JPS6227530B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to improvements in heat treatment equipment used in the semiconductor industry, such as diffusion furnaces, oxidation furnaces, low pressure CVD equipment, and atmospheric pressure CVD equipment.

Conventionally, in this type of heat treatment apparatus, the operation of loading and unloading objects such as semiconductor wafers into and out of reaction tubes has been carried out as follows. That is,
After loading the wafer into the quartz wafer holder,
The holder is inserted into the reaction tube with the arm of a forklift, and after a soft landing, the arm of the forklift is pulled out of the tube, and the wafer is subjected to a prescribed heat treatment. Thereafter, the arm of the forklift was inserted into the tube again to hold the wafer holder, and the wafer was taken out of the tube by pulling the arm of the forklift out of the tube. When a door is installed at the opening of the reaction tube, such as in a low-pressure CVD apparatus, the door must be opened and closed each time a wafer is taken out or taken out.

However, according to the above-mentioned conventional technology, when the clearance between the wafer and the inner wall of the reaction tube is as small as about 2 mm, it is extremely difficult to take the wafer in and out. Additionally, as the arm of the forklift was moved in and out, foreign matter entered the pipe, reducing yield. Moreover, when opening and closing the door, the operation is troublesome, and even if it is linked with the wafer loading/unloading operation using a forklift, the device becomes complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an improved heat treatment apparatus that eliminates the drawbacks of the prior art described above.

In one embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention, a support arm that directly or indirectly supports a workpiece such as a wafer is attached to a reciprocating movable table guided by a fixed guide, and the movable table is moved as appropriate. The apparatus is characterized in that it is possible to take in and out objects to be processed such as wafers, and if desired, a door member to be applied to the opening of the reaction tube can be integrally attached to the support arm. It is.

The invention will now be described in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a clean bench 10 equipped with a heat treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The clean bench 10 is provided with a quartz reaction tube 11, and a resistance heating type heater (not shown) is provided around the reaction tube 11. A horizontally extending guide rod 12A, 1 is provided near the opening of the reaction tube 11.
2B are installed, and a transport mechanism 20 shown in FIG. 2 is combined with these guide rods. The hole 13 provided near the guide rod 12B is
The drive arm 26 shown in FIG. 2 is inserted therethrough.

In FIG. 2, 21 is the guide rod 1 mentioned above.
Hole 2 through which 2A and 12B are movably inserted
A stainless steel moving stage 2A and 22B, 23 a quartz support arm attached to the moving stage 21 to support the wafer and take it in and out of the reaction tube 11, and 24 a quartz support arm at the opening of the reaction tube 11; A stainless steel door member 25, which is integrally attached to the support arm 23 for application, is a protrusion of the moving platform 21.

Bearing mechanisms (not shown) are provided in the holes 22A and 22B of the movable table 21, so that the movable table 21 can smoothly reciprocate when bonded to the guide rods 12A and 12B.
In this mounted state, one end of the drive arm 26 protruding from the aforementioned hole 13 is attached to the protrusion 25 of the moving table 21.
The other end of the drive arm 26 has a thread 26a cut as shown in FIG. 2, and a thread 28a of a shaft 28 of a drive device 27 such as a stepping motor is engaged with the thread 26a. Therefore, the drive arm 26 reciprocates by the rotational force of the drive device 27, and as the drive arm 26 reciprocates, the movable table 21 also reciprocates along the guide rods 12A, 12B. Here, the support arm 2 attached to the moving table 21
3, the reaction tube 11 is supported with a wafer holder 31 loaded with a wafer 30 as shown in FIG.
The arm 23 itself or the wafer 3 is
0 or the wafer holder 31 is also designed not to come into contact with the inner wall of the reaction tube 11. The door member 24 attached to the support arm 23 automatically closes the opening of the reaction tube 11 when the arm 23 is inserted into a predetermined position inside the tube, and automatically closes the opening of the reaction tube 11 when the arm 23 is pulled out of the tube. It acts to open the opening. During the heat treatment, the door member 24 closes the opening of the reaction tube 11, and the support arm 23, wafer holder 31, and wafer 30 react without contacting the tube wall, as shown in FIG. It is held within tube 11.

According to the apparatus of the present invention described above, (1) since the support arm 23 is always taken in and taken out together with the wafer, the number of times the support arm 23 is taken in and out is reduced to half of the conventional one, and there is a significant chance that foreign matter will enter the tube and reduce the yield. (2) Since there is nothing that comes into contact with the tube wall of the reaction tube 11, there is no generation of foreign matter caused by rubbing the tube wall; (3) The opening and closing of the door is linked to the loading and unloading of wafers. As a result, excellent effects such as simplified operation can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a clean bench equipped with a heat treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a transport mechanism used in combination with the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a wafer is inserted into a reaction tube. 10...Clean bench, 11...Reaction tube, 1
2A, 12B... Guide rod, 20... Transport mechanism, 21... Moving table, 23... Support arm, 24
...Door member, 30...Wafer, 31...Wafer holder.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a heat treatment apparatus for inserting a processed product into a reaction tube and applying a predetermined heat treatment thereto, and then removing the processed product from the reaction tube, a support that supports the processed product and is moved in and out of the reaction tube. arm and
It has a reciprocating movable base to which the support arm is attached, and a guide means for guiding the movement of the movable base, and the movable base is moved as guided by the guide means and the support arm is movable in a reciprocating manner. The arm and the article to be treated are inserted into the reaction tube without contacting the inner wall of the reaction tube, and a predetermined heat treatment is performed with the support arm and the article to be treated inserted into the reaction tube. Heat treatment equipment.