JPH0586066B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention provides a vertical heat treatment method in which wafers housed in a carrier and stored in a carrier storage section can be automatically and efficiently transferred into a vertical furnace. Regarding equipment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years, vertical diffusion furnaces have been actively developed as semiconductor manufacturing equipment. This vertical diffusion furnace has various advantages in terms of process and equipment cost compared to the conventionally used horizontal diffusion furnace.
It is thought that its introduction into semiconductor production lines will be actively promoted in the future. However, in a vertical diffusion furnace, due to process problems, it is necessary to arrange the wafers in the quartz boat so that the central axis of the quartz boat and the normal to the wafer surface form an angle of, for example, 1 to 45 degrees. Because of these special characteristics, very few devices have yet been proposed for transferring wafers from carriers for accommodating wafers, which are normally used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, to quartz boats for vertical diffusion furnaces. This is one of the obstacles to putting vertical diffusion furnaces into practical use. Also,
A vertical heat treatment apparatus that can automatically transfer wafers housed in a carrier into a vertical furnace has not been realized.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a vertical furnace for automatically and efficiently transporting wafers contained in a carrier and stored in a carrier storage section into a vertical furnace. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a mold heat treatment device.

Means for Solving the Problems A vertical heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention includes a carrier storage section for storing a plurality of carriers containing wafers, and a section for transferring the wafers stored in the carriers into a boat. a wafer transfer section; a carrier movement mechanism section for moving the carrier from the carrier storage section to the wafer transfer section; and a carrier movement mechanism section for transporting the boat into which the wafers have been transferred into a vertical furnace. a loading station section having a plurality of boat stations that can be placed on standby; and a loading station section for transferring the boat to which the wafers have been transferred from the wafer transfer section to any one of the plurality of boat stations. The apparatus includes a boat transfer mechanism section and a boat carry-in mechanism section for carrying the boat transferred to the boat station into the vertical furnace.

Operation By configuring as described above, the wafers contained in the carrier and stored in the carrier storage section can be automatically and efficiently carried into the vertical furnace.

Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a vertical heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a vertical diffusion furnace system will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vertical diffusion furnace system according to this embodiment includes a carrier storage section 1, a wafer transfer section 2, a loading station section 3, a vertical diffusion furnace section 4, and a boat transfer mechanism section 5. It's on. Note that a clean bench is normally provided at the top of this vertical diffusion furnace system, but its illustration is omitted in FIG.

Next, details of each part of the vertical diffusion furnace system configured as described above will be explained.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, inside the housing 8 of the carrier storage section 1 is a bearing (not shown) attached to the inner wall of the housing 8.
A pair of upper and lower rotating shafts 9 and 10 are respectively supported by the shafts. Further, sprockets 11 and 12 are fixed to these rotating shafts 9 and 10, respectively. A chain 15 is wound around these sprockets 11 and 12. Also this chain 15
A support plate 16 is fixed to the support plate 16, and further, for example, four shelf plates 18 are attached to the support plate 16 by screwing the angle 23 to the support plate 16 and each shelf plate 18. is fixed vertically. Guide plates 28 are screwed onto each of the above-mentioned shelf boards 18, and carrier mounting plates 33 are fitted into the guide grooves 28a of these guide plates 28, respectively. These carrier mounting plates 33 have a carrier mounting plate 33 in the center thereof.
Opening 33a extending in the longitudinal direction (see Figure 3A)
is formed. And each carrier mounting plate 33
A predetermined number (three in this embodiment) of carriers 38 are placed on the carrier. Furthermore, these carriers 3
8 are positioned at predetermined positions by positioning pins (not shown) provided on the upper surface of each carrier mounting plate 33.

Further, a motor 39 is attached to the lower surface of the housing 8. A pulley 40 is fixed to the tip of the rotating shaft of this motor 39. This pulley 40 and a pulley 4 fixed to the rotating shaft 10
A belt 42 is wound between the sprocket 1 and the sprocket 12 so that the rotation of the motor 39 can be transmitted to the sprocket 12 via the pulleys 40, 41 and the belt 42. By moving the chain 15 by rotating the sprocket 12, the support plate 1 is moved.
6. Therefore, the shelf board 18 can be raised and lowered. Note that the support plate 16 has a pair of guide rails 44,
45 (FIG. 1), and is adapted to be guided by these guide rails 44, 45. Each shelf board 18 is always maintained horizontally when the support plate 16 moves up and down.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, openings 8a to 8d corresponding to each shelf board 18 are formed in one side of the housing 8, and the openings 8a to 8d are formed in one side of the housing 8 to accommodate carriers sent from a carrier conveyance platform 46 of a carrier conveyance device (not shown). can be supplied to the carrier mounting plate 33 on the uppermost shelf board 18 through the opening 8a, for example. Furthermore, a door 48 made of, for example, a transparent material is attached to the front surface of the housing 8.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
f is formed, and the shelf board 18 can be raised and lowered through this opening 8f. Further, an air cylinder 49 is attached to the upper surface of the table-like stepped portion 8e of the housing 8, adjacent to the opening 8f. A pressing piece 50 is attached to the tip of the cylinder shaft 49a of the air cylinder 49 (see FIGS. 3A and 3B). This pressing piece 50 is in contact with a protruding piece 51 fixed to the end of the carrier mounting plate 33, and when the cylinder shaft 49a expands and the pressing piece 50 presses the protruding piece 51, The carrier mounting plate 33 can be slid along a guide groove 28a of a guide plate 28 (see FIG. 2). Note that the pressing piece 50
can be magnetized by a known method, so that a magnetic attraction force is generated between the protruding piece 51 and the protruding piece 51.

Next, the configuration of the wafer transfer section 2 will be explained.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3A and 3B,
Upper surface 53a of housing 53 of wafer transfer section 2
Guides 54, 55, and 56 extending in the direction of extension of guide portions 28b and 28c provided on both sides of the guide groove 28a of the guide plate 28 are fixed to the guide plate 28. Note that the guides 54 and 55 extend to one end of an opening 8f formed in the table-like stepped portion 8e of the housing 8. Also, the upper surface 5 of the housing 53
Between the guides 54 and 56 in 3a, there is an opening 53 having the same shape as the opening 33a of the carrier mounting plate 33.
b is formed. Inside the housing 53 below this opening 53b, as shown in FIG. 4A,
An air cylinder 57 is provided so as to be horizontally movable in the longitudinal direction of the opening 53b. At the tip of the cylinder shaft 57a of the air cylinder 57, a push-up tool 5 is provided which has approximately the same length as the length of the carrier 38 in the wafer arrangement direction and is slightly narrower than the opening 53b.
8 is installed. and air cylinder 5
7, the push-up tool 58 can be moved up and down through the opening 53b, and by raising and lowering the push-up tool 58, the wafer 76 housed in the carrier 38 can be raised and lowered.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, a pinion gear 59 is provided between the guides 55 and 56. This pinion gear 59 is attached to the tip of a rotating shaft of a motor 60 fixed inside the housing 53. This pinion gear 59 is adapted to mesh with a rack 33b formed on one side of the carrier mounting plate 33.

Further, on the upper surface 53a of the housing 53, a fifth
As shown in the figure and FIG. 6, bearings 61 and 62 are fixed with screws.
The boss parts 61a and 62a of the boat support 6
A rotating shaft 6 provided perpendicularly to the side surface of one end of 3.
3a and 63b are pivotally supported. Furthermore, support stands 64 and 65 are fixed to the upper surface 53a of the housing 53 adjacent to the bearings 61 and 62 with screws.
A boat support 63 is supported by 5a. Note that the upper surface 64 of the support stands 64 and 65
a, 65a are at a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal direction, for example
Since it forms an angle of 15°, the boat support 63
can be maintained at an angle of 15° with respect to the horizontal direction. Further, a quartz boat 67 is placed on the boat support 63 in a position where one end plate 67a of the quartz boat 67 is fitted into a recess provided in the boat receiving portion 63c of the boat support 63. There is.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a worm wheel 69 is fixed to an end of one rotating shaft 63b of the boat support 63. Furthermore, a motor 70 is fixed on the upper surface 53a of the housing 53,
A worm 71 is attached to the tip of the rotating shaft of this motor 70.
is installed. By rotating this worm 71 with the rotation of the motor 70, the worm wheel 69 is rotated, whereby the boat support 63 can be rotated relative to the bearings 61, 62. On the other hand, a pulley 72 is attached to the end of the other rotating shaft 63a of the boat support 63, and a wire 7 fixed to the pulley 72 in a predetermined position via a spring 74 is attached to the pulley 72.
5 is wound. The tension of the spring 74 constantly applies rotational force to the pulley 72 in the direction of arrow A, so that the boat support 63 can rotate smoothly when the motor 70 rotates.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the quartz boat 67 includes support rods 67c to 67h, and these support rods 67c to 67h.
End plates 67 connected to each other by 67h
a, 67b. These support rods 6
On the inner peripheral surface of 7c to 67h on the wafer storage part side,
For example, a wafer engaging groove 67i having a cross-sectional shape as shown in FIG. 8 is formed at the same pitch as a wafer engaging groove 38a (see FIG. 4A) similarly provided in the carrier 38. The above-mentioned wafer engaging groove 67i is connected to a boat support 67 on which a quartz boat 67 is placed, as shown in FIG.
The groove 67i is formed in such a direction that the center line X of the groove 67i is vertical when the groove 67i is supported by the support stands 64 and 65. The wafer 76 is accommodated in these wafer engaging grooves 67i so that its surface is perpendicular. In particular, as shown in FIG. 9, the support rod 67c is provided with a lateral groove 67j in addition to the wafer engaging groove 67i described above. The bottom surface of this horizontal groove 67j is the fifth
It is formed to be horizontal in the state shown in the figure. In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, the quartz boat 6
A substantially U-shaped hook portion 67k is formed on the upper end plate 67b of the quartz boat 67, and the quartz boat 67 can be lifted up using this hook portion 67k as described later. In this embodiment, three carriers of wafers 7 are placed in the quartz boat 67.
It is designed to accommodate 6.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, an opening 53c is formed in the upper surface 53a of the housing 53 between the support stands 64 and 65. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, an air cylinder 78 is attached inside the housing 53. A push-up tool 79 having a rectangular planar shape is attached to the tip of the cylinder shaft 78a of the air cylinder 78, and the push-up tool 79 can push up one carrier of wafers 76. This opening 53c and the boat support 63
A push-up tool 79 can be raised and lowered by operating an air cylinder 78 through an opening 63d provided at the bottom. Also, the air cylinder 78
is capable of horizontal movement in the longitudinal direction of the opening 53c, and by horizontal movement of the air cylinder 78, the wafers on the quartz boat 67 can be successively pushed up one carrier at a time.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, a box 53d is attached to the rear part of the housing 53, and a slide mechanism as shown in FIG. 10 is provided inside this box 53d. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, support blocks 80 and 81 are fixed to the upper surface 53a of the housing 53 with screws, respectively, and these support blocks 80 and 81 are connected to each other by guide rods 82 and 83.
Also, a feed screw 84 is provided between the support blocks 80 and 81.
are rotatably supported by boss portions 80a and 81a. A worm wheel 86 is attached to one end of the feed screw 84. Further, a motor 87 is fixed on the upper surface 53a of the housing 53, and a worm 88 is fixed to the tip of the rotating shaft of the motor 87. and motor 87
By rotating the worm 88, the worm wheel 86 is rotated, and thereby the feed screw 84 can be rotated.

Further, a moving table 90 is attached to the guide rods 82, 83 and the feed screw 84. A female threaded portion (not shown) that is combined with the feed screw 84 is provided inside the moving table 90 . The rotation of the feed screw 84 allows the moving table 90 to move in the axial direction of the feed screw 84, that is, in the x direction. Note that when the movable table 90 moves, the guide rods 82 and 83 prevent it from rolling.

Further, on the upper surface 90a of the movable table 90, columns 91 to 94 are attached perpendicularly to the upper surface 90a, and a lifting block 97 is attached to these columns 91 to 94 so as to be movable up and down. Further, a screw hole 97e is formed at one end of the lifting block 97, and a feed screw 98, one end of which is rotatably supported on the upper surface 90a of the moving table 90, is vertically attached to the screw hole 97e. There is. Further, a worm wheel 99 is fixed to the lower part of the feed screw 98. Also, the upper surface 9 of the moving table 90
A motor 102 is fixed on top of 0a. A worm 103 is attached to the tip of the rotating shaft of this motor 102.
is attached, and the rotation of the worm 103 causes the worm wheel 99 to rotate, thereby rotating the feed screw 98 and lifting the lifting block 97.
can be raised and lowered in the direction of the pillars 91 to 94, that is, in the z direction.

Also, a through hole 97 provided in the lifting block 97
An air cylinder 104 is fitted into a.
An arm 105 extending in the y direction is fixed to the tip of the cylinder shaft 104a of the air cylinder 104.
a buffer case 107 and air cylinder 10
8 is fixed. This battle case 1
07 can be moved in the y direction by the operation of the air cylinder 104. As is clear from the above, the buffer case 107 can be moved by appropriately combining the movement of the moving table 90 in the x direction, the movement of the arm 105 in the y direction, and the movement of the lifting block 97 in the z direction. , its position can be changed three-dimensionally.

Also, as shown in Figure 4A, the buffer
Grooved plates 110 and 111 are fixed to mutually opposing inner peripheral surfaces of the case 107 by screws, respectively. Since these grooved plates 110 and 111 have the same structure, only the grooved plate 110 will be described below. As shown in FIG. 11, the grooved plate 110 has vertical grooves 110a formed in parallel to each other. Furthermore, a through hole 110b is formed in the grooved plate 110 in a direction perpendicular to the vertical groove 110a,
A wafer support rod 113 passes through this through hole 110b. This wafer support rod 113 has
A vertical groove 113a having a semicircular shape and the same width as the vertical groove 110a of the grooved plate 110 is formed. Further, this wafer support rod 113 is provided with vertical grooves 113 in its axial direction by, for example, a motor drive mechanism (not shown).
It is designed so that it can move back and forth by one pitch of a. This movement causes the vertical groove 110a of the grooved plate 110 and the vertical groove 11 of the wafer support rod 113 to
3a (Fig. 4A) and the groove 1
10a and the cylindrical part 113 of the wafer support rod 113
b (FIG. 4B).

Further, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, through holes 115 and 116 of the same diameter are formed in the upper surface of the buffer case 107 and the tip 105a of the arm 105, and sleeves are inserted into these through holes 115 and 116. 117 is fitted. The cylinder shaft 108a of the air cylinder 108 is inserted through the sleeve 117. Further, a support 118 is attached to the tip of the cylinder shaft 108a. Note that this support 118 extends in a direction perpendicular to the paper plane of FIG. 4A, and is adapted to hold down all the wafers 76 housed in the buffer case 107 from above. Then, while sandwiching the wafer 76 from above and below between the above-mentioned push-up tool 58 and the above-mentioned support tool 118, the air cylinder 57,
108 are operated in synchronization with each other to remove the wafer 76.
By moving the wafer 76 in the carrier 38, the wafer 76 can be transferred to the buffer case 107.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 5, at the lower end of one of the grooved plates 110 fixed to the buffer case 107, at positions corresponding to the vertical grooves 110a at both ends of this grooved plate 110, Optical fibers 121, 122 extending vertically are attached. Also, the fifth optical fiber 121, 122
Near the direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing, there is a light receiving element 12.
4,125 are attached. Then, reflected light of a predetermined wavelength emitted downward from the tips of the optical fibers 121 and 122 by a predetermined light source (reflected by the horizontal grooves 67j of the support rods 67c and 67h of the quartz boat 67) is transmitted to the above-mentioned light receiving element. 124,
125.

Next, the configuration of the loading station section 3 will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 1, oval grooves 126b and 126c are formed in the upper surface 126a of the housing 126 of the loading station section 3 in parallel with each other. These grooves 126b, 12
6c includes, for example, four boat stations 127a to 12, each made of disc-shaped stainless steel.
7h are placed at equal intervals. A quartz boat 67 is placed on the boat stations 127a to 127h. Further, a controller 128 is provided on the front surface of the housing 126, and the controller 128 controls the operation of the wafer transfer mechanism as described above.

Further, a vertical diffusion furnace 131 is fixed within the housing 130 of the vertical diffusion furnace section 4 . Further, a boat loader 132 that passes through the upper surface 130a of the housing 130 and is movable up and down is attached to the vertical diffusion furnace section 4. This boat loader 132 consists of a lifting shaft 132a and an arm 132b. Note that the elevating shaft 132a can also rotate around its central axis. Further, a rotating shaft 132 extending downward is provided at the tip of the arm 132b.
c is attached. This rotating shaft 132c is configured to be rotationally driven via a belt transmission mechanism provided within the arm 132b. Further, a housing 13 is provided in the middle part of this rotating shaft 132c.
Vertical diffusion furnace 131 provided on the upper surface 130a of 0
A disk-shaped lid 133 is fixed to cover the boat inlet 130c. Furthermore, the lid 133
A rod-shaped lifting tool 134 for lifting the quartz boat 67 is attached to the lower end of the quartz boat 67 . Note that the rotation shaft 132c of this lifting tool 134 is normally stopped so as to extend in a direction parallel to the arm 132b. Also, the upper surface 130a of the housing 130
A boat station 137 is mounted on the boat station 137, and the quartz boat 67 before or after treatment in the vertical diffusion furnace 131 is placed on the boat station 137.
It is designed to be placed on top. Further, a controller 138 is provided on the front surface of the housing 130, and the operation of the vertical diffusion furnace 131 is controlled by this controller 138.

Further, in the boat transfer mechanism section 5, an arm 141 extends forward through a comb-shaped opening 140b formed in a front surface 140a of a housing 140 thereof. This arm 141 is moved in x, y, z within the range of the opening 140b by a drive mechanism (not shown).
It is possible to move freely in any direction. Also arm 141
A shaft 142 extending downward is fixed to the tip. Furthermore, an arm 14 is attached to the lower end of this shaft 142.
A lifting tool 142a extending in a direction parallel to 1 is attached.

Next, the operation of the vertical diffusion furnace system configured as described above will be explained. Furthermore, carrier storage section 1
It is assumed that a predetermined number of carriers 38 (three in this embodiment) are placed in advance on each carrier placement plate 33 in the figure. Further, it is assumed that an empty quartz boat 67 in which no wafers 76 are housed is placed on the boat support 63 of the wafer transfer section 2.

First, as shown in FIG. 2, by rotating the motor 39, the sprocket 12 is rotated counterclockwise in the figure via the pulley 40, belt 42, and pulley 41. This rotation of sprocket 12 causes chain 15 to move, and support plate 16 to move upward. When the support plate 16 moves upward in this way and the lower surface of the predetermined carrier mounting plate 33 reaches the same height as the upper surface of the table upper part 8e of the housing 8, the rotation of the motor 39 is stopped. The lifting of the support plate 16 is stopped (the state shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. 2).

Next, as shown in FIG. 3A, the air cylinder 49
is activated to press the protruding piece 50 of the carrier mounting plate 33 with the pressing piece 50 attached to the tip of the cylinder shaft 49a, thereby moving the carrier mounting plate 33 to the guide portions 28b, 2 of the guide plate 28.
8c. By sliding the carrier mounting plate 33 in this manner, the rack 33b formed on the side surface of the carrier mounting plate 33 is brought into mesh with the pinion gear 59, as shown in FIG. 3B.
Next, the motor 60 is rotated to rotate the pinion gear 59 clockwise in the figure. As a result, the carrier mounting plate 33 is further moved in the direction of arrow B while being guided by the guides 54 and 56 due to the engagement between the pinion gear 59 and the rack 33b, and the tip of the carrier mounting plate 33 is brought into contact with a stopper (not shown). The rotation of the motor 60 is stopped at the stage where the
state shown by the dashed line in the figure).

Next, by rotating the motor 102 shown in FIG. 10 and rotating the feed screw 98, the lifting block 97 is raised to the uppermost end. Next, operate the air cylinder 104 to buffer the arm 105.
The case 107 moves until its center axis coincides with the center axis of the carrier 38 on the carrier mounting plate 33, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. Next, rotate the motor 87 shown in FIG.
8 rotates the worm wheel 86. This rotation of the worm wheel 86 rotates the feed screw 84 to move the moving table 90 in the x direction, and the buffer case 107 is placed on the carrier mounting plate 33, for example, directly above the carrier 38 closest to the carrier storage section 1. position.

Next, the buffer case 107 is lowered by rotation of the motor 102, and the buffer case 107 is positioned directly above the carrier 38, as shown in FIG. 4A. Next, the support 118 is lowered by the operation of the air cylinder 108, so that the lower surface of the support 118 is placed on the orientation flat 76a of the wafer 76 (indicated by a chain line) in the carrier 38.
The movement of the support 118 is stopped when it comes into contact with the support member 118. Note that the wafers 76 in the carrier 38 are aligned in advance so that the orientation flat 76a is on the upper side. Next, the air cylinder 57 is operated to raise the push-up tool 58, and when the push-up tool 58 comes into contact with the lower end of the wafer 76 in the carrier 38, the air cylinder 108 of the buffer case 107 is operated again and the push-up tool 58 is raised. The support tool 118 is raised at the same raising speed as the raising tool 58. In this way, the wafer 76 is
8 and the push-up tool 58, and move it to the buffer case 107 side as shown in FIG. 4A. In the state shown in FIG. 4A, the wafer support rod 113 inserted through the grooved plates 110, 111 of the buffer case 107 has its vertical groove 113a aligned with the vertical groove 11 of the grooved plates 110, 111.
Move it in advance so that it matches 0a and 111a.

Next, as described above, the wafer 76 is raised to a position slightly above the position shown in FIG. attached plate 11
0 and 111 are aligned with the vertical grooves 110a and 111a. Next, the air cylinder 57 is operated to return the push-up tool 58 to the lowest position (the state shown in FIG. 4B).
As a result, the wafer 76 falls by a small height, and then the cylindrical portion 113b of the wafer support rod 113
Supported by. In this way, the transfer of the wafer 76 from the carrier 38 to the buffer case 107 is completed, as shown in FIG. 4B.

Next, with the wafer 76 accommodated, the buffer
The case 107 is raised by the rotation of the motor 102 shown in FIG. 10, and then moved in the y direction by the operation of the air cylinder 104.
As shown in the figure, the buffer case 107 is positioned directly above the quartz boat 67. In this state, the grooved plates 110, 111 of the buffer case 107
The positions of the vertical grooves 110a, 111a in the x direction almost match the positions of the support rods 67c to 67h of the quartz boat 67, but the positions of the vertical grooves 110a, 111a and the position of the wafer engaging groove 67i are precisely aligned. In order to solve the buffer case 10 as follows:
7. Finely adjust the position in the x direction.

That is, after storing the position of the buffer case 107 in the x direction in a known memory circuit, as shown in FIG.
1 emits light of a predetermined wavelength downward from the tip. This emitted light is the support rod 67c of the quartz boat 67.
The buffer case 107 is moved within a minute range in the ±x directions while monitoring the light reflected by the bottom surface of the horizontal groove 67j (see FIG. 9) using the light receiving element 124. During this movement, the light emitted from the optical fiber 121 is vertically reflected only at the position where it hits the bottom surface of the horizontal groove 67j of the support rod 67c of the quartz boat 67.
At other positions, the reflected light travels in a direction deviating from the vertical direction, so the light receiving element 124
Not detected. In this way, the position of the buffer case 107 when the light reflected by the horizontal groove 67j of the support rod 67c of the quartz boat 67 is detected by the light receiving element 124 adjacent to the optical fiber 121, and the initial position before fine adjustment. The difference Δx is stored in a known memory circuit.

Next, while emitting light downward from the tip of the other optical fiber 122 attached to the buffer case 107, the buffer case 107 is moved within a minute range in the ±x direction in the same manner as described above. . During this movement, the optical fiber 122
When the light hits the horizontal groove 67j of the support rod 67c of the quartz boat 67, the reflected light is detected by the light receiving element 125, and the difference △x' between the position in the x direction and the initial position at this time is stored in the memory described above. Store it in the circuit. Next, the above △x and △ stored in the memory circuit
From x', calculate the position where the absolute value of the deviation between the positions of the wafers 76 at both ends in the buffer case 107 and the positions of the lateral grooves 67j corresponding to the wafers 76 at both ends is the minimum, and by this calculation, The buffer case 107 is moved in the x direction by the determined distance. As a result, the positions of all the wafers 76 in the buffer case 107 in the x direction and the wafer engaging grooves 67 of the support rods 67c of the quartz boat 67 at positions corresponding to these wafers 76 are determined.
It is possible to realize a state in which the positional deviation with respect to i is the smallest.

Next, in the state shown in Fig. 5, the buffer case 10 is
7 gradually lowering, this buffer case 10
The lower end of 7 is the support rod 67c, 67 of the quartz boat 67.
Stop the descent just before contacting h. Next, the air cylinder 78 is operated to raise the push-up tool 79, and when the upper surface of the push-up tool 79 contacts the lower end of the wafer 76 in the buffer case 107 and further pushes up the wafer 76 a little, the push-up tool 79 is pushed up. Ingredient 7
9 stops rising. Next, prior to the above-described lowering of the wafer 76, the wafer support rods 13 of the grooved plates 110, 111 of the buffer case 107 are moved in the axial direction.
and the vertical grooves 110a, 11 of the grooved plates 110, 111
Match 1a.

Next, when the push-up tool 79 is gradually lowered in this state, as the push-up tool 79 is lowered, the wafer engaging grooves 67i of the support rods 67c to 67h are opened from one end side of the quartz boat 67.
The wafers 76 are sequentially accommodated in the buffer case 107, and when the push-up tool 79 descends below the quartz boat 67, all of the wafers 76 in the buffer case 107 are accommodated in the quartz boat 67.

After this, in the same way as described above, create buffer case 1.
07 onto the carrier mounting plate 33, and transfer the wafer 76 to the next carrier 38.
(In this embodiment, the carrier 3 in the center of FIG.
8). Next, the wafer 76 in the carrier 38 is transferred to the buffer case 107 and then transferred from the buffer case 107 to the quartz boat 67 in the same manner as described above. A similar operation is also performed for the last carrier 38 on the carrier mounting plate 33, thereby completing the transfer of the wafers 76 accommodated in all carriers 38 on the carrier mounting plate 33 to the quartz boat 67. .

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the quartz boat 67 containing three carriers of wafers 76 as described above is erected vertically by the rotation of the motor 70, so that its central axis is aligned. Stand it vertically. Note that the rotation of the boat support 63 is regulated by the end plate 63c of the boat support 63 hitting a stopper (not shown) attached to the upper surface 53a of the housing 53, so that the boat support 63 becomes vertical. It's becoming like that.

Next, the arm 141 of the boat transfer mechanism 5 shown in FIG. 1 is moved along the opening 140b of the housing 140, and the lifting tool 142a at the lower end of the shaft 142 fixed to the tip of the arm 141 is moved as shown in FIG. It is hooked onto the hook portion 67k of the quartz boat 67 shown. Next, the quartz boat 67 is lifted by raising the arm 141 with the lifting tool 142a hooked onto the hook portion 67k. Next, with the quartz boat 67 suspended, the arm 141 is moved horizontally, and the loading station section 3 is
For example, when the arm 141 is positioned directly above the boat station 127h, the horizontal movement is stopped and the arm 141 is lowered. After lowering the quartz boat 67 in this way and bringing the lower end plate 67c of the quartz boat 67 into contact with the boat station 127h, the arm 141 is further lowered a little to lift the lifting tool 142a.
from the hook portion 67k of the quartz boat 67.

After that, the arm 141 is horizontally moved a predetermined distance away from the quartz boat 67, and then moved to the side of the quartz boat 67 where, for example, the wafers 76 placed on the boat station 127g and already subjected to the diffusion process are accommodated. let Next, arm 14
1 is hooked onto the hook portion 67k of the quartz boat 67 in the same manner as described above, and then the arm 141 is raised.
by horizontally and vertically moving the quartz boat 67.
is placed on the end plate 63c of the boat support 63 (which remains upright) of the wafer transfer section 2. Next, the boat support 63 is rotated toward the support stands 64 and 65, and the boat support 63 is rotated toward the support stands 64 and 65.
65 in a supported state.

Next, by moving the arm 105 of the wafer transfer unit 2, in the reverse order as described above, the wafers 76 that have undergone diffusion processing and are housed in the quartz boat 67 are transferred to the empty space placed on the carrier mounting plate 33. carrier 38
Transfer to. When the transfer of the wafer 76 is completed, the pinion gear 59 is rotated counterclockwise by the motor 60 shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, thereby moving the carrier mounting plate 33 toward the guides 54 and 5.
6 to the carrier storage section 1 side. In this way, the rack 33 of the carrier mounting plate 33 is
After moving the carrier mounting plate 33 until the pinion gear 59 separates from the pinion gear 59, the cylinder 49 is actuated to extend the cylinder shaft 49a, so that the pressing piece 50 attached to the tip of the cylinder shaft 49a is mounted on the carrier. It is brought into contact with the protruding piece 51 attached to the placing plate 33. In this state, the pressing piece 50 is magnetized in advance, and the pressing piece 50 and the protruding piece 51 are integrated by the action of magnetic force. Next, the air cylinder 49 is operated again to retract the cylinder shaft 49a, thereby causing the third A
As shown in the figure, move the carrier mounting plate 33 to the guide plate 2.
8 Return to top.

Next, by rotating the motor 39 shown in FIG. 2 to raise the support plate 16, the next shelf board 18 is positioned at the position where the first shelf board 18 was. After this, the carrier mounting plate 33 is removed by the same operation as described above.
to the wafer transfer unit 2 side, and each carrier 38
wafer 76 is transferred to a quartz boat 67.
Next, the quartz boat 67 containing the wafer 76 is
After standing upright, arm 1 of boat transfer mechanism section 5
41, the quartz boat 67 is placed on, for example, the boat station 127g of the loading station section 3. Next, for example, a quartz boat 67 is placed on the boat station 127f and accommodates the wafers 76 that have been subjected to the diffusion process.
After the wafer 76 is moved onto the boat support 63 of the wafer transfer section 2 by the arm 141, the wafer 76 housed in the quartz boat 67 is transferred to the carrier 38 by the same operation as described above.

During continuous operation of the vertical diffusion furnace system,
As described above, the wafer 76 in the carrier 38 of the carrier storage section 1 is transferred to the quartz boat 67, and then the quartz boat 67 is transferred to the boat stations 127a to 127h of the loading station section 3.
A wafer 7 which has been placed on top and has undergone diffusion processing
The series of operations of moving the quartz boat 67 containing the wafers 6 to the boat support 63 of the wafer transfer section 2, and then transferring the wafers 76 in the quartz boat 67 to the carrier 38 are repeated.

Next, a method for introducing the quartz boats 67 placed on the boat stations 127a to 127h of the loading station section 3 into the vertical diffusion furnace 131 will be explained.

First, for example, the quartz boat 67 placed on the boat station 127h is placed on the boat station 137 placed on the upper surface 130a of the housing 130 of the vertical diffusion furnace part 4 by the arm 141 of the boat transfer mechanism part 5. place Next, by rotating and lifting the lifting shaft 132a of the boat loader 132, the lifting tool 134 attached to the tip of the arm 132b is lifted to the boat station 1.
The hook portion 67k of the quartz boat 67 placed on the quartz boat 37 is positioned slightly below the hook portion 67k. Next, the lifting shaft 132a of the boat loader 132 is raised and the lifting tool 134 is hooked onto the hook portion 67k of the quartz boat 67, thereby lifting the quartz boat 67. Next, the lifting shaft 132a of the boat loader 132 is rotated to position the quartz boat 67 directly above the vertical diffusion furnace 131, and then the lifting shaft 132a is lowered to introduce the quartz boat 67 into the vertical diffusion furnace 131. do. After this, a predetermined heat treatment is performed. Therefore,
In this embodiment, a plurality of boat stations 127a to 127 of the loading station section 3
The quartz boat 67 transferred to the vertical diffusion furnace 1
The boat loading mechanism section for loading the vessel into the vessel 31 is composed of an arm 141 of the boat transfer mechanism section 5 and a boat loader 132 of the vertical diffusion furnace section 4.

In the vertical diffusion furnace system according to this embodiment, the wafer 76 transferred from the carrier 38 to the quartz boat 67 is returned to a carrier 38 different from the original carrier 38 after a predetermined diffusion process. However, if it is necessary to return the wafer 76 after the diffusion process to the same carrier 38, the above-described wafer transfer sequence may be changed accordingly.

In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, by supporting the boat support 63 by the support stands 64 and 65, the central axis of the quartz boat 67 forms a predetermined angle (for example, 15 degrees) with the horizontal direction. That's what I do. Also, in this state, a support rod 67 is installed so that the wafer 76 is vertically supported inside the quartz boat 67.
Wafer engaging grooves 67i of c to 67h are formed. Therefore, by transferring the wafer 76 housed in the carrier 38 to the quartz boat 67 using the buffer case 107, the normal line of the wafer 76 and the central axis of the quartz boat 67 automatically form a predetermined angle. You can do it like this.

Further, in the above embodiment, optical fibers 121 and 122 are provided at the lower end of the buffer case 107, and the light emitted from the optical fibers 121 and 122 is reflected by the horizontal groove 67j of the support rod 67c of the quartz boat 67. The wafer 76 in the buffer case 107 and the wafer engaging groove 67i are aligned based on the detection of the reflected light. Therefore, the wafer 76 can be transferred accurately and reliably from the buffer case 107 to the quartz boat 67 without damaging the wafer 76.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention. For example, in the embodiment described above, all wafers 76 contained within carrier 38
The wafers 76 are transferred to the quartz boat 67 so that they are oriented in the same direction as shown in FIG. 12A, but due to process problems, the wafers 76 are transferred alternately one by one as shown in FIG. 12B. Front and back (diagonal hatching is applied to the front side of wafer 76)
If it is necessary to arrange it on the quartz boat 67 so that That is, the first
As shown in FIG. 3, the tip 105a of the arm 105
A pulley portion 117a is formed on the sleeve 117 of the arm 105, and bearings 145 and 146 are attached so that the sleeve 117 can rotate relative to the arm 105. Also, the belt 1 is attached to the pulley portion 117a.
47 on the rack. By rotating the pulley 149 attached to the tip of the rotating shaft of the motor 148 by the motor 148,
Via the belt 147, the sleeve 117 and thus the buffer case 107 can be rotated relative to the arm 105. Note that the sleeve 117 and the air cylinder 108 are integrally connected,
As the sleeve 117 rotates, the air cylinder 108
Make sure that it can also rotate.

Further, a wafer push-up mechanism 151 as shown in FIG. 14 is used instead of the air cylinder 57 and push-up tool 58 shown in FIG. 4A. In this wafer pushing mechanism 151, the wafer 7 in the carrier 38 is
The push-up tools 152a to 152f are integrally formed and have an interval twice as large as the arrangement pitch of 6.
A rack 153 whose one end is fixed to these push-up tools 152a to 152f is connected to a pinion gear 155 attached to the rotating shaft of a motor 154.
It can be moved up and down by rotating it. Moreover, the above-mentioned push-up tools 152a to 152
These push-up tools 152a to 152 are provided between f.
Push-up tools 158a to 15 that have the same spacing as the push-up tools 152a to 152f and are integrally formed, corresponding to the positions that divide the mutual spacing of f into two.
8e can be raised and lowered by moving a rack 159, one end of which is fixed to these push-up tools 158a to 158f, by rotation of a pinion gear 161 attached to the rotating shaft of a motor 160.

Next, as shown in FIG. 12B, the wafers 76 are alternately placed in a quartz boat 67 so that the wafers 76 are turned upside down.
I will explain how to move it to the top.

As shown in FIG. 14, first, the push-up tools 152a to 152f are raised by the rotation of the motor 154, and the upper surfaces of these push-up tools 152a to 152f push up the wafers 76 in the carrier 38 one by one. Transfer it into the buffer case 107 using the same method as above. Next, the wafers 76 thus accommodated one by one in the buffer case 107 are transferred to the quartz boat 67 in the same manner as described above. As a result, quartz boat 67
The wafer engaging grooves 67 of the support rods 67c to 67h are
Every other wafer 76 is stored in i. Next, after lowering the push-up tools 152a to 152f,
The push-up tools 158a to 1 are rotated by the motor 160.
58e is raised, and the remaining wafers 76 in the carrier 38 are pushed up by the upper surfaces of the push-up tools 158a to 158e and transferred to the buffer case 107. Next, by rotating the motor 148 shown in FIG. 13, the buffer case 107 is rotated 180 degrees. Next, the wafer 76 in the buffer case 107 is transferred to the quartz boat 67 in the same manner as described above. In this way, the wafers 76 are accommodated between the wafers 76 already accommodated in the quartz boat 67 in the opposite orientation to those of these wafers 76, and as a result, the wafers 76 are separated one by one as shown in FIG. 12B. This means that the wafers 76 are transferred to the quartz boat 67 so that the wafers 76 are alternately turned front and back.

Note that in the above embodiment, the quartz boat 67
Although the case where the wafer is transferred to the quartz boat 67 so that the central axis of the wafer and the normal line of the wafer 76 form an angle of 15 degrees has been described, the present invention is not limited to this.
In general, an angle θ satisfying 0°≦θ≦45° can be formed.

Effects of the Invention According to the vertical heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention, the wafers contained in the carrier and stored in the carrier storage section can be automatically carried into the vertical furnace. Therefore, the heat treatment of the wafer can be performed quickly, and therefore the cost of heat treatment of the wafer can be significantly reduced.

In addition, a loading station section is provided which has a plurality of boat stations that can wait for loading the boat into which the wafers have been transferred into the vertical furnace, and the boat is transferred from the wafer transfer section by a boat transfer mechanism section. It was configured to transport to any one of the plurality of boat stations. Therefore, even if the time required to transfer the wafers stored in the carrier to the boat is longer than the processing time of the wafers in the vertical furnace for some reason, the wafers may be transferred to multiple boat stations in advance. Since the boats waiting in the wafer can be sequentially carried into the vertical furnace, the heat treatment of a large number of wafers can be performed more efficiently as a whole.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a vertical diffusion furnace system according to an embodiment to which the vertical heat treatment apparatus of the present invention is applied;
Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the carrier storage section as above, Figure 3
Figures A and 3B are plan views showing the configuration of a part of the carrier storage section and wafer transfer section, and Figure 4A is
Figures and Figure 4B are from the same carrier to the buffer.
5 is a front view of a boat support to explain how to transfer wafers from a buffer case to a quartz boat, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the exterior of the quartz boat, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the wafer engagement groove formed in the support rod of the quartz boat shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view showing the horizontal grooves of the support rod used to reflect light from the optical fiber in the quartz boat shown in FIG. 7, and FIG. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the case moving mechanism; FIG. 11 is a partially exploded perspective view showing the structure of the buffer case's grooved plate and wafer support rod; FIG. 12A;
Figure 2B is a schematic diagram showing a state in which wafers are arranged in the same direction on a quartz boat and a state in which each wafer is arranged alternately front and back.
Figure 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the rotation mechanism of the buffer case, and Figure 14 is a perspective view showing the wafer pushing mechanism used when transferring wafers one by one to a quartz boat alternately, front and back. be. In addition, in the symbols used in the drawings, 1...Carrier storage section, 2...Wafer transfer section, 3...Loading station section, 4...Vertical diffusion furnace section, 5...Boat transfer mechanism section, 11 , 12... Sprocket, 18... Shelf board, 33... Carrier mounting plate, 38... Carrier, 63... Boat support, 67... Quartz boat, 76... Wafer, 9
0...Moving table, 97...Elevating block, 107...
... Buffer case, 113 ... Wafer support rod, 121, 122 ... Optical fiber, 127,
137...Boat station, 131...Vertical diffusion furnace, 132...Boat loader, 151...Wafer pushing mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A carrier storage section for storing a plurality of carriers containing wafers; a wafer transfer section for transferring the wafers stored in the carriers into a boat; A carrier moving mechanism section for moving the wafers from the carrier storage section to the wafer transfer section; and a plurality of boat stations capable of making the boats, to which the wafers have been transferred, stand by in order to be carried into the vertical furnace. a loading station section; a boat transfer mechanism section for transferring the boat to which the wafers have been transferred from the wafer transfer section to any one of the plurality of boat stations; A vertical heat treatment apparatus comprising: a boat loading mechanism section for loading the heated boat into the vertical furnace.