Gas supply device and substrate processing apparatus including the same

Abstract

A gas supply device and a substrate processing apparatus including the same are provided. The gas supply device supplies multiple process gas groups to a substrate processing apparatus having multiple wafers disposed therein. The gas supply device includes multiple process gas supply units that supply the multiple process gas groups, and a temporary process gas storage unit having an internal space partitioned into multiple isolated gas storage spaces, each gas storage space storing one of the process gas groups supplied from one of the process gas supply units, and simultaneously supplying one process gas group to multiple wafers.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to semiconductor device manufacturing equipment, and more particularly to a gas supply apparatus and a substrate processing apparatus including the same. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, semiconductor devices are manufactured by repeatedly performing a series of processes such as film deposition, diffusion, and etching on a substrate. Various manufacturing equipment is used to manufacture semiconductor devices. Examples of substrate processing equipment include film deposition equipment such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) equipment.

[0003] A CVD apparatus can perform a desired process on a substrate (e.g., a wafer) placed on a wafer support, such as a susceptor, in a film formation chamber serving as a processing chamber. Specifically, the CVD apparatus is configured such that a substrate is placed on the wafer support in the film formation chamber serving as a processing chamber, the substrate on the wafer support is heated to a predetermined temperature, and a processing gas is supplied to the substrate from a gas supply unit installed opposite the upper surface of the substrate, thereby depositing a thin film with a constant thickness on the substrate.

[0004] The PECVD method is a method of depositing thin films through the chemical reaction of reactive gases in a plasma generated in a reaction chamber, and can deposit a wide variety of thin films. The film properties of the deposited thin film, such as surface uniformity, surface roughness, and film thickness uniformity, affect the characteristics of the resulting semiconductor device, and significantly affect the yield and productivity of the semiconductor device.

[0005] To achieve this, it is necessary to uniformly distribute the process gas to the wafer in the process chamber and generate a uniform plasma discharge to obtain uniform film properties (e.g., thin film thickness and resistivity) across the entire wafer surface. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present invention relates to a gas supply device capable of improving film properties by uniformly supplying a processing gas to a wafer in a processing chamber, and to a substrate processing apparatus including the gas supply device.

[0007] In one embodiment of the present invention, a gas supply device supplies multiple processing gas groups to a substrate processing apparatus having multiple wafers disposed therein, the gas supply device comprising: multiple processing gas supply units configured to supply the multiple processing gas groups; and a temporary processing gas storage section having an internal space partitioned into multiple gas storage spaces isolated from each other, each gas storage space configured to store one processing gas group supplied from one processing gas supply unit.

[0008] In one embodiment of the present invention, a substrate processing apparatus includes a processing chamber having a processing space in which a substrate processing process is performed on a plurality of wafers therein, a plurality of processing gas supply units that supply a plurality of processing gas groups, and a processing gas temporary storage section having an internal space partitioned into a plurality of gas storage spaces that are isolated from each other, each gas storage space storing one processing gas group supplied from one processing gas supply unit, and a gas supply device configured to supply the one processing gas group to the plurality of wafers simultaneously.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present invention, when performing unit processing on multiple wafers in one chamber simultaneously, a constant amount of gas can be stored in a temporary processing gas storage unit, and a uniform amount of gas can be supplied to the multiple wafers simultaneously, thereby achieving good thin film characteristics and improving device characteristics.

[0010] Alternatively, one process gas temporary storage unit may be partitioned into multiple gas storage spaces, each with a zigzag internal structure, to store a single process gas group containing multiple different gases. The purpose of the zigzag internal structure is to more uniformly mix the multiple different gases contained in the single process gas group. Furthermore, each process gas group uniformly mixed in each gas storage space can be supplied to multiple wafers simultaneously. This simplifies the device configuration and enables the device to be miniaturized, improving the productivity of semiconductor devices.

[0011] These features, aspects, and other embodiments are described in detail below. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] These and other aspects, features and advantages of the present subject matter will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a gas supply device in a substrate processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing the structure of a temporary processing gas storage unit in a gas supply device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a temporary processing gas storage unit in a gas supply device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 illustrates a method for simultaneously delivering multiple process gases to one or more wafers loaded into a processing chamber using a gas delivery apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a temporary processing gas storage unit in a gas supply device according to one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present invention and are useful for understanding the configuration and effects of the present invention. However, the present invention can be embodied and modified in many different forms, and it should be understood that the present invention is not intended to limit the technology described herein to a specific embodiment, but includes various modifications, equivalents, and / or alternatives to the embodiments herein.

[0014] The terms used herein are for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Furthermore, as used herein, the terms "comprise" and / or "comprising" specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof, but are understood not to exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0015] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the concept of the present invention belongs. Furthermore, terms as defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the relevant art, and unless explicitly defined herein, should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense.

[0016] In this specification, terms such as first, second, and third may be used to describe various elements and / or components, regardless of order or importance, and these elements and / or components are not limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element or component. Thus, without departing from the scope of this specification, a first element and / or component described below can be referred to as a second element and / or component, and vice versa.

[0017] Spatially relative terms such as "below," "belower," "lower side," "upper," and "top" may be used herein for convenience to describe the relationship of one element or feature to another element or feature as shown in the figures. For example, if a device shown in the figures were inverted, elements described as being "below" or "below" other elements or features would then be positioned "above" or "above" those elements or features. Thus, for example, the term "below" can encompass both an orientation of above and below.

[0018] In the drawings, the thickness and volumes of layers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity, and like numbers refer to like or similar elements throughout the drawings.

[0019] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0020] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a substrate processing apparatus 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] The substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be a thin film forming apparatus, for example, a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) apparatus. The substrate processing apparatus 100 may form a thin film such as SiO2, SiN by a PECVD method used in IC manufacturing. x The unit processes for forming various thin films such as the above may be configured to be performed simultaneously on one or more wafers.

[0022] 1, a substrate processing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment may include a processing chamber 110 into which a wafer W1 is loaded. The processing chamber 110 may be a thin film deposition chamber. The processing chamber 110 may include a main body 111 and a processing space 115 inside the main body 111.

[0023] In the processing chamber 110, the main body 111 may have an open top and be configured to perform unit processing on the wafer W1 in the processing space 115. The gas supply unit 120, which will be described later, may be disposed in the open top portion of the main body 111, and the main body 111 of the processing chamber 110 may be configured to be sealed by the gas supply unit 120.

[0024] The processing space 115 is a space provided inside the main body 111, and a plurality of wafers W1, W3, and W5 (see FIG. 2) are loaded into the processing space 115. The processing space 115 is used to deposit SiO2, SiN by the PECVD method used in IC manufacturing. x The number of wafers loaded into the processing space 115 may be smaller, such as one or two.

[0025] Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the configuration of a substrate processing apparatus 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 shows the planar structure of a processing chamber 110 in the substrate processing apparatus 100. Fig. 1 shows only a space in which unit processing is performed on one wafer, for example, the first wafer W1, among multiple wafers W1, W3, and W5 arranged in a processing space 115 of the processing chamber 110 shown in Fig. 2.

[0026] 2, the processing chamber 110 may be configured to simultaneously perform unit processes on multiple wafers W1, W3, and W5 disposed within the processing space 115 of the main body 111. For example, the processing chamber 110 may be configured to simultaneously perform unit processes on three wafers W1, W3, and W5.

[0027] A plurality of wafer mounting units 151, 153, and 155 for respectively mounting a plurality of wafers W1, W3, and W5 may be provided in processing space 115 of processing chamber 110. Main body 111 of processing chamber 110 may have a hexagonal structure, whereby three wafer mounting units 151, 153, and 155 for respectively mounting first to third wafers W1, W3, and W5 may be configured to be arranged in a triangular shape.

[0028] In this embodiment, the plurality of wafers W1, W3, and W5 may include a first wafer W1, a second wafer W3, and a third wafer W5. The first to third wafers W1, W3, and W5 may be placed on, for example, a first wafer placement unit 151, a second wafer placement unit 153, and a third wafer placement unit 155, respectively.

[0029] A plurality of heaters 171, 173, and 175, which will be described later, may be arranged to correspond to the plurality of wafers W1, W3, and W5, respectively, in the processing space 115 of the processing chamber 110. The plurality of heaters 171, 173, and 175 may be arranged in the plurality of wafer mounting units 151, 153, and 155, respectively, and configured to simultaneously heat the wafers W1, W3, and W5 mounted on the plurality of wafer mounting units 151, 153, and 155.

[0030] Specifically, the multiple heaters 171, 173, 175 may include a first heater 171 arranged in the first wafer mounting unit 151 and configured to heat the first wafer W1, a second heater 173 arranged in the second wafer mounting unit 153 and configured to heat the second wafer W3, and a third heater 175 arranged in the third wafer mounting unit 155 and configured to heat the third wafer W5.

[0031] 2, in this embodiment, main body 111 of processing chamber 110 has a hexagonal structure, and three wafers, for example, first to third wafers W1, W3, and W5, are mounted on first to third wafer mounting units 151, 153, and 155, but this is not limited to this. Any configuration that provides one or more wafer mounting units for mounting one or more wafers and performs unit processing on one or more wafers simultaneously can be applied to main body 111 of processing chamber 110.

[0032] 1, in the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment, the gas supply unit 120 is disposed in the upper open portion of the main body 111 of the processing chamber 110 so as to face the wafer W1 placed on the wafer support unit 140. The gas supply unit 120 may be disposed so as to close the upper open portion of the main body 111.

[0033] The gas supply unit 120 may include a gas supply section 121 that supplies a thin film formation processing gas supplied from outside the main body 111 of the processing chamber 110, and a gas injection section 125 that injects the thin film formation processing gas supplied from the gas supply section 121 onto the top surface of the wafer W1 placed on the wafer support unit 140.

[0034] The gas injection section 125 of the gas supply unit 120 may be disposed in the upper open portion of the main body 111 so as to face the wafer W1 placed on the wafer support unit 140, so as to seal the processing space 115 of the main body 111. This allows the gas injection section 125 of the gas supply unit 120 to inject a processing gas for thin film formation into the processing space 115 of the main body 111, and a thin film is formed on the wafer W1.

[0035] The gas injection unit 125 may function as a support plate that forms an upper body of the processing chamber 110 and may include a showerhead electrode assembly including a showerhead. The electrode assembly may be configured to form an upper ceiling of the body 111 of the processing chamber 110 and may seal the body 111 of the processing chamber 110.

[0036] 2, gas supply unit 120 may be disposed to generally correspond to processing space 115 of processing chamber 110. Specifically, gas injection unit 125 of gas supply unit 120 may be disposed to close open processing space 115 of processing chamber 110 and configured to simultaneously supply processing gas to first to third wafers W1, W3, and W5 disposed in processing space 115. This allows a thin film deposition process as a unit process to be performed collectively on first to third wafers W1, W3, and W5 disposed in processing space 115.

[0037] The thin film forming process gases supplied from the gas supply unit 120 include various process gases such as a source gas, a carrier gas, a purge gas, etc. As the gas supply unit 120, various types of gas supply devices can be used, such as a shower head type, an injection type, a nozzle type, etc.

[0038] The substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment may further include a wafer support unit 140 disposed within the processing space 115 of the processing chamber 110. FIG. 1 shows only the space within the processing space 115 of the processing chamber 110 where unit processing is performed on the first wafer W1. A plurality of wafer support units 140 may be disposed within the processing chamber 110 depending on the number of wafers. For example, three wafer support units 140 may be disposed within the processing chamber 110 corresponding to the first to third wafers W1, W3, and W5 disposed within the processing space 115. The three wafer support units 140 can function as wafer positioning units 151, 153, and 155.

[0039] The wafer support unit 140 may include a wafer support 141, a plurality of pins 145 that support a wafer, and a support shaft 147 that supports the wafer support 141. The wafer W1 placed on the pins 145 is supported by the wafer support 141. The plurality of pins 145 may be configured to be movable and vertically penetrate a heater 171. The plurality of pins 145 can move the wafer W1 placed thereon up and down relative to the heater 171. As shown in FIG. 1 , when the plurality of pins 145 rise, the wafer W1 is placed on the plurality of pins 145 with a space between the wafer W1 and the heater 171, and when the plurality of pins 145 descend, the wafer W1 is placed on the heater 171. A unit process for the wafer W1 is performed with the wafer W1 placed on the heater 171.

[0040] In this embodiment, the wafer support portion 141 of the wafer support unit 140 is formed in an overall flat circular shape so that the wafer W1 is placed horizontally on multiple pins supported by the wafer support portion 141 and is arranged parallel to the gas injection portion 125 of the gas supply unit 120, but this is not limited to this and various modifications are possible.

[0041] For example, the support shaft 147 of the wafer support unit 140 may be configured to be fixed to the body 111 of the process chamber 110. In this example, the support shaft 147 is fixed to the body 111 and can serve to support the wafer support 141.

[0042] In another example, the support shaft 147 is configured to be rotatable, supports the wafer support portion 141, and can rotate the wafer support portion 141 to rotate the wafer W1 placed on the wafer support pins 145. Alternatively, the support shaft 147 is configured to be movable, supports the wafer support portion 141, and can also move the wafer W1 placed on the wafer support pins 145 up and down relative to the heater 171 by moving the wafer support portion 141. In this example, although not shown in FIG. 1 , a through-hole may be formed in part of the main body 111, for example, in part of the bottom of the main body 111, through which the support shaft 147 of the wafer support unit 140 on which the wafer W1 is placed is inserted and passes through.

[0043] The substrate processing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment may further include a heater unit 170 disposed in the processing space 115 of the processing chamber 110. The heater unit 170 may be configured to heat the wafer W1.

[0044] 2, heater unit 170 can include multiple heaters 171, 173, and 175 depending on the number of wafers to be loaded into processing space 115 of main body 111. Heater unit 170 can receive a power supply voltage from a power supply (not shown) external to processing chamber 110 and can heat multiple heaters 171, 173, and 175.

[0045] For example, heater unit 170 may include first to third heaters 171, 173, and 175 arranged in wafer placement units 151, 153, and 155. First to third heaters 171, 173, and 175 in heater unit 170 may be configured to heat first to third wafers W1, W3, and W5 placed on wafer placement units 151, 153, and 155.

[0046] Heater unit 170 may include a support shaft 177 disposed corresponding to first heater 171 and supporting first heater 171. Referring to Fig. 2, support shaft 177 may be provided on first to third heaters 171, 173, and 175, respectively, disposed corresponding to first to third wafers W1, W3, and W5 mounted on first to third wafer mounting units 151, 153, and 155, respectively.

[0047] For example, the support shaft 177 of the heater unit 170 may be configured to be fixed to the body 111 of the process chamber 110. In this example, the support shaft 177 of the heater 171 may be fixed to the body 111 and configured to serve as a support for the heater 171.

[0048] In another example, the support shaft 177 of the heater 171 is configured to be rotatable, and is able to support and rotate the heater 171. Alternatively, the support shaft 177 of the heater 171 may be configured to be movable, and is able to support and move the heater 171. In this example, although not shown in FIG. 1 , a through-hole may be formed in a part of the main body 111, for example, in a part of the bottom of the main body 111, through which the support shaft 177 of the heater unit 170 is inserted and passes through.

[0049] The substrate processing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment may further include a drive unit 180 disposed outside the processing chamber 110, for example, in the main body 111 of the processing chamber 110. The drive unit 180 is connected to either the wafer support unit 140 or the heater unit 170, and can drive either the wafer support unit 140 or the heater unit 170.

[0050] Although not shown, the drive unit 180 may include a motor or the like. For example, the drive unit 180 may include a direct drive (DD) motor. The drive unit 180 can rotate or move each of the wafers W1, W3, and W5 or each of the heaters 171, 173, and 175 by the DD motor.

[0051] For example, if the support shaft 147 of the wafer support unit 140 is configured to be rotatable, the drive unit 180 may be connected to the wafer support unit 140. In this case, the drive unit 180 may be configured to be connected to the support shaft 147 of the wafer support unit 140 and rotate the wafer W1, as shown in FIG.

[0052] In this example, the support shaft 177 of the heater unit 170 may be configured to be fixed to the main body 111 of the processing chamber 110. The portion of the support shaft 147 of the wafer support unit 140 that is connected to the drive unit 180 through a through-hole formed in the bottom of the main body 111 may be surrounded by a magnetic fluid sealing member.

[0053] In another example, when the support shaft 177 of the heater unit 170 is configured to be rotatable, the drive unit 180 may be connected to the heater unit 170. In this case, the drive unit 180 may be configured to be connected to the support shaft 177 of the heater unit 170 and rotate the heater 171, as shown in FIG.

[0054] In this example, the support shaft 147 of the wafer support unit 140 may be configured to be fixed to the main body 111 of the processing chamber 110. Of the support shaft 177 of the heater unit 170, the portion that is connected to the drive unit 180 through a through-hole formed in the bottom of the main body 111 may be surrounded by a magnetic fluid sealing member.

[0055] As yet another example, when the support shaft 147 of the wafer support unit 140 and the support shaft 177 of the heater unit 170 are configured to be rotatable, the drive unit 180 may be connected to the wafer support unit 140 and the heater unit 170. In this case, the drive unit 180 may be connected to the support shaft 147 of the wafer support unit 140 and the support shaft 177 of the heater unit 170, and may be configured to rotate the first wafer W1 and the heater 171 simultaneously.

[0056] In this example, the drive unit 180 may include a first drive unit connected to the support shaft 147 of the wafer support unit 140 and rotating the wafer W1, and a second drive unit provided separately from the first drive unit, connected to the support shaft 177 of the heater unit 170 and rotating the heater 171. The first drive unit may include a motor configured to move the multiple pins 141 by the support shaft 147 of the wafer support unit 140, and similarly, the second drive unit may include a motor configured to move the heater 171 up and down by the support shaft 177 of the heater unit 170.

[0057] In this case, the portion of the support shaft 147 of the wafer support unit 140 that is connected to the first drive unit via a through hole formed in the bottom of the main body 111 may be surrounded by a magnetic fluid sealing member, and the portion of the support shaft 177 of the heater unit 170 that is connected to the second drive unit via a through hole formed in the bottom of the main body 111 may be surrounded by a magnetic fluid sealing member.

[0058] A gate G may be provided in a portion of the processing chamber 110 for loading and unloading the wafer W1 into and from the main body 111. While the gate G is illustrated as being provided on the side of the main body 111, the gate G is not limited to this and may be provided in any portion of the main body 111 for loading and unloading the wafer W1 into and from the main body 111 of the processing chamber 110.

[0059] Although not shown, an exhaust unit connected to an external pump may be provided in a part of the main body 111, for example, in a part of the bottom of the main body 111. The exhaust unit can maintain the internal space 115 of the main body 111, which is the processing space 115, in a vacuum state and exhaust gases generated after the substrate processing process.

[0060] The substrate processing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment may further include a controller 190 configured to control the overall operation of the processing chamber 110. The controller 190 controls the operation of the heater unit 170, the gas supply unit 120, the drive unit 180, and other components provided within the main body 111 via an interface with an operator, and can set control parameters for a substrate processing process, such as a thin film deposition process. Although not shown, the controller 190 may include a central processing unit (CPU), memory, an input / output (I / O) interface, and the like. Furthermore, the controller 190 may be configured to control the rotational operations of the wafer W1 and the heater 171.

[0061] A gas supply device according to an embodiment corresponding to the gas supply section 121 of the gas supply unit 120 in FIG. 1 will be described in detail below.

[0062] Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a gas supply apparatus 200 in a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing the structure of a temporary processing gas storage unit 250 in the gas supply apparatus 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the temporary processing gas storage unit in the gas supply apparatus 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0063] The gas supply system 200 according to this embodiment may be configured to supply process gases for thin film formation to the process chamber 110. The process gases for thin film formation may be divided into multiple process gas groups. Furthermore, the process gas groups may include multiple different gases for forming a single type of thin film on the wafer surface. For example, the gas supply system 200 may be configured to alternately supply a first process gas group, such as a mixture of TEOS, O, and Ar for forming a SiO thin film, and a second process gas group, such as a mixture of SiH, NH, and Ar for forming a SiN thin film, to the process chamber 110.

[0064] 3 to 5, the gas supply apparatus 200 according to the embodiment may include multiple process gas supply units 210 and 215 that supply multiple process gas groups. The multiple process gas supply units 210 and 215 may include multiple process gas sources 220 and 225 that are configured to supply multiple process gas groups. In other words, each process gas supply unit may include a process gas source configured to supply one process gas group. The multiple process gas sources 220 and 225 may include a first process gas source 220 that supplies a first process gas group (see G1 in FIG. 6) into the process chamber 110 and a second process gas source 225 that supplies a second process gas group (see G2 in FIG. 6) different from the first process gas group G1 into the process chamber 110.

[0065] The gas supply device 200 according to the embodiment may include a temporary processing gas storage unit 250 configured to temporarily store a first processing gas group G1 supplied from a first processing gas supply source 220 and a second processing gas group G2 supplied from a second processing gas supply source 225.

[0066] The temporary process gas storage unit 250 may include multiple gas storage spaces (see 252-1 and 252-2 in FIG. 4) corresponding to multiple process gas groups. The multiple gas storage spaces are stacked parallel to each other in a vertical direction, and each gas storage space is configured to temporarily store one process gas group. The multiple gas storage spaces 252-1 and 252-2 may include a first gas storage space 252-1 configured to store a first process gas group G1 and a second gas storage space 252-2 configured to store a second process gas group G2.

[0067] Each gas storage space of the temporary processing gas storage unit 250 may further include a gas inlet disposed at the center thereof and configured to supply one processing gas group supplied from a corresponding processing gas supply source to the gas storage space of the corresponding temporary processing gas storage unit. The temporary processing gas storage unit 250 may further include a first processing gas inlet 240 configured to inject a first processing gas group G1 supplied from the first processing gas supply source 220 into the first gas storage space 252-1, and a second processing gas inlet 245 configured to inject a second processing gas group G2 supplied from the second processing gas supply source 225 into the second gas storage space 252-2.

[0068] Each gas storage space of the temporary process gas storage unit 250 may further include a plurality of gas outlets evenly arranged around the periphery thereof and configured to simultaneously discharge one stored process gas group to each of the wafers W1, W2, and W3 in the process chamber 110. The temporary process gas storage unit 250 may further include a first process gas outlet 260 for discharging the first process gas group G1 stored in the first gas storage space 252-1 to the outside (e.g., the process chamber 110) and a second process gas outlet 265 for discharging the second process gas group G2 stored in the second gas storage space 252-2 to the outside (e.g., the process chamber 110).

[0069] The first process gas outlet 260 may include a plurality of gas outlets 261, 262, and 263, the number of which corresponds to the number of wafers to be simultaneously processed in the process chamber 110. The plurality of gas outlets 261-263 may simultaneously discharge the first process gas group G1 stored in the first gas storage space 252-1 of the process gas temporary storage unit 250 to the first to third wafers W1, W3, and W5 in the process chamber 110, respectively.

[0070] The second process gas outlet 265 may include multiple gas outlets 266, 267, and 268 corresponding to the number of wafers simultaneously processed in the process chamber 110. The multiple gas outlets 266-268 can simultaneously discharge the second process gas group G2 stored in the second gas storage space 252-2 of the process gas temporary storage unit 250 to the first to third wafers W1, W3, and W5 in the process chamber 110, respectively.

[0071] Each gas supply unit may further include a processing gas supply line configured to connect the processing gas supply source of each gas supply unit to the corresponding gas storage space of the processing gas temporary storage unit. The first processing gas supply unit 210 and the second processing gas supply unit 215 in the gas supply apparatus 200 according to the embodiment may further include a first processing gas supply line 230 for supplying the first processing gas group G1 and a second processing gas supply line 235 for supplying the second processing gas group G2, respectively.

[0072] The first process gas supply line 230 may be a gas supply line configured to supply the first process gas group G1 supplied from the first process gas supply source 220 to the first gas storage space 252-1 of the process gas temporary storage unit 250. The second process gas supply line 235 may be a gas supply line configured to supply the second process gas group G2 supplied from the second process gas supply source 225 to the second gas storage space 252-2 of the process gas temporary storage unit 250.

[0073] The first processing gas supply line 230 may include supply lines 231, 232 that supply the first processing gas group G1 supplied from the first processing gas supply source 220 to the first processing gas inlet 240, a connecting portion 233 that connects the supply lines 231, 232, and a connecting portion 234 that connects the supply line 232 to the first processing gas inlet 240.

[0074] The second process gas supply line 235 may include supply lines 236, 237 configured to supply the second process gas group G2 supplied from the second process gas supply source 225 to the second process gas inlet 245, a connection portion 238 configured to connect the supply lines 236, 237, and a connection portion 239 configured to connect the supply line 237 and the second process gas inlet 245.

[0075] The gas supply device 200 according to the embodiment is broadly divided into two parts: a first processing gas supply unit 210 and a second processing gas supply unit 215 for supplying two different processing gas groups G1 and G2, respectively, and a processing gas temporary storage section 250 for temporarily storing the two processing gas groups G1 and G2, respectively.

[0076] As described above, the first process gas supply unit 210 is configured to supply a first process gas group G1 and may be comprised of a first process gas supply source 220 and a first process gas supply line 230. The second process gas supply unit 215 is configured to supply a second process gas group G2 and may be comprised of a second process gas supply source 225 and a second process gas supply line 235.

[0077] 4 and 5, the process gas temporary storage unit 250 further includes a main body 251 defining an internal space. The internal space may be divided into multiple gas storage spaces configured to store multiple process gas groups, such as a first process gas group G1 and a second process gas group G2. Each gas storage space is partially partitioned by multiple ring barriers to have a zigzag-shaped internal structure. These ring barriers may include multiple first ring barriers (e.g., 253-1, 254-1) extending downward from the top of each gas storage space and multiple second ring barriers (e.g., 253-2, 254-2) extending upward from the bottom of each gas storage space, which may be arranged alternately and concentrically. The purpose of the zigzag-shaped internal structure of each gas storage space is to more uniformly mix multiple different gases included in one process gas group.

[0078] The interior space defined by the main body 251 may be divided into an upper space and a lower space by an intermediate barrier 252. The upper space located above the intermediate barrier 252 may function as a first gas storage space 252-1 configured to store a first process gas group G1. The lower space located below the intermediate barrier 252 may function as a second gas storage space 252-2 configured to store a second process gas group G2.

[0079] The first gas storage space 252-1 may have a zigzag internal structure partially separated by the upper ring barrier 253, and the second gas storage space 252-2 may have a zigzag internal structure partially separated by the lower ring barrier 254. The first gas storage space 252-1 and the second gas storage space 252-2 may have a symmetrical structure with respect to the middle barrier 252.

[0080] Specifically, the first gas storage space 252-1 may have a zigzag cross-sectional structure, partially partitioned by a first upper ring barrier 253-1 extending downward from the main body 251 and a second upper ring barrier 253-2 extending upward from the intermediate barrier 252, as shown in FIG. 5.

[0081] In addition, the second gas storage space 252-2 may have a zigzag cross-sectional structure, partially partitioned by a first lower ring barrier 254-1 extending downward from the intermediate barrier 252 and a second lower ring barrier 254-2 extending upward from the main body 251, as shown in Figure 5.

[0082] The first gas storage space 252-1 may be configured to receive the first processing gas group G1 from the first processing gas inlet 240, store a certain amount of the first processing gas group G1, and discharge the stored first processing gas group G1 through the first discharge outlets 261-263.

[0083] The second gas storage space 252-2 may be configured to receive the second processing gas group G2 from the second processing gas inlet 245, store a certain amount of the second processing gas group G2, and discharge the stored second processing gas group G2 through the second discharge outlets 266-268.

[0084] FIG. 6 illustrates a method for simultaneously supplying a first process gas group G1 or a second process gas group G2 to three wafers W1, W3, and W5 loaded in a single process chamber 110 using a gas supply apparatus 200 according to one embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that, as shown in FIG. 6, multiple gas outlets 261-263 and 266-268 can directly supply multiple process gas groups, such as G1 and G2, to the three wafers W1, W3, and W5. However, in another preferred embodiment, the multiple gas outlets 261-263 and 266-268 can indirectly supply multiple process gas groups, such as G1 and G2, to the three wafers W1, W3, and W5. For example, the multiple gas outlets 261-263 and 266-268 can be connected to the gas injection unit 125 (not shown in FIG. 6) of the gas supply unit 120 to supply multiple process gas groups to the three wafers W1, W3, and W5.

[0085] 1 to 5, the first process gas group G1 is supplied from the first process gas supply source 220 to the first process gas inlet 240 via the first process gas supply line 230, and then stored in the first gas storage space 252-1 of the process gas temporary storage unit 250.

[0086] When a predetermined amount of the first process gas group G1 is stored in the first gas storage space 252-1, the first process gas group G1 may be simultaneously supplied to the wafers W1, W3, and W5 placed on the wafer placement units 151, 153, and 155 in the process chamber 110 through the multiple first exhaust ports 261 to 263.

[0087] The second process gas group G2 is supplied from the second process gas supply source 225 through the second process gas supply line 235 to the second process gas inlet 245 and then stored in the second gas storage space 252-2 of the process gas temporary storage unit 250.

[0088] When a predetermined amount of the second process gas group G2 is stored in the second gas storage space 252-2, the second process gas group G2 may be simultaneously supplied to the wafers W1, W3, and W5 placed in the wafer placement units 151, 153, and 155 in the process chamber 110 through the multiple first exhaust ports 266 to 268.

[0089] Specifically, the first process gas group G1 discharged from the outlet 261 of the plurality of first exhaust ports 261, 262, and 263 may be discharged toward the first wafer W1, the first process gas group G1 discharged from the outlet 262 of the plurality of first exhaust ports 261, 262, and 263 may be discharged toward the second wafer W3, and the first process gas group G1 discharged from the outlet 263 of the plurality of first exhaust ports 261, 262, and 263 may be discharged toward the third wafer W5. At this time, the first process gas group G1 may be supplied to the first to third wafers W1, W3, and W5 simultaneously.

[0090] Furthermore, the second process gas group G2 discharged through the outlet 266 of the plurality of second exhaust ports 266, 267, and 268 may be discharged toward the first wafer W1, the second process gas group G2 discharged through the outlet 267 of the plurality of second exhaust ports 266, 267, and 268 may be discharged toward the second wafer W3, and the second process gas group G1 discharged through the outlet 268 of the plurality of second exhaust ports 266, 267, and 268 may be discharged toward the third wafer W5. In this case, the second process gas group G2 may be supplied to the first to third wafers W1, W3, and W5 simultaneously.

[0091] The first process gas group G1 and the second process gas group G2 may be alternately discharged toward the first to third wafers W1, W3, and W5 during the thin film deposition process. As described above, in the gas supply device 200, the gas flow paths for each process gas group are independent. Therefore, when switching between process gas groups, only the process chamber 100 is purged, eliminating the need to purge the gas supply device 200, thereby reducing the purge time of the processing device 100. Of course, depending on the process requirements for thin film deposition, purging may be performed on both the process chamber 100 and the gas supply device 200.

[0092] In the above description, the process gas temporary storage unit 250 may include two gas storage spaces 252-1 and 252-2 as shown in FIG. 4. In other embodiments, the number of gas storage spaces in the process gas temporary storage unit 250 may be three, four, five, etc., and may be determined depending on the number of types of thin films to be formed on the wafer. For example, the process gas temporary storage unit 350 may include a main body 351 defining an internal space, and the internal space may be divided into three parallel gas storage spaces 352-1, 352-2, and 352-3 by two intermediate barriers 352 as shown in FIG. 7. Each of the three gas storage spaces 352-1, 352-2, and 352-3 may include a gas inlet 340 located at its center, multiple gas outlets 360 located around its periphery, and a zigzag-shaped internal structure partially partitioned by multiple ring barriers 380. The multiple ring barriers 380 in each gas storage space include multiple first ring barriers 381 extending downward from the top of each gas storage space and multiple second ring barriers 382 extending upward from the bottom of each gas storage space, which may be arranged alternately and concentrically.

[0093] When the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment is configured as a PECVD apparatus, either the wafer support portion 141 of the wafer support unit 140 or the gas injection portion 125 of the gas supply unit 120 may function as a first electrode, and the other of the wafer support portion 141 of the wafer support unit 140 or the gas injection portion 125 of the gas supply unit 120 may function as a second electrode.

[0094] In this example, the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment may further include an impedance matching unit (not shown). The impedance matching unit may be configured to provide power in a frequency band set as the plasma power source and to match the output impedance of the plasma power source with the load impedance within the main body 111, thereby preventing reflection loss due to reflection of high-frequency power from the main body 111.

[0095] 1 and 2, in this embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus 100 includes first to third wafer mounting units 151, 153, and 155 on which first to third wafers W1, W3, and W5 are mounted, and first to third heaters 171, 173, and 175 arranged in the first to third wafer mounting units 151, 153, and 155 and configured to heat the first to third wafers W1, W3, and W5, and performs unit processing simultaneously on three wafers W1, W3, and W5 in a processing space 115 within a main body 111 of a processing chamber 110. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any configuration may be used as long as multiple wafers are loaded into the processing space 115 of the main body 111 and unit processing is simultaneously performed on the multiple wafers.

[0096] The substrate processing apparatus according to the above-described embodiment can also be applied to film formation apparatuses other than PECVD apparatuses, such as atomic layer deposition (ALD) apparatuses, etc. The substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment can also be applied to any apparatus that can transfer multiple wafers within a single processing chamber using a wafer transfer unit and perform unit processing on multiple wafers collectively.

[0097] The above-described embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the present invention. The teachings of the present invention can be readily applied to other types of devices. Furthermore, the description of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention is intended to be illustrative and not limiting of the scope of the claims, and many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. 1. A gas supply apparatus for supplying a plurality of processing gas groups to a substrate processing apparatus having a plurality of wafers disposed therein, a plurality of process gas supply units configured to supply the plurality of process gas groups; a processing gas temporary storage unit having an internal space partitioned into a plurality of gas storage spaces isolated from one another; A gas supply apparatus, characterized in that each gas storage space stores one group of process gases supplied from one process gas supply unit, and supplies the one group of process gases to the plurality of wafers simultaneously.

2. 2. The gas supply device according to claim 1, wherein each gas storage space is partially partitioned by a plurality of ring barriers and has a zigzag internal structure.

3. 3. The gas supply device of claim 2, wherein the plurality of ring barriers in each gas storage space include a plurality of first ring barriers extending downward from the top of each gas storage space and a plurality of second ring barriers extending upward from the bottom of each gas storage space, and the first ring barriers and the second ring barriers are arranged alternately in a concentric pattern.

4. Each gas supply unit is a process gas source configured to supply a group of process gases; a process gas supply line configured to connect the process gas supply source of each gas supply unit to a corresponding gas storage space of the process gas temporary storage; The gas supply device according to claim 1 , further comprising:

5. 5. The gas supply device of claim 4, wherein each gas storage space of the processing gas temporary storage section includes a gas inlet configured to connect the processing gas supply line of each gas supply unit to the corresponding gas storage space of the processing gas temporary storage section.

6. 6. The gas supply device according to claim 5, wherein the gas inlet of each gas storage space is disposed at the center of the gas storage space.

7. 5. The gas supply apparatus of claim 4, wherein each gas storage space of the process gas temporary storage unit includes a plurality of gas outlets configured to simultaneously supply one group of process gases stored in the respective gas storage spaces to the plurality of wafers.

8. 8. The gas supply device according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of gas inlets of each gas storage space are evenly spaced around the periphery of each gas storage space.

9. A substrate processing apparatus, a processing chamber having a processing space therein for performing substrate processing steps on a plurality of wafers; a gas supply device including a plurality of process gas supply units configured to supply a plurality of process gas groups; and a process gas temporary storage unit having an internal space partitioned into a plurality of gas storage spaces isolated from each other, each gas storage space storing one of the process gas groups supplied from one of the process gas supply units and configured to supply the one process gas group to the plurality of wafers simultaneously; A substrate processing apparatus comprising:

10. 10. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 9, wherein each gas storage space is partially partitioned by a plurality of ring barriers and has a zigzag internal structure.

11. 11. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 10, wherein the plurality of ring barriers in each gas storage space include a plurality of first ring barriers extending downward from an upper portion of each gas storage space and a plurality of second ring barriers extending upward from a bottom portion of each gas storage space, and the first ring barriers and the second ring barriers are alternately arranged concentrically.

12. Each gas supply unit is a process gas source configured to supply a group of process gases; a process gas supply line configured to connect the process gas supply source of each gas supply unit to a corresponding gas storage space of the process gas temporary storage; The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9 , further comprising:

13. 13. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 12, wherein each gas storage space of the process gas temporary storage section includes a gas inlet configured to connect the process gas supply line of each gas supply unit to the corresponding gas storage space of the process gas temporary storage section.

14. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the gas inlet of each gas storage space is disposed at the center of the gas storage space.

15. 13. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 12, wherein each gas storage space of the process gas temporary storage unit includes a plurality of gas outlets configured to simultaneously supply one group of process gases stored in the respective gas storage spaces to the plurality of wafers.

16. 16. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 15, wherein the plurality of gas inlets of each gas storage space are evenly arranged around the periphery of the gas storage space.

17. 10. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the substrate processing step is a thin film deposition step performed in a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) apparatus.

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