Patent Application
20140034138
The following description relates to a semiconductor manufacturing device and method, and more particularly, to a semiconductor manufacturing device and method applicable to a semiconductor metal wiring process.
Generally, aluminum, featuring in low cost and favorable properties, has been widely used for a semiconductor metal wiring process. Recently, however, the use of copper has been increasing to obtain a faster signal transmission speed of a semiconductor device. Copper has lower resistance properties and greater electromigration resistance than aluminum.
A copper wiring process includes operations of: sequentially stacking a conductive layer and an insulating layer on a substrate, such as a wafer; and forming a contact hole passing through the insulating layer. Copper is inserted into the contact hole, and then the planarization is performed on the inserted copper surface by use of chemical mechanical polishing. Thereafter, the subsequent processes are executed. In this case, a contact portion of copper may swell upward due to the thermal expansion and crystalline changes of copper caused by the thermal budget of the subsequent process. This may lead to defective contacts, resulting in, for example, cracks in the semiconductor device.
To overcome the above drawbacks, an annealing process is performed after the CMP process on copper, thereby increasing a volume of copper, and then the CMP process is carried on. Copper tends to be oxidized even in a very small amount of moisture or oxygen. Further, the oxidation of copper is increased at a higher temperature. The oxidized copper leads to an increase in contact resistance, which results in a number of problems, such as an increase in power consumption and a decrease in signal transmission speed of the semiconductor device.
Technical Objective
The technical objective of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor manufacturing device and manufacturing method capable of preventing the oxidation of a metal layer or the like of a substrate during an annealing process on the substrate.
Technical Solution
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a semiconductor manufacturing device may include: a loadlock chamber; one or more process chamber configured to receive a substrate and perform an annealing process; a transfer chamber configured to transfer the substrate between the loadlock chamber and the process chamber; and an oxidation preventing gas supplying unit configured to supply an oxidation preventing gas to at least one of the transfer chamber and the loadlock chamber.
According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a semiconductor manufacturing method may include: transferring a substrate into a process chamber from a loadlock chamber using a transfer chamber while supplying an oxidation preventing gas to at least one of the transfer chamber and the loadlock chamber; performing an annealing process on the substrate transferred in the process chamber; and transferring the substrate, on which the annealing process is performed, from the process chamber to the transfer chamber while supplying an oxidation preventing gas to at least one of the transfer chamber and the loadlock chamber.
According to the present invention, a substrate is transferred into or out of a process chamber in which an annealing process is performed on the substrate, while an oxidation preventing gas is being supplied to at least one of a transfer chamber and a loadlock chamber, so that it is possible to prevent the oxidation of a metal layer or the like of the substrate. Therefore, the contact resistance of the metal layer does not increase, and thereby it may be possible to prevent the occurrence of problems, such as an increase in power consumption and a decrease in signal transmission speed of a semiconductor device.
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to accompanying drawings.
Before a substrate 10, such as a wafer, is transferred into the process chamber 120 from the outside of the device under an atmospheric pressure, the loadlock chamber 110 accommodates the substrate 10 under the substantially same condition as the vacuum environment in the process chamber 120, or accommodates the substrate 10 under the substantially same condition as an atmospheric pressure before the substrate 10 is removed from the transfer chamber 130 to the outside of the device.
For example, a substrate handling module 101 may be provided at the exterior of the loadlock chamber 110. The substrate handling module 101 includes a frame 102 and a substrate storage container 103 located at one side of the frame 102. Inside the frame, an atmospheric robot 104 is installed to convey the substrate 10 between the substrate storage container 103 and the loadlock chamber 110. The process chamber 120 receives the substrate 10 and performs an annealing process on the substrate 10. In this case, the substrate 10 to be supplied to the process chamber 120 may have a metal layer formed thereon. The metal layer may be formed by inserting metal in the substrate 10. For example, after a conductive layer and an insulating layer are sequentially stacked on each other, a contact hole is formed to penetrate the insulating layer. Metal is injected into the contact hole, and then a resulting metal surface is planarized using chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). By this process, the substrate 10 with metal injected therein can be provided to the process chamber 120. The injected metal may be copper Cu.
There may be provided a plurality of process chambers 120 disposed around the transfer chamber 130. In addition, the loadlock chamber 110, placed between the process chambers 120, is connected to the transfer chamber 130. Accordingly, the semiconductor manufacturing device 100 can be implemented as a cluster system. Each process chamber 120 may be configured to perform an annealing process. In another example, at least one of the process chambers 120 may perform an annealing process, and the other process chambers 120 may perform a CMP process.
The transfer chamber 130 transfers the substrate 10 between the loadlock chamber 110 and the process chamber 120. The transfer chamber 130 conveys the substrate 10 from the loadlock chamber 110 to the process chamber 120, or discharges the substrate 10 from the process chamber 120 to the loadlock chamber 110. The transfer chamber 130 with vacuum inside has the vacuum robot 131 installed therein to transfer the substrate 10.
The oxidation preventing gas supplying unit 140 supplies an oxidation preventing gas to the loadlock chamber 110. While the substrate 10 is located in the loadlock chamber 110, the oxidation preventing gas supplying unit 140 supplies the loadlock chamber 110 with the oxidation preventing gas in an effort to prevent the oxidation of a metal layer or the like of the substrate 10.
For example, for a copper metal layer, the oxidation preventing gas may be hydrogen (H2) gas or a gas containing hydrogen. The hydrogen gas reacts with oxygen or moisture in the air inside the loadlock chamber 110, thereby preventing oxidation of the copper, which is caused by reaction with the oxygen or moisture. That is, the hydrogen gas serves as a reducing agent. By preventing the oxidation of copper, an increase in contact resistance is prevented, and it is thus possible to also prevent an increase in power consumption and a decrease in signal transmission speed of a semiconductor device.
The oxidation preventing gas supplying unit 140 may supply the oxidation preventing gas to the loadlock chamber 110 when the substrate 10 is transferred into the process chamber 120.
The process chamber 120 for performing an annealing process is at a high temperature. The oxidation of the metal layer or the like of the substrate 10 may be prevented by the oxidation preventing gas even when the substrate 10 is exposed to the high temperature of the process chamber 120 before entering the process chamber 120, because the process chamber 120 has its slot valve opened to allow the substrate 10 to enter while the oxidation preventing gas is being supplied to the loadlock chamber 110.
In addition, the oxidation preventing gas supplying unit 140 may supply the oxidation preventing gas to the loadlock chamber 110 when the substrate 10 is removed from the process chamber 120. The oxidation of the metal or the like of the substrate 10 may be prevented by the oxidation preventing gas even when the substrate 10 is exposed to the high temperature of the process chamber 120 after being removed from the process chamber 120, because the process chamber 120 has its slot valve opened to discharge the substrate 10 while the oxidation preventing gas is being supplied to the loadlock chamber 110.
In another example, as shown in
In another example, as shown in
As a result, it is possible to improve the efficiency in preventing the oxidation of the metal layer of the substrate 10 when the substrate 10 is transferred into the process chamber 120 or when the substrate 10 is removed from the process chamber 120. In addition, when the process chamber 120 performs an annealing process on the substrate 10, the oxidation preventing gas supplying unit 140 may supply the oxidation preventing gas to the process chamber 120. Accordingly, it is possible to improve the efficiency in preventing the oxidation of the metal layer of the substrate 10 during the annealing process.
In another example, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
When the substrate 10 is carried into the process chamber 120 or removed from the process chamber 120, the transfer chamber 130 may have the same or higher pressure than a pressure within the process chamber 120. Hence, particles or other substances are prevented from getting into the transfer chamber 130 from the process chamber 120, thereby minimizing particle contamination of the substrate 10 before entering and after leaving the process chamber 120.
As shown in
The susceptor 122 supports the substrate 10 situated thereon within the process chamber 121. The susceptor 122 is equipped with a heater to heat the substrate 10.
The substrate elevating unit 123 may separate the substrate 10 from the susceptor 122 or locate the substrate on the susceptor 122. For example, the substrate elevating unit 123 may receive and situate the substrate 10 on the susceptor 122 when the substrate 10 is transferred into the process chamber 121 by the transfer robot 131. In addition, the substrate elevating unit 123 separates the situated substrate 10 from the susceptor 122, thereby enabling the transfer robot 131 to carry the substrate 10 out of the process chamber 121. The substrate elevating unit 123 may include elevation pins 123a that elevates or lowers the substrate 10 while moving up and down, and an elevation actuator 123b that moves the elevation pins 123a up and down.
After the annealing process on the substrate 10 in the process chamber 120, the substrate elevating unit 123 may separate the substrate 10 from the susceptor 122. The substrate 10 which is separated from the heater of the susceptor 122 is primarily cooled, and then removed from the process chamber 120. Thus, when the substrate 10 is removed from process chamber 120, it is possible to improve the efficiency in preventing the oxidation of a metal layer of the substrate 10.
A semiconductor manufacturing method in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinafter. First, while an oxidation preventing gas is supplied to at least one of the transfer chamber 130 and the loadlock chamber 110, the transfer chamber 130 transfers the substrate 10 from the loadlock chamber 110 to the process chamber 120. At this time, a metal layer is formed on the substrate 10 by inserting copper into the substrate 10. In this case, the oxidation preventing gas may be hydrogen gas or a gas containing hydrogen gas. With the hydrogen gas being supplied to the transfer chamber 130 and/or the loadlock chamber 110, the substrate 10 is transferred into the process chamber 10, so that it is possible to prevent the copper oxidation.
In the course of transferring the substrate 10 into the process chamber 120, the oxidation preventing gas can be supplied to at least one of the transfer chamber 130 and the loadlock chamber 110, and at the same time to the process chamber 120 simultaneously. By doing so, it may be possible to improve efficiency of copper oxidation prevention. Further, in the course of transferring the substrate 10 into the process chamber 120, a pressure within the transfer chamber 130 may be set to be the same as or greater than a pressure within the process chamber 120. Accordingly, particles or other substances are prevented from getting into the transfer chamber 130 from the process chamber 120, so that it is possible to minimize the particle contamination of the substrate 10 before being transferred into the process chamber 120.
Thereafter, an annealing process is performed on the substrate 10 in the process chamber 120. During the annealing process, the oxidation preventing gas may be supplied into the process chamber 120. Hence, it may be possible to improve the efficiency of copper oxidation prevention of the substrate 10. After completing the annealing process of the substrate 10, the substrate may be separated from the susceptor 122. The substrate 10 which is separated from the heater of the susceptor 122 is primarily cooled, and then transferred out of the process chamber 120, so that it may be possible to improve the efficiency of copper oxidation prevention when removing the substrate from the process chamber.
After completing the annealing process on the substrate 10, the processed substrate 10 is conveyed from the process chamber 120 to the transfer chamber 130 while the oxidation preventing gas is supplied to at least one of the transfer chamber 130 and the loadlock chamber 110. The oxidation preventing gas may be supplied to at least one of the transfer chamber 130 and the loadlock chamber 110, and at the same time to the process chamber 120, in the course of transferring the substrate 10 to the transfer chamber 130. As a result, the efficiency of copper oxidation prevention can be increased.
Moreover, when the substrate 10 is removed from the process chamber 120, a pressure within the transfer chamber 130 may be set to be the same as or greater than a pressure within the process chamber 120. Thus, it is possible to prevent particles or other substances from getting into the transfer chamber 130 from the process chamber 130, thereby minimizing the particle contamination of the substrate 10 after being transferred out of the process chamber. Further, in the course of removing the substrate 10 from the process chamber 120, the substrate 10 is cooled by the cooling module 150 that is disposed in the transfer chamber 130 and/or the loadlock chamber 110, and the oxidation preventing gas is provided to the cooling module 150, thereby preventing the copper oxidation.
A number of examples have been described above. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made. For example, suitable results may be achieved if the described techniques are performed in a different order and/or if components in a described system, architecture, device, or circuit are combined in a different manner and/or replaced or supplemented by other components or their equivalents. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2011-0035291 | Apr 2011 | KR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2012/002741 | 4/12/2012 | WO | 00 | 10/15/2013 |
