JPS6313334B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a jig operation unit used in a heat treatment furnace that performs processes such as impurity diffusion, vapor phase chemical growth, and thermal oxidation on semiconductor substrates and the like.

Heat treatment furnaces such as diffusion furnaces used to manufacture semiconductor devices such as ICs (integrated circuit devices) and transistors have processing jigs that hold semiconductor wafers (substrates) to be processed inside the processing furnace made of oblong quartz tubes. Furnaces with a cap for closing the opening at one end of the furnace were widely adopted.

During heat treatment such as diffusion, semiconductor wafers are inserted into and pulled out of the furnace by removing the lid at one end and inserting a jig operating rod into the furnace from the outside to support the semiconductor wafer. This is done by taking the jig in and out.

Furthermore, the treatment temperature during heat treatment is also measured by removing the cap and inserting a thermocouple into the furnace.

As described above, the lid of the heat treatment furnace must be removed every time the above-mentioned work is required, and operations inside the furnace such as inserting and withdrawing semiconductor wafers and measuring the processing temperature are extremely complicated.

Also, during heat treatment, the inside of the furnace can reach temperatures of over 1,000℃, and the lid at one end of the furnace can reach temperatures of approximately 60℃.
℃, and operations such as loading and unloading semiconductor wafers and measuring processing temperatures were performed with the lid removed, which was quite dangerous.

Furthermore, since the lid is generally made of transparent quartz, the heat inside the furnace passes through the transparent quartz lid and is radiated to the outside of the furnace due to radiation, resulting in a large heat loss. .

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, and its purpose is to simplify operations inside the furnace, such as inserting and withdrawing objects to be processed such as semiconductor wafers into and out of the heat treatment furnace, and measuring the temperature inside the furnace. Other purposes include reducing the risks of heat treatment operations, reducing furnace heat loss, and enabling heat treatment to be performed under appropriate treatment conditions.

An embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment FIG. 1 shows a heat treatment furnace to which a jig operating section according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes the furnace body, which is composed of a horizontally long quartz tube. 2 is a quartz hollow tube body 3 with a cap for closing an opening provided at one end of the furnace body 1, and quartz wool or alumina wool, SiC, It is composed of a heat insulating material 4 made of Si or the like. Reference numeral 5 designates a jig operating rod serving as a jig operating section for inserting and removing the processing jig 6 placed in the furnace, and 7 a thermocouple for measuring the temperature inside the furnace.
The jig operating rod 5 includes a main shaft 8 made of SiC or SiO ₂ , a foot portion 9 that supports this, and an L-shaped (or F-shaped key-shaped) hook 10 that is hooked onto the processing jig 6. It is configured. The thermocouple 7 is made of platinum wire or alumel chromel, and its conducting wire 11 is led outside through the inside of the lid. Note that a thermocouple made of alumelchromel is used in the case of relatively low heat treatment.

A handle 12 is attached to the outside of the cap 2 to facilitate its removal, and a pressure release tube 13 is attached to reduce the air pressure inside the cap. A jig operating rod 5 serving as a jig operating section for inserting and removing the processing jig 6 and a thermocouple 7 for measuring temperature are attached to the inside of the lid portion 2. That is, the jig operating rod 5 and the thermocouple 7 are attached to the lid part 2 having the handle 8 and the pressure relief tube 9, and the three parts consisting of the lid part 2, the jig operating rod 5, and the thermocouple 7 are integrated. ing. Therefore, by removing the lid part 2 from one end of the furnace, the jig operating rod 5 and the thermocouple 7 can be pulled out from inside the furnace at the same time, and by attaching the lid part 2 to the opening at one end of the furnace, the jig operating rod 5 and the thermocouple 7 can be pulled out at the same time. A jig operating rod 5 and a thermocouple 7 can be inserted into the furnace.

During heat treatment such as diffusion, a large number of semiconductor wafers 14 are supported by the processing jig 6, and the processing jig 6 supports the semiconductor wafers 14 by the jig operating rod 5, which is integrated with the lid part 2. Insert into the furnace. When the jig operating rod 5 is inserted deep into the furnace, the processing jig 6 reaches a predetermined position within the furnace, and at the same time, one end opening of the furnace is closed by the lid 2. Since the thermocouple 7 is integrally attached to the lid part 2, the thermocouple 7 is installed inside the furnace at the same time as the furnace is shut down.
will be installed. Then, the processing temperature inside the furnace is adjusted to 300°C or more using a heating coil (not shown) installed outside the furnace.
Heat treatment such as diffusion is performed at 1200°C. At this time, the processing temperature is measured from the outside using a thermocouple 7 installed inside the furnace, and heat processing such as diffusion is performed under appropriate processing conditions.

In the above heat treatment, the semiconductor wafer 14 is inserted into and pulled out of the furnace while the furnace is heated. The air expands thermally and a pressure of approximately 5 kg is applied to it, but since the pressurized air can pass through the pressure release pipe 13 provided in the lid 2 to the atmosphere, dangers due to thermal expansion can be prevented. can.

In a heat treatment furnace with such a structure, by attaching the lid 2 to the opening at one end of the furnace, the jig operating rod 8 and thermocouple 7, which are integrated with the lid 2, can be inserted into the furnace at the same time. The installation of the lid 2, the insertion of the processing jig 6 into the furnace, and the measurement of the processing temperature can be performed simultaneously in one operation.On the other hand, if the lid 2 is removed from one end of the furnace, the processing jig 6 can be removed at the same time. 6 and thermocouple 7 can be drawn out, making heat treatment operations easier.

Embodiment FIG. 2 shows a jig operating section according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which a thermocouple is housed inside the jig operating rod which becomes the jig operating section, and the lid section and the jig operating section are connected to each other. This shows an integrated rod and thermocouple.

5 is a SiC or
This jig operating rod is made of SiO ₂ and has a built-in thermocouple 7 that measures the temperature inside the furnace.

In this case, since the jig operating rod 5 is mechanically reinforced by the thermocouple 7 contained therein, deformation of the jig operating rod 8 due to heat can be avoided.

In addition, in this embodiment, the jig operating rod 5 has a universal joint structure in which the L-shaped hanger 10 at its tip can be bent at any angle with respect to its axis. When loading and unloading operations are performed, even if the inner wall of the furnace is slightly deformed, the L-shaped hanger 10 can follow the deformation. Therefore, the processing jig 6 will not come off the L-shaped hanging fixture 10.

Embodiment FIGS. 3 and 4 show a jig operation section according to still another embodiment of the present invention, which includes a lid section that closes an opening at one end of the furnace, a jig operation rod that becomes a jig operation section, and a jig operation rod that serves as a jig operation section. It shows that the two have become one.

The jig operating rod 5 is attached to a lid 2 that closes one end opening of the furnace, and the jig operating rod 5 and the lid 2 are integrated.

A jig operating rod 5 integrated with the lid 2 has a universal joint structure near the lid, and an F-key shaped hook 10 is attached to the tip thereof, and this jig operating rod 5 is used as a guide support. The hook 10, which is supported by the section 15 and has an F-key shape at its tip, can move in large increments.

In this case, even if the lower surface of the furnace inner wall is uneven, the tip of the jig operating rod 5 makes a large top-to-bottom movement, so the processing jig 6 will not come off the F-key shaped hanger 10, and the jig will not come off. Since the tool operating rod 5 and the lid part 2 are integrated, the processing jig 6 can be put in and taken out and the furnace can be opened and closed at the same time, making it extremely easy to put in and take out the processing jig 6.

Note that FIG. 3 shows a device in which a foot portion 9 is provided on the lower side of the jig operating rod 5 with a universal joint structure to support it auxiliarily, and FIG. 4 shows that the jig operating rod 5 is attached to the lid portion 2 The figure shows the one that is attached directly to the universal joint structure.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments,
Its structure can be changed as needed,
It can be used not only in a diffusion furnace but also in a wide range of other furnaces such as vapor phase chemical growth furnaces, thermal oxidation furnaces, and other heat treatment furnaces.

According to the present invention as explained in the embodiments above,
Since the lid and other operating tools are integrated, such as the lid, jig operating rod and thermocouple, the lid and thermocouple, and the lid and jig operating rod, it is easy to insert and remove processing jigs. The processing temperature can be measured at the same time as the lid attachment operation, and operations in the furnace such as loading and unloading the processing jig and measuring the processing temperature can be made extremely simple. In the case of the embodiment, a thermocouple is usually provided in the furnace, so that the treatment temperature can be measured at any time, and the heat treatment can be performed under appropriate conditions.

According to the present invention, since the inside of the lid of the hollow tube body is filled with a heat insulating material such as quartz wool or alumina wool, heat is not transmitted to the outside of the furnace and there is extremely little risk of opening or closing the lid. Heat loss from the furnace is also extremely low because the insulation blocks secondary radiation.

Further, according to the present invention, various remarkable effects such as a reduction in the number of times the lid is opened and closed due to the internal operation of the furnace being performed at the same time as opening and closing of the furnace, and a reduction in heat loss due to this, are achieved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a heat treatment furnace using a jig operating section according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 4 show jig operating sections according to other embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 1...Furnace body, 2...Lid, 3...Hollow tube body,
4...Insulating material, 5...Jig operating rod, 6...Processing jig, 7...Thermocouple, 8...Main shaft, 9...Foot part, 1
0... Hang, 11... Conductor, 12... Handle, 13
...Pressure relief tube, 14...Semiconductor wafer, 15...
...Guide support section.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An operation part for operating a processing jig inserted into a heat treatment furnace, which comprises a lid part that closes an opening at one end of the heat treatment furnace and is filled with a heat insulating material; An operating section for a heat treatment furnace, comprising a jig operating rod and a thermocouple extending from a lid section. 2. An operation part for operating a processing jig inserted into a heat treatment furnace, which includes a lid part that closes an opening at one end of the heat treatment furnace and is filled with a heat insulating material, and a universal joint between the lid part and the lid part. An operating section for a heat treatment furnace, characterized in that it has a jig operating rod connected by.