JP7739066B2 - Plasma processing apparatus and substrate integration method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a substrate integration device, a plasma processing device, and a substrate integration method.

2. Description of the Related Art In the manufacture of semiconductor devices, flat panel displays, and the like, the surface of a substrate is treated by plasma processing using a corrosive gas containing, for example, fluorine, chlorine, sulfur, or the like.
In a typical plasma processing apparatus, a carrier that stores multiple substrates in a stacked (multi-tiered) configuration is detachably attached. The substrates stored in the carrier are then removed one by one, plasma processed, and the plasma-processed substrates are returned to the carrier. Generally, the plasma-processed substrates are stored in the same position on the carrier as the substrates before plasma processing.

When plasma processing is performed using a corrosive gas such as fluorine, compounds such as fluorine may remain on the surface of the substrate that has been plasma-treated. If compounds such as fluorine remain on the surface of the substrate, this may interfere with processing in the next process. For this reason, the surface of the substrate that has been plasma-treated is generally cleaned before the next process is performed. Conventionally, it was thought that cleaning the surface of the substrate would remove compounds remaining on the surface of the substrate, thereby improving the yield in the next process.

However, it was discovered that cleaning the substrate surface did not improve yield in the next process. As a result of extensive research, the inventors discovered that when a substrate before plasma treatment and a substrate that has been plasma treated are stored in a carrier, compounds remaining on the surface of the plasma-treated substrate vaporize and adhere to the surface of the substrate before plasma treatment. They then discovered that performing plasma treatment on a substrate with compounds adhering to it adversely affects the plasma treatment, making it difficult to improve yield in the next process.

In this case, if separate carriers are provided for storing substrates before plasma treatment and substrates that have been subjected to plasma treatment, it is possible to prevent compounds from adhering to the surface of the substrates before plasma treatment.

However, providing separate carriers would require a larger installation space for the carriers, resulting in an increase in the size of the plasma processing apparatus. Furthermore, the carriers are affixed with identification marks such as barcode stickers or ID tags, and the process management of the substrates stored in the carriers is carried out using these identification marks. Therefore, transferring the substrate 100 to a different carrier would complicate process management.

In this way, providing separate carriers or transferring substrates to different carriers before plasma processing creates new problems, such as increasing the size of the plasma processing equipment and lengthening processing times.

A technique has been proposed in which substrates before plasma processing and substrates that have been subjected to plasma processing are stored in a carrier, and a purge gas is introduced into the inside of the carrier from the bottom side of the carrier (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
However, because the substrates before plasma processing are sequentially removed from the carrier from the bottom to the top, if a purge gas is introduced into the carrier from the bottom side, there is a risk that the purge gas will not reach the substrates before plasma processing located above the carrier, or that vaporized compounds will be introduced to the substrates before plasma processing.

Therefore, there was a need to develop technology that could prevent compounds remaining on the plasma-treated substrate from adhering to the surface of the substrate before plasma treatment, even when both the substrate before plasma treatment and the substrate after plasma treatment are stored in a carrier.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-220561

The problem that the present invention aims to solve is to provide a substrate accumulation device, a plasma processing device, and a substrate accumulation method that can prevent compounds remaining on plasma-treated substrates from adhering to the surfaces of substrates before plasma processing, even when both pre-plasma-processed substrates and plasma-treated substrates are stored in a carrier.

The plasma processing apparatus according to the embodiment is a plasma processing apparatus including a substrate accumulation device having a mounting section on which a carrier is mounted that can store a plurality of substrates in a stacked state and transport the stored plurality of substrates in a sealed state, a processing section, and a transport section , wherein the processing section processes the substrates taken out from the carrier by plasma processing using a corrosive gas, and the transport section sequentially takes out the plurality of substrates stored in the carrier placed on the mounting section from bottom to top before the plasma processing, and returns the substrates processed in the processing section to the position in the carrier where they were stored before the plasma processing. The substrate accumulation device is provided with an arm for storing the substrate, and the substrate accumulation device is provided with a gas supply unit having a nozzle for injecting gas and supplying the gas from the outside of the carrier through an opening in the carrier to an upper region inside the carrier, the nozzle outlet being located above the opening of the carrier, and the gas supply unit further includes an exhaust unit that is connected to a load gate port provided on the bottom surface of the carrier when the carrier is placed on the mounting unit and evacuates the inside of the carrier, and the injection of the gas from the nozzle and the exhaust by the exhaust unit form a downward flow of gas inside the carrier .

Embodiments of the present invention provide a substrate accumulation device, a plasma processing device, and a substrate accumulation method that can prevent compounds remaining on the plasma-treated substrate from adhering to the surface of the substrate before plasma processing, even when both substrates before plasma processing and substrates after plasma processing are stored in a carrier.

1 is a layout diagram illustrating a plasma processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a transfer section. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a processing section. FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a processing unit according to another embodiment. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a substrate integration device. 5A and 5B are schematic cross-sectional views illustrating the arrangement of nozzles. 10 is a graph illustrating the effect of a gas supply unit. 10 is a graph illustrating the effect of a gas supply unit. 10A and 10B are schematic cross-sectional views illustrating a gas supply unit according to another embodiment. 10A and 10B are schematic cross-sectional views illustrating a gas supply unit according to another embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, like components are designated by like reference numerals and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted where appropriate.
FIG. 1 is a layout diagram illustrating a plasma processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the plasma processing apparatus 1 includes, for example, a controller 2, a substrate stacking device 3, a carrier 4, a load lock unit 5, a transfer unit 6, and a processing unit 7.

The controller 2 includes, for example, a calculation unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a storage unit such as a memory. The controller 2 is, for example, a computer. The controller 2 controls the operation of each element provided in the plasma processing apparatus 1 based on, for example, a control program stored in the storage unit.
For example, the controller 2 controls the gas supply unit 34, which will be described later. For example, after a door that covers the opening of the carrier 4 is opened by an opening/closing device 32b (see FIG. 5), which will be described later, the controller 2 controls the gas supply unit 34 to supply gas into the inside of the carrier 4. Furthermore, the controller 2 continues to supply gas into the inside of the carrier 4 until the plurality of substrates 100b stored in the carrier 4 have been processed and the carrier 4 is ready for the next process.
Details regarding the control of the gas supply unit 34 will be described later.

At least one carrier 4 can be detachably attached to the substrate accumulation device 3. Three carriers 4 are attached to the substrate accumulation device 3 illustrated in FIG.
The carrier 4 can store multiple substrates 100 in a stacked (multi-tiered) configuration and transport the stored multiple substrates 100 in a sealed state. The carrier 4 is box-shaped and has multiple slots inside that support the substrates 100. An opening is provided on one side of the carrier 4. Therefore, the substrates 100 can be transferred to and removed from the multiple slots through the opening. The carrier 4 also has a door that covers the opening.
The carrier 4 may be a so-called pod. The pod may be, for example, a front-opening unified pod (FOUP) or a standard mechanical interface (SMIF). However, the carrier 4 is not limited to the example shown.

There is no particular limitation on the substrate 100. For example, the substrate 100 may be a plate-like body that can be housed in the carrier 4. For example, the substrate 100 may be a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate, or the like.
The substrate integration device 3 will be described in detail later.

The load lock unit 5 is provided between the substrate accumulation device 3 and the transfer unit 6. The load lock unit 5 transfers substrates 100 between the substrate accumulation device 3 and the transfer unit 6, which have different atmospheric pressures. To this end, the load lock unit 5 has a chamber 51, an exhaust unit 52, and a gas supply unit 53.

The chamber 51 has an airtight structure that can maintain an atmosphere at a reduced pressure below atmospheric pressure. An opening is provided in the side wall of the chamber 51 for loading and unloading the substrate 100. A gate valve 51a is also provided to open and close the opening. The chamber 51 is connected to the chamber 61 of the transfer unit 6 via the gate valve 51a. The chamber 51 is also connected to the housing 33 of the substrate integration device 3 via the gate valve 51a.

The exhaust unit 52 exhausts the inside of the chamber 51 so that the pressure inside the chamber 51 becomes approximately equal to the pressure inside the chamber 61 of the transfer unit 6. The exhaust unit 52 includes, for example, a turbo molecular pump (TMP) and a pressure control unit (APC: Auto Pressure Controller).
The pressure inside the chamber 51 may be set higher than the pressure inside the chamber 61. In this case, a dry pump or a mechanical booster pump may be used instead of the TMP.

The gas supply unit 53 supplies gas into the chamber 51 so that the pressure inside the chamber 51 is approximately equal to the pressure inside the housing 33 of the substrate integration device 3. The gas supplied may be, for example, clean dry air (CDA) or nitrogen gas.

The transfer unit 6 is provided between the processing unit 7 and the load lock unit 5. The transfer unit 6 transfers the substrate 100 between the processing unit 7 and the load lock unit 5.
FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the transfer unit 6. As shown in FIG.
2 is a cross-sectional view of the transfer section 6 taken along line AA in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the transfer unit 6 has a chamber 61 , a transfer unit 62 , and an exhaust unit 63 .

Chamber 61 has an airtight structure that can maintain an atmosphere at a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure. Chamber 61 is connected to chamber 74 (171) of processing section 7 (17) via gate valve 74b (171c).

The transfer unit 62 is provided inside the chamber 61. The transfer unit 62 transfers the substrate 100 between the processing unit 7 and the load lock unit 5. For example, the transfer unit 62 transfers the substrate 100 into and out of the processing unit 7. The transfer unit 62 can be, for example, a transfer robot (e.g., an articulated robot) having an arm that holds the substrate 100.

The exhaust unit 63 reduces the pressure inside the chamber 61 to a predetermined pressure. The exhaust unit 63 is connected to the bottom surface of the chamber 61 via, for example, a pressure control unit 63 a. The exhaust unit 63 can be, for example, a turbomolecular pump (TMP).
The pressure control unit 63a controls the pressure inside the chamber 61 to a predetermined pressure based on the output of a pressure gauge (not shown) that detects the pressure inside the chamber 61. The pressure control unit 63a may be, for example, an auto pressure controller (APC).

The processing unit 7 performs plasma processing on the substrate 100 in an atmosphere reduced in pressure below atmospheric pressure. The processing unit 7 performs plasma processing using, for example, a corrosive gas. The corrosive gas is, for example, a gas containing fluorine, chlorine, sulfur, etc. The fluorine-containing gas is, for example, _CF4 , _CF3 , _CHF3 , etc. The chlorine-containing gas is, for example, _Cl2 , etc. The sulfur-containing gas is, for example, _SF6 , etc.

The processing unit 7 may be, for example, a device that performs plasma etching, plasma ashing, etc. However, there is no particular limitation on the type of plasma processing.
Furthermore, there is no particular limitation on the method for generating plasma, and for example, plasma can be generated using high frequency waves or microwaves.
That is, the processing section 7 may be any section that processes the substrate 100 by plasma processing using a corrosive gas.

There is also no particular limit to the number of processing units 7. At least one processing unit 7 is required. If multiple processing units 7 are provided, they may all perform the same type of plasma processing, or they may all perform different types of plasma processing. Furthermore, if multiple units performing the same type of plasma processing are provided, the processing conditions may be different for each unit, or the processing conditions may all be the same for each unit.

The plasma processing apparatus 1 shown in Figure 1 is provided with, as an example, four processing units 7 that perform the same type of plasma processing.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example of the processing unit 7. As shown in FIG.
The processing unit 7 is a microwave-excited device generally called a "Chemical Dry Etching (CDE) device" or a "remote plasma device." The processing unit 7 generates plasma products from the process gas G using the plasma P, and processes the substrate 100 mainly using radicals contained in the plasma products.

As shown in FIG. 3, the processing unit 7 includes, for example, a plasma generating unit 71, an exhaust unit 72, a microwave generating unit 73, a chamber 74, a mounting unit 75, and a gas supply unit 76.

The plasma generating section 71 includes, for example, a discharge tube 71a, an introduction waveguide 71b, and a transport tube 71c.
The discharge tube 71a has an area inside which plasma P is generated, and is provided at a position separated from the chamber 74. The discharge tube 71a has a tubular shape and can be made of a material that has high transmittance to microwaves M and is resistant to etching. For example, the discharge tube 71a is made of a dielectric material such as alumina or quartz.

Introduction waveguide 71b is connected to the outside of discharge tube 71a so as to be approximately perpendicular to discharge tube 71a. A matching termination box 71b1 is provided at the end of introduction waveguide 71b. A stub tuner 71b2 is provided at the entrance side of introduction waveguide 71b (the side where microwaves M are introduced).

An annular slot 71b3 is provided at the connection between the lead-in waveguide 71b and the discharge tube 71a. Microwaves M propagating through the lead-in waveguide 71b are radiated into the discharge tube 71a via the slot 71b3.

One end of the transport pipe 71c is connected to the end of the discharge tube 71a opposite the gas supply unit 76 side. The other end of the transport pipe 71c is connected to the chamber 74. The transport pipe 71c is made of a material that is resistant to the radicals contained in the plasma products. The transport pipe 71c is made of, for example, quartz, stainless steel, ceramics, fluororesin, etc.

The exhaust unit 72 reduces the pressure inside the chamber 74 to a predetermined level. The exhaust unit 72 can be connected to the bottom of the chamber 74, for example, via a pressure control unit 63a. The exhaust unit 72 can be similar to the exhaust unit 63 described above, for example.

The microwave generator 73 is provided at the end of the lead-in waveguide 71b opposite the discharge tube 71a. The microwave generator 73 generates microwaves M of a predetermined frequency (e.g., 2.45 GHz) and radiates them toward the lead-in waveguide 71b.

The chamber 74 has an airtight structure that can maintain an atmosphere at a reduced pressure below atmospheric pressure. An opening 74a is provided in the side wall of the chamber 74 for loading and unloading the substrate 100. A gate valve 74b is also provided to open and close the opening 74a. The chamber 74 is connected to the chamber 61 of the transfer unit 6 via the gate valve 74b.

A rectifying plate 74c can also be provided inside the chamber 74. The rectifying plate 74c can be provided on the inner wall of the chamber 74 so as to be approximately parallel to the mounting surface of the mounting portion 75. Radical-containing gas is introduced into the space between the rectifying plate 74c and the ceiling of the chamber 74 via the transport pipe 71c. The provision of the rectifying plate 74c makes it easier to make the amount of radicals on the processing surface of the substrate 100 approximately uniform.

The mounting section 75 is provided inside the chamber 74. The substrate 100 is placed on the upper surface of the mounting section 75. In this case, the substrate 100 may be placed directly on the upper surface of the mounting section 75, or may be placed on the mounting section 75 via a support member (not shown). The mounting section 75 may also be provided with a holding device such as an electrostatic chuck.

The gas supply unit 76 is connected to the end of the discharge tube 71a opposite to the chamber 74 side. The gas supply unit 76 supplies the process gas G into the discharge tube 71a. A pressure control unit 76a can be provided between the gas supply unit 76 and the discharge tube 71a. The pressure control unit 76a controls the pressure of the process gas G supplied into the discharge tube 71a.
The process gas G is the corrosive gas described above.

When plasma processing is performed on the substrate 100, the interior of the chamber 74 is depressurized to a predetermined pressure by the exhaust unit 72. At this time, the interior of the discharge tube 71a, which is connected to the chamber 74, is also depressurized. Next, process gas G at a predetermined pressure is supplied from the gas supply unit 76 to the interior of the discharge tube 71a via the pressure control unit 76a. In addition, microwaves M of a predetermined power are radiated from the microwave generation unit 73 into the interior of the lead-in waveguide 71b. The radiated microwaves M propagate through the interior of the lead-in waveguide 71b and are radiated into the interior of the discharge tube 71a via the slot 71b3.

The energy of the microwaves M radiated inside the discharge tube 71a generates plasma P. The generated plasma P excites and activates the process gas G, producing plasma products including radicals and ions.

Gas containing plasma products is supplied into chamber 74 via transport pipe 71c. At this time, short-lived ions and the like cannot reach the interior of chamber 74, while long-lived radicals do. The radical-containing gas supplied into chamber 74 is rectified by rectifying plate 74c and reaches the processing surface of substrate 100, where plasma processing such as etching is performed. In this case, chemical processing using radicals is primarily performed. Furthermore, because ions used for physical processing are not supplied into chamber 74, the processing surface of substrate 100 is not damaged by the ions. Therefore, processing unit 7 is well-suited for removing damage caused by, for example, etching processing using ions.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a processing unit 17 according to another embodiment.
4 is an inductively coupled plasma processing apparatus, which is an example of an apparatus that uses plasma P generated by high frequency energy to generate plasma products from process gas G and process substrate 100.

As shown in FIG. 4, the processing unit 17 includes, for example, a chamber 171, a mounting unit 172, an antenna 173, high-frequency power sources 174a and 174b, a gas supply unit 175, and an exhaust unit 176.

The chamber 171 has, for example, a generally cylindrical shape with a bottom, and an airtight structure capable of maintaining an atmosphere at a reduced pressure below atmospheric pressure. A transmission window 171a is provided at the top of the chamber 171 so as to be airtight. The transmission window 171a has a plate shape and can be made from a material that has high transmittance to high-frequency energy and is resistant to etching during plasma processing. The transmission window 171a is made from a dielectric material such as quartz, for example.

The sidewall of the chamber 171 has an opening 171b for loading and unloading the substrate 100. A gate valve 171c is also provided to open and close the opening 171b. The chamber 171 is connected to the chamber 61 of the transfer unit 6 via the gate valve 171c.

The mounting section 172 is provided inside the chamber 171. The substrate 100 is placed on the upper surface of the mounting section 172. In this case, the substrate 100 may be placed directly on the upper surface of the mounting section 172, or may be placed on the mounting section 172 via a support member (not shown). The mounting section 172 may also be provided with a holding device such as an electrostatic chuck.

The antenna 173 supplies high-frequency energy (electromagnetic energy) to a region inside the chamber 171 where plasma P is generated. The high-frequency energy supplied inside the chamber 171 generates plasma P. For example, the antenna 173 supplies high-frequency energy to the inside of the chamber 171 through the transmission window 171a.

The high-frequency power supply 174a is electrically connected to the antenna 173 via a matching device 174a1. The matching device 174a1 is equipped with a matching circuit for matching the impedance on the high-frequency power supply 174a side with the impedance on the plasma P side. The high-frequency power supply 174a is a power supply for generating the plasma P. In other words, the high-frequency power supply 174a is provided to generate a high-frequency discharge inside the chamber 171 to generate the plasma P. The high-frequency power supply 174a applies high-frequency power having a frequency of approximately 100 KHz to 100 MHz to the antenna 173.

The high-frequency power supply 174b is electrically connected to the mounting part 172 via a matching device 174b1. The matching device 174b1 is equipped with a matching circuit for matching the impedance on the high-frequency power supply 174b side with the impedance on the plasma P side. The high-frequency power supply 174b controls the energy of ions attracted to the substrate 100 placed on the mounting part 172. The high-frequency power supply 174b applies high-frequency power having a frequency suitable for attracting ions (e.g., 13.56 MHz or less) to the mounting part 172.

The gas supply unit 175 supplies process gas G to a region inside the chamber 171 where plasma P is generated via a flow rate control unit 175a. The flow rate control unit 175a may be, for example, a mass flow controller (MFC). The gas supply unit 175 may be connected, for example, to the side wall of the chamber 171, near the transmission window 171a.

The exhaust unit 176 reduces the pressure inside the chamber 171 to a predetermined level. The exhaust unit 176 can be connected to the bottom of the chamber 171, for example, via the pressure control unit 63a. The exhaust unit 176 can be similar to the exhaust unit 63 described above, for example.

When performing plasma processing on a substrate 100, the interior of the chamber 171 is depressurized to a predetermined pressure by the exhaust unit 176, and a predetermined amount of process gas G is supplied from the gas supply unit 175 to a region inside the chamber 171 where plasma P is generated. Meanwhile, high-frequency power of a predetermined power is applied from the high-frequency power supply 174a to the antenna 173, and electromagnetic energy is radiated into the interior of the chamber 171 through the transmission window 171a. In addition, high-frequency power of a predetermined power is applied from the high-frequency power supply 174b to the mounting unit 172 on which the substrate 100 is mounted, creating an electric field that accelerates ions from the plasma P toward the substrate 100.

Electromagnetic energy radiated into the chamber 171 generates plasma P, which excites and activates the process gas G, generating plasma products such as neutral activated species and ions. These plasma products are then supplied to the substrate 100, subjecting the substrate 100 to plasma processing.

Note that while the above describes a CDE (remote plasma) device and an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) device as examples of processing units, the processing unit is not limited to these plasma devices. For example, the processing unit may be a capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) device (e.g., a parallel plate reactive ion etching (RIE) device), or another microwave-excited plasma device (e.g., a surface wave plasma (SWP) device). Note that known technology can be applied to the basic configuration of the plasma device, so a detailed description will be omitted.

Next, the substrate integration device 3 will be further described.
FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the substrate integration device 3. As shown in FIG.
5 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate integration device 3 taken along line BB in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the substrate accumulation device 3 includes, for example, a transport unit 31, a placement unit 32, a housing 33, and a gas supply unit .

The transport unit 31 is provided inside the housing 33. The transport unit 31 transports and transfers substrates 100 between the carrier 4 attached to the mounting unit 32 of the substrate accumulation device 3 and the load lock unit 5. The transport unit 31 is provided with an arm 31a having a joint, and a holding means for holding the substrate 100 is provided at the tip of the arm 31a. The transport unit 31 can transfer or remove the substrate 100 to or from the carrier 4 or the load lock unit 5 by extending or bending the arm 31a.

Furthermore, arm 31a is provided on base 31c. Base 31c is provided on moving unit 31b. Moving unit 31b moves base 31c, for example, in the direction in which multiple carriers 4 are lined up. Therefore, moving unit 31b can transport substrate 100 held by arm 31a to a predetermined position.

Furthermore, for example, the base 31c may be provided with a means for adjusting the rotational direction or vertical position of the arm 31a.Furthermore, for example, the base 31c may be provided with a means for changing the direction of the arm 31a.

The mounting section 32 includes, for example, a stage 32a and an opening/closing device 32b.
The stage 32a is provided outside the housing 33. The stage 32a can be provided, for example, on the side of the housing 33. The stage 32a can be provided at a position facing the load lock unit 5.

The carrier 4 is removably placed on the upper surface of the stage 32a. The stage 32a can be equipped with positioning pins to position the placed carrier 4, a chuck to hold the placed carrier 4, and other components.

The opening/closing device 32b opens and closes the door that closes the opening of the carrier 4. The opening/closing device 32b is provided inside the housing 33. The opening/closing device 32b can be provided in a position opposite the stage 32a.

The housing 33 is box-shaped and has an airtight structure that prevents particles from entering from the outside. A hole is provided on the side of the housing 33 facing the stage 32a, which communicates with the internal space of the carrier 4. A hole is provided on the side of the housing 33 facing the load lock unit 5, which communicates with the internal space of the chamber 51.

A filter 33a and a blower fan 33b may be provided on the ceiling of the housing 33. The filter 33a may be, for example, a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter.
The blower fan 33b may be, for example, a propeller fan.
An exhaust port can be provided on the bottom surface of the housing 33 .

Air introduced into the housing 33 by the blower fan 33b is filtered out by the filter 33a and flows downward inside the housing 33. The air that has flowed inside the housing 33 is discharged to the outside through an exhaust port provided on the bottom surface of the housing 33. This allows the inside of the housing 33 to be filled with clean air. Furthermore, by introducing air into the housing 33, the pressure inside the housing 33 can be increased. If the pressure inside the housing 33 is higher than the pressure outside the housing 33, it is possible to prevent particles and the like from entering the inside of the housing 33.

Here, if separate carriers 4 were provided to store substrates 100b before plasma processing and carriers 4 to store substrates 100a that have been subjected to plasma processing, the stage 32a would become larger, and ultimately the substrate integration device 3 would become larger. Furthermore, process management of the substrates 100 is performed using identification marks affixed to the carriers 4. Therefore, providing separate carriers 4 would complicate process management.

Therefore, in general, the substrate 100a that has been removed from the carrier 4 and subjected to the plasma treatment is stored in the same position on the carrier 4 as the substrate 100 before the plasma treatment. In other words, the substrate 100a that has been subjected to the plasma treatment and the substrate 100b before the plasma treatment are stored inside one carrier 4.

When plasma processing is performed using a corrosive gas, components contained in the corrosive gas may remain as compounds on the surface of the plasma-treated substrate 100a. Therefore, when a plasma-treated substrate 100a and a substrate 100 before plasma processing are stored inside a single carrier 4, compounds remaining on the surface of the plasma-treated substrate 100a may vaporize and adhere to the surface of the substrate 100b before plasma processing. After extensive research, the inventors have discovered that compounds adhering to the surface of the substrate 100b before plasma processing adversely affect the plasma processing, ultimately reducing the yield in the next process.

For this reason, the substrate integration apparatus 3 according to this embodiment is provided with a gas supply unit 34. The gas supply unit 34 supplies gas from the outside of the carrier 4 to the inside of the carrier 4 through an opening in the carrier 4. The gas is supplied to the upper region inside the carrier 4. As a result, a downward gas flow is formed inside the carrier 4.

As mentioned above, the substrates 100b before plasma treatment are sequentially removed from the bottom to the top of the carrier 4. The substrates 100a that have been subjected to plasma treatment are stored in the same position on the carrier 4 as the substrates 100 before plasma treatment. Therefore, the substrates 100a that have been subjected to plasma treatment are stored in the lower area of the carrier 4, and the substrates 100b before plasma treatment are stored in the upper area of the carrier 4.

In this case, if a downward gas flow is formed inside the carrier 4, it is possible to prevent the aforementioned residue components from migrating from the plasma-treated substrate 100a to the untreated substrate 100b.

As shown in FIG. 1, the gas supply unit 34 has a nozzle 34a, a gas control unit 34b, and a gas source 34c.

The nozzle 34a sprays gas into the upper region inside the carrier 4. A nozzle 34a can be provided for each of multiple carriers 4, or one nozzle 34a can be provided for each of multiple carriers 4. The nozzle 34a illustrated in Figure 1 is provided for three carriers 4. As an example, a tubular nozzle 34a extending in the direction in which the multiple carriers 4 are lined up is shown, but the shape of the nozzle 34a can be changed as appropriate. The nozzle 34a may be, for example, a so-called spray nozzle.

The gas control unit 34b is provided between the nozzle 34a and the gas source 34c. The gas control unit 34b controls at least one of the pressure and flow rate of the gas supplied to the nozzle 34a. The gas control unit 34b can also switch between starting and stopping the gas supply.

The gas source 34c supplies gas to the nozzle 34a via the gas control unit 34b. The gas source 34c may be, for example, a high-pressure cylinder containing gas, factory piping, or the like.
There are no particular limitations on the gas as long as it has low reactivity with the substrate 100 and contains little moisture. The gas may be, for example, clean dry air or nitrogen gas.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the arrangement of the nozzles 34a.
6, the nozzle 34a can be provided, for example, above the upper end of the opening 4a of the carrier 4. In this case, the nozzle outlet 34a1 is located above the opening 4a of the carrier 4. In this way, interference between the nozzle 34a and the arm 31a of the transport unit 31 can be prevented.

The nozzle 34a's injection port 34a1 is tilted downward relative to the direction perpendicular to the stacking direction of the substrates 100. This allows gas to be supplied to the inside of the carrier 4 from a direction tilted downward relative to the direction perpendicular to the stacking direction of the substrates 100. This makes it easier to form a downward gas flow inside the carrier 4. This effectively prevents residual components from migrating from the plasma-treated substrate 100a to the untreated substrate 100b.

For example, the angle θ between the center line of the injection port 34a1 and the direction perpendicular to the stacking direction of the substrates 100 can be approximately 5° to 40°. For example, in the stacking direction of the substrates 100, the distance H between the top surface of the uppermost untreated substrate 100b and the center of the nozzle 34a can be approximately 75 mm. For example, in the direction perpendicular to the stacking direction of the substrates 100, the distance L between the end of the untreated substrate 100b on the opening 4a side and the center of the nozzle 34a can be approximately 150 mm.

FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating the effect of the gas supply unit 34. In FIG.
As can be seen from FIG. 7, if the gas supply unit 34 is provided, it is possible to significantly reduce the adhesion of residual components to the substrate 100b before plasma processing.

FIG. 8 is also a graph illustrating the effect of the gas supply unit 34 .
8, the provision of the gas supply unit 34 can significantly reduce the adhesion of residual components to the substrate 100b as particles before plasma processing. Furthermore, even if the substrate 100b before plasma processing is kept inside the carrier 4 for a long period of time, the adhesion of residual components to the substrate 100b before plasma processing can be suppressed.

For example, the controller 2 can continue to supply gas into the interior of the carrier 4 until the multiple substrates 100b stored in the carrier 4 have been processed and are ready for the next process.

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a gas supply unit 134 according to another embodiment.
The gas supply unit 134 is configured by adding an exhaust unit 34d to the gas supply unit 34 described above.
A load gate port is provided on the bottom surface of the carrier 4. Therefore, for example, an exhaust unit 34d can be provided on the stage 32a so that when the carrier 4 is placed on the stage 32a, the exhaust unit 34d is connected to the load gate port of the carrier 4. The exhaust unit 34d can be, for example, a blower.

If the exhaust section 34d is provided, the gas supplied from the nozzle 34a to the inside of the carrier 4 can be exhausted from the bottom side of the carrier 4. This makes it easier to form a downward gas flow inside the carrier 4. As a result, it is possible to further prevent residual components from migrating from the plasma-treated substrate 100a to the untreated substrate 100b.

10 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a gas supply unit 234 according to another embodiment. The gas supply unit 234 is configured by adding a moving unit 34e to the gas supply unit 34 described above.
The moving unit 34 e moves the nozzle 34 a in the stacking direction of the substrates 100 .

As mentioned above, the plasma-treated substrate 100a is stored in the carrier 4 in the same position as the substrate before plasma processing. In addition, empty spaces 4b are created inside the carrier 4 equal to the number of substrates 100 undergoing plasma processing. If gas can be supplied to the empty spaces 4b, the supplied gas can separate the area storing the plasma-treated substrate 100a from the area storing the untreated substrate 100b. This makes it possible to more effectively prevent residual components from migrating from the plasma-treated substrate 100a to the untreated substrate 100b.

In this case, the empty space 4b moves as the plasma processing progresses.
If the moving unit 34e is provided, gas can be supplied to the empty space 4b even if the empty space 4b moves. The position of the empty space 4b can be determined, for example, from the position where the transport unit 31 removes the substrate 100b before plasma processing. Alternatively, a sensor for detecting the substrate 100 may be provided in the nozzle 34a or the like, and the position of the empty space 4b may be detected by the sensor.

As described above, in the method for stacking substrates according to the present embodiment, after the door covering the opening of the carrier 4 is opened, gas is supplied into the inside of the carrier 4 from above the opening. The carrier 4 stores a plurality of substrates 100 in a stacked state, and can transport the stored plurality of substrates 100 in a sealed state.
Furthermore, in the substrate stacking method, the gas is continuously supplied into the carrier 4 until the substrates 100b stored in the carrier 4 are processed and ready for the next process.

The substrate integration method can be the same as that described above, so a detailed explanation will be omitted.

Although the present embodiment has been described above as an example, the present invention is not limited to these descriptions.
Any design modifications made by a person skilled in the art to the above-described embodiments are also encompassed within the scope of the present invention as long as they include the features of the present invention.
For example, the shape, size, material, arrangement, number, etc. of each element included in the substrate integration device 3 and the plasma processing device 1 are not limited to those exemplified, and can be changed as appropriate.
Furthermore, the elements of each of the above-described embodiments can be combined to the greatest extent possible, and such combinations are also included within the scope of the present invention as long as they include the features of the present invention.

1 Plasma processing apparatus, 3 Substrate stacking apparatus, 4 Carrier, 7 Processing section, 31 Transport section, 32 Placement section, 32b Opening/closing device, 33 Housing, 34 Gas supply section, 34a Nozzle, 34a1 Injection port, 34b Gas control section, 34c Gas source, 34d Exhaust section, 34e Transfer section, 100 Substrate, 100a Plasma-treated substrate, 100b Substrate before plasma processing, 134 Gas supply section, 234 Gas supply section

Claims (5)

A plasma processing apparatus including a substrate stacking device having a mounting section on which a carrier is mounted that stores a plurality of substrates in a stacked state and that can transport the stored plurality of substrates in a sealed state, a processing section, and a transport section ,
the processing unit processes the substrate removed from the carrier by plasma processing using a corrosive gas;
the transport unit includes an arm that sequentially takes out the plurality of substrates before the plasma processing stored in the carrier placed on the placement unit from bottom to top, and stores the substrates that have been processed in the processing unit in the carrier at positions where they were stored before the plasma processing,
The substrate integration device includes:
a gas supply unit having a nozzle for injecting a gas and supplying the gas from the outside of the carrier to an upper region inside the carrier through an opening in the carrier;
the nozzle outlet is located above the opening of the carrier ;
the gas supply unit further includes an exhaust unit that is connected to a load gate port provided on a bottom surface of the carrier when the carrier is placed on the placement unit and that exhausts the inside of the carrier;
a downward flow of the gas is formed inside the carrier by ejecting the gas from the nozzle and exhausting the gas by the exhaust unit;
Plasma processing equipment . an injection port of the nozzle is provided to inject the gas in a direction inclined downward with respect to a direction perpendicular to a stacking direction in which the plurality of substrates are stacked on the carrier placed on the mounting section;
2. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an angle between a center line of the nozzle outlet and a direction perpendicular to the stacking direction is 5° to 40°. Further comprising a controller for controlling the gas supply unit,
the placement unit has an opening/closing device that opens and closes a door that closes an opening of the carrier,
3. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller controls the gas supply unit to supply the gas into the inside of the carrier after the opening/ closing device opens a door that closes the opening of the carrier. 4. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the controller continues to supply the gas into the carrier until the substrates housed in the carrier have been processed and the carrier is ready for the next process. In the plasma processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, a carrier is configured to store a plurality of substrates in a stacked state, and after a door that closes an opening of the carrier is opened, gas is supplied into the carrier from above the opening;
The substrate stacking method comprises the steps of: processing the plurality of substrates housed in the carrier; and continuing to supply the gas into the carrier until the substrates are ready for the next processing step.