JP5358201B2 - Deposition method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a film deposition method by which, when an epitaxial film is deposited on a substrate supported by a susceptor, deformation of the substrate is suppressed, the deformation being caused in a period from carrying in of the substrate into a film deposition device to film deposition processing on the substrate. <P>SOLUTION: The film deposition method includes elevating the susceptor 20 for supporting the substrate W whose temperature has been raised from an initial position where the substrate W is subjected to the film deposition processing to receive the substrate carried in a film deposition chamber 2, lowering the susceptor 20 down to the initial position, and heating the substrate W on the susceptor 20 up to film deposition temperature to subject the substrate to vapor-phase growth reaction. In the film deposition method, the susceptor 20 whose temperature has been raised is stopped at a stop position below the carried-in substrate W before the susceptor 20 receives the substrate W. Then after the substrate W is heated by the susceptor 20 whose temperature has been raised up to predetermined temperature, the susceptor 20 is further elevated to receive the substrate W. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a film forming method.

  Conventionally, an epitaxial growth technique has been utilized for manufacturing a semiconductor element that requires a relatively large crystal film, such as a power device such as an IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor).

  In order to manufacture an epitaxial wafer having a large film thickness with a high yield, it is necessary to improve the film formation rate by bringing new raw material gases into contact with the surface of the uniformly heated wafer one after another. Therefore, in the conventional film forming apparatus, for example, epitaxial growth is performed while rotating the wafer at a high speed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration of a conventional film forming apparatus using an epitaxial growth technique.

    In the conventional film forming apparatus 901 shown in FIG. 5, a susceptor 903 that supports a wafer 902 is fitted on a susceptor support 904.

  The susceptor 903 is provided so as to be connected to the first susceptor unit 905 and a ring-shaped first susceptor unit 905 that supports the peripheral portion of the substrate W when the substrate W is placed on the susceptor 903. , And a disk-shaped second susceptor portion 906 that is closely fitted in the opening portion of the ring-shaped first susceptor portion 905.

  Therefore, the first susceptor part 905 constituting the susceptor 903 has a function of being fitted to the susceptor support 904 and connected to and supporting the second susceptor part 906. The second susceptor portion 906 seals the opening portion of the first susceptor portion 905, and supports the substrate W by contacting the back surface of the substrate W when the substrate W is placed on the susceptor 903. It has a function.

  A hollow cylindrical rotary shaft 907 is connected to the susceptor support 904.

  Further, an elevating pin 908 penetrating through the rotation shaft 907 is disposed inside the rotation shaft 907. The lower end of the elevating pin 908 extends to an elevating device 909 that is provided below the rotating shaft 907 and elevates and lowers the elevating pin 908. The lifting pins 908 and the lifting device 909 constitute a lifting mechanism 910. In the lifting mechanism 910, the lifting device 909 can be operated to move the lifting pins 908 up or down.

  When the lifting pin 908 is lifted by the lifting device 909, the upper tip portion of the lifting pin 908 is in contact with the lower surface of the second susceptor portion 906 of the susceptor 903 provided above and supports it from below. Then, it is further lifted, and only the second susceptor portion 906 is separated from the first susceptor portion 905, lifted, and raised to a position where the wafer 902 carried into the film forming apparatus 901 can be received. At this time, above the susceptor 903, the wafer 902 supported by the transfer robot 911 and carried into the film forming apparatus 901 is supported on the transfer robot 911 and stands by. Therefore, the wafer 902 is supported on the lower surface by the disc-shaped second susceptor unit 906 that is raised by the elevating mechanism 910, lifted upward away from the transfer robot 911, and supported only by the second susceptor unit 906. Will come to be.

  After that, the transfer robot 911 that delivers the wafer 902 and becomes empty moves out of the film forming apparatus 901.

  Thereafter, the second susceptor portion 906 on which the wafer 902 is placed is lowered to a position where it is in contact with and supported by the first susceptor portion 905 which is the initial position while being supported by the elevating pins 908 of the elevating mechanism 910. .

  Thus, by returning to the position where the second susceptor unit 906 is supported by the first susceptor unit 905 to which the second susceptor unit 906 is connected, the wafer 902 is placed on the susceptor 903 at a position where the film forming reaction process can be performed. .

  Thereafter, the wafer is heated to a film forming temperature of about 1000 ° C. or higher by the heating of the heater 912 provided in the film forming apparatus 901, and further rotated by rotating the rotating shaft 907 connected to the susceptor support 904. Is done. As described above, an epitaxial film is formed on the wafer 902 while rotating the heated wafer 902 at a high speed.

  At this time, the heater 912 is normally kept in a heat generating state in the film forming apparatus 901 so that the epitaxial film can be efficiently formed on the wafer 902. That is, while the wafer 902 is carried in, the wafer 902 is received by the elevating mechanism 910, and placed on the susceptor 903 capable of film formation reaction processing, the heater 912 has a temperature slightly lower than the film formation processing temperature. The wafer 902 on the susceptor 903 is placed in a heat generating state so that it can be heated.

  Then, after the wafer 902 is placed on the susceptor 903, the heater is further heated so that the wafer 902 reaches a higher film forming temperature.

  Then, after the film formation reaction process, the heating state of the heater 912 is relaxed so that the wafer 902 on the susceptor 903 is again at a temperature lower than the film formation process temperature, and the wafer 902 includes the lifting mechanism 910 and the transfer robot. 911 causes the film forming apparatus 901 to carry it out.

JP-A-5-152207

  At this time, the problem is that the wafer 902 before being carried into the film forming apparatus 901 by the transfer robot 911 is in a normal temperature environment of about 20 ° C. to 30 ° C. That is, when it was carried into the film forming apparatus 901 by the transfer robot 911 and supported by the second susceptor unit 906, it was heated to a temperature slightly lower than the film forming temperature in a state where the room temperature was maintained. The second susceptor portion 906 comes into contact with and is supported.

  As a result, the wafer 902 is rapidly heated from the substantially room temperature state by the contact of the second susceptor portion 906 that is heated to a temperature slightly lower than the film forming temperature.

  Such rapid heating of the lower surface of the wafer 902 may cause distortion in the surface of the wafer 902 and cause deformation such as warpage. That is, a so-called “bounced” state of the wafer 902 occurs on the susceptor 3.

  When the film formation process of the epitaxial film on the wafer 902 is performed while the wafer 902 is “splashed” on the susceptor 903, the wafer 902 is formed on the susceptor 903 in a state of being shifted from an appropriate position. Causes a situation to be processed.

  As a result, the epitaxial film formed on the wafer 902 becomes non-uniform, and it is impossible to obtain a wafer on which an epitaxial film having uniform desired characteristics is formed.

  In order to prevent the deformation of the wafer 902, the heating of the heater during the loading of the wafer 902, the reception of the wafer 902 by the elevating mechanism 910, and the placement on the susceptor 903 capable of film formation reaction processing is performed at a lower temperature. That is, if an attempt is made to set the temperature to about 500 ° C. or less at which wafer deformation can be suppressed, it takes a long time to heat the wafer to the film forming temperature after placing the wafer 902 on the susceptor 903. As a result, the throughput of the epitaxial film formation process on the wafer 902 is greatly reduced.

  Accordingly, in a method for forming an epitaxial film on a substrate such as a wafer, which is performed using a film forming apparatus equipped with a susceptor, the film forming process on the substrate such as a wafer from the loading of the substrate such as the wafer into the film forming apparatus is performed. It has been an urgent task to suppress the deformation of the wafer that may occur in the meantime, and to form a uniform high-performance epitaxial film on a substrate such as a wafer.

  Furthermore, in the method of forming an epitaxial film on a substrate such as a wafer, there has been an urgent need to form a uniform and high-performance epitaxial film on the substrate such as a wafer without reducing the throughput.

The present invention has been made in view of these problems. That is, an object of the present invention is to prevent deformation of a substrate such as a wafer, and to bring a substrate such as a wafer into a film forming apparatus in a higher temperature environment or to a position where a film forming process is performed on a susceptor. It is possible to install.
As a result, it is an object of the present invention to provide a film forming method capable of forming a highly uniform and high characteristic epitaxial film on a substrate without reducing the throughput.

  Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, a susceptor heated and heated in a film forming chamber is lifted from an initial position by an elevating mechanism, a substrate at a loading position in the film forming chamber is received, and the susceptor receiving the substrate is moved up and down. Is lowered to return to the initial position, and the substrate on the susceptor is heated to the deposition temperature at the initial position, and the vapor phase growth reaction is performed on the substrate. Before raising the substrate in the loading position and before receiving the substrate, the susceptor is stopped at the stop position below the substrate, the substrate is heated by the heat generated by the susceptor, and after the heating, the susceptor is further raised to receive the substrate It is.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, the susceptor to be used is provided by being connected to the ring-shaped first susceptor portion that supports the peripheral portion of the substrate and the first susceptor portion, and the opening of the first susceptor portion. It is preferable that the second susceptor part is a disc-like shape that is closely fitted to the part, and only the second susceptor part is separated and raised from the heated susceptor at the initial position by the lifting mechanism. It is preferable that the second susceptor unit is stopped at the stop position to heat the substrate, and the second susceptor unit is further raised after the heating.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, the distance between the substrate at the loading position in the film forming chamber and the susceptor stop position is preferably smaller than the distance between the susceptor initial position and the susceptor stop position.

  And in the 1st aspect of this invention, the raise of the susceptor from the initial position by the raising / lowering mechanism is started after the temperature of a susceptor reaches 200 degreeC-300 degreeC lower than film-forming temperature by the heating in an initial position. It is preferable.

  Furthermore, in the first aspect of the present invention, the temperature at which the substrate at the carry-in position reaches by heating the susceptor at the stop position is preferably 400 ° C. to 600 ° C. lower than the film formation temperature.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the susceptor receives the substrate carried into the film forming chamber of the film forming apparatus, the susceptor heated to a high temperature suddenly becomes a substrate having a temperature lower than that of the susceptor, that is, a substrate in a normal temperature state. It is possible to eliminate contact and support.

  As a result, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to suppress deformation of the wafer on the susceptor that may occur between the time when the wafer is carried into the film formation chamber and the film formation process on the wafer. Is possible.

  Further, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the substrate is placed at a position for carrying the substrate, such as a wafer, into the film forming chamber in a higher temperature environment or performing the film forming process on the susceptor. Can be made possible.

  As a result, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a film forming method capable of forming a highly uniform and high characteristic epitaxial film on a substrate without reducing the throughput.

It is typical sectional drawing of the film-forming chamber for demonstrating operation | movement of the raising / lowering mechanism provided in the film-forming chamber of the film-forming apparatus which implements the film-forming method which is this Embodiment. It is a typical top view of the film-forming apparatus used for implementation of the film-forming method which is this Embodiment. It is typical sectional drawing explaining the structure of the film-forming chamber of the film-forming apparatus which enforces the film-forming method which is this Embodiment. It is a top view explaining typically a mutual relation at the time of a 2nd susceptor part supporting substrate W on a robot for conveyance. It is typical sectional drawing explaining the structure of the conventional film-forming apparatus.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a film forming apparatus that uses the film forming method according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, for the sake of convenience, the same substrate W is illustrated at a plurality of locations in order to explain the operation of the film forming apparatus 1.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a film forming apparatus 1 that realizes the film forming method according to the present embodiment includes a susceptor 20 and forms a film on the surface of a substrate W placed on the susceptor 20. A chamber 2, a substrate transfer chamber 4 connected to the film forming chamber 2 via the first opening / closing unit 3, and a substrate transfer chamber 4 connected to the substrate transfer chamber 4 via the second opening / closing unit 11. A substrate standby chamber 8 for waiting for the substrate W taken out through the substrate transfer chamber 4 and a transfer means provided in the substrate transfer chamber 4 for transferring the substrate W between the film forming chamber 2 and the substrate standby chamber 8. And a certain transfer robot 17.

  In the film forming chamber 2 that specifically realizes the film forming method according to the present embodiment, for example, a reactive gas is introduced to form an epitaxial film on the surface of the substrate. Further, a film may be formed on the substrate by vapor deposition or sputtering.

  Next, the configuration and operation of the main part of the film forming apparatus 1 that realizes the film forming method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In particular, the configuration and operation of the film formation chamber 2 that performs film formation on the substrate W will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate W on which the film forming process is performed according to the film forming method of the present embodiment is taken out from an external cassette (not shown), and the third opening / closing unit of the film forming apparatus 1 12 is placed on a substrate support (not shown) in the substrate standby chamber 8. Examples of the substrate W include silicon wafers, particularly 300 mm silicon wafers used for applications such as power semiconductors.

  The substrate standby chamber 8 is connected to the substrate transfer chamber 4 via the second opening / closing part 11. Then, by opening the third opening / closing part 12 or the fourth opening / closing part 22 as described above, the substrate W can be carried into and out of the substrate standby chamber 8 from the outside.

  Therefore, when the above-described substrate W is placed in the substrate standby chamber 8, the third opening / closing portion 12 or the fourth opening / closing portion 22 is opened with the second opening / closing portion 11 closed, and these are opened. It can be carried into the waiting room 8. By providing the substrate standby chamber 8, it is possible to prevent external air from directly entering the film formation chamber 2. That is, it is possible to prevent moisture and organic substances in the air from entering the film forming chamber 2 and adversely affecting the film forming process.

  After carrying the substrate W into the substrate standby chamber 8, the third opening / closing part 12 and the fourth opening / closing part 22 are closed. Then, the air in the substrate standby chamber 8 is discharged from the exhaust port 13 using a vacuum pump or the like. Next, nitrogen gas can be introduced into the substrate standby chamber 8 through the inlet 14. Instead of nitrogen gas, hydrogen gas or argon gas may be introduced according to the process.

  Thereafter, the substrate W is transported by the transport robot 17 and is transported into the substrate transport chamber 4 through the second opening / closing part 11. Here, for transporting the substrate W, for example, a Bernoulli chuck or the like that can transport the substrate in a non-contact state by ejecting gas can be employed.

  The substrate transfer chamber 4 is also provided with an introduction port 15 and an exhaust port 16. The introduction port 15 is connected to a cylinder containing nitrogen gas through a pipe (not shown) so that the nitrogen gas can be introduced into the substrate transfer chamber 4. Instead of nitrogen gas, hydrogen gas or argon gas may be introduced according to the process. Further, the exhaust port 16 is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) through a pipe (not shown), and the gas in the substrate transfer chamber 4 is discharged from here.

  The transfer robot 17 that is provided in the substrate transfer chamber 4 and transfers the substrate W can be made of, for example, a heat-resistant material such as carbon coated with silicon or a quartz material.

  After the substrate W is transferred into the substrate transfer chamber 4 using the transfer robot 17, the substrate W is subsequently transferred into the film forming chamber 2 through the first opening / closing unit 3.

  The film forming chamber 2 is provided with an introduction port 18 and an exhaust port 19. The introduction port 18 is connected to a cylinder containing a reaction gas or a cylinder containing a dilution gas through a pipe (not shown), and an appropriate amount of these gases can be supplied as necessary. . Further, the exhaust port 19 is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) through a pipe (not shown), and the gas in the film forming chamber 2 can be discharged from here.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining in more detail the configuration of the film forming chamber of the film forming apparatus for performing the film forming method using the epitaxial growth technique according to the present embodiment.

  In the film forming chamber 2 of the film forming apparatus 1 that realizes the film forming method according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 3, a susceptor 20 that supports the substrate W is incorporated.

  The susceptor 20 that supports the substrate W is fitted to the susceptor support 24. The susceptor 20 is connected to the ring-shaped first susceptor portion 25 that supports the peripheral edge of the substrate W when the substrate W is placed on the susceptor 20, and the first susceptor portion 25. And a disc-shaped second susceptor portion 26 provided so as to closely fit the opening portion of the ring-shaped first susceptor portion 25.

  That is, the first susceptor portion 25 constituting the susceptor 20 is fitted to the susceptor support 24 to support the substrate W at the peripheral portion, and further connected to the second susceptor portion 26 to support it. Is provided. The second susceptor portion 26 seals the opening portion of the first susceptor portion 25 and supports the substrate W by contacting the back surface of the substrate W when the substrate W is placed on the susceptor 20. It has a function.

  Accordingly, the first susceptor portion 25 and the second susceptor portion 26 each having the above functions constitute one susceptor 20 that supports the substrate W from the back surface.

  A hollow cylindrical rotary shaft 27 is connected to the susceptor support 24. The rotating shaft 27 includes a rotating mechanism 28.

  Therefore, the rotation shaft 27 connected to the susceptor support 24 is rotated by the rotation mechanism 28 so that the substrate W on the susceptor 20 can be rotated. An epitaxial film can be formed on the substrate W while rotating the substrate W at a high speed.

  Further, an elevating pin 29 penetrating through the rotary shaft 27 is disposed inside the rotary shaft 27. And the lower end of the raising / lowering pin 29 is extended to the raising / lowering apparatus 30 which is provided under the rotating shaft 27 and controls raising / lowering of the raising / lowering pin 29. As shown in FIG. A lifting mechanism 31 is composed of the lifting pins 29 and the lifting device 30.

  In the elevating mechanism 31, the elevating device 30 can be operated to raise or lower the elevating pin 29. Further, the elevating mechanism 31 can operate to stop the elevating pin 29 at an arbitrary position during the elevating or lowering.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic cross section of a film forming chamber 2 for explaining the operation of an elevating mechanism 31 provided in the film forming chamber 2 of the film forming apparatus for performing the film forming method according to the present embodiment. FIG.

  The elevating mechanism 31 uses the upper end portion of the elevating pin 29 by the elevating of the elevating pin 29 by the elevating device 30, and comes into contact with the second susceptor portion 26 of the susceptor 20 provided above from the lower surface. The susceptor portion 26 can be supported.

  The elevating mechanism 31 can further raise the elevating pin 29, pulls only the second susceptor part 26 away from the first susceptor part 25, separates the second susceptor part 26 from the susceptor 20, and lifts it up. The substrate W loaded into the film forming chamber 2 of the film forming apparatus 1 can be raised to a position where it can be received.

  When the second susceptor unit 26 is raised, the substrate W supported by the transfer robot 17 and carried into the film forming chamber 2 is supported on the transfer robot 17 above the second susceptor unit 26. Can be kept waiting.

  FIG. 4 is a plan view schematically illustrating the mutual relationship when the second susceptor unit 26 supports the substrate W supported by the transfer robot 17. In FIG. 4, the substrate W is indicated by a dotted line for the sake of convenience, and is illustrated so as to clarify the relationship between the transfer robot 17 that supports the substrate W and the second susceptor unit 26 that has been raised.

  Therefore, the substrate W is supported from the lower surface by the disc-shaped second susceptor portion 26 that is supported and lifted by the lifting pins 29 of the lifting mechanism 31. As a result, the substrate W can be pulled away from the transfer robot 17 and lifted upward. Thus, the substrate W can be supported only by the second susceptor portion 26.

  Thereafter, the transfer robot 17 that has been emptied after delivering the substrate W can be removed from the film forming chamber 2 through the first opening / closing part 3.

  Then, the second susceptor portion 26 on which the substrate W is placed can be lowered to the initial position while being supported by the lifting pins 29 of the lifting mechanism 31. The initial position is an initial position where the second susceptor part 26 is in contact with and supported by the first susceptor part 25 before the second susceptor part 26 is raised.

  Thus, by returning the second susceptor portion 26 supporting the substrate W to the initial position, the substrate W can be placed on the susceptor 20 at a position where the film forming reaction process can be performed.

  After the substrate W is placed at an appropriate position on the susceptor 20, the film forming apparatus 1 can perform a film forming process on the surface of the substrate W. That is, in the film forming chamber 2 of the film forming apparatus 1, as described above, for example, a reactive gas is introduced and an epitaxial film can be formed on the surface of the substrate W. Further, a film may be formed on the substrate by vapor deposition or sputtering.

  At this time, in the film forming chamber 2, two types of heaters of an in-heater 35 and an out-heater 36 are provided on the back surface side of the susceptor 20. Therefore, the substrate W can be heated by the in-heater and the out-heater in the film formation chamber 2.

  Here, the peripheral portion of the substrate W and the first susceptor portion 25 of the susceptor 20 can be mainly heated by the outheater 36. The in-heater 35 is disposed below the out-heater 36 and can mainly heat the peripheral portion of the substrate W and the second susceptor portion 26 of the susceptor 20. Thus, when the substrate W is heated by providing two types of heaters, the uniformity of the temperature distribution in the surface of the substrate W can be improved.

  Therefore, after the substrate W is placed on the susceptor 20 in the film forming chamber 2, the substrate W is uniformly heated by the coordinated heating of the in-heater 35 and the out-heater 36 in the film-forming chamber 2. A predetermined film forming process can be performed in a state in which is closed.

  Next, a film forming method according to this embodiment will be described. The film forming method according to the present embodiment is realized by using the above-described film forming apparatus 1 whose configuration and operation are shown in FIGS.

  At this time, the substrate W on which the film forming process is performed can be, for example, a silicon wafer, particularly a 300 mm silicon wafer used for applications such as a power semiconductor.

  First, the substrate W is transferred from the substrate standby chamber 8 to the substrate transfer chamber 4 through the second opening / closing unit 11 using the transfer robot 17. In the substrate standby chamber 4, exhausting from the exhaust port 16 and introducing nitrogen gas from the introduction port 15 makes it possible to create a nitrogen atmosphere in the chamber. Instead of nitrogen gas, hydrogen gas or argon gas may be introduced according to the process.

  Next, the substrate W is carried into the film forming chamber 2 through the first opening / closing unit 3 using the transfer robot 17. After the carry-in, the substrate W is placed at the carry-in position of the substrate in the film forming chamber 2 while being supported by the transfer robot 17.

  At this time, before the substrate W is carried in, the in-heater 35 and the out-heater 36 are operated in the film forming chamber 2 and heating of the susceptor 20 including the first susceptor portion 25 and the second susceptor portion 26 is started. .

  Therefore, since the second susceptor portion 26 of the susceptor 20 is supported by the first susceptor portion 25 and is in the initial position, heating is started by the action of the in-heater 35 and the out-heater 36. And it heats by the in-heater 35 and the out-heater 36 so that it may become a regulation temperature 200 to 300 degreeC lower than the film-forming temperature at the time of performing the film-forming process with respect to the board | substrate W. FIG.

  Next, after the substrate W is carried in, the elevating mechanism 31 is operated after the temperature of the second susceptor portion 26 of the susceptor 20 reaches a specified temperature that is 200 ° C. to 300 ° C. lower than the film forming temperature.

  That is, the elevating device 29 of the elevating mechanism 31 starts raising the elevating pin 29.

  And the 2nd susceptor part 26 of the susceptor 20 provided upward is supported by the raising / lowering pin 29 which raises. And the raising / lowering pin 29 is further raised, the 2nd susceptor part 26 is lifted from the 1st susceptor part 25, and is pulled apart. That is, the second susceptor part 26 is separated and lifted from the susceptor 20 that has been heated by the above heating, and the rising of the heated second susceptor part 26 from the initial position is started.

  Next, the second susceptor unit 26 is stopped under the control of the elevating mechanism 31 at a predetermined stop position on the lower side of the substrate W placed at the carry-in position. Then, the substrate W supported by the transfer robot 17 is preheated by the heat generated by the second susceptor section 26 that has been heated by the heating.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the transfer robot 17 has a U-shaped portion that supports the substrate W and a large opening at the central portion, so that heating from the lower side of the supporting substrate W is efficiently performed. It can be carried out.

  The preheating of the substrate W by the heated second susceptor 26 is performed until the substrate W reaches a specified temperature that is 400 ° C. to 600 ° C. lower than the film forming temperature. At this time, the preheating time is set to 5 seconds to 30 seconds.

  Here, the prescribed stop position of the second susceptor section 26 on the lower side of the substrate W placed at the loading position is the distance between the substrate W at the loading position and the stop position, and the second susceptor section 26. Is set to be smaller than the distance between the initial position and the stop position.

  Then, the time until the substrate W reaches the specified temperature by the heating of the substrate W from the lower side by the heated second susceptor section 26 is adjusted to be 5 seconds to 30 seconds. To do.

  Next, after the temperature of the substrate W reaches a specified temperature by heating from a specified position apart from the lower side of the substrate W, the second susceptor section 26 is raised again by controlling by the elevating mechanism 31.

  As a result, the substrate W is supported from the lower surface by the second susceptor portion 26 that is supported by the elevating pins 29 and moves up. Then, the substrate W is pulled away from the transfer robot 17 and lifted upward. In this way, the substrate W is received by the second susceptor unit 26 so that the substrate W is supported only by the second susceptor unit 26.

  Thereafter, the transfer robot 17 that has been emptied after delivering the substrate W is moved out of the film forming chamber 2 through the first opening / closing part 3.

  Then, the second susceptor portion 26 that has received the substrate W is lowered to the initial position over 5 to 70 seconds while being supported by the lifting pins 29 of the lifting mechanism 31. At this time, the above-described in-heater 35 and out-heater 36 are maintained in a heated state while the second susceptor 26 is raised and lowered. Therefore, the substrate W gradually approaches the in-heater 35 and the out-heater 36 as the substrate W descends over the above time, and is gradually heated. Therefore, the substrate temperature gradually increases as it decreases.

  Thus, by returning the second susceptor portion 26 that supports the substrate W to the initial position, the substrate W that has been appropriately heated is placed on the susceptor 20 at a position where the film formation reaction process is possible.

  Next, the in-heater 35 and the out-heater 36 are used in combination, and further heating is performed to heat the substrate W on the susceptor 20 until the film formation temperature described above is reached. At this time, the heating conditions of the in-heater 35 and the out-heater 36 are adjusted so that the heating time is from 60 seconds to 300 seconds.

  Then, after the substrate W reaches the film formation temperature, a predetermined film formation process is performed in the film formation chamber 2.

  In the film forming process of the substrate W, for example, the inlet 18 and the outlet 19 provided in the film forming chamber 2 are used to flow the reaction gas under a reduced pressure of several tens to several hundreds of torr, and the in-heater 35 and the out-heater 36. And the substrate W is heated to a film forming temperature of 1000 ° C. to 1200 ° C. Then, if necessary, the susceptor 20 is rotated using the rotation mechanism 28 while introducing the reaction gas, so that an epitaxial layer of silicon having a uniform thickness is grown on all the substrates W.

  At this time, for example, in a power semiconductor application, a thick film having a thickness of 10 μm or more, most often about 10 μm to 100 μm, is formed on a 300 mm silicon wafer. In order to form a thick film, it is preferable to rotate the substrate W during film formation. And it is good to make the rotation speed of the board | substrate W high, for example, it is good to set it as the rotation speed of about 900 rpm.

  After the film forming process is finished, the substrate W is raised using the lifting mechanism 31 again while being placed on the second susceptor portion 26. Then, the first opening / closing part 3 is opened, the transfer robot 17 is inserted into the film forming chamber 2, and the substrate W is delivered. Thereafter, the substrate W is moved from the film formation chamber 2 into the substrate transfer chamber 4 by the transfer robot 17.

  By performing the film forming method on the substrate W as described above, the temperature is raised to a high temperature when the second susceptor unit 26 of the susceptor 20 receives the substrate W carried into the film forming chamber 2 of the film forming apparatus 1. Thus, the second susceptor section 26 can be prevented from suddenly coming into contact with and supporting the substrate W at a temperature lower than that of the susceptor, that is, at room temperature.

  As a result, it is possible to suppress the deformation of the substrate W on the susceptor 20 that may occur between the loading of the substrate W into the film forming chamber 2 and the film forming process on the substrate W.

  In addition, with the temperature of each part in the film formation chamber 2 raised to a higher temperature, the substrate W is carried into the film formation chamber 2 and the substrate is placed at a position where the film formation process on the susceptor 20 is performed. Can be made possible. As a result, the heating time until the substrate W carried into the film formation chamber 2 is processed can be shortened, and the epitaxial film having high uniformity and high characteristics can be obtained without reducing the throughput of the film formation processing of the substrate W. Can be formed on the substrate.

  After taking out the substrate W, the first opening / closing part 3 is closed, and the temperature of the substrate W is gradually lowered. When the substrate W is sufficiently cooled, the second opening / closing part 11 is opened, and the substrate W is transferred into the substrate standby chamber 8 by the transfer robot 17.

  Next, the second opening / closing part 11 is closed, and nitrogen gas is supplied from the introduction port 14 to return the inside of the substrate-susceptor mounting part 8 to atmospheric pressure. Next, the third opening / closing part 12 is opened, and the film-formed substrate W is stored in a cassette (not shown) by a transfer robot (not shown).

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  That is, the epitaxial growth apparatus has been described as an example of the film forming apparatus of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any apparatus for vapor-depositing a predetermined crystal film on the silicon wafer surface may be used. For example, even a film forming apparatus for growing a polysilicon film can obtain the same effects as those of the present invention.

  In addition, although descriptions of parts that are not directly required for the present invention, such as apparatus configuration and control method, are omitted, the required apparatus configuration, control method, and the like can be appropriately selected and used. .

  Also, in the drawings shown for explaining the present invention, components other than those necessary for the explanation are omitted, and the scales and the like are appropriately changed so that they can be clearly seen without matching with the original ones. .

  In addition, all the vapor phase growth apparatuses that include the elements of the present invention and can be appropriately modified by those skilled in the art, and the shapes of the respective members are included in the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,901 Film-forming apparatus 2 Film-forming chamber 3 1st opening / closing part 4 Substrate transfer chamber 8 Substrate waiting room 11 2nd opening / closing part 12 3rd opening-and-closing part 13, 16, 19 Exhaust port 14, 15, 18 Inlet 17, 911 Transfer robot 20, 903 Susceptor 22 Fourth opening / closing part 24, 904 Susceptor support 25, 905 First susceptor part 26, 906 Second susceptor part 27, 907 Rotating shaft 28 Rotating mechanism 29, 908 Lifting pin 30, 909 Lifting device 31, 910 Lifting mechanism 35 In-heater 36 Out-heater 902 Wafer 912 Heater W Substrate

Claims (6)

In a film forming chamber, a film forming method for heating a substrate to a film forming temperature and performing a vapor phase growth reaction on the substrate,
The susceptor is heated from below by a heater at an initial position in the film formation chamber,
Carrying the substrate to a loading position in the film formation chamber;
Raising the heated susceptor from the initial position and pulling it away from the heater;
Stop the heated susceptor at a stop position below the loading position where the substrate is loaded,
Heating the substrate carried into the carry-in position with the heated susceptor;
The susceptor receives the heated substrate;
The susceptor that has received the substrate is gradually lowered to return to the initial position,
A film forming method, wherein the substrate is heated to the film forming temperature by the heater at the initial position.   The film forming method according to claim 1, further comprising a ring-shaped susceptor that is connected to the susceptor and supports the susceptor.   The distance between the substrate at the loading position in the film forming chamber and the stop position of the susceptor is smaller than the distance between the initial position of the susceptor and the stop position of the susceptor. 2. The film forming method described in 1.   The raising of the susceptor from the initial position by the elevating mechanism starts after the temperature of the susceptor reaches 200 ° C. to 300 ° C. lower than the film formation temperature due to heating at the initial position. The film-forming method of any one of Claims 1-3.   The temperature at which the substrate at the carry-in position reaches by the heating of the susceptor at the stop position is 400 to 600 ° C lower than the film formation temperature. 2. The film forming method according to item 1. In a film forming chamber, a film forming method for heating a substrate to a film forming temperature and performing a vapor phase growth reaction on the substrate ,
Arranged in connection with the first susceptor portion annular supporting the peripheral portion of the front Stories substrate, the second susceptor portion to the opening portion of the closely fitted possible disk-shaped first susceptor portion, the formed Heated by a heater at an initial position in the film chamber, the second susceptor portion is lifted from the initial position by an elevating mechanism provided in the film formation chamber, and separated from the heater,
The stop position below said loading position in which the substrate is conveyed, prior Symbol stops the second susceptor portion,
The substrate that has been carried into the loading position, and heated by heat generation of the second susceptor portion heated,
After the substrate has been heated by the second susceptor portion, further raising the second susceptor portion as before Symbol receive pre Symbol substrate supports the lower surface of the substrate,
The second susceptor part that has received the substrate is gradually lowered by the elevating mechanism and returned to the initial position, and the peripheral part of the substrate is supported by the first susceptor part,
Film forming method characterized by heating the film formation temperature of the pre-Symbol substrate by said heater.

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