This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2011-086618, 2011-186264, and 2012-026464, filed on Apr. 8, 2011, Aug. 29, 2011, and Feb. 9, 2012, respectively, in the Japan Patent Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.
The present disclosure relates to a technology, for example, which mounts a substrate on a substrate support instrument that is used for supporting substrates such as semiconductor wafers in multi stages and loading the substrates into a vertical heat treatment furnace.
As a type of semiconductor manufacturing device, there is a vertical heat treatment apparatus that performs heat treatment on a plurality of semiconductor wafers (hereinafter, referred to as “wafer”) in batches.
The heat treatment apparatus disposes a wafer on a wafer boat having a shelf shape, lifts the wafer boat to load the wafer boat into a heat treatment furnace, and performs heat treatment on a plurality of wafers. In the wafer boat, a backside peripheral edge portion of a wafer is disposed in a groove portion that is formed at a support pillar, and thus a plurality of wafers W, for example, a hundred wafers are disposed in multi stages. At this point, in moving a wafer to load the wafer into a groove portion of the wafer boat, a fork supporting the wafer advances into an upper side of the groove portion and then descends to transfer the wafer to the groove portion, and the fork retreats from a lower side of the groove portion.
In the heat treatment apparatus, in order to increase the number of wafers to be processed, it is required to increase the number of wafers mounted on the wafer boat by narrowing the arrangement pitch of the mounted wafers as much as possible. However, in moving and mounting a wafer, the moving and mounting margin of the fork is necessary, and when the margin is small, since a strict precision is required in moving and mounting the wafer, it is difficult to perform a moving and mounting operation. Therefore, it is not appropriate to further narrow the arrangement pitch of a wafer W from a current pitch of about 6.3 mm.
A conventional semiconductor manufacturing device includes a fixing boat having a first substrate mounting part that supports a portion of a bottom periphery of a substrate to be processed; and a movable boat having a second substrate mounting part that supports the other portion of the bottom periphery of the substrate to be processed. In the conventional semiconductor manufacturing device, a fork moves and mounts the substrate to be processed on the first substrate mounting part of the fixing boat, the movable boat is lifted, and the second substrate mounting part supports the other portion of the substrate to be processed.
However, in the conventional semiconductor manufacturing device, since the fork transfers the substrate to be processed to the first substrate mounting part, it is not possible to narrow an arrangement pitch in order to secure a moving and mounting margin.
The present disclosure in some embodiments discloses securing a moving and mounting margin and simultaneously narrowing the arrangement pitch of substrates, in a substrate support instrument where a plurality of substrates are arranged in multi stages.
According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a substrate support instrument, which supports a plurality of substrates in a shelf shape and loads the substrates into a vertical heat treatment furnace for performing heat treatment, includes: a first support instrument portion and a second support instrument portion detachably combined with each other, each of the first support instrument portion and second support instrument portion including: a ceiling plate and a bottom plate facing each other upward and downward; a support pillar disposed in plurality along a peripheral edge portion of each of the ceiling plate and bottom plate, and configured to connect the ceiling plate and the bottom plate; and a support part disposed at a position corresponding to each of the support pillars, and configured to support a bottom of each of the substrates, wherein in the support part of each of the first support instrument portion and the second support instrument portion, a height position is set such that a substrate supported in the first support instrument portion and a substrate supported in the second support instrument portion are alternately arranged, when the first support instrument portion is combined with the second support instrument portion.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, provided is a vertical heat treatment apparatus, which supports a plurality of substrates on a substrate support instrument in a shelf shape and loads the substrates into a vertical heat treatment furnace, including: a first disposing part installed for disposing a first support instrument portion at a position where a substrate is transferred to the first support instrument portion, and using the substrate support instrument of the present disclosure as the substrate support instrument; a second disposing part installed for disposing a second support instrument portion at a position where a substrate is transferred to the second support instrument portion; a combined instrument configured to combine the first support instrument portion disposed at the first disposing part and the second support instrument portion disposed at the second disposing part; and a support instrument ascending/descending apparatus configured to load or unload the substrate support instrument into or from the vertical heat treatment apparatus, the substrate support instrument being configured by the combining instrument for combining the first support instrument portion and the second support instrument portion.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, provided is a method of driving a vertical heat treatment apparatus, which supports a plurality of substrates on a substrate support instrument in a shelf shape and loads the substrates into a vertical heat treatment furnace to perform heat treatment on the substrates, including: supporting a substrate in a shelf shape on a first support instrument portion which is disposed at a first disposing part, by using the substrate support instrument of the present disclosure as the substrate support instrument; supporting a substrate in a shelf shape on a second support instrument portion which is disposed at a second disposing part; combining the first support instrument portion and the second support instrument portion to configure a substrate support instrument; and loading the substrate support instrument into the vertical heat treatment furnace to perform heat treatment on a substrate.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a vertical heat treatment apparatus according to the present disclosure will be described in detail. First, the summary of a substrate support instrument of the present disclosure that is disposed at the vertical heat treatment apparatus will be described with reference to the schematic view of
The first support part 16 and the second support part 26 are configured such that the second support part 26 corresponds to a height position between adjacent first support parts 16 in an upward and downward direction. Furthermore, the first wafer W1 and the second wafer W2 are respectively mounted on the first boat part 1 and the second boat part 2, and then combined with one wafer boat 3. Therefore, the first wafer W1 and the second wafer W2 are alternately mounted on the wafer boat 3.
The details of the wafer boat 3 will be described below with reference to
Moreover, the first boat part 1 is disposed in plurality along a peripheral edge portion of the ceiling plate 12 and a peripheral edge portion of the bottom plate 13 and, for example, includes three support pillars 15a to 15c that connect a corresponding ceiling plate 12 and a corresponding bottom plate 13. For example, as illustrated in
In the respective support pillars 15a to 15c, a plurality of support parts 16a to 16c for supporting a bottom of each wafer W1 are disposed at respective positions corresponding to the support pillars 15a to 15c. In the present example, the support parts 16a to 16c are formed as arm portions (which respectively extend from the support pillars 15a to 15c) for support. In order to approximately horizontally support the wafer W1, in the present example, the side support part 16a and the side support part 16c are respectively disposed to approximately horizontally protrude to the outside across the linear region 14 from the ceiling plate 12 and the bottom plate 13, in the respective support pillars 15a and 15c of both sides. Also, for example, the central support part 16b is disposed to be approximately horizontally extended toward the center of the linear region 14, in the central support pillar 15b.
The central support part 16b, the side support part 16a, and the side support part 16c are formed in a plate shape having a narrow width, and fixed at arrangement intervals “A” in the respective support pillar 15b, support pillar 15a, and support pillar 15c. In the present example, a first support part is configured with the central support part 16b, the side support part 16a, and the side support part 16c. Herein, as illustrated in
Likewise, the second boat part 2 is disposed in plurality along a peripheral edge portion of each of the ceiling plate 22 and bottom plate 23 and, for example, includes three support pillars 25a to 25c that connect a corresponding ceiling plate 22 and a corresponding bottom plate 23. Also, in the respective support pillars 25a to 25c, a plurality of support parts 26a to 26c for supporting a bottom of each wafer W2 are disposed at respective positions corresponding to the support pillars 25a to 25c. The support parts 26a to 26c are formed as arm portions (which respectively extend from the support pillars 25a to 25c) for support. The respective layouts and shapes of the support pillars 25a to 25c, central support part 26b, side support part 26a, and side support part 26c, as illustrated in
The first boat part 1 and the second boat part 2 are configured in a combinable manner such that the linear region 14 of the ceiling plate 12 and the bottom plate 13 is joined to the linear region 24 of the ceiling plates 22 and the bottom plate 23. In each of the first support part 16a to 16c and the second support part 26a to 26c, a height position is set such that the wafer W1 supported by the first boat part 1 and the wafer W2 supported by the second boat part 2 are alternately arranged when the first boat part 1 and the second boat part 2 are combined with each other. In more detail, for example, an uppermost end surface of the second support part 26a to 26c is lowered by A/2 from an uppermost end surface of the first support part 16a to 16c. Therefore, when the first boat part 1 and the second boat part 2 are combined with each other, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
In the first support part 16a to 16c and the second support part 26a to 26c, by enlarging the support surface, stress due to the weight of the wafer W can be dispersed, and thus, the wafer W can be supported stably. However, in the in-surface of the wafer W, a temperature difference can occur between a portion contacting the support surface and a portion that does not contact the support surface. Therefore, it is required to enlarge the support surface by the degree where the in-surface uniformity of heat treatment is not damaged. In the above-described embodiment, the support surface is formed in an arm shape having a narrow width and a long length. For example, the width L1 of each of the first support part 16a to 16c and the second support part 26a to 26c may be set to about 10 mm to about 30 mm, and preferably in some embodiments set to about 20 mm.
Considering the in-surface uniformity of heat treatment in a pattern forming region, it is required in some embodiments to suppress a degree of expansion toward the inside of the pattern forming region. To this end, for example, the length L2 of each of the central support part 16b and the central support part 26b may be set to about 20 mm to about 40 mm, and preferably in some embodiments set to about 30 mm.
Moreover, it is further preferable in some embodiments to dispose the side support part 16a and the side support part 16c to be extended across the linear region 14 and dispose the side support part 26a and the side support part 26c to be extended across the linear region 24, but in consideration of the influence on the pattern forming region, the side support parts 16a, 16c, 26a and 26c may be disposed to be extended near the perimeter of the wafer W. Also, in the present example, in order to increase the in-surface uniformity of heat treatment, a distance from an outer border of the wafer W in a front end portion of the support surface is aligned with the central support part 16b and the central support part 26b. That is, a front end portion of each of the side support parts 16a, 16c, 26a and 26c is disposed to be extended by a distance L2 from the outer border of the wafer W to the internal position of the wafer W. Therefore, a front end portion of each of the central support parts 16b and 26b and a front end portion of each of the side support parts 16a, 16c, 26a and 26c are disposed at the distance L2 from the outer border of the wafer W to the internal position of the wafer W.
To provide a description on an example of the dimension of each of side support parts 16a, 16c, 26a and 26c, the length of the support surface, for example, a distance L3 between an end portion P1 (which is the farthest away from the linear region 14 and the linear region 24) and a front end portion may be set to about 40 mm to about 80 mm as an example, and preferably in some embodiments set to about 60 mm. Also, the length L4 (distance between a front end portion and a portion P2 on the linear region 14 and 24 which is the farthest away from the center O) of a portion that protrudes from each of the linear regions 14 and 24 to an outer side may be set to about 20 mm to about 60 mm, and preferably in some embodiments set to about 40 mm. Moreover, for example, an angle θ between the linear region 14 and the linear region 24 may be set to about 50 degrees to about 70 degrees as an example, and in some instances set to about 60 degrees.
The wafer boat 3, as illustrated in
Moreover, as illustrated in
An example of a vertical heat treatment apparatus 4 including the wafer boat 3 will now be described in detail with reference to
The boat combining instrument 5 is an instrument that combines the first boat part 1 and the second boat part 2 to configure the wafer boat 3.
The boat combining instrument 5, as illustrated in
The first stage 51 includes a first moving base 511 that horizontally moves in a left and right direction, and a first rotation base 512 that is disposed on the moving base 511 and is rotated about the perpendicular axis. A nut part 513 of a ball screw instrument is disposed at a bottom of the first moving base 511, and the first moving base 511 is disposed to be movable in the left and right direction by a motor M1 rotating a ball screw 53 that extends in the left and right direction of the processing chamber 40. Reference numeral 531 indicates a coupling, and reference numeral 532 indicates a guide member (see
Similar to the first stage 51, the second stage 52 also includes a second moving base 521 that horizontally moves in a left and right direction, and a second rotation base 522 that is disposed on the moving base 521 and is rotated about the perpendicular axis. A nut part 523 of a ball screw instrument is disposed at a bottom of the second moving base 521, and the second moving base 521 is disposed to be movable in the left and right direction by the motor M1 rotating the ball screw 53. Also, the second rotation base 522 is configured in order for a rotation axis 526 to be rotated by the combination of a pulley 524 and a belt 525 that are rotated by a motor M3.
In the ball screw 53, a left screw is formed at a nut side of the first stage 51, and a right screw is formed at a nut side of the second stage 52. Therefore, when rotating the motor M1, the moving base of the first stage 51 is configured to be movable between a moving mounting position (position illustrated in
Moreover, the first rotation base 512 and the second rotation base 522 is configured to switch a direction between a moving mounting direction (direction illustrated in
Herein, a state where the first moving base 511 is in a moving mounting position and the first rotation base 512 located toward a moving mounting direction is in a state where the first stage 51 is in the moving mounting position, and a state where the second moving base 521 is in a moving mounting position and the second rotation base 522 located toward the moving mounting direction is in a state where the second stage 52 is in the moving mounting position. In this case, the substrate moving mounting instrument 42, a boat combining instrument 5, or the first and second boat parts 1 and 2 is/are configured such that the fork 44 of the substrate moving mounting instrument 42 accesses the first support part 16a to 16c of the first boat part 1 when the first stage 51 is in the moving mounting position, and the fork 44 of the substrate moving mounting instrument 42 accesses the second support part 26a to 26c of the second boat part 2 when the second stage 52 is in the moving mounting position.
Moreover, the first rotation base 512 and the second rotation base 522 are located toward the combining direction, and then, by moving the first moving base 511 and the second moving base 521 to the combining position, the linear region 14 of each of the ceiling plate 12 and bottom plate 13 of the first boat part 1 is coupled to the linear region 24 of each of the ceiling plate 22 and bottom plate 23 of the first boat part 2, by which the first boat part 1 and the second boat part 2 are combined with each other, thereby constituting the wafer boat 3. At this point, the first moving base 511 and the second moving base 521 are moved to the combining position, and then, by orienting the first rotation base 512 and the second rotation base 522 toward the combining direction, the first boat part 1 and the second boat part 2 may be combined with each other. Hereinafter, it is assumed that the first stage 51 and the second stage 52 are in the combining position when the first rotation base 512 and the second rotation base 522 are located toward the combining direction and the first moving base 511 and the second moving base 521 are in the combining position.
Moreover, a disposing part 517 where the support leg 36a (being a lower end portion of the first boat part 1) is disposed is installed at a top of the first rotation base 512 of the first stage 51, and a disposing part 527 where the support leg 36b (being a lower end portion of the second boat part 2) is disposed is installed at a top of the second rotation base 522 of the second stage 52. By the weight of the first boat part 1, the first boat part 1 disposes the support leg 36a at the disposing part 517 in a stable state, and thus, the deviation of the position of the first boat part 1 is suppressed when the first stage 51 is moved. By the weight of the second boat part 2, the second boat part 2 disposes the support leg 36b at the disposing part 527 in a stable state, and thus, the deviation of the position of the second boat part 2 is suppressed when the second stage 52 is moved.
A coupling instrument 6, as illustrated in
Moreover, a support instrument 66 for supporting the coupling member 33 is disposed at a front end of the arm member 61. The support instrument 66 is connected to a cylinder 68 through a load member 67, and configured to be opened or closed by the cylinder 68 and the load member 67. That is, when the cylinder 68 presses the load member 67, the support instrument 66 is closed and thereby supports the cap part 34 of the coupling member 33, and when the pressure on the load member 67 is removed, the support instrument 66 is opened and thereby disconnects the coupling member 33 therefrom.
Moreover, in the processing chamber 40, a boat conveyance instrument 7 and a boat elevator 8 are sequentially disposed at a rear end side of the boat combining instrument 5. The boat conveyance instrument 7 constitutes a support instrument moving mounting apparatus for moving and mounting the wafer boat 3, in which the first boat part 1 is combined with the second boat part 2, onto the boat elevator 8. In the present example, the boat conveyance instrument 7 is configured to convey the wafer boat 3 between the first and second stages 51 and 52 (which are in the combining position of the boat combining instrument 5) and an insulation unit 81 that is on the boat elevator 8.
The boat conveyance instrument 7, as illustrated in
Moreover, an ascending/descending base 73 is disposed through a cylinder 731 that constitutes an ascending/descending instrument, above the moving base 72. The conveyance arm 71 is horizontally disposed through a rotation base 74, above the ascending/descending base 73. The rotation base 74 rotates the conveyance arm 71 about a perpendicular axis by the combination of a pulley 741 and a belt 742 that are rotated by a motor M6. Therefore, the rotation instrument is configured with the motor M6, the pulley 741, the belt 742, and the rotation base 74.
In the present example, the boat conveyance instrument 7 is disposed such that when the first stage 51 and the second stage 52 are in the combining position, the conveyance arm 71 is disposed just inside the first and second stages 51 and 52. Furthermore, the conveyance arm 71 is disposed to advance or retreat along the lengthwise direction of the processing chamber 40, and as illustrated in
Moreover, a front end side of the conveyance arm 71 is configured in order for two arm parts 70a and 70b to extend from an arm body 70, and a movable arm 75 is disposed at a front end side of the arm part 70a. The movable arm 75 is configured to operate by a driving instrument 76, between a normal position (position that is illustrated as a solid line in
In the boat conveyance instrument 7, the bottom plate 32 of the wafer boat 3 is disposed on the conveyance arm 71 and conveyed. However, in the conveyance arm 71, as illustrated in
The boat elevator 8 and the insulation unit 81 will now be described in detail. The boat elevator 8, as illustrated in
The wafer boat 3 that is in the combining position of the boat combining instrument 5 is conveyed to an upper side of the insulation unit 81, with the bottom plate 32 being supported by the conveyance arm 71. Subsequently, the wafer boat 3 disposes the support legs 36a and 36b at an upper side of the disposing part 84 corresponding thereto and, by descending, is transferred onto the disposing part 84. Therefore, the wafer boat 3 is disposed at the insulation unit 81, and then, by lifting the boat elevator 8, the wafer boat 3 is loaded into the vertical heat treatment furnace 85, whereupon a lower end side of the vertical heat treatment furnace 85 is closed by the cover 82.
The vertical heat treatment apparatus 4 is controlled by a control part 100. The control part 100, for example, is configured with a computer, and includes a program, a memory, and a Central Processing Unit (CPU). A command (each step), which allows the control part 100 to transfer a control signal to each part of the vertical heat treatment apparatus 4 and allows predetermined heat treatment to be performed, is written in the program. With the program being stored in a computer storage medium, for example, a storage part such as a flexible disk, a compact disk, a hard disk, Magneto Optical (MO) disk or the like, the program is installed in the control part 100.
Herein, the program includes a program for controlling the substrate moving mounting instrument 42, the boat combining instrument 5, the coupling instrument 6, the boat conveyance instrument 7, and the boat elevator 8. Accordingly, each part is controlled according to a process recipe that is previously stored in the memory of the control part 100.
The operation of the above-described vertical heat treatment apparatus 4 will be described in detail. First, the first stage 51 and second stage 52 of the boat combining instrument 5 become a moving mounting position, and the first boat part 1 and the second boat part 2 are respectively disposed at the first stage 51 and the second stage 52. Also, in the coupling instrument 6, the cap part 34 of the coupling member 33 is supported and moved to a coupling position of an upper side of a combining position.
The substrate moving mounting instrument 42 moves and mounts the wafer W, which is in the FOUP 41, onto the first boat part 1 and the second boat part 2. For example, the first rotation base 512 and the second rotation base 522 of the boat combining instrument 5 is in a combining direction, and the first moving base 511 and the second moving base 521 are moved to a combining position. Therefore, the first boat part 1 and the second boat part 2 are combined with each other, thereby configuring the wafer boat 3 with the wafer W mounted thereon.
Subsequently, by dropping the arm 61 of the coupling instrument 6, the foot part 35a of the coupling member 33 is inserted into the hole portion 12a of the ceiling part 31 of the wafer boat 3 and the foot part 35b of the coupling member 33 is inserted into the hole portion 22a of the ceiling part 31 of the wafer boat 3, whereby the first boat part 1 and the second boat part 2 are coupled to each other. The cap part 34 of the coupling member 33 is separated from a current position by opening the support instrument 66, and then the arm 61 ascends and moves to a standby position.
Subsequently, the boat conveyance instrument 7 conveys the wafer boat 3, which is in the combining position, to the insulation unit 81. First, when the movable arm 75 of the boat conveyance instrument 7 is in a normal position, the conveyance arm 71 advances to a position to which the wafer boat 3 is conveyed. Subsequently, the movable arm 75 moves to a conveying position, and then the conveyance arm 71 ascends, whereupon the boat receiving part 77 of the conveyance arm 71 receives the wafer boat 3 from the first stage 51 and the second stage 52. The wafer boat 3 is conveyed to an upper side of the insulation unit 81, and then by dropping the conveyance arm 71, the support leg 36a and the support leg 36b are disposed at the disposing part 84 of the insulation unit 81. Therefore, the wafer boat 3 is transferred to the insulation unit 81, and then the conveyance arm 71 retreats therefrom.
The boat elevator 8 ascends, the wafer boat 3 is loaded into the vertical heat treatment furnace 85, and heat treatment is performed on the wafers W mounted on the wafer boat 3 in batches. After the heat treatment ends, the boat elevator 8 descends, the wafer boat 3 is unloaded from the vertical heat treatment furnace 85, and the boat conveyance instrument 7 conveys the wafer boat 3 onto the first stage 51 and the second stage 52 that are in the combining position.
Subsequently, the coupling instrument 6 moves from the standby position to the coupling position, and then by opening and dropping the support instrument 66, the support instrument 66 is disposed near the cap part 34 of the coupling member 33. The cap part 34 is held by closing the support instrument 66, and then by lifting the arm part 61, the coupling member 33 is detached from the wafer boat 3.
Subsequently, the first stage 51 and the second stage 52 move to the moving mounting position. For example, when the first moving base 511 and the second moving base 521 are in the combining position, the wafer boat 3 is divided into the first boat part 1 and the second boat part 2 by opening the first rotation base 512 and the second rotation base 522 in the moving mounting direction, and the first moving base 511 and the second moving base 521 move to the moving mounting position. Also, when the first rotation base 512 and the second rotation base 522 are in the combining direction, the wafer boat 3 is divided into the first boat part 1 and the second boat part 2 by moving the first moving base 511 and the second moving base 521 to the moving mounting position, and the first rotation base 512 and the second rotation base 522 may move to the moving mounting direction. Subsequently, the substrate moving mounting instrument 42 moves and mounts the heat-treated wafers W, which are mounted on the first boat part 1 and the second boat part 2, to the FOUP 41.
According to the above-described embodiment, in respectively moving and mounting the wafers W1 and W2 onto the first and second boat parts 1 and 2, the wafers W1 and W2 are respectively move and mounted onto the first and second boat parts 1 and 2 for the first support part 16a to 16c and the second support part 26a to 26c that are disposed at arrangement intervals of A. Herein, for example, the arrangement interval of A is set to about 12 mm, and thus, a moving and mounting margin in an upward and downward direction is large, thereby enabling the easy moving and mounting operation of each of the wafers W1 and W2.
Moreover, the wafers W1 and W2 are respectively moved and mounted on the first and second boat parts 1 and 2, and then the first boat part 1 is combined with the second boat part 2, thereby constituting the wafer boat 3. Herein, in the wafer boat 3, the wafer W1 on the first boat part 1 and the wafer W2 on the second boat part 2 are alternately arranged in an upward and downward direction, and thus, the wafers W are arranged and supported at arrangement intervals of A/2 narrower than a case of moving and mounting wafers, on the wafer boat 3.
Accordingly, a moving and mounting operation can be easily performed for the wafer boat 3, and moreover, the arrangement interval between the wafers W on the wafer boat 3 can become narrower. Therefore, the number of mounted wafers can increase without changing the size of the wafer boat 3. As a result, the number of wafers W that are simultaneously heat-treated in the vertical heat treatment furnace 85 increases, thus increasing the number of wafers processed by the vertical heat treatment apparatus 4. Also, when the number of wafers W mounted on the wafer boat 3 is equal to the existing number of mounted wafers, the wafer boat 3 and the vertical heat treatment furnace 85 can be compact. Also, since the number of wafers W which are simultaneously heat-treated in the vertical heat treatment furnace 85 increases, the energy necessary to process one wafer W decreases, thus saving energy.
Moreover, since the first support part 16a to 16c and the second support part 26a to 26c are formed in a long arm shape, a wafer mounting region (a support surface) on which the wafer W is mounted is large. Herein, as described above, in a configuration where the wafers W are pushed out from the side support pillars 15a and 15c and support pillars 25a and 25c and mounted, when a support surface is small, stress due to the weight of a wafer W is concentrated on a portion that contacts the support surface in a back side of the wafer W, and thus, a contact portion of the back side of the wafer W can be easily damaged. The damage is known as one of the causes of a crystal defect (slip) that occurs in heat treatment. However, as described above, when respective support surfaces of the first support part 16a to 16c and the second support part 26a to 26c are enlarged, the stress can be dispersed. Accordingly, the back side of the wafer W is prevented from being damaged, and moreover, the crystal defect causing the damage can be prevented, thus enhancing production yield.
Moreover, since the first support part 16a to 16c and the second support part 26a to 26c are formed in a long arm shape and thus a support surface is large, the wafer W can be supported stably. Therefore, even when the wafers W1 and W2 are respectively moved and mounted on the first and second boat parts 1 and 2 and then the first and second boat parts 1 and 2 are moved for combining thereof, the wafer W can be prevented from being dropped. Particularly, since the side support parts 16a and 16c are disposed to extend outward across the linear region 14 and the side support parts 26a and 26c are disposed to extend outward across the linear region 24, even when the side support pillars 15a and 15c and support pillars 25a and 25c are disposed at the rear side of the wafer W instead of the center of the wafer W, the wafer W can be supported stably. Also, for the side support parts 16a and 16c and the side support parts 26a and 26c, the wafer W is transferred from the linear region 14 and the linear region 24, and thus, the linear region 14 side and the linear region 24 side are the front side of the wafer W and the central support pillar 15b side and the central support pillar 25b side are the rear side of the wafer W.
Moreover, since the wafer boat 3 of the present disclosure is configured by combining the first boat part 1 and the second boat part 2, the support pillars 15a to 15c of the first boat part 1 and the support pillars 25a to 25c of the second boat part 2 are arranged at certain intervals along the perimeter direction of a wafer W that is mounted on the wafer boat 3 after combination. In this case, as illustrated in
Therefore, even if a vibration is applied to the wafer boat 3 with the wafer W mounted thereon due to an earthquake or trouble during conveyance, the wafer W is prevented from protruding from the wafer boat 3 because the perimeter of the wafer W is surrounded by the support pillars 15a to 15c and 25a to 25c. Accordingly, even when a vibration is applied to the wafer boat 3, the wafer W is prevented from being dropped from the wafer boat 3, thus preventing damage to the wafer W.
Moreover, as described above, since the position of the outer border of the wafer W is regulated by the support pillars 15a to 15c and 25a to 25c, the side support parts 16a and 16c are disposed to extend outward across the linear region 14, and the side support parts 26a and 26c are disposed to extend outward across the linear region 24, even if a large vibration is applied to the wafer boat 3, the wafer W can be prevented from falling off each of the side support parts 16a, 16c, 26a and 26c. Accordingly, even when the wafer boat 3 vibrates, a wafer W is not dropped from a support part, thus preventing an accident such as a collision between different wafers W due to the drop.
Another example of the wafer boat will now be described in detail with reference to
Except that an arrangement interval between a plurality of support parts 17a to 17c disposed at the first boat part 1A differs from an arrangement interval between a plurality of support parts 27a to 27c disposed at the second boat part 2A, the first boat part 1A and the second boat part 2A are configured similarly to the first boat part 1 and second boat part 2 of the above-described wafer boat 3. Therefore, similar to the wafer boat 3, the wafer boat 3A is configured by combining the first boat part 1A and the second boat part 2A. In the wafer boat 3A, the wafer W1 mounted on the first boat part 1A and the wafer W2 mounted on the second boat part 2A are alternately arranged in an upward and downward direction.
Therefore, in the first boat part 1 and the second boat part 2, the wafers W1 and W2 adjacent in an upward and downward direction are disposed for processed surfaces thereof to face each other, and the wafers W1 and W2 are disposed so that back sides thereof face each other. In this case, the height position of each of the support parts 17a to 17c of the first boat part 1A and the height position of each of the support parts 27a to 27c of the second boat part 2A are set such that an interval between the processed surfaces of the wafers W facing each other is greater than an interval between the back sides of the wafers W facing each other, in a state where the first boat part 1 has been combined with the second boat part 2. Specifically, the support parts 17a to 17c of the first boat part 1A are disposed at arrangement intervals of about 12 mm, and the support parts 27a to 27c of the second boat part 2A are disposed at arrangement intervals of about 12 mm. Each of the height positions is set such that the interval between the processed surfaces of the wafers W facing each other is about 8 mm and the interval between the back sides of the wafers W facing each other is about 4 mm.
A vertical heat treatment apparatus including the first boat part 1A and the second boat part 2A is configured similarly to the vertical heat treatment apparatus 4 of
Moreover, a base end side of the fork 91 is connected to a rotation instrument 95 that rotates about a horizontal axis. Also, an absorbing hole 96 that is connected to a vacuum pump 97 through an absorption path 96a is formed at the surface of the fork 91. Therefore, the wafer W is mounted on the fork 91, and then by opening a valve V1, the vacuum pump 97 performs an exhaust operation, whereby the wafer W is vacuum-absorption-supported on the fork 91 by the absorbing hole 96. Also, the wafer W may be absorption-supported on the fork 91 with an electrostatic force instead of vacuum absorption.
In the vertical heat treatment apparatus including the first boat part 1A and the second boat part 2A, as illustrated in
Accordingly, the wafer W1 and the wafer W2 are respectively moved and mounted on the first boat part 1A and the second boat part 2A, and then, as described above, the boat combining instrument 5 combines the boat parts 1A and 2A to constitute the wafer boat 3A. Subsequently, the wafer boat 3A is coupled to a coupling member 33, and then conveyed onto an insulation unit 81 by a boat conveyance instrument 7. A boat elevator 8 ascends, the wafer boat 3A is loaded into a vertical heat treatment furnace 85, and a predetermined heat treatment is performed on the wafers W1 and W2.
According to such a configuration, similar to the above-described embodiment, in moving and mounting the wafers W1 and W2, the wafers W1 and W2 are respectively transferred to the first and second boat parts 1A and 2A at a large arrangement interval, the wafer boat 3A is combined after moving and mounting the wafers W1 and W2. Therefore, a moving and mounting operation becomes easier by increasing a moving and mounting margin, and an arrangement interval between the wafers W1 and W2 mounted on the wafer boat 3 can become narrower. Accordingly, the number of wafers W1 and W2 mounted on the wafer boat 3 increases, thus enhancing the number of processed wafers.
Moreover, the wafer W1 of which the back side is upward oriented is moved and mounted on the first boat part 1A, the wafer W2 of which the processed surface is upward oriented is moved and mounted on the second boat part 2A, and then the wafer boat 3 is configured. Therefore, even when the wafers W1 and W2 adjacent in an upward and downward direction are arranged such that the processed surfaces face each other and the back sides face each other, the moving and mounting operation can be easily performed. In the wafers W1 and W2 adjacent in an upward and downward direction, moreover, a region where the processed surfaces face each other is set to have an interval greater than that of a region where the back sides face each other. Accordingly, processing gas is easily injected into a region where the processed surfaces of the wafers W1 and W2 face each other, and thus, the processing gas is widely and sufficiently spread into the processed surfaces of the wafers W1 and W2, whereby the occurrence of processing non-uniformity is prevented and heat treatment having high in-surface uniformity can be performed.
In the present disclosure, the wafer W1 mounted on the first boat part is not assumed as being completely (100%) overlapped with the wafer W2 mounted on the second boat part. When the wafer W1 is not completely overlapped with the wafer W2, a configuration is not necessarily required where the wafers W1 and W2 are supported by extending a support part from a support pillar. For example, grooves that are arranged along the support pillar and horizontally cut constitute the support part.
Such a configuration will now be described in detail with reference to
In the support pillars 111 to 113, groove portions 116 where a peripheral edge portion of the wafer W1 is disposed are horizontally cut and thus formed. In the support pillars 121 to 123, groove portions 126 where a peripheral edge portion of the wafer W2 is disposed are horizontally cut and thus formed. In this case, the groove portion 116 and the groove portion 126 are arranged and formed one over the other such that the wafer W1 mounted on the first boat part 110 and the wafer W2 mounted on the second boat part 120 are alternately arranged in an upward and downward direction. As described above, the support pillars 111 and 113 of both sides are formed more outward than the center 01 of the wafer W1, and the support pillars 121 and 123 of both sides are formed more outward than the center 02 of the wafer W2, whereby the peripheral edge of the wafer W is disposed in each of the groove portions 116 and the groove portions 126, and thus, the wafers W1 and W2 are horizontally supported in the first and second boat parts 110 and 120, respectively.
Moreover, in both side support pillars 111 and 113 of the first boat part 110, the groove portion 117 is cut and formed such that it does not cause interference with the wafer W2 mounted on the second boat part 2. Likewise, in both side support pillars 121 and 123 of the second boat part 120, the groove portion 127 is cut and formed such that it does not cause interference with the wafer W1 mounted on the first boat part 1.
Therefore, the wafers W1 and W2 are respectively mounted on the first and second boat parts 110 and 120, and then by combining the first boat part 110 and the second boat part 120, as illustrated in
In the above description, the wafer boat is not limited to being completely divided into the first boat part and the second boat part, and as illustrated in
Moreover, in the present disclosure, a support part formed at a support pillar is not limited to the above description, and may be disposed to extend outward across a ceiling plate (bottom plate) from a central support pillar. Also, a support part that extends near a ceiling plate (bottom plate) may be disposed at a side support pillar. Moreover, a support part formed at a support pillar may be formed by combining an arm portion (which extends from the support pillar) and a groove portion that is cut at the support pillar.
Moreover, in the present disclosure, one of a first disposing part (first stage) and a second disposing part (second stage) is fixed, and the other is moved, whereby a first support instrument portion (first boat part) on the first disposing part may be combined with a second support instrument portion (second boat part) on the second disposing part. Also, a support instrument moving mounting apparatus may convey the first support instrument portion and the second support instrument portion onto a support instrument ascending/descending apparatus, and allow the first support instrument portion and the second support instrument portion to be combined with each other on the support instrument ascending/descending apparatus.
Moreover, in the present disclosure, the side support part 16a (26a) and the side support part 16c (26c) that respectively support the sides of a wafer W may be disposed to extend more toward a front side than the center of the wafer W supported by the support parts 16a to 16c (26a to 26c), and as illustrated in
In such a configuration, since the side support part 16a (26a) and the side support part 16c (26c) are disposed along the peripheral edge of the wafer W, a long support surface along a perimeter direction is formed at the side of the wafer W. Therefore, the wafer W is pushed out from the side support pillar 15a (25a) and the side support pillar 15c (25c) and disposed of, and in the peripheral edge portion of the side of the wafer W on which a stress due to the weight of the wafer W is frequently concentrated, the stress can be dispersed. Accordingly, a back side of a wafer can be prevented from being damaged, and a crystal defect causing damage can be prevented, thus enhancing production yield.
Moreover, when seen from a member that transfers the wafer W to the first boat part 1 and the second boat part 2, a plurality of support parts respectively disposed at both sides of the wafer W, for example, the side support part 16a (26a) and the side support part 16c (26c) may be disposed such that the support surface of the wafer W is downward inclined toward the central axis of the wafer W. In such a configuration, the lower periphery of the wafer W is supported by the support surface of each of the side support part 16a (26a) and the side support part 16c (26c), with the wafer positioned in an inclined surface. In this case, the height position of the support surface of the central support part 16b is set in correspondence with the height position of the wafer W that is supported by the side support part 16a and the side support part 16c, and the height position of the support surface of the central support part 26b is set in correspondence with the height position of the wafer W that is supported by the side support part 26a and the side support part 26c. Herein, a region contacting the support surface in the lower periphery of the wafer W secures a certain length, and thus, the stress is dispersed, thereby preventing the occurrence of the crystal defect. Also, the lower periphery of the wafer W contacts the support surface, and thus, even if a crystal defect occurs in a contact region, the quality of a product can be prevented from being badly affected by the crystal defect because the contact region is disposed outside a pattern forming region.
Moreover, as described above, since the position of the wafer W has been determined previously, the moving of the wafer W to a side is suppressed. Therefore, even when moving the first boat part 1 and the second boat part 2, the wafer W is stably supported, thus preventing the wafer W from being dropped. Herein, the support surface of each of the central support parts 16a and 26a may also be formed to be inclined downward. Moreover, for example, as illustrated in
According to the present disclosure, the substrate support instrument is configured with the first support instrument part and the second support instrument part which are detachably combined with each other, and the support parts are respectively disposed at the first and second support instrument parts such that substrates respectively supported by the first and second support instrument parts are alternately arranged when the first and second support instrument parts are coupled to each other. Therefore, when respective substrates are moved and mounted on the first support instrument part and the second support instrument part and then the substrate support instrument is configured by combining the first and second support instrument parts, the arrangement pitch of substrates mounted on the substrate support instrument becomes narrower than that of substrates which are respectively moved and mounted on the first and second support instrument parts. Accordingly, the moving and mounting margin can be secured, and moreover, the arrangement pitch of substrates mounted on the substrate support instrument can become narrower.
While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosures. Indeed, the novel methods and apparatuses described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the disclosures. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosures.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2011-86618 | Apr 2011 | JP | national |
2011-186264 | Aug 2011 | JP | national |
2012-26464 | Feb 2012 | JP | national |