Substrate Processing Equipment

Abstract

To provide a substrate processing apparatus that suppresses uneven gas flow in a processing vessel.SOLUTION: A substrate processing apparatus has an inner cylinder 11 forming a first region R1 inside which a substrate is housed, an outer cylinder 12 provided outside the inner cylinder with a second region R2 separated from it and having an exhaust port 28 at the end of a side wall, nozzles 31, 32, 33 that discharge gas into the first region R1, and a gas flow adjustment section 80 including multiple slits provided from upstream to downstream of the gas distribution direction in the gas flow path from the first region R1 to the exhaust port 28.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] In a substrate processing apparatus having a processing vessel including an inner cylinder and an outer cylinder arranged concentrically, a configuration is known in which a plate-shaped flow rectifying plate is provided between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-178136 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The present disclosure provides a technique capable of suppressing uneven gas flow in a processing chamber. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus comprising: a boat for holding a plurality of substrates in a shelf-like manner; an outer cylinder provided outside the inner cylinder across a second region and having an exhaust port at an end of a side wall; a nozzle for discharging gas into the first region; and a gas flow adjusting section including a plurality of slits provided in a gas flow path from the first region to the exhaust port, the slits extending from an upstream side to a downstream side in a flow direction of the gas. The inner cylinder has a shape with a ceiling and an open bottom end, and the plurality of slits include at least one slit provided in a side wall of the inner cylinder and two slits provided in the second region, and the slit length of the one slit is the same as or longer than the length of the boat. . [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to suppress unevenness in the gas flow within the processing chamber. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic view showing a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment; [Figure 2] Schematic diagram showing the gas flow adjustment unit [Figure 3] Schematic diagram showing a gas flow adjusting unit according to a first modified example. [Figure 4] Schematic diagram showing a gas flow adjusting unit according to a second modified example. [Figure 5] Figure showing the analysis results of gas flow distribution in the vertical direction [Figure 6] Figure showing the analysis results of gas flow uniformity [Figure 7] Diagram explaining the slit opening position [Figure 8] Figure showing the analysis results of gas flow distribution in the vertical direction [Figure 9] Diagram explaining the slit opening position [Figure 10] Figure showing the analysis results of gas flow distribution in the vertical direction DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, non-limiting exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In all the accompanying drawings, the same or corresponding reference numerals are used to designate the same or corresponding members or components, and redundant descriptions will be omitted.

[0009] [Substrate Processing Apparatus] A substrate processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. As shown in Figure 1, the substrate processing apparatus 1 is a batch-type vertical heat treatment apparatus that simultaneously performs heat treatment on a plurality of substrates W. The substrates W are, for example, semiconductor wafers.

[0010] The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a processing chamber 10, a gas supply unit 30, an exhaust unit 50, a heating unit 70, a gas flow adjusting unit 80, and a control unit 90.

[0011] The interior of processing vessel 10 can be depressurized. Processing vessel 10 has a double-tube structure in which inner tube 11 and outer tube 12 are coaxially arranged.

[0012] The inner tube 11 has a cylindrical shape with a ceiling and an open bottom end. The inner tube 11 defines a first region R1 therein for accommodating the substrate W. The ceiling of the inner tube 11 is, for example, flat. The inner tube 11 is made of a heat-resistant material such as quartz.

[0013] The outer tube 12 has a cylindrical shape with a ceiling and an open lower end. The outer tube 12 is provided so as to cover the side wall and ceiling of the inner tube 11. The outer tube 12 is provided outside the inner tube 11 across the second region R2. The outer tube 12 is made of a heat-resistant material such as quartz.

[0014] A housing portion 13 for housing a nozzle is formed along the axial direction (vertical direction) of the inner pipe 11 on one side. For example, a part of the side wall of the inner pipe 11 is protruded outward to form a convex portion 14, and the inside of the convex portion 14 is formed as the housing portion 13.

[0015] A slit A1 is formed in the side wall on the opposite side of the inner tube 11 corresponding to the storage section 13. The slit A1 is an exhaust port for exhausting gas in the first region R1. The slit A1 has a rectangular shape with the longitudinal direction in the vertical direction. The slit length of the slit A1 may be the same as or longer than the length of the boat 16.

[0016] The lower end of the processing vessel 10 is supported by a cylindrical manifold 17. The manifold 17 is made of, for example, stainless steel. A flange 18 is formed at the upper end of the manifold 17. The flange 18 supports the lower end of the outer tube 12. A seal member 19, such as an O-ring, is provided between the flange 18 and the lower end of the outer tube 12.

[0017] An annular support member 20 is provided on the inner wall of the upper portion of the manifold 17. The support member 20 supports the lower end of the inner tube 11. A lid member 21 is airtightly attached to the opening at the lower end of the manifold 17 via a sealing member 22 such as an O-ring. The lid member 21 and the sealing member 22 airtightly close the opening at the lower end of the processing vessel 10, i.e., the opening of the manifold 17. The lid member 21 is made of, for example, stainless steel.

[0018] A rotating shaft 24 that rotatably supports the boat 16 via a magnetic fluid seal 23 is provided penetrating the center of the lid 21. A lower portion of the rotating shaft 24 is rotatably supported by an arm 25a of an elevating mechanism 25 that is a boat elevator.

[0019] A rotating plate 26 is provided at the upper end of the rotating shaft 24. The boat 16 is placed on the rotating plate 26 via a quartz heat retention stand 27. Therefore, by raising and lowering the lifting mechanism 25, the lid 21 and the boat 16 move up and down as a unit, allowing the boat 16 to be inserted into and removed from the processing vessel 10. The boat 16 can be accommodated within the processing vessel 10. The boat 16 holds a plurality of substrates W (e.g., 50 to 150 substrates) in a shelf-like manner along the vertical direction.

[0020] The gas supply unit 30 has a plurality of (for example, three) nozzles 31 to 33. The plurality of nozzles 31 to 33 are arranged in a row along the circumferential direction inside the housing portion 13 of the inner tube 11. Each of the nozzles 31 to 33 is arranged vertically inside the inner tube 11, and is supported with its base end bent into an L-shape and passing through the manifold 17. Each of the nozzles 31 to 33 is made of, for example, quartz.

[0021] The nozzle 31 has a plurality of gas holes 31a formed at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. The plurality of gas holes 31a are oriented, for example, toward the center of the inner tube 11 (the substrate W side). The nozzle 31 ejects a source gas introduced from a source gas supply source (not shown) from the plurality of gas holes 31a in the horizontal direction toward the substrate W. The source gas is, for example, a gas containing silicon or a metal.

[0022] The nozzle 32 has a plurality of gas holes 32a formed at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. The plurality of gas holes 32a are oriented, for example, toward the center of the inner tube 11 (the substrate W side). The nozzle 32 ejects a reactive gas introduced from a reactive gas supply source (not shown) from the plurality of gas holes 32a in the horizontal direction toward the substrate W. The reactive gas is a gas that reacts with the source gas to generate a reaction product. The reactive gas is, for example, an oxidizing gas or a nitriding gas.

[0023] The nozzle 33 has a plurality of gas holes 33a formed at predetermined intervals along the vertical direction. The plurality of gas holes 33a are oriented, for example, toward the center of the inner tube 11 (the substrate W side). The nozzle 33 ejects a purge gas introduced from a purge gas supply source (not shown) from the plurality of gas holes 33a in the horizontal direction toward the substrate W. The purge gas is a gas for purging source gases and reactive gases remaining in the processing chamber 10. The purge gas is, for example, an inert gas such as nitrogen gas or argon gas.

[0024] The gas supply unit 30 may mix multiple types of gases and discharge them from one nozzle. The nozzles may have different shapes and arrangements. The gas supply unit 30 may be configured to supply another gas in addition to the source gas, reaction gas, and purge gas. Examples of the other gas include a cleaning gas and an etching gas.

[0025] The exhaust unit 50 exhausts gas that is discharged from the inner tube 11 through the slit A1 and then discharged from the exhaust port 28 via the second region R2 between the inner tube 11 and the outer tube 12. The exhaust port 28 is formed on the side wall of the upper portion of the manifold 17, above the support unit 20. An exhaust pipe 51 is connected to the exhaust port 28. A pressure adjustment valve 52 and a vacuum pump 53 are provided in this order from upstream to downstream in the gas flow direction on the exhaust pipe 51. Under the control of the control unit 90, the exhaust unit 50 adjusts the pressure inside the processing vessel 10 using the pressure adjustment valve 52 while sucking gas from inside the processing vessel 10 using the vacuum pump 53.

[0026] The heating unit 70 includes a cylindrical heater 71. The heater 71 is disposed radially outside the outer tube 12 to surround the outer tube 12. The heater 71 heats the entire periphery of the processing vessel 10, thereby heating each substrate W accommodated in the processing vessel 10. The heating unit 70 may further include a heat insulating material.

[0027] The gas flow adjuster 80 is provided in the gas flow path from the first region R1 to the exhaust port 28. The gas flow adjuster 80 has a cover member 81 and a partition plate 82.

[0028] The covering member 81 is provided in the second region R2. The covering member 81 is provided to protrude from the side wall of the inner tube 11 toward the outer tube 12 so as to cover the slit A1, and forms a third region R3 between itself and the side wall of the inner tube 11. The covering member 81 is provided along the side wall of the inner tube 11 and includes an arc portion that forms an arc with a predetermined central angle in a horizontal cross section. The predetermined angle is, for example, 45° or more and 90° or less. The vertical length of the covering member 81 is longer than the slit length of the slit A1 and is equal to or shorter than the vertical length of the inner tube 11. The covering member 81 is formed of a heat-resistant material such as quartz. The covering member 81 may be formed integrally with the inner tube 11 or may be formed separately from the inner tube 11.

[0029] The partition plate 82 is provided in the third region R3. The partition plate 82 extends along the radial direction of the inner pipe 11 and divides the third region R3 into two regions R3a and R3b. The region R3a faces the slit A1. The region R3b is located downstream of the region R3a in the gas flow direction and faces the slit A3, which will be described later. The partition plate 82 is made of a heat-resistant material such as quartz. The partition plate 82 may be formed integrally with the cover member 81 or may be formed separately. The partition plate 82 is provided with a slit A2 that connects the region R3a and the region R3b. The slit A2 is provided downstream of the slit A1 in the gas flow direction.

[0030] A slit A3 is provided in the side wall of the end of the covering member 81 closer to the exhaust port 28. The slit A3 is provided downstream of the slit A2 in the gas flow direction. The slit A3 is oriented toward the exhaust port 28. However, the slit A3 may also be oriented toward the side wall of the outer tube 12.

[0031] Each of the slits A1 to A3 has a rectangular, oblong, or elliptical shape with the vertical direction as the longitudinal direction and the horizontal direction as the lateral direction. The slits A1 to A3 have the same slit length. However, the slits A1 to A3 may have different slit lengths. It is preferable that the slit A1 has the widest slit width of the three slits A1 to A3. In this case, concentration of flow velocity near the slit A1 is alleviated. At least one of the slits A1 to A3 may be divided into multiple sections in the vertical direction.

[0032] The gas flow adjusting section 80 adjusts the flow of gas in the first region R1 by passing the gas through the slits A1, A2, and A3 in this order, and guides the gas to the exhaust port .

[0033] The control unit 90 may be a computer having one or more processors 91, a memory 92, an input / output interface (not shown), and electronic circuits. The processor 91 is one or a combination of a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, a circuit made up of multiple discrete semiconductors, etc. The memory 92 includes a volatile memory and a non-volatile memory (e.g., a compact disc, a DVD, a hard disk, a flash memory, etc.) and stores programs for operating the substrate processing apparatus 1 and recipes such as process conditions for substrate processing. The processor 91 executes the programs and recipes stored in the memory 92 to control each component of the substrate processing apparatus 1 and perform various processes.

[0034] As described above, the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment includes a gas flow adjuster 80 including a plurality of slits A1-A3 arranged in the gas flow path from the first region R1 to the exhaust port 28, from the upstream side to the downstream side in the gas flow direction. By providing multiple slits along the gas flow direction in this manner, it is possible to suppress bias in the gas flow in the vertical direction of the first region R1. As a result, the uniformity of film formation characteristics among substrates W (hereinafter referred to as "inter-surface uniformity") is improved.

[0035] Furthermore, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, the slits are multiplexed along the gas flow direction, and the slit width of the slit A1 located closest to the first region R1 is widened, thereby mitigating the concentration of flow velocity near the slit A1. As a result, the uniformity of the film formation characteristics within the surface of the substrate W (hereinafter referred to as "in-surface uniformity") is improved.

[0036] Furthermore, according to the substrate processing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the slits are multiplexed along the gas flow direction, and the lengths of the slits A1 to A3 are variable, thereby making it possible to control the exhaust distribution in the vertical direction.

[0037] On the other hand, in a substrate processing apparatus not equipped with the gas flow adjuster 80, more gas is discharged from the lower part of the height region (hereinafter referred to as the "process region") in which the substrate W is accommodated, and less gas is discharged from the upper part of the process region. This causes gas to stagnate in the upper part of the process region in the inner tube 11, which can lead to over-decomposition of the source gas and deactivation of the reactive gas, resulting in reduced inter-surface uniformity of the film formation characteristics. Furthermore, if the slit width of the slit A1 is narrow, excessively decomposed gas can concentrate near the slit A1, which can easily cause a film to deposit on the peripheral edge of the substrate W, reducing in-surface uniformity.

[0038] Next, a gas flow adjuster 80A according to a first modified example will be described with reference to Fig. 3. The gas flow adjuster 80A is provided in the gas flow path from the first region R1 to the exhaust port 28. The gas flow adjuster 80A has a first plate-shaped member 86 and a second plate-shaped member 87.

[0039] The first plate-shaped member 86 extends radially from the side wall of the inner pipe 11 toward the side wall of the outer pipe 12, and forms a slit A2 by narrowing the gap between the side wall of the inner pipe 11 and the side wall of the outer pipe 12. The vertical length of the first plate-shaped member 86 is, for example, equal to or greater than the vertical length of the process area and equal to or less than the vertical length of the inner pipe 11.

[0040] The second plate-shaped member 87 is provided downstream in the gas flow direction from the first plate-shaped member 86. The second plate-shaped member 87 extends along the radial direction of the inner pipe 11 from the side wall of the inner pipe 11 toward the side wall of the outer pipe 12, and narrows the gap between the side wall of the inner pipe 11 and the side wall of the outer pipe 12 to form a slit A3. The vertical length of the second plate-shaped member 87 is, for example, equal to or greater than the vertical length of the process area and equal to or less than the vertical length of the inner pipe 11.

[0041] Similar to gas flow adjuster 80, gas flow adjuster 80A adjusts the flow of gas in first region R1 by passing it through slits A1, A2, and A3 in this order, and guides the gas to exhaust port 28. A substrate processing apparatus including gas flow adjuster 80A also achieves the same effects as those of the substrate processing apparatus 1 described above.

[0042] Next, a gas flow adjuster 80B according to a second modification will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Gas flow adjuster 80B differs from gas flow adjuster 80A in that first plate-shaped member 86 and second plate-shaped member 87 extend from the side wall of outer pipe 12 toward the side wall of inner pipe 11 in the radial direction of inner pipe 11.

[0043] The first plate-shaped member 86 extends along the radial direction of the inner pipe 11 from the side wall of the outer pipe 12 toward the side wall of the inner pipe 11, and forms a slit A2 by narrowing the gap between the side wall of the inner pipe 11 and the side wall of the outer pipe 12. The vertical length of the first plate-shaped member 86 is, for example, equal to or greater than the vertical length of the process area and equal to or less than the vertical length of the inner pipe 11.

[0044] The second plate-shaped member 87 is provided downstream in the gas flow direction from the first plate-shaped member 86. The second plate-shaped member 87 extends along the radial direction of the inner pipe 11 from the side wall of the outer pipe 12 toward the side wall of the inner pipe 11, and narrows the gap between the side wall of the inner pipe 11 and the side wall of the outer pipe 12 to form a slit A3. The vertical length of the second plate-shaped member 87 is, for example, equal to or greater than the vertical length of the process area and equal to or less than the vertical length of the inner pipe 11.

[0045] Similar to gas flow adjuster 80A, gas flow adjuster 80B adjusts the flow of gas in first region R1 by passing it through slits A1, A2, and A3 in this order, and guides the gas to exhaust port 28. A substrate processing apparatus including gas flow adjuster 80B also achieves the same effects as those of the substrate processing apparatus 1 described above.

[0046] [Analysis results] The analysis results confirming that the use of the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment improves the unevenness of the gas flow in the vertical direction in the first region R1 will be described.

[0047] (Analysis A) In analysis A, the vertical gas flow rate distribution at the positions of slits A1 to A3 was calculated by simulation when gas was discharged from nozzle 31 into first region R1 in substrate processing apparatus 1 and exhausted through exhaust port 28. In analysis A, the slit width of slit A1 was set to 40 mm, the slit width of slit A2 to 10 mm, and the slit width of slit A3 to 5 mm. The slit lengths of slits A1 to A3 were set to be longer than the length of the process region in the vertical direction. The slit lengths of slits A1 to A3 were also set to be the same.

[0048] Figure 5 shows the analysis results of the gas flow rate distribution in the vertical direction. In Figure 5, the horizontal axis shows each vertical region when the process region is divided into eight equal parts in the vertical direction, and the vertical axis shows the gas flow rate ratio in each region. The flow rate ratio was calculated using the following formula (1).

[0049] Flow rate ratio = Flow rate in each area / Average flow rate in eight areas of slit A1 … (1)

[0050] In FIG. 5, the diamond marks, square marks, and triangle marks indicate the flow rate ratios at the positions of the slit A1, slit A2, and slit A3, respectively.

[0051] As shown in Figure 5, the flow rate is higher at the bottom than at the top at the position of slit A3, whereas there is almost no difference in flow rate between the top and bottom at the position of slit A1. This result shows that by arranging slit A1 with a slit width of 40 mm, slit A2 with a slit width of 10 mm, and slit A3 with a slit width of 5 mm from the upstream side to the downstream side in the gas flow direction, it is possible to suppress bias in the vertical gas flow in the first region R1.

[0052] (Analysis B) In analysis B, a simulation was performed to calculate the vertical gas flow rate distribution at the position of slit A1 in the substrate processing apparatus 1 when gas was discharged from the nozzle 31 into the first region R1 and exhausted through the exhaust port 28. In analysis B, the slit width of slits A1 to A3 was changed and the simulation was performed. The slit lengths of slits A1 to A3 were set to be longer than the length of the process region in the vertical direction. The slit lengths of slits A1 to A3 were set to be the same. For comparison, a similar simulation was also performed in a substrate processing apparatus with a single slit A1 and no slits A2 and A3.

[0053] 6 is a diagram showing the analysis results of the gas flow rate uniformity, which shows the gas flow rate uniformity in the vertical direction in each substrate processing apparatus. The uniformity was calculated using the following formula (2).

[0054] Uniformity = (maximum value - minimum value) / average value … (2) In the formula (2), the maximum value, minimum value, and average value are the maximum value, minimum value, and average value of the flow rate in the eight regions of the slit A1, respectively.

[0055] In FIG. 6, the first bar graph from the left shows the results when a single slit A1 (slit width: 40 mm) is used. The second bar graph from the left shows the results when a single slit A1 (slit width: 5 mm) is used. The third bar graph from the left shows the results when a single slit A1 (slit width: 40 mm), a single slit A2 (slit width: 10 mm), and a single slit A3 (slit width: 5 mm) are used. The fourth bar graph from the left shows the results when a single slit A1 (slit width: 20 mm), a single slit A2 (slit width: 10 mm), and a single slit A3 (slit width: 5 mm) are used. The fifth bar graph from the left shows the results when a single slit A1 (slit width: 5 mm), a single slit A2 (slit width: 10 mm), and a single slit A3 (slit width: 20 mm) are used.

[0056] 6, when the substrate processing apparatus has three slits A1 to A3, the vertical gas flow uniformity at the position of slit A1 is 1.2% to 1.6%. On the other hand, when the substrate processing apparatus has a single slit A1, the vertical gas flow uniformity at the position of slit A1 is 2.3% to 10.6%. This result shows that by providing multiple slits from the upstream side to the downstream side in the gas flow direction, it is possible to suppress bias in the vertical gas flow in the first region R1.

[0057] 6, when the substrate processing apparatus has three slits A1 to A3, setting the slit width of slit A3 to 5 mm results in better uniformity of the vertical gas flow rate at the position of slit A1 than setting the slit width of slit A3 to 20 mm. This result indicates that narrowing the slit width of slit A3 can particularly suppress the vertical gas flow bias in the first region R1. This is thought to be because narrowing the slit width of slit A3 facing the second region R2 deteriorates the exhaust conductance near slit A3. In other words, the region below slit A3 near the exhaust port 28 tends to have a high exhaust flow rate, but the deterioration of exhaust conductance is thought to alleviate this high exhaust flow rate in the region below slit A3.

[0058] (Analysis C) In analysis C, similar to analysis A, in the substrate processing apparatus 1, the vertical gas flow rate distribution at the positions of slits A1 to A3 was calculated by simulation when gas was discharged from the nozzle 31 into the first region R1 and exhausted through the exhaust port 28. In analysis C, the slit lengths of the two slits A2 and A3 were changed and the slit widths of slits A1 to A3 were set to the same slit widths as those of slits A1 to A3 in analysis A.

[0059] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the positions of the slit openings. In FIG. 7, the regions with the numbers "2" to "8" represent the vertical regions when the process region is divided vertically into eight equal parts, with the region with the number "2" located at the top of the process region and the region with the number "8" located at the bottom. The region with the number "1" represents the region above the process region, and the region with the number "10" represents the region below the process region. Furthermore, regions with matte hatching represent regions with openings, while regions without matte hatching represent regions without openings. That is, in FIG. 7, slits A1 and A2 are slits that open from the top to the bottom of the process region. Furthermore, slit A3 is a slit in which the two central regions are open when the process region is divided into eight equal parts, and the remaining regions are not open.

[0060] FIG. 8 shows the analysis results of gas flow rate distribution in the vertical direction, when the substrate processing apparatus has the three slits A1 to A3 shown in FIG. 7. In FIG. 8, the horizontal axis shows each vertical region when the process region is divided into eight equal parts in the vertical direction, and the vertical axis shows the gas flow rate ratio in each region. The flow rate ratio was calculated using the above-mentioned formula (1). In FIG. 8, the diamond, square, and triangle symbols indicate the flow rate ratios at the positions of slit A1, slit A2, and slit A3, respectively.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 8, it can be seen that at the position of slit A1, the central part in the vertical direction shows a convex shape with a larger flow rate than the lower and upper parts.

[0062] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the positions of the slit openings. In FIG. 9, the regions with the numbers "2" to "8" represent the vertical regions when the process area is divided vertically into eight equal parts. The region with the number "2" is located at the top of the process area, and the region with the number "8" is located at the bottom of the process area. The region with the number "1" represents the region above the process area, and the region with the number "10" represents the region below the process area. Regions with matte hatching represent regions with openings, and regions without matte hatching represent regions without openings. That is, in FIG. 9, slit A1 is a slit that opens from the top to the bottom of the process area. Slit A2 is a slit that opens the top two regions and the bottom two regions when the process area is divided into eight equal parts, and does not open the remaining regions. Slit A3 is a slit that opens the center two regions when the process area is divided into eight equal parts, and does not open the remaining regions.

[0063] FIG. 10 shows the analysis results of gas flow rate distribution in the vertical direction, when the substrate processing apparatus has the three slits A1 to A3 shown in FIG. 9. In FIG. 10, the horizontal axis shows each vertical region when the process region is divided into eight equal parts in the vertical direction, and the vertical axis shows the gas flow rate ratio in each region. The flow rate ratio was calculated using the above-mentioned formula (1). In FIG. 10, the diamond, square, and triangle symbols indicate the flow rate ratios at the positions of slit A1, slit A2, and slit A3, respectively.

[0064] As shown in FIG. 10, it can be seen that at the position of slit A1, the central part in the vertical direction shows a concave shape with a smaller flow rate than the lower and upper parts.

[0065] As described above, the results shown in FIGS. 8 and 10 indicate that the exhaust gas distribution in the vertical direction can be controlled by changing the slit lengths of the slits A2 and A3.

[0066] In the above embodiment, the inner pipe 11 is an example of an inner cylinder, and the outer pipe 12 and the manifold 17 are an example of an outer cylinder.

[0067] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive, and the above-described embodiments may be omitted, substituted, or modified in various ways without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

[0068] In the above embodiment, the outer tube 12 and the manifold 17, which are made of different materials, constitute an outer cylinder, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the outer tube 12 and the manifold 17 may be made of the same material and formed integrally. [Explanation of symbols]

[0069] 1. Substrate processing equipment 11 Inner tube 12 Outer tube 17 Manifold 28 Exhaust port 31~33 nozzles 80, 80A, 80B Gas flow adjustment unit A1~A3 Slit R1 1st area R2 2nd area

Claims

1. A boat for holding a plurality of substrates in a shelf-like manner; an inner cylinder forming a first region therein for accommodating the boat; an outer cylinder provided outside the inner cylinder with a second region therebetween and having an exhaust port at an end of a side wall; a nozzle that ejects gas into the first region; a gas flow adjusting section including a plurality of slits provided in a gas flow path from the first region to the exhaust port, the slits being arranged from an upstream side to a downstream side in a gas flow direction; Equipped with The inner cylinder has a ceiling shape with an open lower end, the plurality of slits include at least one slit provided in the side wall of the inner cylinder and two slits provided in the second region, The slit length of the one slit is equal to or longer than the length of the boat. Substrate processing equipment.

2. The gas flow adjusting unit is a covering member provided in the second region so as to cover the one slit, the covering member forming a third region between the covering member and a side wall of the inner cylinder; a partition plate provided in the third region and dividing the third region into two regions; and One of the two slits is provided in the partition plate, and the other of the two slits is provided in the cover member. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 .

3. The gas flow adjusting unit is a first plate-like member that narrows a gap between a side wall of the inner tube and a side wall of the outer tube to form one of the two slits; a second plate-like member that is provided downstream of the first plate-like member in the gas flow direction and narrows the gap between the side wall of the inner cylinder and the side wall of the outer cylinder to form the other of the two slits; having The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 .

4. the first plate-shaped member and the second plate-shaped member extend along a radial direction of the inner cylinder from a side wall of the inner cylinder toward a side wall of the outer cylinder; The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3 .

5. the first plate-shaped member and the second plate-shaped member extend along a radial direction of the inner cylinder from a side wall of the outer cylinder toward a side wall of the inner cylinder; The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3 .

6. Each of the plurality of slits has a rectangular, elongated or elliptical shape with the axial direction of the inner cylinder as its longitudinal direction. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 .

7. The plurality of slits have the same slit length. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6 .

8. Among the plurality of slits, the slit located most upstream in the gas flow direction has the widest slit width among the plurality of slits. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6 .

9. At least one of the plurality of slits is divided into a plurality of slits in the axial direction of the inner cylinder. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 .

10. an inner cylinder that defines a first region for accommodating a substrate; an outer cylinder provided outside the inner cylinder with a second region therebetween and having an exhaust port at an end of a side wall; a nozzle that ejects gas into the first region; a gas flow adjusting section including a plurality of slits provided in a gas flow path from the first region to the exhaust port, the slits being arranged from an upstream side to a downstream side in a gas flow direction; Equipped with the plurality of slits include at least one slit provided in the inner cylinder and two slits provided in the second region, The gas flow adjusting unit is a covering member provided in the second region so as to cover the one slit, the covering member forming a third region between the covering member and a side wall of the inner cylinder; a partition plate provided in the third region and dividing the third region into two regions; and One of the two slits is provided in the partition plate, and the other of the two slits is provided in the cover member. Substrate processing equipment.

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