Articulated processing vessel and substrate processing method.

Abstract

To make it possible to stably support a processing container to be concatenated and suppress displacement of a transfer position of a substrate due to thermal expansion.SOLUTION: A concatenation processing container is configured to include: a first processing container and a second processing container that are arranged side by side in a lateral direction so as to form a gap and store a substrate in order to perform vacuum processing; a first block unit fixed to the first processing container; a second block unit fixed to the second processing container and arranged side by side in the lateral direction with respect to the first block unit; and a rail unit to which the first block unit and the second block unit are slidably connected and that is provided so as to straddle the first processing container and the second processing container.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an articulated processing vessel and a method for processing substrates. [Background technology]

[0002] In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, semiconductor wafers (hereinafter referred to as "wafers") serving as substrates are stored in a processing chamber, and are subjected to processes such as film formation and etching, which involve heating. Patent Document 1 describes a substrate processing apparatus that includes a vacuum transfer chamber equipped with a robot that transfers wafers, and multiple chambers that are connected to the vacuum transfer chamber and process wafers by heating and supplying processing gases. The multiple chambers are connected in pairs so that each pair shares a sidewall, and the robot is configured to transfer wafers to and from two chambers that share a sidewall in a single operation. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-69314 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The present disclosure provides a technique that enables stable support of connected processing vessels and suppresses deviation of the substrate transport position due to thermal expansion. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present disclosure provides a vacuum processing system including: a first processing vessel and a second processing vessel arranged side by side in a lateral direction to form a gap therebetween, each of which stores a substrate for vacuum processing; a first block portion fixed to the first processing vessel; a second block portion fixed to the second processing vessel and arranged side by side with the first block portion in the lateral direction; The present invention relates to an articulated processing vessel in which the first block portion and the second block portion are slidably connected and which is provided with a rail portion arranged to straddle the first processing vessel and the second processing vessel. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to stably support the connected processing vessels and to prevent the substrate from being misaligned in its transport position due to thermal expansion. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view illustrating an example of a substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 1 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing an example of a first processing vessel and a second processing vessel forming a connected processing vessel provided in a substrate processing system. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view showing an example of a connected processing vessel. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a bottom view showing the first processing vessel and the second processing vessel. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing the bottom of the first processing vessel. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a side view showing a portion of a first processing vessel and a second processing vessel. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing a first block portion and a rail portion. [Figure 8] 10 is a vertical cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the gap between the first processing chamber and the second processing chamber changes. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a plan view illustrating a state in which the gap between the first processing vessel and the second processing vessel changes. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] A substrate processing system 1 including an articulated processing vessel 5 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the plan view of Fig. 1. First, an overview of the substrate processing system 1 will be described. The substrate processing system 1 includes a load / unload port 11, a load / unload module 12, vacuum transfer modules 13 and 14, a connection module 15, and a film deposition module 3, and the film deposition module 3 is provided with the articulated processing vessel 5.

[0009] The connected processing vessel 5 includes a first processing vessel 31A and a second processing vessel 31B, each of which stores a substrate, i.e., a wafer W. These processing vessels 31A and 31B are arranged side by side and connected to each other, with a gap 30 formed therebetween. In the substrate processing system 1, a transfer mechanism transfers wafers W into the processing vessels 31A and 31B that make up the connected processing vessel 5 at the same time, and film formation processing is performed on the two wafers W in the processing vessels 31A and 31B at the same time under the same processing conditions.

[0010] Each component of the substrate processing system 1 will be described below with reference to FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, the X direction is the front-rear direction, and the Y direction perpendicular to the X direction is the horizontal direction. Four load / unload ports 11 are connected to each load / unload module 12, and transfer containers 10 accommodating wafers W are placed on the load / unload ports 11. The load / unload ports 11, the load / unload modules 12, the vacuum transfer module 13, the connection module 15, and the vacuum transfer module 14 are provided in this order along the X direction. Two film deposition modules 3 are connected to sandwich the front vacuum transfer module 13 in the Y direction. Two film deposition modules 3 are connected to sandwich the rear vacuum transfer module 14 in the Y direction.

[0011] The carry-in / out module 12 includes an atmospheric pressure transfer chamber 12A and a load lock chamber 12B. The atmospheric pressure transfer chamber 12A is maintained under atmospheric conditions and is equipped with a transfer mechanism 21, which is a vertically movable articulated arm, for transferring wafers W between the transfer container 10 and the load lock chamber 12B. The load lock chamber 12B is configured to be able to switch the atmosphere in which the wafers W are placed between atmospheric conditions and a vacuum atmosphere, and is equipped with two mounting units 22 aligned in the Y direction. The transfer mechanism 21 in the atmospheric pressure transfer chamber 12A transfers wafers W between the two mounting units 22 and the transfer container 10, and is configured to transfer wafers W one by one to the two mounting units 22.

[0012] The vacuum transfer modules 13 and 14 are configured similarly. Each vacuum transfer module 13 and 14 includes a vacuum transfer chamber 23 in which a vacuum atmosphere is created, and the vacuum transfer chamber 23 is provided with a transfer mechanism 24. The transfer mechanism 24 is configured with a vertically movable articulated arm, and an end effector 25 at the tip of the articulated arm includes two holders 26 formed apart from each other. Each holder 26 holds one wafer W, allowing the transfer mechanism 24 to transfer two wafers W at a time with a predetermined gap between them. Note that two end effectors 25 are provided, for example, one above the other, and one end effector 25 can receive a wafer W from a module, and the other end effector 25 can deliver a wafer W to a module.

[0013] The connection module 15 is a module on which the wafer W is placed to transfer the wafer W between the vacuum transfer modules 13 and 14, and its interior is maintained in a vacuum atmosphere. The connection module 15 is provided with two placement units 22 aligned in the Y direction, similar to the load lock chamber 12B. The spacing between the two placement units 22 in each of the load lock chamber 12B and the connection module 15 corresponds to the spacing between the holders 26 of the transfer mechanism 24 so that the wafers can be transferred together by the transfer mechanism 24. The placement units 22 are configured to include substrate support units, such as pins, that support the wafer W at multiple positions spaced apart in the circumferential direction and away from the center of the wafer W, so that the transfer mechanisms 21 and 24 can transfer the wafer W by raising and lowering them.

[0014] Gate valves G are interposed between the atmospheric pressure transfer chamber 12A and the load lock chamber 12B, between the load lock chamber 12B and the vacuum transfer module 13, and between the processing vessels 31A, 31B constituting the film forming module 3 and the vacuum transfer modules 13, 14. The gate valves G open and close the transfer ports for the wafers W provided in each module, and the atmosphere in each module is maintained at the aforementioned atmosphere.

[0015] Such a substrate processing system 1 is provided with a control unit 100. The control unit 100 is configured by a computer and is provided with a program. This program includes a group of steps (commands) that output control signals to each part of the substrate processing system 1 to control the operation of each part and perform the wafer W transfer and film formation process described below. The program is stored in a storage unit of the computer, such as a flexible disk, compact disk, hard disk, MO (magneto-optical disk), non-volatile memory, etc., and is read from the storage unit and installed in the control unit 100.

[0016] In the substrate processing system 1 described above, the wafer W is transferred from the transfer vessel 10 to the vacuum transfer module 13 or the film formation module 3 connected to the vacuum transfer module 14, processed, and then returned to the transfer vessel 10. Therefore, one transfer path is a path in which the wafer W is transferred in the following order: transfer vessel 10 → atmospheric pressure transfer chamber 12A → load lock chamber 12B → vacuum transfer module 13 → film formation module 3 → vacuum transfer module 13 → load lock chamber 12B → atmospheric pressure transfer chamber 12A → transfer vessel 10. Another transfer path is a path in which the wafer W is transferred in the following order: transfer vessel 10 → atmospheric pressure transfer chamber 12A → load lock chamber 12B → vacuum transfer module 13 → connection module 15 → vacuum transfer module 14 → film formation module 3. Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred from the film formation module 3 in the following order: vacuum transfer module 14 → connection module 15 → vacuum transfer module 13 → load lock chamber 12B → atmospheric pressure transfer chamber 12A → transfer vessel 10.

[0017] In each of the above transfer paths, two wafers W are transferred together in a section where transfer is performed by the transfer mechanism 24. Therefore, two wafers W are transferred together between the film forming module 3 including the processing chambers 31A and 31B and the vacuum transfer modules 13 and 14. In addition, two wafers W are transferred together between the load lock chamber 12B and the vacuum transfer module 13, between the vacuum transfer module 13 and the connection module 15, and between the connection module 15 and the vacuum transfer module 14.

[0018] Next, a film formation module 3 including the articulated processing vessel 5 of the present disclosure will be described. The film formation module 3 includes the articulated processing vessel 5 including processing vessels 31A and 31B, a gas supply source 39, an exhaust mechanism 40, and a gas supply device 42, and is configured to perform a film formation process, for example, of a titanium nitride film (TiN film) on a wafer W. In the articulated processing vessel 5, the first processing vessel 31A and the second processing vessel 31B are arranged side by side so as to form a gap 30. The processing vessels will be described below. However, since the first and second processing vessels 31A and 31B have the same configuration, the first processing vessel 31A will be described as a representative using the schematic diagram of FIG. 2. The processing vessel 31A includes a stage 32, a sidewall heater 33, lift pins 34, a lift mechanism 35, and a shower head 41. In the drawings showing the articulated processing vessel 5 in FIG. 2 and elsewhere, the secondary coordinates shown in FIG. 1 are used to describe the X' direction as the horizontal direction, the Y' direction as the front-to-back direction, and the Z' direction as the up-to-down direction.

[0019] The sidewall heater 33 constitutes a heating unit for heating the first processing vessel 31A and is embedded in the sidewall of the processing vessel 31A. The stage 32 has a circular shape in a plan view and its horizontal position is fixed within the processing vessel 31A. A stage heater 36 for heating and processing the wafer W is embedded in the stage 32. Three lift pins 34 (only two are shown in the figure) are provided on the upper surface of the stage 32 and are raised and lowered by a lift mechanism 35. The lift pins 34 raise and lower the stage 32, transferring the wafer W between the stage 32 and the transfer mechanism 24, which has been moved to a predetermined transfer position within the processing vessel 31A. In the figure, P indicates the center of the stage 32, and the wafer W is placed on the stage 32 so that its center is aligned with the center P.

[0020] A shower head 41 is provided on the ceiling of the processing vessel 31A, and a film forming gas is supplied to the shower head 41 from, for example, a gas supply source 39 common to the processing vessels 31A and 31B via a gas supply device 42 including a valve and the like. One end of an exhaust pipe 38 is connected to the processing vessel 31A, and the other end of the exhaust pipe 38 is connected to an exhaust mechanism 40 common to the processing vessels 31A and 31B. The exhaust mechanism 40 includes, for example, a vacuum pump and the like.

[0021] Next, the overall configuration of the articulated processing vessel 5 will be described. As described above, the articulated processing vessel 5 includes a first processing vessel 31A and a second processing vessel 31B. In addition to the processing vessels 31A and 31B, the articulated processing vessel 5 also includes a support member 50 that supports the processing vessels 31A and 31B and a connection member 6 that connects the processing vessels 31A and 31B to each other. In describing the articulated processing vessel 5, reference will be made to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, and the direction in which the gate valve G is provided will be referred to as the "front side." FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the articulated processing vessel 5, with the gate valve G facing the vacuum transfer module 13, and FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the articulated processing vessel 5. Furthermore, in accordance with the description of FIG. 3, the left and right sides in the following description refer to the left and right sides when viewed from the rear toward the front, with the processing vessel 31A located on the left and the processing vessel 31B located on the right. Note that P1 in FIG. 4 and other figures indicates the distance between the centers P of the stages 32 of the processing vessels 31A and 31B (the pitch between the stages 32).

[0022] The first processing vessel 31A and the second processing vessel 31B are formed in a rectangular shape, and the side walls are separated and not shared. The processing vessels 31A and 31B are disposed at the same height, with the right side wall of the processing vessel 31A facing the left side wall of the processing vessel 31B with a gap 30 between them. The front surfaces of the processing vessels 31A and 31B are fixed to the vacuum transfer module 13 or 14 via gate valves G. The dimension of the gap 30 (width in the lateral direction (X' direction)) is, for example, 2 mm to 6 mm, more specifically, 4 mm, when the processing vessels 31A and 31B are at room temperature (20°C to 25°C). In FIGS. 2 to 4, the gap 30 is exaggerated.

[0023] The support unit 50 is provided on the floor on which the substrate processing system 1 is installed and supports the processing vessels 31A and 31B above the floor. The support unit 50 includes a frame 51. The frame 51 includes a bottom 52, a horizontal upper plate 53, and four vertical support columns 54 (541-544) connecting the bottom 52 and the upper plate 53. The bottom 52 is provided directly above the floor, and the upper plate 53 is provided above the processing vessels 31A and 31B. Two of the four support columns 54, 541 and 542, are provided on the left side of the processing vessel 31A and spaced apart from each other in the front and rear directions, and the other two support columns 543 and 544 are provided on the right side of the processing vessel 31B and spaced apart from each other in the front and rear directions. Therefore, if the processing vessels 31A and 31B are considered to be a pair of processing vessels, the support columns 54 (541-544) are provided to surround this pair. Each support column 54 is disposed at a distance from each sidewall of the processing vessels 31A and 31B.

[0024] A base 55A supporting the first processing vessel 31A is provided between the support columns 541 and 542, and a base 55B supporting the second processing vessel 31B is provided between the support columns 543 and 544. These bases 55A and 55B are formed by rod-shaped horizontal members extending along the front-rear direction (Y' direction) below the processing vessels 31A and 31B. In this example, the bases 55A and 55B are formed by bending the short sides of an elongated plate member into a substantially L-shape, and include a horizontal member and a vertical member extending downward. For example, the front and rear ends of the vertical member are attached to the support columns 54 (541, 542) and (543, 543), respectively.

[0025] Ball casters 7A and 7B are interposed between bases 55A and 55B and processing vessels 31A and 31B, respectively. As shown in Fig. 5 as an example of ball caster 7A, ball casters 7A and 7B include a main body 71 provided with a ball receiving portion, and a ball portion 72 that is partially exposed upward from main body 71 and is rotatably held by main body 71. Main body 71 is attached to bases 55A and 55B with screws 73 and nuts 74.

[0026] The ball casters 7A and 7B support the processing vessels 31A and 31B with their respective ball portions 72 in contact with the bottoms of the processing vessels 31A and 31B. For example, one ball caster 7A and one ball caster 7B are disposed on the front and rear sides of the processing vessels 31A and 31B, respectively, so that one processing vessel 31A (31B) is supported by two ball casters 7A (7B). Thus, the processing vessels 31A and 31B are supported by the frame 51 via the bases 55A and 55B and the ball casters 7A and 7B at the lateral end positions opposite the gap 30 as viewed from the processing vessels 31A and 31B, respectively.

[0027] In this manner, only the left end of the first processing vessel 31A and only the right end of the second processing vessel 31B are supported. Therefore, the bottoms of the processing vessels 31A and 31B are suspended in the air except for the portions that contact the ball casters 7A and 7B, and a large space is formed between the bottoms of the processing vessels 31A and 31B and the bottom 52 of the frame 51. This space accommodates, for example, equipment (gas boxes) including gas supply equipment 42 that distributes film formation gas supplied from the gas supply source 39 to the processing vessels 31A and 31B, and electrical equipment for operating each film formation module 3. The bottoms of the processing vessels 31A and 31B are suspended so that no load is applied to these gas boxes and electrical equipment.

[0028] Next, the connection part 6 that connects the first processing vessel 31A and the second processing vessel 31B to each other via the gap 30 will be described with reference to Fig. 6 and Fig. 7. Fig. 6 is a side view showing the connection part 6, and Fig. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line AA' in Fig. 6. The connection portion 6 includes a first block portion 6A fixed to the first processing vessel 31A, a second block portion 6B fixed to the second processing vessel 31B, and a rail portion 63 to which the first block portion 6A and the second block portion 6B are slidably connected.

[0029] The first block part 6A is provided at the bottom near the right wall of the first processing vessel 31A, and the second block part 6B is provided at the bottom near the left wall of the second processing vessel 31B. The first block part 6A and the second block part 6B are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction (X' direction) with a gap 30 therebetween. 2, 4, and 6, rail portion 63 is provided to straddle processing vessel 31A and processing vessel 31B and extend laterally below these processing vessels 31A, 31B. A set of first block portion 6A, second block portion 6B, and rail portion 63 constitutes connection portion 6, and as shown in FIG. 4, the set is provided at two positions, one on the front side and one on the rear side of processing vessels 31A, 31B.

[0030] The first block portion 6A and the second block portion 6B are formed, for example, with flat upper surfaces, and have recesses 61 with a substantially rectangular cross section formed in the bottom portions, as shown by taking the first block portion 6A as an example in Fig. 7. On the other hand, the rail portion 63 is provided with protrusions 631 shaped to correspond to the recesses 61, and is configured so that the protrusions 631 are fitted into the recesses 61. Rolling members 62, such as rollers or balls, are provided at the contact portions between the convex portions 631 of the rail portion 63 and the concave portions 61 of the block portions 6A and 6B. In this example, the convex portions 631 of the rail portion 63 are configured to have a substantially rectangular cross section, and the rolling members 62 are provided at the corners of the four sides of the convex portions 631 where the rail portion 63 and the block portions 6A and 6B come into contact.

[0031] The rolling members 62 in this example are configured such that a number of rollers, each having a rotation axis inclined with respect to the vertical axis, are arranged in a ring shape in the length direction (X' direction) of the block portions 6A, 6B, and the rollers rotate when the block portions 6A, 6B slide against the rail portion 63. In this way, the rotation of the rolling members 62 between the block portions 6A, 6B and the rail portion 63 reduces the coefficient of friction between the block portions 6A, 6B and the rail portion 63, resulting in smooth sliding movement. Such a connecting portion 6, which is a set of the first block portion 6A, the second block portion 6B, and the rail portion 63, is commercially available as a part called a "linear guide" or the like.

[0032] The first block member 6A and the second block member 6B are fixed to the first processing vessel 31A and the second processing vessel 31B via cooling plates 8A and 8B, respectively, which form cooling units. As shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 6, the cooling plates 8A and 8B are formed of, for example, stainless steel plates, with cooling medium channels 81A and 81B formed therein. In this example, the cooling plates 8A and 8B have regions 82A and 82B sandwiched between the processing vessels 31A and 31B and the block members 6A and 6B. These regions 82A and 82B are larger than the upper surfaces of the block members 6A and 6B in plan view and are configured to cover the upper surfaces. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, the cooling plates 8A and 8B also have regions 83A and 83B extending in the front-rear direction (Y' direction). These regions 83A, 83B serve to connect the regions 82A, 82B corresponding to the front block portions 6A, 6B and the regions 82A, 82B corresponding to the rear block portions 6A, 6B.

[0033] 7, the cooling plates 8A and 8B are sandwiched between the block members 6A and 6B and the bottoms of the processing vessels 31A and 31B, and are fixed in place with screws 84. On the other hand, the rail members 63 are not fixed to the processing vessels 31A and 31B, and are supported in a suspended state from the block members 6A and 6B when viewed from the processing vessels 31A and 31B. Therefore, the lower ends of the block members 6A and 6B extend inward and wrap around the undersides of the convex portions of the rail members 63, preventing the rail members 63 from falling.

[0034] A rib 64 is provided along the underside of the rail portion 63, which is the surface opposite to the surface on which the first block portion 6A and the second block portion 6B slide. The rib 64 is made of, for example, stainless steel, and is fixed to the rail portion 63 by, for example, a screw (not shown). As shown in FIG. 6, the rib 64 is formed so that a central side 641 in its length direction (X' direction) is thicker than both end sides 642. The central side 641 is a region including a portion facing the region where the gap 30 is formed.

[0035] Furthermore, the connecting portion 6 is provided with stop members 65 for preventing the rail portion 63 from coming off the first block portion 6A and the second block portion 6B. The stop members 65 in this example are attached to the center sides 641 of the front and rear surfaces of the ribs 64, for example.

[0036] Furthermore, the first processing vessel 31A and the second processing vessel 31B are provided with height adjustment members 75A and 75B for adjusting the height positions from the bases 55A and 55B. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, for example, two height adjustment members 75A and 75B are provided for each of the first and second processing vessels 31A and 31B. For example, each height adjustment member 75A and 75B is disposed inside in the Y' direction of two ball casters 7A and 7B, respectively. Note that FIG. 5 shows the relative positions of the ball caster 7A and the height adjustment member 75A on the first processing vessel 31A side.

[0037] Height adjustment members 75A and 75B are rod-shaped members extending in the vertical direction and provided with feed screws whose height positions can be adjusted by positioning nuts. Their lower (base-side) ends pass through through-holes 56 formed in bases 55A and 55B, while their upper ends are inserted into the bottoms of processing vessels 31A and 31B. Through-holes 56 have an opening diameter larger than the diameters of height adjustment members 75A and 75B, and positioning nuts 761, 762, and 763 are provided in this order from top to bottom.

[0038] The height positions of the processing vessels 31A and 31B are adjusted while the processing vessel 31 is supported on the nuts 761. The height positions of the processing vessels 31A and 31B are adjusted by adjusting the positions of the lower surfaces of the processing vessels 31A and 31B with the nuts 762 and 763 of the height adjusting member 75. After the height adjustment is completed, the height positions of ball casters 7A and 7B are adjusted, and processing vessels 31A and 31B are supported by ball casters 7A and 7B, and then nuts 762 and 763 are loosened. Height adjustment member 75 is suspended from the lower surface of processing vessels 31A and 31B while its upper end is inserted into processing vessels 31A and 31B and supported therefrom during wafer W processing.

[0039] In the film formation module 3 equipped with the above-described articulated processing chamber 5, wafers W can be transferred simultaneously to the first processing chamber 31A and the second processing chamber 31B by the transfer mechanism 24 on the vacuum transfer modules 13 and 14. Thereafter, vacuum processing is performed on the wafers W stored in these processing chambers 31A and 31B. In the film formation module 3, while the substrate processing system 1 is in operation, the exhaust mechanism 40 adjusts the interiors of the processing chambers 31A and 31B to a vacuum atmosphere of a predetermined pressure, and the stage heater 36 heats the stage 32 to a desired processing temperature so that the wafer W placed therein can be processed at that processing temperature.

[0040] Furthermore, to ensure the reactivity of the film formation gas supplied into the processing vessel 31A, the sidewall of the processing vessel 31A is heated by the sidewall heater 33 to a temperature corresponding to the processing temperature. For example, the temperature of the sidewall during the formation of a TiN film is 170° C. In this state where the vacuum atmosphere is formed and heating is performed by the heaters, the film formation gas is supplied from the shower head 41 to the wafer W placed on the stage 32, and the TiN film formation process, which is a vacuum process, is performed. As will be described later, when thermal expansion and / or thermal contraction occurs in each of the first processing vessel 31A and the second processing vessel 31B, at least one of the first block portion 6A and the second block portion 6B is caused to slide laterally relative to the rail portion 63.

[0041] Next, the operation of the connected processing vessel 5 will be described. First, the reason for providing the gap 30 between the side walls of the processing vessels 31A and 31B will be described. As described above, when processing the wafer W, the processing vessels 31A and 31B are heated by the side wall heaters 33 to a temperature corresponding to the processing temperature of the wafer W. For example, the temperature of the side walls is heated to a temperature within a range of 50°C to 170°C according to the processing temperature of the wafer W. The side walls then thermally expand according to the temperature.

[0042] Assume that there is no gap 30 between the processing vessels 31A and 31B, and the side walls of the processing vessels 31A and 31B are connected to each other, i.e., the processing vessels share a common side wall as described in Patent Document 1. If the side walls of the processing vessels 31A and 31B are connected in this manner, the pitch P1, which is the distance between the centers of the stages 32, varies depending on the amount of thermal expansion of the processing vessels 31A and 31B. The higher the temperature of the walls of the processing vessels 31A and 31B, the larger the pitch P1. In other words, because the side walls of the processing vessels 31A and 31B are connected to each other, the side walls press against each other due to thermal expansion, causing the center of the processing vessel 31A to shift to the left, and the center of the processing vessel 31B to shift to the right, increasing the pitch P1.

[0043] Meanwhile, the vacuum transfer modules 13 and 14 are maintained at room temperature, the distance between the two holders 26 of the transfer mechanism 24 is constant, and the two wafers W are transferred to the processing vessels 31A and 31B at a constant interval. Therefore, if the pitch P1 between the centers P of the two stages 32 increases due to a change in the temperature of the sidewalls of the processing vessels 31A and 31B, the center of the wafer W will be transferred to a position that is offset from the center P of the stage 32. Furthermore, the front sides of the processing vessels 31A and 31B are fixed to the vacuum transfer module 13 via gate valves G. Therefore, if the sidewalls are connected to each other, large thermal expansion can cause significant stress on the processing vessels 31A and 31B. As a result, distortion of the processing vessels 31A and 31B may occur. The aforementioned Patent Document 1 does not address the issue of thermal expansion of the processing vessels and does not address this issue.

[0044] Therefore, in the articulated processing vessel 5, the side walls of the processing vessels 31A and 31B are separated from each other by the gap 30, as described above. This allows the opposing side walls of the processing vessels 31A and 31B to move left and right even if the amount of thermal expansion of the processing vessels 31A and 31B varies. In other words, even if the amount of thermal expansion of the processing vessels 31A and 31B is large, the positions of the side walls on the gap 30 side are displaced, so the side walls do not interfere with each other. Therefore, fluctuations in pitch P1 due to thermal expansion are suppressed. A connection part 6 is provided to connect the processing vessels 31A and 31B through the gap 30, which absorbs expansion and / or contraction of the processing vessels 31A and 31B due to thermal expansion and / or thermal contraction, while suppressing tilting of the processing vessels 31A and 31B at the gap 30, as described below.

[0045] Next, using the vertical side view of Figure 8 and the plan view of Figure 9, we will specifically explain the function of the connection part 6, as well as how the output of the side wall heater 33 changes and the amount of thermal expansion of the processing vessels 31A and 31B changes. 8 and 9, (a) shows a state where the temperatures of the processing vessels 31A and 31B are low, and (b) shows a state where the temperatures of the processing vessels 31A and 31B are high. For ease of explanation, in FIGS. 8 and 9, the first processing vessel 31A is shown supported by the ball casters 7A, and the second processing vessel 31B is shown in a position where the height adjustment member 75B is provided. The following describes how the temperatures of the processing vessels 31A and 31B increase and their respective amounts of thermal expansion increase, i.e., how the state changes from (a) to (b) in each figure.

[0046] As described above, the front sides of the processing vessels 31A and 31B are fixed to the vacuum transfer modules 13 and 14 via the gate valve G, and therefore the processing vessels 31A and 31B thermally expand from the front sides connected to the gate valve G. That is, the positions of the front ends of the processing vessels 31A and 31B connected to the gate valve G do not change, but the processing vessels 31A and 31B thermally expand laterally and rearward, and the positions of the left and right ends of the side walls and the rear end of the processing vessels 31A and 31B move outward.

[0047] The first processing vessel 31A and the second processing vessel 31B are connected by a connection part 6 including a first block part 6A, a second block part 6B, and a rail part 63. Therefore, due to thermal expansion, the first block part 6A slides laterally (to the right) on the rail part 63 on the side wall (right side wall) of the first processing vessel 31A on the gap 30 side, thereby moving toward the second processing vessel 31B. Meanwhile, the second block part 6B slides laterally (to the left) on the rail part 63 on the side wall (left side wall) of the second processing vessel 31B on the gap 30 side, thereby moving toward the first processing vessel 31A.

[0048] 8(b) and 9(b), the right side wall of the processing vessel 31A and the left side wall of the second processing vessel 31B are closer to each other than in FIGS. 8(a) and 9(a), and the dimension of the gap 30 is reduced. Accordingly, the first block member 6A moves to the right, and the second block member 6B moves to the left. At this time, the first and second block members 6A and 6B move while being guided by the rail members 63. As described above, the block members 6A and 6B slide against the rail members 63 with a reduced coefficient of friction due to the rolling members 62. This allows the sidewalls of the processing vessels 31A and 31B to move smoothly in response to thermal expansion. As a result, the thermal expansion of the processing vessels 31A and 31B is absorbed by the movement of the sidewalls in the gap 30, and fluctuations in the pitch P1 between the centers P of the two stages 32 are more reliably suppressed.

[0049] On the other hand, the bottoms of the first and second processing vessels 31A and 31B on the opposite side of the gap 30, i.e., the left end of the first processing vessel 31A and the right end of the second processing vessel 31B, are supported by ball casters 7A and 7B, respectively. Therefore, even if the side walls of the processing vessels 31A and 31B move due to thermal expansion, the ball parts 72 at the bottoms of the processing vessels 31A and 31B rotate, and do not restrict the movement of the side walls. In other words, as shown on the left side of Figures 8(a) and 8(b), the position of the bottom surface of the processing vessel 31A (31B) supported by the ball caster 7A (7B) moves.

[0050] 9(a) and 9(b), the left end of processing vessel 31A moves leftward, and the right end of processing vessel 31B moves rightward. Therefore, the positions of the ends of processing vessels 31A and 31B on the support column 54 side also change due to thermal expansion, but this is absorbed by the corresponding quick change in the support positions of processing vessels 31A and 31B by ball casters 7A and 7B, thereby suppressing fluctuations in pitch P1.

[0051] In height adjustment mechanisms 75A and 75B, through-holes 56 formed in bases 55A and 55B have opening diameters larger than the diameters of height adjustment members 75A and 75B. Therefore, as shown on the right side of Figures 8(a) and 8(b), height adjustment member 75B moves rightward within through-hole 56 in response to thermal expansion of processing vessels 31A and 31B. Height adjustment member 75A, not shown, moves leftward within through-hole 56. As described above, first block portion 6A and second block portion 6B slide relative to rail portion 63, and ball casters 7A and 7B and height adjustment members 75A and 75B move. These actions absorb the displacement of the positions of the side walls of processing vessels 31A and 31B due to thermal expansion, and suppress fluctuations in pitch P1 of stage 32.

[0052] If the left end of processing vessel 31A and the right end of processing vessel 31B were fixed to frame 51, processing vessel 31A would expand to the right from its left end, and processing vessel 31B would expand to the left from its right end. This would result in a smaller pitch P1. However, in this configuration, the left end of processing vessel 31A and the right end of processing vessel 31B are not fixed to frame 51 at their left and right positions, preventing such a reduction in pitch P1.

[0053] Furthermore, although the center P of the stage 32 moves forward and backward due to thermal expansion of the processing vessels 31A and 31B, the position of the transfer destination of the transfer mechanism 24 can be adjusted forward and backward. Therefore, by appropriately setting the position of the transfer destination, the forward and backward positions of the center of the wafer W transferred to the stage 32 and the center P of the stage 32 can be aligned. In this way, the transfer mechanism 24 is set so that the amount of inflow into each processing vessel 31A and 31B from the gate valve G is larger than when the processing vessels 31A and 31B are not heated, and then the wafer W is transferred in the substrate processing system 1.

[0054] In this case, for example, in order to align the front and rear positions of the transfer mechanism 24, teaching of the transfer mechanism 24 may be performed before processing the wafer W according to a desired processing recipe, thereby determining the transfer position when processing according to the processing recipe. Also, data on the correspondence between the transfer position by the transfer mechanism 24 and the output of the sidewall heater 33 may be stored in a memory constituting the control unit 100, so that each time the processing recipe is changed and the output of the sidewall heater 33 is also changed, the transfer position may be determined based on the data.

[0055] Here, we will briefly discuss the case where the amount of thermal expansion of the processing vessels 31A, 31B decreases (the processing vessels 31A, 31B thermally shrink). During thermal contraction, the first block member 6A, the second block member 6B, the ball casters 7A, 7B, the height adjustment members 75A, 75B, etc. move in the direction opposite to that when the amount of thermal expansion increases, so the pitch P1 of the stages 32 does not change in this case either. Meanwhile, the center P of each stage 32 moves more forward than before the change in the amount of thermal expansion. For this reason, the transfer mechanism 24 is set to a transfer destination position so that the amount of intrusion into each processing vessel 31A, 31B from the gate valve G is reduced, and then the wafer W is transferred in the substrate processing system 1.

[0056] In this way, the provision of the gap 30 and the connecting portion 6 can suppress fluctuations in the pitch P1 due to thermal expansion and contraction. Furthermore, by supporting the processing vessels 31A and 31B using the connecting portion 6, the gap 30 portion is prevented from bending and tilting downward.

[0057] Only the left end of processing vessel 31A and only the right end of processing vessel 31B are cantilevered by support member 50. Therefore, without connection member 6, gap 30 may cause processing vessels 31A and 31B to tilt such that the right side of processing vessel 31A and the left side of processing vessel 31B are lowered. If processing vessels 31A and 31B tilt, there is a concern that the transfer position of wafer W may be shifted between transfer mechanism 24 and stage 32. Therefore, preventing the tilt of processing vessels 31A and 31B also helps prevent the transfer position of wafer W from being shifted.

[0058] In this case, in the configuration of the present disclosure, the lower surfaces of the other ends of the cantilevered processing vessels 31A and 31B are supported by the rail portion 63 via the first and second block portions 6A and 6B. This prevents the processing vessels 31A and 31B from tilting at the gap 30, and stably supports the processing vessels 31A and 31B.

[0059] Furthermore, in this example, ribs 64 are provided along the lower surfaces of the rail portions 63. This improves the rigidity of the rail portions 63, thereby further suppressing tilting of the processing vessels 31A and 31B. Furthermore, the central side 641 of the rail portions 63 of the ribs 64 is formed thicker than the end sides 642 thereof, thereby making the rigidity of the central side 641 greater than that of the end sides 642 while reducing the weight of the ribs 64. This further increases the rigidity of the central side of the rail portions 63, to which a large stress is applied, thereby suppressing tilting of the gaps 30 of the processing vessels 31A and 31B and more stably supporting the processing vessels 31A and 31B.

[0060] Furthermore, in this example, the first block 6A and the second block 6B are connected to the processing vessels 31A and 31B via cooling plates 8A and 8B, respectively. Therefore, even when the processing vessels 31A and 31B are heated by the sidewall heater 33, the temperatures of the block 6A and 6B can be maintained at or below their heat-resistant temperature (e.g., 80°C). Furthermore, the cooling plates 8A and 8B also serve to improve the strength of the installation surfaces of the block 6A and 6B in the processing vessels 31A and 31B.

[0061] As described above, the articulated processing vessel 5 can suppress changes in the pitch P1 of the stages 32 and maintain the pitch P1 consistent with the distance between the centers of the wafers W held by the two holders 26 of the transfer mechanism 24. Therefore, film formation can be performed with the center of each wafer W transferred using the transfer mechanism 24 aligned with the center of the stage 32. As a result, problems with the quality and thickness of the TiN film caused by misalignment between the wafers W and the stage 32 are prevented.

[0062] Furthermore, the two processing vessels 31A, 31B of the articulated processing vessel 5 are connected by a linear guide (first block portion 6A, second block portion 6B, and rail portion 63) which has a simple configuration and is relatively easy to obtain. These can be attached by simply fixing the first and second block portions 6A, 6B to the undersides of the first and second processing vessels 31A, 31B, and then attaching the rail portion 63. This means that the connecting portion 6 can be attached without requiring processing vessels 31A, 31B with a special configuration. This makes it easy to manufacture the processing vessels 31A, 31B with the connecting portion 6.

[0063] Furthermore, in the articulated processing vessel 5, the right side of the processing vessel 31A and the left side of the processing vessel 31B are not supported, and only the left side of the processing vessel 31A and the right side of the processing vessel 31B are supported from below by the support body 55. Therefore, as described above, a large space can be formed below the processing vessel 31A and the processing vessel 31B, and each piece of equipment constituting the film deposition module 3 can be installed in that space. This prevents the film deposition module 3 and, ultimately, the substrate processing system 1 from becoming large.

[0064] In the substrate processing system 1, two wafers W are processed at a time, but the wafers W are placed so that the centers of the wafers W are aligned with the centers P of the stages 32, and processing is performed in the processing vessels 31A and 31B that are separated from each other. Therefore, processing can be performed by applying a processing recipe (processing conditions such as the pressure in the processing vessel 31, the gas flow rate, and the temperature of each heater) used in a single-wafer film formation apparatus that performs film formation processing on each wafer W one by one. This is advantageous because it can reduce or eliminate the effort required to create or change a processing recipe for the substrate processing system 1.

[0065] In the above, the present disclosure may be configured such that the first block portion and the second block portion are provided on the upper surface side of the first and second processing vessels, respectively, and the first and second block portions are slidably connected to rail portions provided on the upper side of the first and second block portions. Alternatively, recesses may be formed in the side walls of the first and second processing vessels on the gap side, and the first and second block members may be fixed to the recesses. In this case, rail members may be provided to straddle the two recesses, and the first and second block members may be slidably connected to the rail members.

[0066] In the above example, both the first and second processing vessels are thermally expanded or contracted. If only one of the processing vessels thermally expands or contracts due to some reason, the block portion of the processing vessel slides laterally relative to the rail portion. Even in this case, the center P of the stages of the two processing vessels does not move, so fluctuations in the pitch P1 can be suppressed.

[0067] Furthermore, if the temperature of the vacuum processing performed in the first processing vessel and the second processing vessel is equal to or lower than the heat-resistant temperature of the first and second block members and the rail members, it is not necessary to provide a cooling unit. Also, if the rigidity of the rail members is ensured, it is not necessary to provide ribs. Furthermore, when a space for movement is secured on the base side, the ball casters may be provided so that the balls come into contact with the base side. Alternatively, the first and second processing vessels may be supported by height adjustment members provided on the base without providing ball casters.

[0068] Furthermore, in the above-described examples, the left end of the processing vessel 31A and the right end of the processing vessel 31B are supported by the ball casters 7A and 7B, respectively. However, they may be supported at positions closer to the inside of the processing vessels 31A and 31B than these ends. However, to ensure a sufficient space below each processing vessel 31A and 31B, it is preferable to support the side opposite to the side where the gap 30 is provided. The side where the gap 30 is provided is, for example, a position inside the center P of the stage 32 in the horizontal direction (a position closer to the center of the connected processing vessel 5), and the side opposite to the side where the gap 30 is provided is, for example, a position outside the center P of the stage 32 in the horizontal direction. In other words, it is preferable to support the processing vessel 31A on the left side of the center P by the ball caster 7A, and support the processing vessel 31B on the right side of the center P by the ball caster 7B.

[0069] The articulated processing vessel 5 is not limited to being applied to a film-forming module. For example, it can be applied to modules that perform vacuum processing on wafers W, such as an etching module that supplies an etching gas to etch wafers W, or an annealing module that heats wafers W while supplying an inert gas such as nitrogen gas. The illustrated film-forming module 3 is a module that does not perform plasma processing, but the articulated processing vessel 5 may also be applied to a processing module that performs plasma processing. When performing processing by generating plasma, it is possible to perform processing so as to compensate for misalignment between the stage 32 and the wafer W, for example, by adjusting the distribution of the plasma within the surface of the wafer W. However, when plasma is not generated, such adjustment by plasma is not possible. Therefore, the articulated processing vessel 5's effect of suppressing misalignment of wafers W is particularly effective in modules that do not perform plasma processing, such as the film-forming module 3.

[0070] Furthermore, it is conceivable that another substrate processing apparatus is provided outside the substrate processing system 1, and that the processing vessels 31A, 31B may be heated and thermally expanded by the heat source of the other substrate processing apparatus. Even in this case, the connected processing vessel 5 can prevent the transfer position of the wafer W on the stage 32 from shifting. That is, even if the processing vessels 31A, 31B are configured without heating units, the above-described effects can be obtained. Therefore, the processing vessels 31A, 31B may not be provided with heating units and may perform vacuum processing on the wafer W at room temperature. Furthermore, the number of processing vessels constituting the connected processing vessel is not limited to two, and three or more processing vessels may be connected to each other.

[0071] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive, and the above embodiments may be omitted, substituted, modified, or combined in various ways without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0072] 30 gap 31A First Processing Container 31B Second processing vessel 5. Connected treatment vessels 6A First Block 6B Second block section 63 Rail section

Claims

1. a first processing vessel and a second processing vessel arranged side by side with a gap therebetween, each of which stores a substrate for vacuum processing; a first block portion fixed to the first processing vessel; a second block portion fixed to the second processing vessel and arranged side by side with the first block portion in the lateral direction; The first block portion and the second block portion are slidably connected to each other, and the articulated processing vessel includes a rail portion provided to straddle the first processing vessel and the second processing vessel.

2. The articulated processing vessel according to claim 1 , wherein the first block portion and the second block portion are provided on the lower surface side or the upper surface side of the first processing vessel or the second processing vessel, respectively.

3. 3. The articulated processing vessel according to claim 1, wherein the rail portion has a rib provided along a surface opposite to a surface on which the first block portion and the second block portion slide.

4. The articulated processing vessel according to claim 3 , wherein the rib is formed so that a central portion of the rail portion corresponding to the region where the gap is formed is thicker than both end portions of the rail portion.

5. 5. The articulated processing vessel according to claim 1, wherein the first processing vessel and the second processing vessel are each heated by a heating unit, and the first block unit and the second block unit are each fixed to the first processing vessel or the second processing vessel via a cooling unit.

6. 6. The articulated processing vessel according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of sets of the first block portion, the second block portion, and the rail portion.

7. 7. The articulated processing vessel according to claim 1, further comprising a base for supporting each of the first processing vessel and the second processing vessel, and a ball caster is interposed between the base and the first processing vessel, and between the base and the second processing vessel, respectively.

8. The articulated processing vessel described in claim 7, wherein the position at which the base supports the first processing vessel via the ball caster and the position at which the base supports the second processing vessel via the ball caster are end positions opposite the gap when viewed from the first processing vessel or the second processing vessel, respectively.

9. the first processing vessel and the second processing vessel are provided with rod-shaped height adjustment members for adjusting their height positions from the base portion; The articulated processing vessel described in claim 7 or 8, wherein the base-side end of the height adjustment member passes through a through hole having an opening diameter larger than the diameter of the height adjustment member provided on the base, and a feed screw is formed thereon that can adjust the height position using a positioning nut.

10. The articulated processing vessel according to any one of claims 7 to 9, further comprising a plurality of support columns arranged to surround the articulated processing vessel and connected to the base supporting the first processing vessel or the base supporting the second processing vessel.

11. 1. A substrate processing method for transporting and storing substrates collectively into a first processing vessel and a second processing vessel that are arranged side by side in a horizontal direction so as to form a gap therebetween, and vacuum-processing each of the substrates, comprising: a first block member fixed to the first processing vessel, a second block member fixed to the second processing vessel and arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction relative to the first block member, and a rail member slidably connecting the first block member and the second block member and extending across the first processing vessel and the second processing vessel; and when thermal expansion of each of the first processing vessel and the second processing vessel occurs, at least one of the first block member and the second block member is caused to slide in the horizontal direction relative to the rail member.

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