Apparatus for performing a film-forming process on a substrate, and method of using a vacuum chuck mechanism provided in the apparatus for performing a film-forming process on a substrate

Abstract

To form a thin film while sucking and fixing substrates in a plurality of placement areas provided on a rotary table and revolving the substrates, and to release the suction and fixation of a substrate in a selected placement area.SOLUTION: In a vacuum vessel comprising a rotary table for revolving a plurality of substrates around a rotation shaft, a plurality of placement areas are provided on the rotary table in which the plurality of substrates are placed, and the placement areas are provided with vacuum chuck mechanisms that suck and fix the substrates. The vacuum chuck mechanism includes suction ports that open in the plurality of placement areas, and channels for suction that are formed to communicate with the suction ports. The operating state of the vacuum chuck mechanism is switched by a switching mechanism between an all fixed state in which the plurality of substrates are sucked and fixed and a selection and release state for releasing the suction and fixation of a substrate through a selected suction port selected from the plurality of suction ports.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for performing a film forming process on a substrate and a method of using a vacuum chuck mechanism provided in the apparatus for performing the film forming process on the substrate.

Background Art

[0002] As one method of forming a thin film on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as "wafer") which is a substrate, an ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) method is known in which a raw material gas and a reaction gas are sequentially supplied to the surface of the wafer to laminate reaction products. As a film forming apparatus for performing a film forming process using this ALD method, for example, Patent Document 1 describes a configuration in which a rotating table for rotating a plurality of wafers arranged in the circumferential direction is provided in a vacuum chamber. In this configuration, due to the rotation of the rotating table, the wafer alternately passes through the supply region of the raw material gas and the supply region of the reaction gas repeatedly, and thus the formation of a thin film on the wafer is performed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The present disclosure provides a technique capable of releasing the suction fixation of a substrate in a selected placement area when forming a thin film while sucking and fixing the substrate to each of a plurality of placement areas provided on a rotating table and revolving the substrate.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The present disclosure is an apparatus for performing a film forming process on a substrate, A rotating table on one side of which a plurality of the substrates are placed and which rotates around a rotation axis to revolve the plurality of substrates around the rotation axis, A vacuum chamber that houses the rotating table and is separated into a first processing region where a first processing gas that adsorbs to the substrate is supplied and a second processing region where a second processing gas that reacts with the first processing gas to form a thin film on the surface of the substrate is supplied in a space formed between the rotating table and the one surface thereof, and is configured such that the revolving plurality of substrates alternately pass through the first processing region and the second processing region repeatedly, A vacuum chuck mechanism provided on the rotating table, having a plurality of suction ports that open to a placement region where the plurality of substrates are respectively placed and suck and fix the substrates, and a plurality of suction channels that are formed to communicate with the respective suction ports and where internal vacuum exhaust is performed, A switching mechanism that switches the operating state of the vacuum chuck mechanism between a fully fixed state in which the plurality of substrates are sucked and fixed through all of the suction ports and a selective release state in which suction fixing of the substrate through the selected suction port is released by stopping the vacuum exhaust of the suction channel that communicates with the selected suction port selected from the plurality of suction ports, 、 The rotating shaft is composed of a cylindrical body, and at the ends of the plurality of suction channels are respectively connected inside the rotating shaft, and a collective exhaust channel for performing vacuum exhaust of these suction channels is formed. Inside the rotating shaft, a cylindrical body that forms the collective exhaust channel and is capable of rotating independently of the rotating shaft is provided. A switching shaft equipped with a switching valve for stopping the vacuum exhaust of the suction channel is provided on the connection part side with the rotating table by closing the opening at the end of the suction channel. The switching mechanism is a device that switches the operating state by relatively rotating the switching shaft with respect to the rotating shaft so that the switching valve moves to a position closing the opening of the suction channel leading to the selected suction port in the selection cancellation state. 。

Advantages of the Invention

[0006] According to the present disclosure, when forming a thin film while sucking and fixing substrates to a plurality of placement regions provided on a rotating table and revolving them, it is possible to release the sucking and fixing of the substrate in the selected placement region.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4A

Figure 4B

Figure 5A

Figure 5B

Figure 6A

Figure 6B

Figure 7

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0008] <Film Forming Apparatus> An embodiment of an apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a "film forming apparatus") for performing a film forming process on a substrate of the present disclosure will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this film forming apparatus 1 includes a vacuum chamber 10 having a generally circular planar shape. This vacuum chamber 10 includes a top plate portion 11 and a container body 12, and inside thereof, for example, a rotating table 2 made of quartz having a rotation center at the center of the vacuum chamber 10 and for revolving a wafer W is provided.

[0009] On the side wall of the vacuum chamber 10, as shown in FIG. 2, a carry-in / carry-out port 13 for transferring the wafer W is formed between an external transfer arm (not shown) and the rotating table 2, and this carry-in / carry-out port 13 is hermetically closed by a gate valve 14 that can be opened and closed. Further, at the central portion on the upper surface side of the top plate portion 11, a separation gas supply pipe 15 for supplying nitrogen (N2) gas as a separation gas is connected in order to suppress mixing of different process gases with each other at the central portion inside the vacuum chamber 10.

[0010] The rotary table 2 is fixed to the core part 21 at the center, and is connected to the revolution drive mechanism 31 via a rotary shaft 3 that is connected to the lower surface of the core part 21 and extends in the vertical direction. The revolution drive mechanism 31 is constituted by, for example, a hollow motor or a hollow shaft motor, and rotates the rotary table 2 around the vertical axis via the rotary shaft 3. The rotary shaft 3 is constituted by a cylindrical body, and a collective exhaust passage described later is formed inside the rotary shaft 3. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 32 denotes a case body that houses the rotary shaft 3 and the revolution drive mechanism 31. A purge gas supply pipe 16 for supplying N2 gas as a purge gas is connected to the case body 32 in the lower region of the rotary table 2.

[0011] On one surface side of the rotary table 2, a recess 22 is formed that forms a placement region for placing a wafer W having a diameter dimension of, for example, 300 mm. This recess 22 has a circular shape as shown in FIG. 2, and is provided at a plurality of locations, for example, six locations along the rotation direction (circumferential direction) of the rotary table 2. The recesses 22 in this example are formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the rotary table 2, and the diameter dimension and depth dimension are set so that when the wafer W is housed in the recess 22, the surface of the wafer W and the surface of the rotary table 2 are aligned. Thus, when the rotary table 2 is rotated around the vertical axis by the revolution drive mechanism 31 via the rotary shaft 3, the wafer W placed in the recess 22 is configured to revolve around the rotary shaft 3.

[0012] With respect to the recess 22 of the rotary table 2, each recess 22 is moved to the loading / unloading position facing the loading / unloading port 13, and the wafer W is transferred between the recess 22 and an external transfer arm. At a portion corresponding to the loading / unloading position, a transfer lift pin for lifting the wafer W from the back surface and its lift mechanism (both not shown) are provided on the lower side of the rotary table 2 so as to penetrate the recess 22.

[0013] <Vacuum chuck mechanism> In the film forming apparatus 1, a vacuum chuck mechanism 4 is provided to suck and fix the wafer W to each mounting region (recess 22) of the rotary table 2. As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4A, this vacuum chuck mechanism 4 includes a suction port 41 that opens into each recess 22, and six suction channels 42 that are formed so as to communicate with each suction port 41 and in which internal vacuum exhaust is performed. The suction ports 41 are each formed, for example, to open at the center of the bottom surface of each recess 22. Each suction channel 42 extends substantially horizontally inside the rotary table 2, bends downward toward the core portion 21 on the central side of the rotary table 2, and then further extends substantially horizontally toward the rotary shaft 3 inside the core portion 21. When viewed in plan, the six suction channels 42 are formed, for example, to extend radially from the collective exhaust passage 43 toward each suction port 41.

[0014] In this example, the connection portion between the core portion 21 and the rotary shaft 3 and the inside of the rotary shaft 3 are configured as the collective exhaust passage 43, and this collective exhaust passage 43 is provided so as to extend vertically inside the rotary shaft 3. The proximal end side of the collective exhaust passage 43 is connected to a suction vacuum exhaust mechanism 45, which is composed of, for example, a vacuum pump, via a valve V. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4A, the end portions of the six suction channels 42 are each connected to the collective exhaust passage 43 inside the core portion 21. At the connection portion between the suction channel 42 and the collective exhaust passage 43, the end portions of the suction channel 42 each form an opening 44. For example, the sizes and vertical positions of these openings 44 are configured to be aligned with each other in the six suction channels 42.

[0015] <First Embodiment of the Switching Mechanism> Furthermore, the film forming apparatus 1 includes a switching mechanism 5 for switching the operating state of the vacuum chuck mechanism 4. The switching of the operating state of the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 is performed between a fully fixed state in which all six wafers W are sucked and fixed in the concave portions 22, and a selective release state in which the suction fixation of the wafer W through a selected suction port selected from the six suction ports 41 is released. The selective release state is a state in which only the suction fixation of the wafer W through the selected suction port is released by stopping the vacuum exhaust of the suction flow path 42 communicating with the selected suction port. At this time, the suction fixation of the wafer W through the suction ports 41 other than the selected suction port continues.

[0016] The switching mechanism 5 includes a switching shaft 51 provided inside the rotating shaft 3. The switching shaft 51 is formed of a cylindrical body that can rotate independently of the rotating shaft 3, and the inside thereof forms the collective exhaust passage 43. Further, a switching valve 52 is provided on the connection portion side of the switching shaft 51 with the rotating table 2. The switching valve 52 serves to stop the vacuum exhaust of the suction flow path 42 by closing the opening 44 at the end of the suction flow path 42.

[0017] As shown in FIGS. 3, 4A, and 4B, a part of the upper end of the switching shaft 51 in this example protrudes upward to form a protruding surface, and this protruding surface is configured to form the switching valve 52. FIG. 3 shows the switching shaft 51 provided in the core portion 21. In FIG. 3 and FIGS. 5A and 5B to be described later, the switching valve 52 is hatched. The switching shaft 51 is provided in the rotating shaft 3 such that, for example, the upper end side edge of the region where the switching valve 52 is not provided is located below all the openings 44. The switching valve 52 is formed in a shape that can cover the opening 44 and the length d1 (see FIG. 4B) in the rotational direction of the side covering the opening 44 is smaller than the length d2 (see FIG. 3) in the rotational direction between adjacent openings 44.

[0018] The switching mechanism 5 includes a drive mechanism (switching drive mechanism) 53 for the switching shaft 51 that rotates the switching shaft 51. In this example, as shown in FIG. 1, the lower end side of the switching shaft 51 penetrates through the hollow revolution drive mechanism 31 and extends downward, and is connected to the switching drive mechanism 53. Thus, the switching mechanism 5 can relatively rotate the switching shaft 51 with respect to the rotation shaft 3, and is configured to be able to switch the operating state of the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 between the fully fixed state and the selection release state.

[0019] That is, when the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 is used in the fully fixed state, the switching valve 52 is retracted to a position where the openings 44 of any of the suction channels 42 are not blocked. On the other hand, when the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 is used in the selection release state, the switching valve 52 is arranged at a position where the opening 44 of the suction channel 42 communicating with the selected suction port is blocked.

[0020] Returning to FIG. 1 and continuing the description of the film forming apparatus 1, a heating part 18 is provided over the entire circumference via a quartz covering member 17 in the space between the rotary table 2 and the bottom surface part of the vacuum chamber 10. Then, the wafer W is heated by the heat radiated from the heating part 18 and the heat transfer from the rotary table 2 heated by the heating part 18. Also, a purge gas supply pipe 19 penetrating the bottom surface part of the vacuum chamber 10 is provided at a plurality of locations over the circumferential direction on the lower side of the heating part 18.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, at positions respectively facing the passing regions of the recesses 22 in the rotary table 2, a separation gas supply nozzle 63, a first gas supply nozzle 61 for supplying a first processing gas, a separation gas supply nozzle 64, and a second gas supply nozzle 62 for supplying a second processing gas are arranged at intervals in this order in the circumferential direction of the vacuum chamber 10, as seen clockwise (the rotation direction of the rotary table 2) when viewed from the loading / unloading port 13.

[0022] The first processing gas is a gas that adsorbs to the wafer W, and the second processing gas is a gas that reacts with the first processing gas to form a thin film on the surface of the wafer W. Here, dichlorosilane (SiH2Cl2: DCS) gas, which is a raw material gas, is used as the first processing gas, and ozone (O3) gas, which is an oxidation gas (reaction gas), is used as the second processing gas. Hereinafter, the case of forming a silicon oxide film (SiO2 film) by the reaction of these DCS gas and O3 gas will be described as an example.

[0023] The first gas supply nozzle 61 and the second gas supply nozzle 62 extend from the outer peripheral wall of the vacuum chamber 10 toward the center, and are respectively provided so as to straddle the region through which the wafer W passes when the rotary table 2 is rotated. These first and second gas supply nozzles 61 and 62 are each configured in a cylindrical shape with their tips sealed, and a plurality of gas discharge holes 611 and 621 are respectively formed on their lower surfaces as shown in FIG. 1.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 2, the proximal end side of the first gas supply nozzle 61 is connected to a DCS gas supply source 613 via a gas supply path 612 having a valve V1 and a flow rate adjustment unit M1. Further, the proximal end side of the second gas supply nozzle 62 is connected to an O3 gas supply source 623 via a gas supply path 622 having a valve V2 and a flow rate adjustment unit M2. The lower side of the first gas supply nozzle 61 forms a first processing region to which the first processing gas is supplied through the discharge hole 611, and the lower side of the second gas supply nozzle 62 forms a second processing region to which the second processing gas is supplied through the discharge hole 621. Further, for example, an activation mechanism such as an inductively coupled antenna or a microwave antenna for plasmaizing and activating the O3 gas may be provided on the top plate portion 11 of the second processing region.

[0025] The two separation gas supply nozzles 63 and 64 are each configured in the same manner as the first and second gas supply nozzles 61 and 62. The proximal end sides of these separation gas supply nozzles 63 and 64 are connected to supply sources 632 and 642 of, for example, N2 gas, which is a separation gas, via gas supply paths 631 and 641 having valves V3, V4 and flow rate adjustment units M3, M4, respectively.

[0026] Above each of the separation gas supply nozzles 63 and 64, convex portions 71 and 72 having a substantially fan-shaped planar shape as shown in FIG. 2 are provided. The N2 gas discharged from the separation gas supply nozzle 63 spreads from the nozzle 63 to both circumferential sides of the vacuum chamber 10 below the convex portion 71, and separates the first processing region and the second processing region on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the rotary table 2 of the first gas supply nozzle 61. Further, the N2 gas discharged from the separation gas supply nozzle 64 spreads from the nozzle 64 to both circumferential sides of the vacuum chamber 10 below the convex portion 72, and separates the first processing region and the second processing region on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the rotary table 2 of the first gas supply nozzle 61.

[0027] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, on the outer peripheral side of the rotary table 2, at a position slightly lower than the rotary table 2, a cover body 73 in which a gas flow path 731 is formed is disposed. In the cover body 73, exhaust ports 74 and 75 are formed so as to be spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction at two locations on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the first gas supply nozzle 61 and on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the second gas supply nozzle 62. As shown in FIG. 1, these exhaust ports 74 and 75 are connected to a vacuum pump 78, which is a vacuum exhaust mechanism, by exhaust pipes 77 each provided with a pressure adjustment unit 76 such as a butterfly valve.

[0028] Furthermore, the film forming apparatus 1 is provided with a control unit 8 composed of a computer for controlling the operation of the entire apparatus. A program for performing a film forming process described later is stored in the memory of the control unit 8. This program is composed of a group of steps so as to execute the operation of the apparatus, including the operations of a vacuum chuck mechanism 4 and a switching mechanism 5 described later, and is installed by a storage medium such as a hard disk, a compact disk, a magneto-optical disk, a memory card, or a flexible disk.

[0029] <Operation of the Film Forming Apparatus> Next, the operation of the above-described film forming apparatus 1 including a method of using the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 will be described. First, a step of opening the gate valve 14 and carrying in and out the wafer W delivered between the outside and the rotary table 2 through the carry-in / out port 13 is performed. In the following description, a case of a wafer W replacement operation will be described in which, after carrying out the processed wafer W arranged in each recess 22 of the rotary table 2, the next wafer W to be processed is carried in. In this step, the vacuum exhaust mechanism 45 of the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 is operated to open the valve V, and the vacuum exhaust of the collective exhaust passage 43 is continuously carried out.

[0030] Then, by the rotation of the rotary table 2, the recess 22 where the transfer is performed is sequentially moved to the carry-in / out position facing the carry-in / out port 13. On the other hand, the operating state of the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 is switched to the selection release state by the switching mechanism 5 so that the suction port 41 provided in the recess 22 of the wafer W carried in through the carry-in / out port 13, that is, the recess 22 moved to the carry-in / out position, becomes the selected suction port.

[0031] The position of the switching valve 52 in the selection release state is shown in FIG. 5B. In this figure, the suction flow path leading to the selected suction port is denoted by reference numeral 421, and the opening at the end of the suction flow path 421 is denoted by reference numeral 441. As shown in this figure, the switching shaft 51 is rotated relative to the rotary shaft 3 by the switching drive mechanism 53, and the switching valve 52 is moved to the position (selection release position) closing the opening 441 to set the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 to the selection release state.

[0032] When the switching valve 52 is arranged at the selection release position, the opening 441 of the suction flow path 421 is blocked with respect to the collective exhaust passage 43 in which the vacuum exhaust is being performed by the switching valve 52, and the vacuum exhaust of the suction flow path 421 is stopped. Thus, no suction force is generated at the suction port (selected suction port) 41 communicating with the suction flow path 421. By this operation, the suction fixation of the wafer W placed in the recess 22 moved to the carry-in / out position is released.

[0033] In this state, the lifting pins (not shown above) are raised to transfer the wafer W, whose suction fixation to the external transfer arm (not shown) has been released. Subsequently, the external transfer arm transfers the wafer W to be processed next, and the wafer W is transferred to the recess 22 through the lifting pins.

[0034] On the other hand, at this time, for the other recesses 22 that are not located at the loading / unloading position, the suction channels 42 are connected to the collective exhaust channel 43 through the openings 44. Therefore, as indicated by the dashed arrow in Fig. 5B, the suction channels 42 are evacuated toward the vacuum exhaust mechanism 45 through the collective exhaust channel 43, and thus a suction force directed toward the suction channels 42 is generated at the suction ports 41 of each recess 22. Accordingly, in the other recesses 22 that are not in the deselected state, the suction fixation of the wafer W can be continued.

[0035] Subsequently, the rotary table 2 (rotating shaft 3) is rotated to move the recess 22 adjacent to the upstream side in the rotation direction of the recess 22 on which the wafer W is placed to the loading / unloading position. Along with this, the recess 22 on which a new wafer W is placed by the above-described loading / unloading operation moves from the loading / unloading position. On the other hand, during this movement, for example, the switching shaft 51 does not rotate in synchronization with the rotating shaft 3, and the switching valve 52 stops at the deselected position. As a result, the opening 44 blocked by the switching valve 52 relatively moves and opens. By this operation, the suction port 41 of the recess 22 is connected to the collective exhaust channel 43 through the suction channel 42, and the wafer W is suction-fixed to the recess 22 by the evacuation of the vacuum chuck mechanism 4.

[0036] On the other hand, at the deselected position where the switching valve 52 stops, the opening 441 communicating with the suction channel 42 of the recess 22 where the wafer W is to be loaded / unloaded next moves, and thus the evacuation of the suction channel 42 is stopped. As a result, the suction fixation of the wafer W placed in the recess 22 is released. In this way, while intermittently rotating the rotary table 2, the six recesses 22 are sequentially moved to the loading / unloading position, and the loading / unloading operation of the wafer W for each recess 22 is performed.

[0037] For all the recesses 22, when the wafer W to be processed next is placed, a step is performed in which all the wafers W are sucked and fixed by the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 to a fully fixed state. In this step, as shown in FIG. 5A, the switching shaft 51 is relatively rotated with respect to the rotating shaft 3 so that the switching valve 52 of the switching mechanism 5 moves to a position (retracted position) retracted from the openings 44 of all the suction channels 42.

[0038] The retracted position is a position between adjacent openings 44 as shown in FIG. 5A. When the switching valve 52 is in the retracted position, all the openings 44 are in an open state with respect to the collective exhaust passage 43. As a result, as shown by the dashed arrow in FIG. 5A, the six suction channels 42 are evacuated through the collective exhaust passage 43, and thus a suction force directed toward the suction channels 42 acts on each suction port 41. Due to this suction force, the wafers W are respectively sucked and fixed in the six recesses 22, and in this way, the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 operates in a fully fixed state.

[0039] In this way, in this embodiment, by relatively rotating the switching shaft 51 of the switching mechanism 5 with respect to the rotating shaft 3 of the rotating table 2, the operating state of the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 is switched between the selective release state and the fully fixed state. Note that when the operation of the vacuum exhaust mechanism 45 of the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 is stopped while the wafers W are sucked and fixed in all the recesses 22, the suction fixation of all the wafers W can also be released all at once.

[0040] Returning to the description of the film formation process, the gate valve 14 is closed, the inside of the vacuum chamber 10 is evacuated by the vacuum pump 78 and the pressure adjustment unit 76, and the wafer W is heated to, for example, 400° C. by the heating unit 18 while rotating the rotating table 2, for example, clockwise. Subsequently, while rotating the rotating table 2, DCS gas, which is the first processing gas, is supplied from the first gas supply nozzle 61. Further, O3 gas, which is the second processing gas, is supplied from the second gas supply nozzle 62, and the film formation process is executed.

[0041] The wafer W passes through the first processing area, and in the first processing area, the DCS gas adsorbs onto the wafer W while spreading radially on the rotary table 2. Then, the wafer W adsorbed with the DCS gas passes through the second processing area due to the rotation of the rotary table 2. By supplying O3 gas in the second processing area, the DCS gas adsorbed on the wafer W is oxidized by the O3 gas, and a thin film of silicon oxide film (SiO2 film) is formed on the surface of the wafer W. At this time, if necessary, the above-described activation mechanism may be used to activate the O3 gas.

[0042] By continuing to rotate the rotary table 2 in this way, the six revolving wafers W alternately and repeatedly pass through the first processing area and the second processing area. Then, the adsorption of the DCS gas onto the wafer W surface and the oxidation of the components of the adsorbed DCS gas are performed many times in this order, and reaction products are laminated to form a SiO2 film with a set film thickness.

[0043] During this film formation process, as the rotary table 2 rotates, the switching mechanism 5 rotates the switching shaft 51 by the switching drive mechanism 53 so that the operating state of the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 can be maintained in the fully fixed state. That is, in order to always place the switching valve 52 in the retracted position, the operations of the revolution drive mechanism 31 and the switching drive mechanism 53 are controlled so that the switching shaft 51 rotates in synchronization with the rotation shaft 3. In this way, the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 is used in the fully fixed state during the film formation process of the wafer W.

[0044] When a SiO2 film with a set film thickness is formed and the film formation process period ends, a process of carrying the wafer W in and out through the carry-in / out port 13 is performed. In this process, the operating state of the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 is switched to the selection release state. When carrying out the wafer W, due to the rotation of the rotary table 2, the recess 22 for transfer sequentially moves to the carry-in / out position facing the carry-in / out port 13. Then, as shown in FIG. 5B, the operating state of the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 is set by the switching mechanism 5 so that the suction port 41 provided in the recess 22 of the wafer W carried out through the carry-in / out port 13, that is, the recess 22 moved to the carry-in / out position, becomes the selected suction port.

[0045] Thus, as described above, by closing the opening 441 of the suction channel leading to the selective suction port with the switching valve 52, the evacuation of the suction channel 421 is stopped, and the suction fixation of the wafer W through the selective suction port is released. Then, the wafer W is lifted from the recess 22 by the aforementioned transfer mechanism, transferred between the wafer W and an external transfer arm, carried out from the carry-in / carry-out port 13, and the operation of carrying in the next wafer W to be processed is as described above.

[0046] According to the above-described embodiment, when placing the wafers W in the respective recesses 22 which are a plurality of placement regions provided on one surface side of the rotary table 2 and revolving these wafers W to perform a film forming process, the operating state of the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 for suction-fixing the wafer W in the recess 22 is switched. That is, the switching mechanism 5 switches the operating state of the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 between the fully fixed state in which all the wafers W are suction-fixed and the selective release state in which the suction fixation of the selected wafer W is released. Therefore, it is possible to release the suction fixation to the recess 22 only for the selected wafer W.

[0047] In a configuration where only the selected wafer W can have its suction fixation released in this way, it is possible to suppress the displacement of the wafer W in the recess 22 and the entrainment of particles. That is, in a configuration not provided with the switching mechanism 5 of this example, it is only possible to switch between the collective execution and the collective release of the suction fixation in all the recesses 22. Therefore, when replacing the wafers W after the film forming process, the suction fixation of the wafers W to all the recesses 22 is released. On the other hand, since the rotary table 2 continues to rotate, in the recess 22 on which the wafer W that is not the object to be carried out is placed, the wafer W revolves in a state where the suction fixation is released, and thus there is a risk of moving due to the centrifugal force of rotation and generating a displacement. Further, when the wafer W on which the thin film has been formed in the film forming process is displaced, the thin film deposited in the recess 22 may peel off, which may cause the generation of particles.

[0048] In addition, for the wafer W newly placed in the recess 22, since the rotary table 2 rotates before suction fixation, the wafer W may move due to the centrifugal force of rotation, resulting in positional deviation and possibly deteriorating the uniformity of the subsequent film formation process. In contrast, in the present disclosure, due to the actions of the switching mechanism 5 and the vacuum chuck mechanism 4, only the selected wafer W can have its suction fixation released, so it is possible to suppress positional deviation of the wafer W in the recess 22 and the entrainment of particles.

[0049] Furthermore, in the present disclosure, as described above, suction fixation to the recess 22 is released only for the selected wafer W, and for wafers W other than the selected wafer W, suction fixation to the recess 22 can be performed. Therefore, when transferring the wafer W between the rotary table 2 and the outside, by maintaining suction fixation for wafers other than the transfer target to the recess 22, the movement of the wafer W is suppressed. As a result, the rotation speed of the rotary table 2 during loading and unloading of the wafer W can be increased, and the transfer time of the wafer W to the film forming apparatus 1 can be shortened.

[0050] Also, the switching mechanism 5 of the present disclosure switches the operating state of the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 between a fully fixed state and a selectively released state by whether or not the switching valve 52 of the switching shaft 51 closes the end portion on the vacuum exhaust mechanism 45 side of the suction flow path 42 leading to the suction port 41. Further, in the above example, with a simple configuration of relatively rotating the switching shaft 51 with respect to the rotating shaft 3, the positions of the switching valve 52 are respectively set to the position for implementing the fully fixed state and the position for implementing the selectively released state. Therefore, compared with a configuration that requires a multi-system exhaust path such as a configuration in which vacuum exhaust mechanisms for vacuum chucking are provided in a plurality of mounting regions and the fully fixed state and the selectively released state are switched, the complication and enlargement of the apparatus configuration are suppressed, and the switching of the operating state can be easily performed with a simple configuration.

[0051] <Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the switching mechanism of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B. The difference between this switching mechanism 5A and the first embodiment is that the switching shaft 51 is moved up and down relative to the rotation shaft 3 to switch the operating state of the vacuum chuck mechanism 4. In this embodiment, as shown in these figures, the lower end side of the switching shaft 51 penetrates the revolution drive mechanism 31 of the rotation shaft 3 and is connected to the lifting mechanism 54. The switching mechanism 5A is configured in the same manner as the first embodiment except that the lifting mechanism 54 is used instead of the switching drive mechanism 53, and the configuration of the other film forming apparatus 1 is also configured in the same manner as the first embodiment.

[0052] FIG. 6A shows an operating state in which the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 is used in a fully fixed state. In this state, the switching shaft 51 is set at a height position where the switching valve 52 does not block the opening 44 of each suction channel 42. Therefore, the path from the collective exhaust channel 43 to the suction port 41 of each recess 22 through each suction channel 42 is evacuated, and the wafers W are suction-fixed to all the recesses 22, resulting in a fully fixed state.

[0053] On the other hand, FIG. 6B shows an operating state in which the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 is used in a selectively released state. In this state, the switching shaft 51 is set at a height position where the switching valve 52 blocks the opening 441 of the selected suction channel 421. Therefore, the selected suction channel 421 is blocked from the collective exhaust channel 43, and the selected suction port communicating with the suction channel 421 is in a selectively released state where the suction fixation of the wafer W is released. Thus, also in this example, by moving the switching shaft 51 of the switching mechanism 5 up and down relative to the rotation shaft 3, the operating state of the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 can be switched between the fully fixed state and the selectively released state, and the same effect as the first embodiment can be obtained.

[0054] <Third Embodiment> Next, a third embodiment of the switching mechanism of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 7. The difference between this switching mechanism 5B and the first and second embodiments is that a mechanical on-off valve 55 is provided at the end of the suction flow path 42 of each recess 22. The on-off valve 55 is formed in a shape that can block the end portion 40, for example, so as to be able to open and close the end portion 40 of the suction flow path 42. For example, it is configured to be movable up and down between an upper position that blocks the end portion 40 and a lower position that opens the end portion 40 by a lifting mechanism 56. In this example, the end portion 40 is set at a position slightly closer to the suction port 42 than the position connecting the suction flow path 42 and the collective exhaust path 43. The configuration of the film forming apparatus 1 other than the switching mechanism 5B is the same as that of the first embodiment.

[0055] In this embodiment, in the operating state where the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 is used in the fully fixed state, all the on-off valves 55 of the switching mechanism 5B are set to the lower position. In this way, the end portions 40 of all the suction flow paths 42 are connected to the collective exhaust path 43, and the path leading to the suction port 41 through each suction flow path 42 is evacuated, so that the wafer W is sucked and fixed to all the recesses 22 in the fully fixed state.

[0056] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, in the operating state where the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 is used in the selectively released state, in the switching mechanism 5B, the on-off valve 55 of the selected suction flow path 421 is set to the upper position, and the on-off valves 55 of the other suction flow paths 42 are set to the lower position, respectively. Thereby, the end portion 401 of the selected suction flow path 421 is blocked by the on-off valve 55 and cut off from the collective exhaust path 43, and the selected suction port communicating with the suction flow path 421 is set in the selectively released state where the suction fixation of the wafer W is released. Thus, also in this example, by providing the mechanical on-off valve 5 for each suction flow path 42, the operating state of the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 can be switched between the fully fixed state and the selectively released state, and the effect of using the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 in the selectively released state can be obtained.

[0057] In the above, in the process of loading and unloading the wafer W into and out of the vacuum chamber 10, at least when unloading the wafer W, the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 may be set to the selection release state. When loading the wafer W, by sufficiently reducing the rotation speed of the rotary table 2, it may be possible to suppress the occurrence of displacement of the wafer W without performing suction fixation by the vacuum chuck mechanism 4. In this case, for example, after placing the wafer W in all the placement areas (recesses), the vacuum exhaust by the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 may be started, the operating state may be set to the all-fixed state, and suction fixation of all the wafers W may be performed.

[0058] Further, the process of loading and unloading the wafer W into and out of the vacuum chamber 10 is not limited to the case of performing the replacement operation of the wafer W in which, after unloading the processed wafer W from the recess 22, the wafer W to be processed next is loaded. For example, after performing the loading process of placing the wafers W before processing in all the recesses 22, the above-described film formation process may be performed, and then the unloading process of unloading the processed wafers W from all the recesses 22 may be performed.

[0059] The film formation apparatus of the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described configuration, and may be configured such that a rotation shaft is connected to the upper surface side of the rotary table and the rotary table is rotated by the rotation shaft in a suspended state. Further, since the wafer W is suction-fixed to the placement area provided on the rotary table by the vacuum chuck mechanism, it is not necessarily required to be formed in a recess shape.

[0060] Furthermore, in the examples shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, application examples to the film formation apparatus 1 having a configuration in which the first and second processing regions are separated by using the substantially fan-shaped convex portions 71 and 72, and the first gas supply nozzle 61 and the second gas supply nozzle 62 extending along the radial direction of the rotary table 2 are arranged in each processing region are shown. The film forming apparatus is not limited to this example. For example, the configuration of the film forming apparatus disclosed in JP-A-2013-168437 may be adopted. In this example, the first processing region is configured as a fan-shaped space that circumferentially partitions a part of the circular space above the rotating table, and the remaining space is the second region. The first region is partitioned from the second region by an exhaust port surrounding the periphery of the injection portion for supplying the source gas and an injection port surrounding the periphery of this exhaust port and supplying the purge gas. The vacuum chuck mechanism 4 and the switching mechanism 5 of the present disclosure can also be applied to the film forming apparatus having such a configuration.

[0061] In the film forming apparatus of the present disclosure, the first processing gas is not limited to using DCS gas. For example, a gas containing silicon such as bistable butylaminosilane (BTBAS) gas can be used. Further, the second processing gas is not limited to using O3 gas, and other oxidizing gases may be used. Furthermore, the present disclosure may be applied to a film forming apparatus that forms a silicon nitride (SiN) film on the wafer W by using a gas containing silicon such as DCS gas as the first processing gas and a nitriding gas such as ammonia (NH3) gas as the second processing gas. In addition, the vacuum chuck mechanism 4 and the switching mechanism 5 according to the present disclosure can be applied to a film forming apparatus that forms various films by the reaction of the first processing gas and the second processing gas not limited to the above examples.

[0062] The embodiments disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The above embodiments may be omitted, substituted, or changed in various forms without departing from the scope and gist of the appended claims.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0063] 10 Vacuum chamber 2 Rotating table 3 Rotating shaft 4 Vacuum chuck mechanism 41 Suction port 42 Suction flow path 5 Switching mechanism

Claims

1. An apparatus for performing a film-forming process on a substrate, wherein a plurality of the substrates are placed on one side thereof, and a rotary table for revolving the plurality of substrates around the rotary axis by rotating around the rotary axis; a vacuum chamber that houses the rotary table and is separated into a first processing region where a first processing gas that adsorbs to the substrate is supplied and a second processing region where a second processing gas that reacts with the first processing gas to form a thin film on the surface of the substrate is supplied, and the plurality of revolving substrates are configured to alternately and repeatedly pass through the first processing region and the second processing region; a vacuum chuck mechanism provided on the rotary table, having a plurality of suction ports that open to a placement region where the plurality of substrates are respectively placed and suck and fix the substrates, and a plurality of suction channels formed to communicate with the respective suction ports and performing internal vacuum exhaust; a switching mechanism that switches the operating state of the vacuum chuck mechanism between a fully fixed state in which the plurality of substrates are sucked and fixed through all the suction ports and a selective release state in which suction fixing of the substrate through the selective suction port is released by stopping vacuum exhaust of the suction channel leading to the selective suction port selected from the plurality of suction ports; the rotary axis is constituted by a cylindrical body, and a collective exhaust passage for performing vacuum exhaust of the plurality of suction channels is formed therein with the end portions of the plurality of suction channels connected thereto; inside the rotary axis, a cylindrical body that forms the collective exhaust passage and is capable of rotating independently of the rotary axis is provided, and a switching shaft having a switching valve for stopping vacuum exhaust of the suction channel by closing the opening of the end portion of the suction channel is provided on the connection portion side with the rotary table; the switching mechanism performs the switching of the operating state by relatively rotating the switching shaft with respect to the rotary axis so that the switching valve moves to a position closing the opening of the suction channel leading to the selective suction port in the selective release state. An apparatus.

2. The switching mechanism performs the switching of the operating state by relatively rotating the switching shaft with respect to the rotating shaft so that the switching valve moves to a position retracted from the openings at the ends of all the suction channels communicating with the plurality of suction ports in the fully fixed state, for the apparatus according to claim 1.

3. When rotating the rotating shaft in the fully fixed state, the switching shaft rotates in synchronization with the rotating shaft, for the apparatus according to claim 2.

4. The vacuum container is provided with a loading / unloading port for loading and unloading a substrate that is transferred between the outside and the rotating table. The switching mechanism performs the switching of the operating state so that the suction port provided in the placement area of the substrate loaded and unloaded through the loading / unloading port becomes the selected suction port in the selection release state, for the apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The rotating table sequentially moves the placement area where the transfer of the substrate is performed to a loading / unloading position facing the loading / unloading port. The switching mechanism performs the switching of the operating state so that the suction port in the placement area moved to the loading / unloading position becomes the selected suction port in the selection release state, for the apparatus according to claim 4.

6. The switching mechanism switches the operating state of the vacuum chuck mechanism to the fully fixed state during the film forming process of the substrate, for the apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. A method of using a vacuum chuck mechanism provided in an apparatus for performing a film forming process on a substrate, The apparatus for performing the film forming process is A rotating table on which a plurality of the substrates are placed on one side thereof and which rotates around a rotating axis to revolve the plurality of substrates around the rotating axis, A vacuum container that houses the rotating table and is separated into a first processing area where a first processing gas that adsorbs to the substrate is supplied and a second processing area where a second processing gas that reacts with the first processing gas to form a thin film on the surface of the substrate is supplied in the space formed between the rotating table and the one surface thereof, and the plurality of revolving substrates are configured to alternately pass through the first processing area and the second processing area repeatedly. It is provided on the rotary table, opens to a placement area where the plurality of substrates are respectively placed, and includes a plurality of suction ports for sucking and fixing the substrates, and a plurality of suction channels formed so as to communicate with each of the suction ports and in which internal vacuum exhaust is performed. The vacuum chuck mechanism, The rotating shaft is constituted by a cylindrical body, and at the end of the rotating shaft, the end portions of the plurality of suction channels are respectively connected, and a collective exhaust channel for performing vacuum exhaust of these suction channels is formed. Inside the rotating shaft, a cylindrical body that forms the collective exhaust channel and can rotate independently of the rotating shaft is provided. On the connection part side with the rotary table, a switching shaft having a switching valve for stopping the vacuum exhaust of the suction channel is provided by closing the opening of the end portion of the suction channel. Using the vacuum chuck mechanism, switching is performed between a step of sucking and fixing all the substrates through all the suction ports to a full-fixed state, and a step of releasing the sucking and fixing of the substrate through the selected suction port by stopping the vacuum exhaust of the suction channel leading to the selected suction port selected from the plurality of suction ports to a selected release state. In the switching between the step of setting to the full-fixed state and the step of setting to the selected release state, the switching valve is moved to a position closing the opening of the suction channel leading to the selected suction port in the selected release state, and the switching shaft is relatively rotated with respect to the rotating shaft. Method.

8. In the switching between the step of setting to the full-fixed state and the step of setting to the selected release state, the switching valve is moved to a position retracted from the openings of the end portions of all the suction channels leading to the plurality of suction ports in the full-fixed state, and the switching shaft is relatively rotated with respect to the rotating shaft. The method according to claim 7.

9. When rotating the rotating shaft in the step of setting to the full-fixed state, the switching shaft rotates in synchronization with the rotating shaft. The method according to claim 8.

10. Including a step of carrying in and out substrates delivered between the outside and the rotary table through a carry-in outlet provided in the vacuum container. In the step of setting the selection release state, in the step of loading and unloading the substrate, the vacuum chuck mechanism is used so that the suction port provided in the placement area of the substrate loaded and unloaded through the loading / unloading port becomes the selected suction port. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9.

11. including a step of sequentially moving the placement area where the substrate is transferred by the rotary table to a loading / unloading position facing the loading / unloading port, In the step of setting the selection release state, in the step of moving the placement area, the vacuum chuck mechanism is used so that the suction port of the placement area moved to the loading / unloading position becomes the selected suction port. The method according to claim 10.

12. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 11, wherein the vacuum chuck mechanism is used so that the step of setting the fully fixed state is performed during the film formation process of the substrate.

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