JPH0560659B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is mainly applicable to manufacturing highly integrated semiconductor devices.
The present invention relates to a sample transport device used in CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) equipment, etching equipment, sputtering equipment, etc.

[Prior art]

Plasma equipment using electron cyclotron resonance can generate highly active plasma at low gas pressure, allows a wide range of ion energies to be selected, and has a large ion current, with excellent directionality and uniformity of ion flow. Due to its advantages, research and development are progressing as it is indispensable for manufacturing highly integrated semiconductor devices.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional plasma device using electron cyclotron resonance configured as a plasma etching device, and 31 indicates a plasma generation chamber. The plasma generation chamber 31 has a double structure around the surrounding wall and is equipped with a cooling water circulation chamber 31a, and a microwave inlet 31c sealed with a quartz glass plate 31b in the center of one side wall, and a microwave inlet 31c sealed with a quartz glass plate 31b in the center of the other side wall. Each of the microwave inlets 31c is provided with a plasma extraction port 31d in which an extraction electrode is disposed at a position facing the microwave inlet 31c, and one end of a waveguide 32 is connected to the microwave inlet 31c. An etching chamber 33 is arranged facing the etching chamber 33, and an excitation coil 34 is arranged concentrically around the plasma generation chamber 31 and one end of a waveguide 32 connected to the plasma generation chamber 31 so as to surround them.
are arranged.

The other end of the waveguide 32 is connected to the magnetron M, and a load lock chamber 35 is provided on the outer surface of one side wall of the etching chamber 33 that does not face the plasma outlet 31d, and a semiconductor wafer or the like is placed on the outer surface of the other side wall. Casings 36a constituting a moving means 36 for a mounting table 38 for a sample 37 are placed facing each other. Inside the casing 36a is a rod 3 with a mounting table 38 and a stopper 36b attached to its tip.
A guide member 36d that holds the rod 6c so that it can rotate around its axis and slide in the axial direction, and a drive unit 3 that rotates and moves the rod 36c in the axial direction.
6e, 36f, etc. are arranged. The plug 36b connects the communication hole 33b between the casing 36a and the etching chamber 33 when the mounting table 38 is located in the etching chamber 33, and the communication hole 33b between the casing 36a and the etching chamber 33 when the mounting table 38 is located in the load lock chamber 35. They are fixed to rods 36c so as to hermetically seal the communication holes 33a of the partition wall with the etching chamber 33, respectively.

In the case of such a plasma etching apparatus, the rod 36c is advanced as shown by the broken line in the drawing, the mounting table 38 is positioned in the load lock chamber 35, and the communication hole 33a is sealed with the stopper 36b. After introducing gas into the load lock chamber 35 through a supply/exhaust pipe (not shown) and raising the pressure inside the load lock chamber 35 to atmospheric pressure, the lid 35a is opened as shown by the broken line and the sample 37 on the mounting table 38 is replaced. After closing the load lock chamber 35 again and evacuating it to a predetermined degree of vacuum through the supply/exhaust pipe, the rod 36c is moved back so that the mounting table 38 is located in front of the plasma outlet 31d, and in that position, the rod 36c is rotated at 90 degrees. The sample 37 is rotated to face the plasma outlet 31d. In this state, plasma is generated in the plasma generation chamber 31, and the generated plasma is formed by the excitation coil 34. Plasma outlet 31
d The surface of the sample 37 is etched by projecting it onto the sample 37 in the etching chamber 33 by means of a diverging magnetic field whose magnetic flux density decreases as it goes toward the etching chamber 33 in the front. 60
−51537).

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

By the way, in the conventional sample transport device as described above, the load lock chamber 35 is automatically opened and closed by the stopper 36b linked to the mounting table 38, but the samples are etched one by one.
Each time the processing is finished, the load lock chamber 35
Since the structure is such that the sample is exchanged with the outside by supplying and discharging gas to and from the sample, unnecessary operations have to be repeated, resulting in problems such as low work efficiency and troublesome sample handling.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its object is to arrange a plurality of cassettes containing a plurality of samples in a load lock chamber,
The sample taken out from the cassette by the second transport means is set on the mounting table in the sample chamber, and the operation of removing it from the mounting table and returning it to the cassette is repeated, and when a predetermined number of samples have been processed, they are removed all at once from the load lock chamber. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sample conveying device which allows the sample to be carried out and carried in, and which allows for easy handling of the sample and high work efficiency.

A sample transport device according to the present invention includes a sample chamber for projecting plasma onto a sample, a load lock chamber that communicates with the sample chamber via a communication port and has a sample exchange port with the outside, and a load lock chamber that projects plasma onto the sample. In a plasma apparatus equipped with a load-lock chamber and a transport means for moving between the sample chamber, the load-lock chamber is disposed below the sample chamber, and cassettes containing a plurality of samples are removably disposed inside the load-lock chamber. The conveying means includes a first conveying means that moves between the load lock chamber and the sample chamber via the communication port, and a sample transfer position disposed within the sample chamber and transferring the sample to the first conveying means. It is characterized by comprising a second conveyance means that moves between a plasma projection position set at a position not facing the communication port and a second conveyance means.

〔Example〕

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to drawings showing an embodiment configured as a sample transport device for a plasma CVD apparatus. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a sample transport device according to the present invention (hereinafter referred to as the device of the present invention);
Figure 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of the cassette, Figure 3 is a partial front view taken along the - line in Figure 1, and Figure 4 is a partially exploded perspective view of the cassette.
This is a partial front view taken along the - line in the figure, where 1 is a plasma generation chamber, 2 is a waveguide, 3 is an etching chamber which is a sample chamber in which the sample is etched, 4 is an excitation coil, and 5 is a load lock chamber. ing.

The plasma generation chamber 1 is made of stainless steel, has a double-walled surrounding wall, is provided with a cooling water flow chamber 1a, and is provided with a microwave inlet 1c sealed with a quartz glass plate 1b in the center of one side wall. In addition, a plasma outlet 1d is provided at the center of the other side wall at a position opposite to the microwave inlet 1c, and one end of the waveguide 2 is connected to the microwave inlet 1c, and the plasma outlet 1d is provided at the center of the other side wall. An etching chamber 3 is disposed facing this, and an excitation coil 4 is disposed approximately concentrically around the plasma generation chamber 1 and one end of the waveguide 2 connected thereto. ing.

The other end of the waveguide 2 is connected to a magnetron M, and the microwaves emitted here are introduced into the plasma generation chamber 1 through the microwave introduction port 1c. The excitation coil 4 is connected to a DC power source (not shown), and by passing a DC current, it forms a magnetic field so that plasma can be generated by introducing microwaves into the plasma generation chamber 1.
A diverging magnetic field is formed in which the magnetic flux density decreases toward the etching chamber 3 side, and plasma ions generated in the plasma generation chamber 1 are projected into the etching chamber 3. 1e and 1f are water supply systems and drainage systems for cooling water to the communication chamber 1a, and 1g and 3g are gas supply systems.

The etching chamber 3 is formed into a hollow rectangular parallelepiped shape.
A slit-shaped communicating passage 3a is opened in the center of the lower wall not facing the plasma outlet 1d, and a load lock chamber 5 is disposed in communication with the communicating passage 3a. A cassette 6 and a transfer member 7 for the sample S constituting the first transfer means are arranged in the load lock chamber 5, and a mounting table 8 for the sample S and a transfer member 7 for the sample S constituting the second transfer means are arranged in the etching chamber 3. A clamp member 9 is provided, and the communicating path 3a is further provided with a gate valve 11 at its end on the load lock chamber 5 side, and a shutter 12 at its end on the etching chamber 3 side.

The load lock chamber 5 consists of a small chamber 5a for securing the space necessary for opening and closing the gate valve 11 and a large chamber 5b in which the cassette 6 is arranged. Further, the large chamber 5b is connected to the small chamber 5a and is connected below the small chamber 5a, and the large chamber 5b has a lid 5b.
A replacement port 5d is provided which is opened and closed by the switch c.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cassette 6 is open at the top, and the center of the bottom is opened in the longitudinal direction by a width dimension smaller than the diameter of the sample S, and a transfer member 7 is inserted into the cassette 6.
It is formed in the shape of a hollow rectangular parallelepiped with an insertion/removal opening 6a, and compartment edges 6b, 6b are vertically provided on the left and right side plates at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction at positions facing each other. One sample S is stored between each edge 6b. Cassette 6
is disposed so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction on a guide member 5e whose lower part is disposed at the bottom of the large chamber 5b of the load lock chamber 5, and an air cylinder 6d connected to a rod 6c is attached to one end plate to divide the section in the longitudinal direction. Edge 6b
It is designed to be able to be moved intermittently in the direction of the arrow, with the distance between the two being one pitch.

A hole 5f for inserting the transfer member 7 is opened at the bottom of the large chamber 5b of the load lock chamber 5 at a position facing the communication path 3a with the etching chamber 3, and facing this hole 5f is formed on the lower surface of the large chamber 5b. A case 7c that houses the transfer member 7 and its driving section is provided.

As shown in FIG. 3, the transfer member 7 is provided with an arc-shaped concave groove 7a approximately equal to the circumferential edge of the sample S on the upper edge of a plate having a width slightly smaller than the diameter of the sample S.
Its lower end is connected to a wire (not shown) inside the case 7c, and by winding up and unwinding the wire, the cassette 6 is opened inside the large chamber 5b of the load lock chamber 5.
The lower periphery of the sample S is fitted into the periphery of the concave groove 7a and is held, and the sample S is moved to the transfer position in the etching chamber 3 via the communication path 3a, and the sample S is transferred to the second transport means. The sample S is delivered to a certain clamp member 9, and conversely, the sample S is received from this clamp member 9.

The mounting table 8 disposed in the etching chamber 3 is formed into a disk shape larger than the diameter of the sample S, and is held vertically by being fixed to a support 8a that penetrates the side wall at the center of the back surface. The sample S is electrostatically attracted to the sample S.

The support 8a is arranged so that it can be moved forward and backward as well as rotated with respect to the side wall of the etching chamber 3, and the mounting table 8 is normally placed at a position that is not vertically opposed to the opening position of the communication path 3a. I'm starting to support it.

As shown in FIG. 4, the clamp member 9 constituting the second conveying means is a pair of clamp arms 9a, 9a each having elastic members 9b, 9b at their tips. It is attached to the rod end of the cylinder 9c via an actuator 9d, and when the air cylinder 9c is operated, the clamp arms 9a, 9a are attached to the sample S shown by the dashed line in FIG.
The clamp arms 9a, 9a are opened and closed by the actuator 9d at each position, and the transfer member 7 and the sample S are moved back and forth between the delivery position of the sample S and the delivery position of the sample S to the mounting table 8 shown in solid line. Sample S is delivered to and from 8.

The gate valve 11 is for airtightly sealing the communication path 3a between the etching chamber 3 and the load lock chamber 5.
b is rotatably supported, and can be selectively rotated between a closed position shown by a dashed line and an open position shown by a solid line by a rotation drive unit (not shown).

On the other hand, the shutter 12 prevents the dust generated in the etching chamber 3 from falling into the load lock chamber 5 and removing the sample S.
A dome 12 in the shape of a kamaboko, which is provided with an opening 12a having a slit shape substantially similar to the communication path 3a having a slit shape.
A gate-shaped shutter member 12c is pivotally supported across both ends in the longitudinal direction of b, and the shutter member 12c is moved to the opening 12 as shown by a solid line by a drive unit (not shown).
A is configured to be selectively moved between an open position and a closed position as shown by a broken line,
When the sample S is transferred, the opening position is set, and when the sample S is being etched, the opening position is set to the closed position.

In the device of the present invention constructed as described above, the gate valve 11 is closed and the load lock chamber 5 is closed.
After supplying gas from an air supply/exhaust system (not shown) into the chamber to make it approximately equal to the external pressure, open the lid 5c, pull out the cassette 6 containing the sample S from the exchange port 5d, and place a new cassette 6 on the guide member 5e. In this state, fix it to the tip of the rod 6c of the air cylinder 6d. At this time, the cylinder 6d is set so that the rod 6c is fully extended, and the cassette 6 is inserted into the cylinder 6d.
When the rod 6c is installed, as shown in Figure 1.
The sample S located at one end of the side faces onto the transfer member 7.

Close the lid 5c and exhaust the air from an exhaust system (not shown).
After setting the inside of the load lock chamber 5 to a predetermined degree of vacuum approximately equal to that inside the etching chamber 3, the gate valve 1 is opened.
1. Set each of the shutters 12 to the open position, set the communication path 3a to the open state, and operate the transfer member 7. That is, a drive unit (not shown) is activated to wind up the wire, raise the transfer member 7, insert the wire into the cassette 6 through the insertion/ejection opening 6a at the bottom of the cassette 6, and insert the wire into the groove 7.
With the lower periphery of the sample S fitted into the inside a, the sample S is taken out from the cassette 6 and passed through the communication path 3
It ascends to the transfer position in the etching chamber 3 through point a and stops. At the delivery position, the clamp member 9 constituting the second transport means is waiting with both clamp arms 9a, 9a open, and when the transport member 7 stops rising, the actuator 9d closes both clamp arms 9a, 9a. Then, the sample S is held at its periphery on both sides. The transfer member 7 descends and returns to the old position, and the gate valve 11 and shutter 12
is closed, and the clamp member 9 moves back to approach the mounting table 8, electrostatically adsorbs the sample S thereon, opens the clamp arm 9, and similarly returns to the old position and waits.

Gas is supplied into the plasma generation chamber 1 through the gas supply/exhaust system 1g, a direct current is passed through the excitation coil 4, and a microwave is introduced through the waveguide 2 to generate plasma. The beam is projected onto the sample S in the etching chamber 3 formed by the excitation coil 4 to perform etching.

When etching is completed, the clamp member 9 retreats to near the front of the mounting table 8, and the clamp arm 9
a, 9a are closed to hold the sample S, and the sample S is moved forward again to the delivery position. At the same time, the transfer member 7 also rises again to a position where the groove 7a at its upper end is fitted into the lower peripheral edge of the sample S, and the clamp arm 9
a, 9a are opened, and the sample S is delivered to the transfer member 7. The transfer member 7 is lowered to the old position, and the sample S that has been etched is returned to the cassette 6.

The air cylinder 6d operates and the cassette 6 moves in the direction of the arrow so that the next sample S is placed on the transfer member 7, and the transfer member 7 rises again to take out the sample S from the cassette 6 and place it in the etching chamber 3. It rises to the delivery position and delivers it to the clamp member 9.

Thereafter, the above-mentioned operation is repeated, and when etching is completed for all the samples S in the cassette 6, gas is injected into the load lock chamber 5 from a gas supply system (not shown) and raised to atmospheric pressure, and then the lid 5c is closed. Open it, replace cassette 6 with a new cassette, and close lid 5.
After closing the load lock chamber 5 and reducing the pressure in the load lock chamber 5 to a predetermined pressure, the above-described operations are repeated again.

In addition, although the above-mentioned embodiment explained the structure applied to the transport of the sample in the etching apparatus of the present invention, it is not limited to this in any way, and it can also be applied to, for example, a plasma CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) apparatus, a sputtering apparatus, etc. It goes without saying that it can be done.

〔effect〕

As described above, in the device of the present invention, only one cassette is required, and the load lock chamber can be made more compact.Moreover, since the sample is transferred upwards and downwards, the transportation means is also simplified, which significantly reduces equipment costs. In addition, after storing multiple samples in the load lock chamber and completing processing on them, it is possible to take them out together with the cassettes from the load lock chamber and bring them in again, making handling easier. The present invention has excellent effects, such as greatly reducing the number of gas supply and discharge operations to the load lock chamber, reducing running costs, and improving work efficiency.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a partially fragmented perspective view of the cassette, and Fig. 3 is the same as Fig. 1.
FIG. 4 is a partial front view taken along the - line in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the conventional device. 1... Plasma generation chamber, 2... Waveguide, 3...
Etching chamber, 3a...Communication path, 4...Excitation coil, 5...Loadlock chamber, 5a...Small chamber, 5b
...Large room, 6...Cassette, 7...Transfer member, 8
... Mounting table, 9 ... Clamp member, 11 ... Gate valve, 12 ... Shutter, S ... Sample.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sample chamber that projects plasma onto the sample, a load lock chamber that communicates with the sample chamber via a communication port and is equipped with a sample exchange port with the outside, and a sample chamber that connects the sample between the load lock chamber and the sample chamber. In the plasma apparatus, the load lock chamber is disposed below the sample chamber, and a cassette containing a plurality of samples is removably disposed inside the load lock chamber, and the transfer means is connected to the communication port. a first transport means that moves between the load lock chamber and the sample chamber via the sample chamber; 1. A sample transport device comprising: a second transport means that moves between a plasma projection position and a plasma projection position.