Patent Application
20150144060
The present invention relates to a cluster-batch type substrate processing system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cluster-batch type substrate processing system in which a plurality of batch type substrate processing apparatuses are disposed radially around a substrate conveyance robot, thereby maximizing efficiency and productivity in processing substrates.
In order to manufacture a semiconductor device, a process of depositing a required thin film on a substrate such as a silicon wafer is essentially performed. For the thin film deposition process, sputtering, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD) and the like are mainly used.
The sputtering refers to a technique for colliding argon ions generated in a plasma state against a surface of a target, and causing a target material released from the surface of the target to be deposited on a substrate as a thin film. The sputtering is advantageous in that a high-purity thin film with excellent adhesiveness can be formed, but has limitation in forming a fine pattern with a high aspect ratio.
The chemical vapor deposition refers to a technique for injecting various gases into a reaction chamber and subjecting the gases induced with high energy such as heat, light, or plasma to a chemical reaction with a reactant gas so that a thin film is deposited on a substrate. The chemical vapor deposition employs a quick chemical reaction, and thus has problems in that it is very difficult to control thermodynamic stability of atoms, and physical, chemical and electric properties of the thin film are deteriorated.
The atomic layer deposition refers to a technique for alternately supplying a source gas and a purge gas as reactant gases so that a thin film is deposited on a substrate at the level of an atomic layer. The atomic layer deposition employs a surface reaction to overcome the limitations of step coverage, and thus is advantageous in that it is suitable to form a fine pattern with a high aspect ratio, and the thin film exhibits excellent electrical and physical properties.
An atomic layer deposition apparatus may be classified into single-wafer type in which substrates are loaded into a chamber one by one to perform a deposition process, and batch type in which a plurality of substrates are loaded into a chamber to perform a deposition process in a batch.
Referring to
Referring to
The above conventional batch type atomic layer deposition system is provided with only one substrate processing apparatus 8 to perform the substrate processing process, and thus has a problem in that the productivity of the substrates processed per unit time is low. In addition, the operational efficiency is poor since a substrate carry-in section 1 and the substrate conveyance robot 7 convey the substrates 40 only to the one substrate processing apparatus 8. Further, the operation of the entire batch type atomic layer deposition system should be interrupted when the substrate processing apparatus 8 is stopped due to a trouble occurring therein.
In addition, the above substrate processing apparatus 8 of the conventional batch type atomic layer deposition system may have a chamber 11 space having a height enough to accommodate about one hundred substrates 40. Accordingly, a large amount of process gas should be supplied to fill the chamber 11 so as to perform the deposition process, which may cause problems of increase in the consumption of time required for supplying the process gas and the waste of the process gas, and increase in the consumption of time required for discharging the large amount of process gas existing within the chamber 11 after the deposition process.
In addition, a problem may occur that it is difficult to control a source gas and a purge gas so that the atomic layer deposition may be properly performed on all of the about one hundred stacked substrates 40 within the unnecessarily spacious chamber 11, and consequently, the atomic layer deposition may be properly performed only on the substrates 40 disposed at specific positions.
In order to solve the above-described problems, a method of performing the atomic layer deposition on some (about 25 sheets) of the substrates 40 has been used in which the substrates 40 are disposed only at the specific positions where the atomic layer deposition may be properly performed, and dummy substrates 41 are inserted at the positions where the atomic layer deposition is incompletely performed. However, this method has also failed to solve the problems of increase in the waste of the process gas and the consumption of time required for discharging the process gas.
Referring again to
In addition, the conventional atomic layer deposition apparatus generally uses the process tube 10 in a vertical form, which is ideal for easily withstanding the pressure within the chamber 11. However, an upper space 12 of the vertical chamber 11 may cause problems of the large consumption of time for supplying and discharging the process gas and the waste of the process gas.
The present invention has been contrived to solve all the above-mentioned problems of prior art, and one object of the invention is to provide a cluster-batch type substrate processing system in which a plurality of batch type substrate processing apparatuses are disposed radially around a substrate conveyance robot, thereby maximizing efficiency and productivity in processing substrates.
Further, another object of the invention is to provide a cluster-batch type substrate processing system in which an internal space of a batch type substrate processing apparatus for performing a substrate processing process is minimized so that the amount of a substrate processing gas used in the substrate processing process is reduced and the supply and discharge of the substrate processing gas is facilitated, thereby remarkably reducing the time for the substrate processing process.
According to one aspect of the invention to achieve the above-described objects, there is provided a cluster-batch type substrate processing system comprising a substrate carry-in section into which a substrate is carried; a substrate conveyance robot to rotate about a rotation axis and perform loading/unloading of the substrate; and a plurality of batch type substrate processing apparatuses disposed radially around the substrate conveyance robot.
According to the invention, a plurality of batch type substrate processing apparatuses are disposed radially around a substrate conveyance robot, so that efficiency and productivity in processing substrates may be maximized.
Further, according to the invention, a plurality of batch type substrate processing apparatuses are disposed so that even if a trouble occurs in any one of the batch type substrate processing apparatuses, a substrate processing process may be performed through the remaining batch type substrate processing apparatuses.
Furthermore, according to the invention, the size of an internal space of a batch type substrate processing apparatus in which a substrate processing process is performed is minimized to reduce the amount of a substrate processing gas used in the substrate processing process, so that the cost for the substrate processing process may be reduced.
In addition, according to the invention, the size of an internal space of a batch type substrate processing apparatus in which a substrate processing process is performed is minimized to facilitate the supply and discharge of a substrate processing gas used in the substrate processing process, so that the time for the substrate processing process may be remarkably reduced and the productivity of the substrate processing process may be improved.
In the following detailed description of the present invention, references are made to the accompanying drawings that show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. It should be understood that the various embodiments of the invention, although different from each other, are not necessarily mutually exclusive. For example, specific shapes, structures and characteristics described herein may be implemented as modified from one embodiment to another without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Moreover, it should be understood that the locations or arrangements of individual elements within each of the disclosed embodiments may be modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the invention, if properly described, is limited only by the appended claims together with all equivalents thereof. In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to the same or similar functions throughout the several views, and certain features such as length, area, thickness and shape may be exaggerated for convenience.
It can be understood that the meaning of the term, “substrate” herein encompasses, for example, a semiconductor substrate, a substrate used for a display device such as an LCD or LED display, and a substrate for a solar cell.
Further, the substrate processing process herein means a deposition process, preferably a deposition process using atomic layer deposition, but is not limited thereto and may be understood as encompassing, for example, a deposition process using chemical vapor deposition and a heat treatment process. However, it will be assumed to be a deposition process using atomic layer deposition in the following discussion.
Hereinafter, cluster-batch type substrate processing systems according to embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The substrate carry-in section 1 generally refers to the configuration where a substrate 40 is carried in from the outside and brought to the substrate conveyance robot 7. The substrate carry-in section 1 may include a load port 2, a FOUP stocker 3, a FOUP conveyance robot 5, and a FIMS door 6.
A FOUP 4 containing a plurality of substrates 40 may be conveyed through an external FOUP conveyer system (not shown) and seated in the load port 2. In order to increase the throughput of the substrates, there may be provided at least two load ports 2 in which FOUPs 4 are seated.
The FOUP stocker 3 may provide a place where the FOUPs carried in through the load ports 2 are seated on a plurality of FOUP stocking racks 3a and put on standby prior to a substrate processing process. For example, 14 FOUPs 4 may be loaded in the FOUP stocker 3.
The FOUP conveyance robot 5 may convey the FOUPs 4 seated in the load ports 2 to the FOUP stocker 3, or convey the FOUPs 4 seated in the FOUP stocker 3 to the FIMS door 6. The FOUP conveyance robot 5 may be moved upward and downward or rotated along a vertically extending FOUP conveyance robot rail 5a.
The FIMS door 6 may provide a passage through which the substrates 40 within the FOUPs 4 may be conveyed to the batch type substrate processing apparatuses 9 in a clean state. The FOUP 4 conveyed from the FOUP stocker 3 to the FIMS door 6 by the FOUP conveyance robot 5 may be in close contact with and hermetically coupled to the FIMS door 6. In this state, one side of the FOUP 4′ being in close contact with the FIMS door 6 is opened, and the substrates 40 may be carried out through the opened side by the substrate conveyance robot 7. At least two FIMS doors 6 may be provided so as to carry a large number of substrates 40 into the plurality of batch type substrate processing apparatuses 9.
The substrate conveyance robot 7 may perform loading/unloading of the substrates 40 carried in through the substrate carry-in section 1 (i.e., the FIMS door 6) in relation to the batch type substrate processing apparatuses 9. The substrate conveyance robot 7 may be moved upward and downward along a vertical substrate conveyance robot rail 7b which extends vertically, and may be rotated about a rotation axis of the vertical substrate conveyance robot rail 7b. In the state in which the substrate conveyance robot 7 is brought into line with a batch type substrate processing apparatus 9 to be loaded with the substrates 40 while rotating about the rotation axis of the vertical substrate conveyance robot rail 7b, the substrate conveyance robot 7 may extend a conveyance fork 7a to load the substrates 40 into the corresponding batch type substrate processing apparatus 9. Of course, unloading of the substrates 40 out of the batch type substrate processing apparatus 9 is performed in the reverse order of the loading procedure.
The substrate conveyance robot 7 may include five conveyance forks 7a to load five substrates 40 to a boat 500 of the batch type substrate processing apparatus 9 at a time, and thus is advantageous in that the process time may be reduced. For example, when twenty five (25) substrates 40 are loaded in the FOUP 4, the substrate conveyance robot 7 may load the substrates 40 to the boat 500 by moving back and forth five times. Of course, one to five substrates 40 may be selectively loaded to the boat 500 of the batch type substrate processing apparatus 9. For example, when twenty four (24) substrates 40 are loaded in the FOUP 4, the conveyance of the substrates 40 may be performed by conveying five substrates four times and then conveying four substrates. In addition, the number of the conveyance forks 7a can be arbitrarily changed depending on the number of the substrates 40 loaded in the FOUP 4. For example, when twenty four (24) substrates 40 are loaded in the FOUP 4, the number of the conveyance forks 7a may be selected as four or six, which corresponds to a submultiple of 24, so as to enhance the efficiency of conveying the substrates 40.
The cluster-batch type substrate processing system according to the invention comprises a plurality of batch type substrate processing apparatuses 9 disposed radially around the substrate conveyance robot 7, which rotates about a rotation axis. Accordingly, the present invention is advantageous in that productivity may be significantly improved depending on the number of the batch type substrate processing apparatuses 9, unlike the prior art (see
In addition, since the plurality of batch type substrate processing apparatuses 9 are disposed radially around the substrate conveyance robot 7, the present invention is advantageous in that when one of the batch type substrate processing apparatuses 9a, 9b is stopped due to a trouble occurring therein, the other of the batch type substrate processing apparatuses 9a, 9b may be operated so that the operation of the entire system may not be interrupted. As illustrated in
Referring again to
Hereinafter, the configuration of the batch type substrate processing apparatuses 9 will be described in detail.
Referring to
The substrate processing section 100 may function as a process tube. The substrate processing section 100 accommodates a substrate stocker 500 in which a plurality of substrates 40 are stacked, and provides a chamber 110 space in which a substrate processing process such as a deposition film forming process may be conducted. The batch type substrate processing apparatus 9 according to the invention may have a height less than one-half of the height of the conventional batch type substrate processing apparatus 8 to minimize the chamber 110 space, thereby preventing the waste of a process gas and enhancing product yields. Accordingly, it is natural that the chamber 110 space has a size less than one-half of the size of the chamber 11 space illustrated in
The substrate processing section 100 may be made of at least one of quartz, stainless steel (SUS), aluminum, graphite, silicon carbide, and aluminum oxide.
According to one embodiment of the invention, it is most preferable that twenty five substrates 40 are processed in the chamber 110 space of the substrate processing section 100. However, as long as the object of the invention can be achieved, four to sixty four substrates 40 may also be processed. When less than four substrates are accommodated in the substrate processing section 100, the productivity and efficiency may rather be lowered. When more than sixty four substrates are received in the substrate processing section 100, there may occur a problem that is caused by employing a spacious chamber 11 as in the conventional batch type atomic layer deposition system. The user may improve the yields by inserting some dummy substrates 41 at an upper end, a lower end, or a specific location of the stacked substrates 40.
Although the substrate processing apparatus 8 of the conventional batch type atomic layer deposition system has a chamber 11 space in which about one hundred (100) substrates 40 may be accommodated, about twenty to thirty substrates 40 excluding dummy substrates 41 may be processed. Consequently, considering the embodiment of the invention in which twenty five substrates 40 are processed in one substrate processing apparatus 9, fifty substrates 40 may be processed in one substrate processing process in the plurality of batch type substrate processing apparatuses 9. Thus, the present invention is advantageous in that the productivity may be significantly improved as compared to the conventional batch type atomic layer deposition system.
Further, the present invention is advantageous in that the usage of a process gas supplied to the chamber 110 space, which is less than one-half of the conventional one, may be reduced, and a time required for discharging the process gas existing within the chamber 110 after a deposition process may also be reduced.
In addition, the present invention is advantageous in that it is easy to control a source gas and a purge gas for conducting atomic layer deposition within the chamber 110, which is less than one-half of the conventional one, so that the yield and quality of the substrates 40 after completing the substrate processing process can be enhanced.
The gas supply section 200 provides a space 210 in which at least one gas supply flow path 250 is accommodated, and may be formed to protrude from one side of an outer circumferential surface of the substrate processing section 100 so as to supply a substrate processing gas to the internal space 110 of the substrate processing section 100. Here, the gas supply flow path 250 is a passage which may receive the substrate processing gas from the outside and supply it into the substrate processing section 100, and may be in the shape of a pipe or a hollow bore, for example. In particular, the gas supply flow path 250 is preferably configured as a tube so as to precisely control the amount of the supplied substrate processing gas. It will be assumed in the following discussion that the gas supply flow path 250 is consisted of three gas supply pipes 251.
Meanwhile, the gas discharge section 300 provides a space 310 in which at least one gas discharge flow path 350 is accommodated, and may be formed to protrude from the other side of the outer circumferential surface of the substrate processing section 100 (i.e., the opposite side of the gas supply section 200) so as to discharge the substrate processing gas having flowed into the internal space 110 of the substrate processing section 100. Here, the gas discharge flow path 350 is a passage through which the substrate processing gas within the substrate processing section 100 may be discharged to the outside, and may be in the shape of a pipe or a hollow bore, for example. In particular, the gas discharge flow path 350 is preferably configured as a pipe having a diameter larger than that of the gas supply pipe 251 so as to facilitate the discharge of the substrate processing gas. Meanwhile, it is also possible that the gas discharge flow path 350 is configured in the shape of a hollow bore without being provided with a gas discharge pipe 351, and a pump is connected to the gas discharge flow path 350 so as to pump and discharge the substrate processing gas. It will be assumed in the following discussion that the gas discharge flow path 350 is consisted of one gas discharge pipe 351.
The outer circumferential surface of the substrate processing section 100 may be integrally connected with that of the gas supply section 200. Further, the outer circumferential surface of the substrate processing section 100 may be integrally connected with that of the gas discharge section 300. Considering the above, it is preferable that the materials of the gas supply section 200 and the gas discharge section 300 are the same as that of the substrate processing section 100. The connection between the outer circumferential surfaces of the substrate processing section 100, the gas supply section 200 and the gas discharge section 300 may be implemented by manufacturing each of the substrate processing section 100, the gas supply section 200 and the gas discharge section 300 separately and then joining them together using a welding method or the like. In addition, it may also be implemented by manufacturing the substrate processing section 100 having a predetermined thickness and then performing a cutting process on the portions except those protruding from the one and the other sides on the outer circumferential surface of the substrate processing section 100, so that the substrate processing section 100 may be integrally formed with the gas supply section 200 and the gas discharge section 300.
The batch type substrate processing apparatus 9 according to the present embodiment may further comprise a housing 400 and a substrate stocker 500. The housing 400 is opened at the bottom thereof, and formed in the shape of a cylinder with one side protruding to enclose the substrate processing section 100 and the gas supply section 200. The top side of the housing 400 may be supported and installed on the top surface of the batch type substrate processing apparatus 9a, 9b. Referring to
The substrate stocker 500 is installed such that it may be moved upward and downward by means of a known elevator system (not shown), and comprises a main base 510, an auxiliary base 520, and a substrate support 530.
The main base 510 may be formed approximately in the shape of a cylinder and seated on a bottom surface or the like of the batch type substrate processing apparatus 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d. The top surface of the main base 510 is hermitically coupled to a manifold 450 which is coupled to the lower end side of the housing 400.
The auxiliary base 520 is formed approximately in the shape of a cylinder and installed on the top surface of the main base 510. The auxiliary base 520 is formed to have a diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the substrate processing section 100 and inserted in the internal space 110 of the substrate processing section 100. The auxiliary base 520 may be installed to be rotatable in cooperation with a motor (not shown) so that the substrates 40 may be rotated during a substrate processing process in order to secure uniformity of a semiconductor manufacturing process. Further, in order to secure reliability of the process, an auxiliary heater (not shown) for applying heat from the bottom side of the substrates 40 during the substrate processing process may be installed within the auxiliary base 520. The substrates 40 loaded and stored in the substrate stocker 500 may be preheated by the auxiliary heater prior to the substrate processing process.
A plurality of substrate supports 530 are installed to be spaced apart from each other along the peripheral side of the auxiliary base 520. Each of a plurality of support recesses are correspondingly formed on an inner surface of each of the substrate supports 530 facing the center of the auxiliary base 520. The peripheral sides of the substrates 40 are inserted in and supported by the support recesses, so that the plurality of substrates 40 carried in and conveyed by the substrate conveyance robot 7 through the substrate carry-in section 1 are loaded and stored in the boat 500 in a vertically stacked form.
The substrate stocker 500 may be removably coupled to the lower end surface of the manifold 450 while moving upward and downward, and the upper end surface of the manifold 450 is coupled to the lower end surfaces of the substrate processing section 100 and the gas supply section 200. A gas supply connecting pipe 253, which extends from the gas supply pipe 251 constituting the gas supply flow path 250 of the gas supply section 200, is inserted in and communicated with a gas supply communication hole 451 of the manifold 450. A gas discharge connecting pipe 353, which extends from the gas discharge pipe 351 constituting the gas discharge flow path 350 of the gas discharge section 300, is inserted in and communicated with a gas discharge communication hole 455 of the manifold 450. In addition, when the substrate stocker 500 is moved upward so that the top surface of the main base 510 of the substrate stocker 500 is coupled to the lower end surface of the manifold 450, the substrates 40 are loaded into the internal space 110 of the substrate processing section 100 and the substrate processing section 100 may be hermetically sealed. For stable sealing, a sealing member (not shown) may be interposed between the manifold 450 and the main base 510 of the substrate stocker 500.
Referring to
The gas supply flow path 250 may be accommodated in the internal space 210 of the gas supply section 200. Referring to (a) of
The gas discharge flow path 350 may be accommodated in the internal space 310 of the gas discharge section 300. Referring to (b) of
It is preferable that the ejection holes 252 and the discharge holes 352 are respectively positioned in spaces between each two adjacent substrates 40 supported by the substrate supports 530, so that when the substrate stocker 500 is coupled to the manifold 450 and a plurality of substrates 40 are accommodated in the substrate processing section 100, a substrate processing gas may be uniformly supplied to the substrates 40 and may be easily drawn and discharged to the outside.
Since the gas supply section 200 and the gas discharge section 300 are formed to protrude from the outer circumferential surface of the substrate processing section 100, the distance d2 between the substrates 40 and the gas supply flow path 250 may be equal to or greater than the distance d1 between the substrates 40 and the inner circumferential surface of the substrate processing section 100. That is, unlike the prior art illustrated in
Unlike the process tube 10 of the conventional batch type substrate processing apparatus 8 being in the shape of a bell, the substrate processing section 100 of the batch type substrate processing apparatus 9 according to the invention is in the shape of a cylindrical column and may have a flat top surface. Since the top surface of the substrate processing section 100 is configured to be flat so as to exclude the upper space 12 of the bell-shaped chamber 11 (see
Although the material of the reinforcement ribs 120, 130 may be the same as that of the substrate processing section 100. Without being limited thereto, however, various materials may be employed as long as the top surface of the substrate processing section 100 may be supported.
The reinforcement ribs 120, 130 may be configured such that a plurality of reinforcement ribs 121, 122 are disposed to intersect each other and coupled onto the top surface of the substrate processing section 100 as illustrated in (a) of
Referring to
The heaters 150, 160 may be formed in the shape of a plate to efficiently transfer heat to the internal space 110 of the substrate processing section 100, and may be formed of any one selected from graphite and carbon composite. Alternatively, the heaters 150, 160 may be formed of any one selected from silicon carbide and molybdenum, or formed of Kanthal.
The height of the batch type substrate processing apparatus 9a, 9a′, 9b, 9b′ is not significantly different from that of the conventional substrate processing apparatus 8 even when a double-stacked structure is formed, because the chamber space 11 is reduced less than one-half of that of the conventional substrate processing apparatus 8. Accordingly, the batch type substrate processing apparatuses 9a, 9a′, 9b, 9b′ having the same configuration may be double stacked vertically to further enhance productivity.
As described above, the cluster-batch type substrate processing system according to the invention is configured such that the plurality of batch type substrate processing apparatuses 9 are disposed radially around the substrate conveyance robot 7 which is rotated about the rotation axis, thereby maximizing the productivity of substrate processing and the efficiency of substrate conveyance. Further, the usage of the substrate processing gas may be reduced to save the cost for the process and the time required for supplying and discharging the substrate processing gas may be reduced to enhance the process efficiency.
In addition, the productivity of substrate processing and the process efficiency can be further enhanced by providing the cooling section CS in which a large number of substrates 40 to be processed may be favorably cooled.
Further, the above-mentioned productivity of substrate processing and the process efficiency may be further enhanced by disposing the gas supply section 200 and the gas discharge section 300, which accommodate the gas supply flow path 250 and the gas discharge flow path 350, separately from the substrate processing section 100 in which the substrate processing process is performed, and by forming the top of the substrate processing section 100 to be flat, so that the size of the internal space 110 of the substrate processing section 100 may be minimized.
In addition, by minimizing the size of the internal space 110 of the batch type substrate processing apparatus 9, it becomes easy to control the source gas and purge gas for performing atomic layer deposition, and thus the yield and quality of products can be enhanced.
Moreover, the operational efficiency is good since the substrate conveyance robot 7 conveys the substrates 40 to the plurality of batch type substrate processing apparatuses 9. Further, the operation of the entire system may not be interrupted even when a trouble occurs, and repair and maintenance of each of the batch type substrate processing apparatuses 9 may be easily performed.
Although the present invention has been illustrated and described above with reference to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It should be noted that such modifications and changes will fall within the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2013-0144079 | Nov 2013 | KR | national |
