JP4122613B2 - Semiconductor manufacturing equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to, for example, a MOCVD (Metal Organic-Chemical Vapor Deposition) apparatus used for manufacturing an optical semiconductor and the like, and a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus suitable for manufacturing other semiconductor devices, and more particularly to a clogging removal mechanism of an exhaust system. .
[0002]
[Prior art]
Light emitting elements such as laser diodes and LEDs are formed mainly by epitaxially growing a thin film on a GaAs substrate. A MOCVD apparatus is well known as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus using this epitaxial growth method, and an MBE (Molecular Beam Epitaxy) apparatus and a LPE (Liquid Phase Epitaxy) apparatus are generally well known as other semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses. .
[0003]
For example, a MOCVD apparatus stores a semiconductor wafer as an object to be processed in a reaction container that holds a vacuum, and supplies a predetermined reaction gas into the reaction container while the reaction container is maintained at a predetermined degree of vacuum by the vacuum apparatus. However, the thin film forming process can be performed while controlling the temperature to a predetermined temperature. FIG. 5 shows a part of the exhaust system of a conventional MOCVD apparatus.
[0004]
In FIG. 5, 101 is a reaction vessel of the MOCVD apparatus, and 102 is a vacuum apparatus. The reaction vessel 101 and the vacuum device 102 are connected by an exhaust pipe 103. The exhaust pipe 103 has a corner portion 104 at any location on the exhaust pipe path in order to reduce the size of the entire apparatus. As shown by the arrows in the figure, the gas after the reaction in the reaction vessel 101 is sucked and moved by the vacuum device 102 in the exhaust pipe arranged in this way, and finally, through the vacuum device 102. Discharged.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional MOCVD apparatus described above, a turbulent gas flow is generated at the corner portion 104, and the inner peripheral surface thereof has a decomposition product generated by the reaction in the reaction vessel as indicated by 105 in the figure. There is a problem that dust adheres and the exhaust pipe 103 is clogged in the worst case. For this reason, in order to cope with such a problem, in the conventional MOCVD apparatus, maintenance work for removing the clogging of dust by opening the exhaust system every short predetermined period of time must be performed. In addition to the necessity, the apparatus must be stopped during the maintenance work, resulting in a problem that the operation rate is lowered.
[0006]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that can prolong the maintenance cycle and increase the operating rate, and has high stability and reliability.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the invention of claim 1 is a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus having a reaction container in which a wafer is stored and a discharge mechanism for discharging a substance in the reaction container. A shaft portion that is disposed on the piping path connecting the discharge mechanism and is rotatable from the outer peripheral surface side of the piping, and is attached to one end of the shaft portion so as to slide freely along substantially the inner peripheral surface of the piping. A clogging removal mechanism comprising a moving extension part, and the extension part of the clogging removal mechanism connects the ring with a plurality of rings having a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the inner peripheral surface of the pipe. A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus comprising a plurality of plate-like members and a spiral member provided so as to be wound around the plate-like member .
[0008]
In this invention, the clogging removal mechanism is provided at the corner portion on the piping path connecting the reaction vessel and the discharge mechanism. This clogging removing mechanism is composed of a shaft portion that is rotatable from the outer peripheral surface side of the pipe, and an extending portion that is attached to the shaft portion and freely slides along substantially the inner peripheral surface of the pipe. The dust attached to the exhaust pipe is easily removed by turning the connected handle. For this reason, the maintenance cycle can be extended, the operating rate can be increased, and the stability and reliability of the apparatus can be improved.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an MOCVD apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a reaction vessel, 2 is a reaction gas source, and 9 is a vacuum apparatus as a discharge mechanism. As shown in FIG. 1, a reaction vessel 1 and a reaction gas source 2 are connected by an air supply pipe 3. Further, a clogging removal mechanism 8 is disposed between the reaction vessel 1 and the vacuum device 9, the reaction vessel 1 and the clogging removal mechanism 8 are connected by an exhaust pipe 7a, and the clogging removal mechanism 8 and the vacuum device 9 are exhausted. It is connected with the pipe 7b.
[0010]
The reaction vessel 1 is made of, for example, quartz glass and has a cylindrical shape. A heating high frequency coil 10 is disposed on the outer periphery of the reaction vessel 1. Further, a susceptor 5 made of, for example, carbon graphite or the like is disposed at the central portion in the reaction vessel 1. For example, a semiconductor wafer 4 as an object to be processed is placed on the susceptor 5, and the susceptor 5 is heated by the high-frequency coil 10 and held at a predetermined temperature. The susceptor 5 is connected to the wafer rotation mechanism 6 through a shaft portion, and is configured to perform processing while rotating the semiconductor wafer 4 at a predetermined predetermined speed.
[0011]
When the crystal growth process is performed by the apparatus configured as described above, a reaction gas corresponding to the process is introduced from the reaction gas source 2. Further, the gas as the decomposed material after the treatment is discharged to the vacuum device 9 through the clogging removal mechanism 8. During the process, the vacuum degree in the reaction vessel 1 is kept constant by always operating the vacuum device 9.
[0012]
FIG. 2 shows the detailed structure of the clogging mechanism 8 described above. 2 that correspond to those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. By disposing the clogging mechanism 8, it is possible to remove dust such as decomposition products adhering to the inner peripheral surface of the exhaust pipe without removing the exhaust pipes 7 a and 7 b.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 2, the exhaust pipe 7a on the reaction vessel 1 side is substantially cylindrical and has a connecting portion 14 at the end thereof. The exhaust pipe 7b and the exhaust pipe 7a on the side of the vacuum device 9 are connected via the connection portion 14. As shown in FIG. 2, the exhaust pipe 7a on the vacuum device 9 side has a T-shaped cylindrical shape, and a clogging removal mechanism 8 is attached at a position facing the opening 16 on the exhaust pipe 7a side. . That is, the clogging removing mechanism 8 is attached to a corner portion on an extension line in the gas moving direction from the inside of the reaction vessel 1 indicated by an arrow a in the drawing. The gas introduced through the opening 16 is led out from the opening 17 of the exhaust pipe 7b and moves to the vacuum device 5 side as indicated by an arrow b in the figure. Further, a seal member 15 is shown in FIG. 2, and the sealing degree is maintained by the seal member 15.
[0014]
The clogging removal mechanism 8 includes a shaft portion 12 penetrating the outer peripheral surface of the exhaust pipe 17b, an extending portion 13 fixed to one end side of the shaft portion 12, and a handle 11 fixed to the other end side of the shaft portion 12. It is comprised by.
[0015]
FIG. 3 shows an example of the extending portion attached to the shaft portion 12. As shown in FIG. 3, the extending portion 13 includes circular rings 21 and 22 having a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the inner peripheral surface of the exhaust pipe 7 a, and plate-like members 23 and 24 that connect the circular rings 21 and 22. 25. Specifically, the ring 21 and the ring 22 are connected by two plate-like members 23 and 24 arranged so as to face each other, and both end portions of the U-shaped plate-like member 25 are connected to the ring 24. Is attached. The extending portion 13 is attached to the shaft portion 12 through the bent portion of the plate-like member 25. Therefore, when the handle 11 fixed to the other end side of the shaft portion 12 is rotated as indicated by an arrow, the extending portion 13 slides freely along the substantially inner peripheral surface of the exhaust pipe 7a. Dust adhering in the tube 7a is easily removed.
[0016]
FIG. 4 shows another example of the extending portion attached to the shaft portion 12. In the case of the example shown in FIG. 4, the extending portion 13 includes an annular ring 31, 32 having a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the inner peripheral surface of the exhaust pipe 7 a, and a plate-like member that connects the circular rings 31, 32. 34, 35, a circular flat plate 33, and a spiral member 36. Specifically, the annular ring 31 and the annular ring 32 are connected by two plate-like members 34 and 35 arranged so as to face each other, and a spiral member 36 is further interposed between the annular rings 31 and 32. Is attached to wind. Further, the flat plate 33 is attached to the end portions of the plate-like members 34 and 35, and the extending portion 13 is attached to the shaft portion 12 through the flat plate 33. Therefore, when the handle 11 fixed to the other end of the shaft portion 12 is rotated, the extending portion 13 slides freely along substantially the inner peripheral surface of the exhaust pipe 7a, and is shown in FIG. The dust adhering in the exhaust pipe 7a is more reliably removed than in the examples.
[0017]
In the above description, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an MOCVD apparatus has been described. However, the present invention can be easily applied to other types of semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses. For example, other types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment include MBE (Molecular Beam Epitaxy) equipment that grows crystals using technology on the extended line of vacuum deposition, and lowering the solution temperature by dissolving the raw material in the solution. LPE (Liquid Phase Epitaxy) equipment for growing crystals, VPE (Vapor Phase Epitaxy) equipment for growing crystals by supplying the raw material of the epitaxial layer as a gas, and constituent elements of the generated film are supplied by gas There is a CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) apparatus for forming a thin film by depositing the decomposition or reaction product on a substrate.
[0018]
Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the case where the clogging removal mechanism is provided at the corner portion on the piping path has been described. However, in the present invention, the clogging removal mechanism is disposed at the straight line section on the piping path. Also good. In this case, for example, an annular member is used, and is configured to slide freely in parallel along the substantially inner peripheral surface of the pipe in conjunction with the shaft portion 12 via a gear or the like. The
[0019]
【The invention's effect】
In the present invention, a clogging removal mechanism is provided on the piping path connecting the reaction vessel and the discharge mechanism, so that decomposition products adhering to the piping can be easily removed. Therefore, according to the present invention, the maintenance cycle can be extended, the operating rate can be increased, and labor saving and cost reduction can be achieved. Further, according to the present invention, clogging of piping can be avoided, so that process processing such as crystal growth can be stably performed, and the reliability of the semiconductor device can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a clogging removing mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of an extending portion of a clogging removing mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another example of the extending portion of the clog removing mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a schematic view used for explaining a conventional semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Reaction container, 2 ... Reaction gas source, 3 ... Supply pipe, 7a, 7b ... Exhaust pipe, 8 ... Clogging removal mechanism, 9 ... Vacuum apparatus, 11 ... Handle, 12 ... shaft, 13 ... extension part

Claims (4)

In a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus having a reaction container in which a wafer is stored and a discharge mechanism for discharging a substance in the reaction container,
A shaft portion disposed on a piping path connecting the reaction vessel and the discharge mechanism, rotatable from the outer peripheral surface side of the piping, and attached to one end of the shaft portion , and substantially the inner periphery of the piping. It is equipped with a clogging removal mechanism consisting of an extended part that slides freely along the surface ,
The extending portion of the clogging removal mechanism includes a plurality of annular rings having a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the inner peripheral surface of the pipe, a plurality of plate-like members connecting the rings, and the plate-like member. And a spiral member provided so as to be wound around . In claim 1,
2. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the clogging removing mechanism is disposed at a corner portion on the piping path.   In claim 1,
  The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus further comprises a handle fixed to the other end of the shaft portion.   In claim 3,
  The semiconductor is characterized in that the handle is provided so as to be rotatable, and a mechanism is provided in which the extended contact portion is freely slid along substantially the inner peripheral surface of the pipe by the rotation of the handle. Manufacturing equipment.

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