy), or a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), etc., and sapphire (Al ₂ O ₃ ) substrate is most utilized to date.

In particular, MOCVD and HVPE methods are typically used for the manufacture of semiconductor devices.

In the case of MOCVD, the thin film multilayer growth is advantageous, so it is most used for the manufacture of nitride semiconductor devices.

On the other hand, HVPE has the advantage of being able to manufacture a thick, high-quality nitride semiconductor layer because of its rapid growth rate, but it is difficult to control the growth of very thin films such as multiple quantum wells (MQW).

To solve this problem, a method for growing a semiconductor layer using only the advantages of each method has been disclosed [1].

However, in this method, it takes a long time for the process to be completed due to a batch process process in which a series of process processes are sequentially executed in a predetermined order in a single reactor chamber. Furthermore, since it is possible to grow only the same material when growing a semiconductor layer on a plurality of wafers composed of a single chamber, there is a disadvantage in that the efficiency of depositing various kinds of semiconductor materials is poor. In addition, the existing growth method has to continuously change the internal temperature of the single reaction chamber according to the material to be grown, so that the waiting time (T _S1 , T _S2 ) for temperature stabilization is increased for each process step. There is a problem that the completion point is late (see Fig. 1).

[references]

[1] Application No.: PCT / EP2008 / 052110

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems,

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus capable of depositing various kinds of semiconductor materials at the same time.

More specifically, there is at least one individually controllable MOCVD and HVPE reaction chamber in a single deposition apparatus, and by selectively placing each wafer carrier on which a plurality of wafers are seated in a corresponding prepared reaction chamber, It is possible to deposit various kinds of semiconductor materials simultaneously in a reaction chamber in a reaction chamber.

Chemical vapor deposition apparatus for a continuous process according to an embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of wafer carriers having at least one susceptor on which the wafer to be deposited is mounted; A plurality of reaction chambers forming reaction spaces each having a predetermined size for accommodating the wafer, and imparting different reaction conditions to the wafers accommodated in each reaction space; A position change member for changing a position of the wafer carrier so that the wafer is selectively received in a reaction space of a specific reaction chamber; And an outer chamber that fixes the position of the reaction chamber and protects the reaction wafer from exposure to external contaminants.

In particular, the plurality of reaction chambers may include one or more reaction chambers for MOCVD (Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition) and at least one reaction chamber for HVPE (Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy).

The position changing member may include a first moving member for changing a vertical position of the wafer carrier and rotating the wafer carrier; And a second moving member disposed below the first moving member, the second moving member rotating in a center of the inside of the outer chamber to change the horizontal position of the wafer carrier.

The second moving member may have a disk shape, and the first moving member may be disposed at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction of the inner circumferential surface of the second moving member.

In addition, the reaction chamber is provided with a gas supply for supplying a reaction gas to the reaction space, the gas supply is formed on the upper side or the side of the reaction chamber in the reaction chamber Characterized in that the reaction gas is supplied.

In addition, the position change member is characterized in that the gas discharge portion for discharging the reaction gas supplied to the reaction space to the outside is formed in the center.

In addition, the wafer carrier is characterized in that it comprises a heating member for providing radiant heat.

In addition, the heating member may be provided in the reaction chamber according to the characteristics of the reaction chamber.

One or more individually controllable MOCVD and HVPE reaction chambers within a single deposition equipment, and by selectively placing each wafer carrier on which the wafers are seated in the corresponding prepared reaction chamber, various types simultaneously within each reaction chamber Can be quickly deposited in a single deposition equipment.

Furthermore, since it is possible to control the growth of each reaction chamber individually (i.e., supply only the reaction gas corresponding to each reaction chamber), heterogeneous reaction gases are not mixed with each other in one reaction chamber, resulting in higher quality. It is possible to deposit materials for semiconductors.

Furthermore, by independently adjusting the vertical position of the wafer carrier by using the first movable member which can move and rotate, and by adjusting the horizontal position of the wafer carrier by using the second movable member, Irrespective of the desired growth, selective growth is possible.

1 is a view for explaining a conventional semiconductor layer growth method, a view for explaining a growth method according to a batch process (batch process).
2 is a view showing an example of an outer chamber applied to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a view for explaining a reaction chamber, a wafer carrier, and a position change member accommodated in the outer chamber of FIG. 2.
4 is a view for explaining the structure of the chemical vapor deposition apparatus according to the present invention.
5 is a view for explaining a process of changing the horizontal position of the wafer carrier by the second moving member according to the present invention.
6 is a view for explaining a process of changing the vertical position of the wafer carrier by the first moving member according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted in order to clearly describe the present invention, and like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a part is said to "include" or "include" a certain component, unless otherwise stated, it does not exclude other components, but may further include or include other components it means.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a view for explaining a conventional semiconductor layer growth method, a view for explaining a growth method according to a batch process (batch process). The biggest feature of the batch process is that all of the inserted wafers have to grow the same semiconductor layer.

Furthermore, in conventional batch processes using HVPE and MOCVD, the internal temperature of a single reaction chamber must be continuously changed according to the material to be grown. Therefore, there is a problem in that the completion time of the entire process is delayed by increasing the time T _S1 , T _S2 , which is a waiting time for temperature control and stabilization for each process step.

However, in the case of the present invention, by providing one or more individually controllable MOCVD and HVPE reaction chambers in a single deposition equipment, and by selectively placing each wafer carrier on which the wafer is seated in the corresponding prepared reaction chamber, The waiting time T _S1 , T _S2 required in the batch process can be significantly reduced. Thus, various kinds of semiconductor materials can be quickly deposited in a single deposition equipment.

In other words, the process according to the present invention is called a continuous process, and this continuous process not only increases the growth efficiency but also has the effect of simultaneously depositing various kinds of high quality semiconductor materials.

2 to 4 are views for explaining a chemical vapor deposition apparatus for a continuous process according to an embodiment of the present invention. More specifically, Figure 2 is a view showing an example of the outer chamber 100 applied to the present invention, Figure 3 is a reaction chamber 10, the wafer carrier 30 accommodated in the base body 104 of Figure 2 ), A view for explaining the position change members (40, 50). 4 is a view for explaining the structure of the chemical vapor deposition apparatus according to the present invention.

First, referring to FIG. 2, the outer chamber 100 of the chemical vapor deposition apparatus according to the present invention includes a gas hole 102, a base body 104, and a load lock chamber for inserting and ejecting wafers. 200). The gas hole serves to supply the semiconductor growth gas required for each inner chamber, and the base body 104 fixes the positions of the plurality of reaction chambers and protects the wafers after the reaction from being exposed to external contaminants. Furthermore, one or more load lock chambers 200 may be utilized for inserting a wafer for deposition or discharging a wafer in which deposition is completed.

Furthermore, referring to FIG. 4, the chemical vapor deposition apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of reaction chambers 10, a plurality of wafer carriers 30, position change members 40 and 50, and a base body 104. It is provided.

The reaction chamber 10 is disposed inside the base body 104 and forms a reaction space having a predetermined size by combining with a wafer carrier 30 on which a wafer (not shown), which is a deposition target, is seated.

That is, the reaction chamber 10 has a hollow structure (eg, an inverted Cup shape) with one side (lower side) open and an empty inside. In the chemical vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of such reaction chambers 10 are provided, and among the reaction chambers 10, a chamber for metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) and a hydraulic vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) 10b (HVPE). A chamber is provided . In addition to the reaction chamber, it may also include a chamber into which the wafer can be inserted or discharged. That is, the chemical vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention includes a plurality of reaction chambers for imparting different reaction conditions to the wafer seated on the wafer carrier 30.

The reaction chambers 10 are fixed in position by the base body 104 and may be disposed at regular intervals along the circumferential direction inside the base body 104.

A gas supply unit 20 is formed on the top or side of the reaction chamber 10 to supply the reaction gas provided through the external chamber 100 to the reaction space inside the reaction chamber 10. At this time, the gas supply unit 20 is formed on the upper side or the side of the reaction chamber 10 is preferably diffused in the reaction chamber 10 so that the reaction gas flows. In addition, a gas injection nozzle (not shown) may be formed at an end of the gas supply unit 20, and the gas injection nozzle may include a plurality of injection nozzles for injecting the reaction gas supplied from the gas supply unit 20 into the reaction chamber 10. A nozzle hole can be provided. The reaction chamber 10 is made of metal or quartz having excellent abrasion resistance and corrosion resistance. It is preferable to make.

The reaction gas flowing into the reaction chamber 10 through the gas supply unit 20 flows from the center of the reaction chamber 10 to the outer circumferential side along the reaction space between the reaction chamber 10 and the wafer carrier 30. 2 is discharged to the outside through the gas discharge unit 60 provided in the moving member (50).

The susceptor 31 is seated on an upper portion of the wafer carrier 30, and at least one wafer pocket 32 is formed on the susceptor upper surface to be recessed to allow the wafer to be deposited. The wafer pocket 32 preferably has a shape corresponding to the shape of the wafer so that the wafer can be stably and fixedly seated on the top surface of the susceptor 31.

The wafer carrier 30 has a circular shape corresponding to the open side of the reaction chamber 10, and is selectively coupled to the open side of the reaction chamber 10 to allow the reaction chamber 10 and the wafer carrier 30 to be opened. Form a reaction space between them. The above 'combining' includes a case in which the wafer carrier 30 is positioned at a lower distance from the reaction chamber 10 at a lower portion of the reaction chamber 10.

Coupling and separation of the wafer carrier 30 and the reaction chamber 10 are performed by the position change members 40 and 50, and the position change members 40 and 50 will be described later.

On the other hand, the wafer carrier 30 is accommodated in the base body 104, disposed under the reaction chamber 10, in the case of the reaction chamber 10a for MOCVD, heating element 36a for providing radiant heat And a susceptor 31 including a wafer pocket 32 structure, wherein the susceptor 31 is easily separated from the wafer carrier 30. FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b). Reference).

The wafer carrier 30 heats the wafer seated on the susceptor 31 through the heating member. Here, the heating member is a kind of heat transfer member that generates heat when power is applied, and is preferably disposed in a region corresponding to the wafer pocket 32.

The base body 104 fixes the positions of the plurality of reaction chambers 10, protects the reaction wafers from being exposed to external contaminants, and receives the reaction gas from the outside to supply the gas supply units 20 of the reaction chambers 10. It serves as a).

To this end, the outer chamber 100 includes a base body 104 and a gas hole 102.

The base body 104 fixes the positions of the plurality of reaction chambers 10 and protects the reaction wafers from being exposed to external contaminants.

The base body 104 is provided with control means for controlling the operation of the position changing members 40, 50 to be described later. However, it is obvious that the position of the control means is not limited to this and may vary depending on the installation environment.

The base body 104 is provided with a gas hole 102 for receiving a reaction gas from the outside to deliver the reaction gas to the reaction chamber 10, the gas hole 102 is located in the position where the gas supply unit 20 is installed It may be formed in a corresponding region. At this time, the gas supply unit 20 may be connected through the gas hole 102 and the gas supply pipe (not shown).

The position changing member is arranged in accordance with the control signal from the control means. The vertical position is changed or rotated, and the horizontal position of the wafer carrier 30 is changed.

To this end, the position change member is formed of the wafer carrier 30. And a second moving member 50 for changing the vertical position and changing the horizontal position of the wafer carrier 30 along the circumference of the first moving member 40.

The second moving member 50 is disposed below the first moving member 40 in a disk shape, and rotates about the center of gravity within the outer chamber 100 to adjust the horizontal position of the wafer carrier 30 along the circumference. Change (see FIG. 5).

The first moving member 40 is disposed above the second moving member 50 and is installed at regular intervals along the circumferential direction of the inner circumferential surface of the second moving member 40.

The first moving member 40 is installed perpendicular to the wafer carrier 30 and independently changes the vertical position of the wafer carrier 30 in accordance with a control signal from the control means. Each wafer carrier 30 can be independently coupled to a particular reaction chamber 10. Thus, selective growth in the desired form is possible regardless of the growth order of MOCVD and HVPE. In addition, the first moving member 40 uniforms the wafer seated on the wafer carrier 30 according to a control signal from the control means while the wafer carrier 30 is coupled to the reaction chamber 10. The wafer carrier 30 is rotated for growth.

Meanwhile, in the case of the reaction chamber 10b for the HVPE, heating members 36a and 36b may be provided to provide radiant heat. However, in the conventional HVPE reaction chamber, there is a heating member 36b on the outside to adjust the temperature of the entire reaction chamber. It can be utilized. Here, the heating member is a kind of heat transfer member that generates heat when power is applied as described above (see FIG. 6 (b)).

Meanwhile, in the above description, the wafer carrier 30 is reacted with the reaction chamber 10 by the first moving member 40 and the disk-shaped second moving member 50 which rotates about the center of gravity in the outer chamber 100. Although it has been described as selectively performing the bonding and separation operations for the growth of the semiconductor layer of the wafer, but is not limited to this, all means for changing the position of the wafer carrier can be easily predicted by those skilled in the art without the addition of special knowledge through this specification. Include.

The present invention described above is called a continuous process, and this continuous process not only increases the growth efficiency but also has the effect of simultaneously depositing various kinds of high quality semiconductor materials.

More specifically, by having one or more individually controllable MOCVD and HVPE reaction chambers in a single deposition equipment, by sequentially coupling each wafer carrier on which the wafer is seated to a corresponding prepared reaction chamber in a predetermined bonding order In addition, various kinds of semiconductor materials can be quickly deposited in a single deposition equipment.

Furthermore, since it is possible to control the growth of each reaction chamber individually (i.e., supply only the reaction gas corresponding to each reaction chamber), heterogeneous reaction gases are not mixed with each other in one reaction chamber, resulting in higher quality. It is possible to deposit semiconductor materials.

Further, by independently adjusting the vertical position of the wafer carrier using the first moving member 40 and rotating around the center point, and adjusting the horizontal position of the wafer carrier using the second moving member 50, Regardless of the growth order of each deposition method, selective growth is possible in a desired form.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description of the disclosure is for the purpose of illustration and that those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that other embodiments may be readily devised without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the disclosure will be. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single entity may be distributed and implemented, and components described as being distributed may also be implemented in a combined form.

It is to be understood that the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and that all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and equivalents thereof are included in the scope of the present invention .

Claims (9)

A plurality of wafer carriers having at least one pocket on which a wafer, which is a deposition target, is seated;
A plurality of reaction chambers forming reaction spaces each having a predetermined size for accommodating the wafer, and imparting different reaction conditions to the wafers accommodated in each reaction space;
A position change member for changing a position of the wafer carrier so that the wafer is selectively received in a reaction space of a specific reaction chamber; And
And an external chamber that fixes the position of the reaction chamber and protects the reaction wafer from exposure to external contaminants. The method according to claim 1,
The plurality of reaction chambers,
A chemical vapor deposition apparatus for a continuous process, characterized in that it comprises at least one reaction chamber for MOCVD (Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition) and at least one reaction chamber for HVPE (Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy). The method according to claim 1,
The position change member,
A first moving member for changing a vertical position of the wafer carrier and rotating the wafer carrier; And
And a second movable member installed below the first movable member and configured to change a horizontal position of the wafer carrier by rotating about a center of gravity within the outer chamber. Deposition apparatus. The method according to claim 3,
The second moving member has a disc shape,
And the first moving member is disposed at regular intervals along the circumferential direction of the inner circumferential surface of the second moving member. The method according to claim 1,
The reaction chamber is provided with a gas supply for supplying a reaction gas to the reaction space,
The gas supply part is formed on the upper side or the side of the reaction chamber to Chemical vapor deposition apparatus for a continuous process, characterized in that to supply a reaction gas. The method according to claim 1,
The gaseous vapor deposition apparatus for a continuous process, characterized in that the position change member is formed at the center for discharging the reaction gas supplied to the reaction space to the outside. The method according to claim 1,
The susceptor installed on the wafer carrier is
Chemical vapor deposition apparatus for a continuous process, characterized in that can be inserted or discharged using a load lock chamber. The method according to claim 1,
And the wafer carrier comprises a heating element for providing radiant heat. The method of claim 7,
The heating member is also provided in the reaction chamber according to the characteristics of the reaction chamber, chemical vapor deposition apparatus for a continuous process.

Images