JPH0335824B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for inserting and removing a heat treatment jig and an apparatus therefor without causing dust or dust in a heat treatment chamber or changing the room temperature.

The semiconductor manufacturing industry includes a step in which wafers are placed in a diffusion furnace and subjected to a diffusion process.

Conventionally, the following two methods are known as methods for loading and unloading wafers into a diffusion furnace (inner tube).

One is the boat loader method, and the other is the paddle method. In the former method, as shown in FIG. The movable insertion/drawing rod 4 is hooked to the end of the jig 2, and the jig 2 is inserted or pulled out while in contact with the inner tube 5 of the diffusion furnace 3. The latter method is shown in FIG. As shown, the wafer storage section 6
A roller 6b is attached to the tip of the long rod (paddle) 6 having a
The wafer 1 is placed in the accommodating section 6a using a
This is a method of inserting or taking out the long rod 6 carrying the inside tube along the inner tube.

However, in the former method, since the wafer jig 2 and the inner tube 5 are inserted or removed in a state in which they are in contact with each other, dust is generated from the contact portion, which causes wafer defects.

In addition, in the latter method, the long rod 6 is connected to the inner tube 5.
Since the diffusion treatment is performed while the inner tube 5 is inserted, the heat inside the inner tube 5 is absorbed by the long rod 6, causing a change in the temperature inside the inner tube 5, which makes it impossible to perform the diffusion treatment at a constant temperature. Since the tube 5 and the roller 6b are in contact with each other, there is a drawback that dust is generated inside the tube 5, although this method is not a boat loader method.

The present invention solves these conventional drawbacks and provides a method and device for inserting and extracting a heat treatment jig that does not generate dust in a heat treatment chamber such as a diffusion furnace and does not cause a change in the room temperature inside the heat treatment chamber. is to provide.

One embodiment of the present invention for achieving this purpose is characterized by inserting the heat treatment jig into the heat treatment chamber in a square motion.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to an embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 to 5.

In FIG. 3, the heat treatment jig insertion/removal device 10 includes sliding rods 17 and 1 arranged in parallel and upward.
The substrate 18 supported by 7 is removed.

Sleeves 18a, 18a are provided on one side of the substrate 18 at appropriate intervals.
Through holes 18b, 18b are provided on the large side surface of 18a.
A straight insertion/extraction rod 19 is slidably inserted into the through holes 18b, 18b so as to communicate with each other.

The insertion/drawing rod 19 has a circular tubular shape, and at one end in the longitudinal direction, two jig-shaped jig holding parts 19a are formed to hold the wing part 1 of the wafer jig 12.
The rod 19 is made of heat-resistant material such as quartz so that the rod 2a can be supported from below, the rod 19 is long enough to fit into the inner tube 15 of the diffusion furnace 13, and it can withstand the processing temperature of the diffusion furnace 13. It's made of.

Also, a lateral feed drive motor 2 is provided for reciprocating the insertion/drawing rod 19 in its extension direction.
0 and 20 are respectively provided on the small area side surfaces of the sleeve portions 18a and 18a.

Further, on the back side of the board 18, a height direction drive motor 21 is disposed for reciprocating the entire board 18 including the insertion/extraction rod 19 and the sleeve parts 18a, 18a in the height direction. A height and width adjusting cam 22 is attached, and the circumferential surface of this cam 22 is engaged with a cam follower 23 attached to the back surface of the substrate 18.

In FIG. 4, 20 is a lateral feed drive motor, 18c is a small side surface (wall) of the sleeve portion 18a to which the drive motor 20 is attached, and 24 is a side surface (wall) of a small area of the sleeve portion 18.
a, and a lateral feed drive motor 20
is an insertion/extraction rod feeding roller directly connected to the rotating shaft 20a, which is brought into contact with the lower part of the insertion/extraction rod 19.

Further, reference numerals 25 and 25 indicate guide rollers arranged along the circumferential surface of the insertion and withdrawal rod 19, and these guide rollers 25 and 25 are arranged so that the insertion and extraction rod 19 can be supported together with the feed roller 24. It is built into the sleeve portion 18a.

The lateral direction feed drive motor 20 is a motor capable of driving in both left and right directions.

In Fig. 5, 19 is an insertion/drawing rod;
12 is a wafer jig that is lifted by the jig holder 19a, 11 is a wafer, and the distance between the jig holders 19a is the same as the wafer jig. The length is set to match the width of the base of the wing portion 12a of the blade 12, and the length matches the jig 12.

Further, the wafer jig 12 has a concave cross section,
The bottom is somewhat smaller in size than the opening. Further, the wafer jig 12 is made of quartz.

Next, the operation of the device 10 having such a structure will be explained.

First, the substrate 18 operates the height direction drive motor 21, so that the cam 22 is reciprocated in the vertical direction via the cam follower 23. In this case, the width of the reciprocating movement is such that the wafer jig 12 is
While the wafer jig 12 is being supported by the inner tube 15, the wafer jig 12 is placed in the inner tube 15 and placed in a range corresponding to a slightly lowered position.

Next, using FIGS. 6a to 6b, the present device 10
A method for inserting and removing the wafer jig 12 will be explained.

First, in Figure a, the wafer 11
The wafer jig 12 on which the horizontally as far as possible.

Next, as shown in Figure b, insert and pull out the rod 1.
Lower the jig 9 to a position where the bottom of the jig 12 contacts the inner tube 15.

Next, as shown in FIG.
9, lower it one more step and lower the jig holding part 19a.
Separate it from the wing part 12a and pull it out in the direction of the arrow while keeping the same height position.

In this state, the wafer 11 is subjected to a diffusion process for a predetermined period of time.

Next, as shown in FIG. d, insert and pull out the rod 1.
9 into the inner tube 15 while maintaining the same height as the height position when the jig holding part 19a is pulled out.
Insert it so that it corresponds to 2a.

Next, as shown in Figure e, insert and pull out the rod 1.
9 upward so that the jig 12 is completely attached to the inner tube 1.
Take it to a position far away from 5.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2B, the insertion/drawing rod 19 supporting the jig 12 is moved horizontally and taken out in the direction of the arrow.

FIG. 7a is a diagram showing the movement state of the insertion/drawing rod 19 when inserting the jig 12 into the inner tube 15.
The symbol a corresponds to FIG. 6a, the symbol b corresponds to FIG. 6b, and the symbol c corresponds to FIG. 6c, respectively, and the overall movement is a square motion.

Further, FIG. 7b is a diagram showing the movement state of the insertion/drawing rod 19 when the jig 12 is taken out from the inner tube 15, and the symbol d is in FIG. 7d, and the symbol e is in FIG. 7e.
, the symbol f corresponds to FIG. 7 f, respectively, and
Make a square motion in the opposite direction to that shown in figure a.

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, when inserting the heat treatment jig into the processing chamber,
Since the heat treatment jig is moved away from the wall (inner surface) of the processing chamber and the lateral movement is performed, unlike the conventional method of inserting the heat treatment jig while keeping it in contact with the inner wall of the processing chamber, the heat treatment The jig and the inner wall of the processing chamber remain in contact with each other and are not displaced.

Therefore, when the heat treatment jig is inserted into the process chamber, no dust is generated in the process chamber from the contact area between the heat treatment jig and the inside of the process chamber, and therefore, the heat treatment objects such as semiconductor wafers are prevented from being contaminated by dust and dust. It does not cause any defects. Thereby, a heat-treated product (diffusion-treated product) with excellent characteristics can be obtained.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, the insertion/drawing rod used when inserting the heat-treated material into the processing chamber is outside the processing chamber during the processing (diffusion processing), so unlike the conventional method, the long rod is used even during the processing. Unlike the method of leaving the (parallel) inside the processing chamber, the temperature inside the processing chamber is not taken away and the temperature is not changed. Therefore, heat treatment (diffusion treatment) can be performed at a constant temperature, and stable treatment (diffusion treatment) can be performed on the treated object (diffusion treatment object).

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 and 2 are explanatory perspective views showing a conventional method for inserting and removing heat-treated materials, Figure 3 is a perspective view of the apparatus used to carry out the present invention, and Figure 4 is a perspective view of one main part of Figure 3. FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing one main part that is different from that shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. FIGS. Figures 7a and 7b are diagrams illustrating the movement of the insertion and withdrawal rod of the device used in the practice of the invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Wafer, 2...Wafer jig, 3...Diffusion furnace, 4...Insertion/drawing rod, 5...Inner tube, 6...Long bar, 6a...Wafer storage section, 6b...Roller, 1
0...Insertion/extraction device, 11...Wafer, 12...
Wafer jig, 12a...wing section, 13...diffusion furnace,
15... Inner pipe, 17... Sliding rod, 18... Board,
18a...Sleeve part, 18b...Through hole, 18c...
Small area side, 19... Insertion/drawing rod, 19a...
Jig holding part, 20... Lateral direction feed drive motor, 2
0a... Rotating shaft, 21... Height direction drive motor,
22... Height and width adjustment cam, 23... Cam follower, 24... Insertion and pull-out rod feeding roller, 25...
guide roller.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a semiconductor wafer heat treatment method that includes a step of inserting a wafer jig with a plurality of semiconductor wafers placed into a horizontal furnace and taking out the wafer jig from the horizontal furnace, a cylindrical wafer made of quartz glass is used. The wafer jig is supported at two points at the tip of the insertion/ejection part, and in this state substantially no dynamic friction is generated between the wafer jig and the inner surface of the horizontal furnace. A method for heat processing a semiconductor wafer, comprising inserting the wafer jig into the horizontal furnace and taking it out from the horizontal furnace.