Substrate processing apparatus, gas supply unit, semiconductor device manufacturing method and program

Abstract

Provided is technology that can reduce the risk of oxygen (O2) permeation. Provided is the technology that includes: a first gas supply part that supplies a first gas; a first member through which the first gas from the first gas supply part flows; a second member through which the first gas from the first member flows; a third member through which the first gas from the second member flows; a treatment chamber to which the first gas from the third member is supplied; a first seal member positioned between the first member and the second member; a second seal member positioned between the second member and the third member; a second gas supply part that supplies a second gas; a first gas passage disposed along the second seal member and through which the second gas flows; and a second gas passage disposed along the first seal member and through which the second gas flows.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present aspect relates to a substrate processing apparatus, a gas supply unit, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART One type of substrate processing apparatus used in the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices is, for example, a substrate processing apparatus that processes a plurality of substrates at once (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-129879 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In semiconductor manufacturing equipment that processes substrates such as semiconductor wafers in a reduced-pressure vacuum chamber (reaction tube), there is a high risk of oxygen (O2) permeation at the connection part of the opening of the vacuum chamber.

[0005] The present disclosure provides techniques that can reduce the risk of oxygen (O2) permeation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a first gas supply unit that supplies a first gas; a first member that allows the first gas from the first gas supply unit to flow; a second member that allows the first gas to flow from the first member; a third member that allows the first gas to flow from the second member; a processing chamber to which the first gas is supplied from the third member; a first seal member positioned between the first member and the second member; a second seal member positioned between the second member and the third member; a second gas supply unit that supplies a second gas; a first gas path disposed along the second seal member and through which the second gas flows; a second gas path that is arranged along the first seal member and that allows the second gas to flow. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce the risk of oxygen (O2) permeation. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic configuration example of a substrate processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic configuration example of a substrate processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] FIG. 3(a) is an explanatory diagram illustrating a gas supply system (gas supply pipe 251) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 3(b) is an explanatory diagram illustrating a gas supply system (gas supply pipe 261) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a controller of the substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating a substrate processing flow according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a gas supply structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] 1A and 1B are perspective views of the front and back surfaces of a first member and a second member according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the back surface of a first member and a second member according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a first purge gas path and a second purge gas path according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a purge gas supply system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the amount of oxygen (O 2 ) transmitted according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the drawings used in the following description are all schematic, and the dimensional relationships, ratios, etc. of elements in the drawings do not necessarily correspond to the actual ones. Furthermore, the dimensional relationships, ratios, etc. of elements between multiple drawings do not necessarily correspond to the actual ones.

[0010] (1) Configuration of the substrate processing equipment A schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 4. Figure 1 is a side cross-sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus 100, and Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line α-α' in Figure 1. For convenience of explanation, nozzles 223 and 225 are additionally shown.

[0011] Next, specific details will be described. The substrate processing apparatus 100 has a housing 201, which is provided with a reaction tube storage chamber 206 and a transfer chamber 217. The reaction tube storage chamber 206 is disposed above the transfer chamber 217.

[0012] The reaction tube storage chamber 206 includes a cylindrical reaction tube 210 extending in the vertical direction, a heater 211 as a heating unit (furnace body) installed on the outer periphery of the reaction tube 210, a gas supply structure 212 as a gas supply unit, and a gas exhaust structure 213 as a gas exhaust unit. Here, the reaction tube 210 is also referred to as a processing chamber, and the space inside the reaction tube 210 is also referred to as a processing space. The reaction tube 210 is capable of storing a substrate support unit 300, which will be described later.

[0013] The heater 211 has a resistance heater provided on the inner surface facing the reaction tube 210, and a heat insulating section surrounding them. Therefore, the heater 211 is configured to be less affected by heat on the outside, i.e., the side not facing the reaction tube 210. A heater control section 211a is electrically connected to the resistance heater of the heater 211. The heater control section 211a controls the heater 211, thereby controlling the on / off and heating temperature of the heater 211. The heater 211 is capable of heating a gas, which will be described later, to a temperature at which it can be thermally decomposed. The heater 211 is also called a process chamber heating section or a first heating section.

[0014] The reaction tube containment chamber 206 is provided with a reaction tube 210, an upstream rectifier 214, and a downstream rectifier 215. The gas supply unit may include the upstream rectifier 214. The gas exhaust unit may include the downstream rectifier 215.

[0015] The gas supply structure 212 is provided upstream of the reaction tube 210 in the gas flow direction, and gas is supplied to the reaction tube 210 from the gas supply structure 212. The gas exhaust structure 213 is provided downstream of the reaction tube 210 in the gas flow direction, and gas inside the reaction tube 210 is exhausted from the gas exhaust structure 213.

[0016] An upstream-side rectifying unit 214 that rectifies the flow of gas supplied from the gas supply structure 212 is provided between the reaction tube 210 and the gas supply structure 212. That is, the gas supply structure 212 is adjacent to the upstream-side rectifying unit 214. In addition, a downstream-side rectifying unit 215 that rectifies the flow of gas discharged from the reaction tube 210 is provided between the reaction tube 210 and the gas exhaust structure 213. The lower end of the reaction tube 210 is supported by a manifold 216.

[0017] The reaction tube 210, the upstream rectifier 214, and the downstream rectifier 215 have a continuous structure and are made of a material such as quartz or SiC. These are made of a heat-transmitting member that transmits heat radiated from the heater 211. The heat from the heater 211 heats the substrate S and the gas.

[0018] The housing constituting the gas supply structure 212 is made of metal, and the housing 227 that is part of the upstream rectifier 214 is made of quartz or the like. The gas supply structure 212 and the housing 227 are separable and are fixed together via an O-ring 229. The housing 227 is connected to the connection part 206a on the side of the reaction tube 210.

[0019] The housing 227 extends in a direction different from that of the reaction tube 210 when viewed from the reaction tube 210 side, and is connected to a gas supply structure 212 described later. The heater 211 and the housing 227 are adjacent to each other at an adjacent portion 227b between the reaction tube 210 and the gas supply structure 212. The adjacent portion is referred to as the adjacent portion 227b.

[0020] The gas supply structure 212 is provided deeper than the adjacent part 227b when viewed from the reaction tube 210. The gas supply structure 212 includes a distribution part 224 that can communicate with a gas supply pipe 261 (described later) and a distribution part 222 that can communicate with a gas supply pipe 251. A plurality of nozzles 223 are provided downstream of the distribution part 222, and a plurality of nozzles 225 are provided downstream of the distribution part 224. A plurality of nozzles 225 are arranged in the vertical direction. In FIG. 1, the distribution part 222 and the nozzles 223 are shown.

[0021] As will be described later, the distributor 222 is also called a raw material gas distributor because it can distribute the raw material gas. The nozzle 223 supplies the raw material gas, so it is also called a raw material gas supply nozzle.

[0022] The distributor 224 is also called a reactant gas distributor because it can distribute the reactant gas. The nozzle 225 supplies the reactant gas, so it is also called a reactant gas supply nozzle.

[0023] Gas supply pipe 251 and gas supply pipe 261 supply different types of gases, as will be described later. As shown in Fig. 2, nozzle 223 and nozzle 225 are arranged side by side. Here, nozzle 223 is arranged in the center of housing 227 in the horizontal direction, and nozzles 225 are arranged on both sides of it. The nozzles arranged on both sides are called nozzles 225a and 225b, respectively.

[0024] The partition plates 226 have a continuous structure without holes. Each partition plate 226 is provided at a position corresponding to the substrate S. Nozzles 223 and 225 are provided between the partition plates 226 and between the partition plate 226 and the housing 227. That is, at least a nozzle 223 and a nozzle 225 are provided for each partition plate 226. With this configuration, it becomes possible to perform a process using a first gas and a second element-containing gas between each partition plate 226 or between the partition plate 226 and the housing 227. Therefore, it is possible to achieve uniform processing among multiple substrates S.

[0025] It is desirable that the distance between each partition plate 226 and the nozzle 223 disposed above it be the same. That is, the nozzle 223 and the partition plate 226 or the housing 227 disposed below it are configured to be disposed at the same height. In this way, the distance from the tip of the nozzle 223 to the partition plate 226 can be made the same, so that the resolution on the substrate S can be made uniform among multiple substrates.

[0026] The gas blown out from the nozzles 223 and 225 is adjusted by the partition plate 226 and supplied to the surface of the substrate S. The partition plate 226 is extended horizontally and has a continuous structure without holes, so that the main flow of the gas is restricted from moving vertically and moves horizontally. Therefore, the pressure loss of the gas reaching each substrate S can be made uniform in the vertical direction.

[0027] In this embodiment, the diameter of the blowout holes 222c provided in the distribution section 222 is configured to be smaller than the distance between the partition plates 226 or the distance between the housing 227 and the partition plate 226.

[0028] The downstream rectification section 215 is configured so that when the substrate S is supported on the substrate support section 300, the ceiling is higher than the position of the substrate S arranged at the top, and the bottom is lower than the position of the substrate S arranged at the bottom of the substrate support section 300.

[0029] The downstream rectification section 215 has a housing 231 and a partition plate 232. The portion of the partition plate 232 facing the substrate S extends horizontally so that it is at least larger than the diameter of the substrate S. The horizontal direction here refers to the direction toward the side wall of the housing 231. Furthermore, multiple partition plates 232 are arranged vertically. The partition plate 232 is fixed to the side wall of the housing 231 and is configured to prevent gas from moving beyond the partition plate 232 to adjacent areas below or above. By preventing gas from moving beyond the partition plate 232, the gas flow described below can be reliably formed. A flange 233 is provided on the side of the housing 231 that comes into contact with the gas exhaust structure 213.

[0030] The partition plate 232 has a continuous structure without holes. The partition plates 232 are provided at positions corresponding to the substrates S, respectively, corresponding to the partition plates 226. It is desirable that the corresponding partition plates 226 and 232 have the same height. Furthermore, when processing the substrates S, it is desirable to align the height of the substrates S with the height of the partition plates 226 and 232. With this structure, gas supplied from each nozzle forms a flow passing over the partition plate 226, the substrate S, and the partition plate 232, as shown by the arrows in the figure. At this time, the partition plate 232 extends horizontally and has a continuous structure without holes. With this structure, the pressure loss of the gas exhausted from each substrate S can be made uniform. Therefore, the gas flow of the gas passing through each substrate S is formed horizontally toward the exhaust structure 213, while vertical flow is suppressed.

[0031] By providing the partition plates 226 and 232, the pressure loss can be made uniform in the vertical direction upstream and downstream of each substrate S, so that a horizontal gas flow can be reliably formed with vertical flow suppressed across the partition plate 226, over the substrate S, and across the partition plate 232.

[0032] Gas exhaust structure 213 is provided downstream of downstream rectifier 215. Gas exhaust structure 213 is mainly composed of a housing 241 and a gas exhaust pipe connection part 242. A flange 243 is provided on the housing 241 on the downstream rectifier 215 side.

[0033] Gas exhaust structure 213 communicates with the space of downstream rectification section 215. Housings 231 and 241 have a structure with continuous height. The ceiling of housing 231 is configured to be at the same height as the ceiling of housing 241, and the bottom of housing 231 is configured to be at the same height as the bottom of housing 241.

[0034] The gas that has passed through the downstream rectifying section 215 is exhausted from the exhaust hole 244. At this time, since the gas exhaust structure does not have a configuration such as a partition plate, a gas flow including a vertical direction is formed toward the gas exhaust hole.

[0035] The transfer chamber 217 is installed at the bottom of the reaction tube 210 via a manifold 216. In the transfer chamber 217, a vacuum transfer robot (not shown) places (mounts) the substrate S on a substrate support (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as a boat) 300, and the vacuum transfer robot also takes out the substrate S from the substrate support 300.

[0036] The transfer chamber 217 can accommodate the substrate support 300, the partition plate support 310, and a vertical drive mechanism 400 constituting a first drive unit that drives the substrate support 300 and the partition plate support 310 (collectively referred to as the substrate holder) in the vertical and rotational directions. In Fig. 1, the substrate holder 300 is shown raised by the vertical drive mechanism 400 and stored in the reaction tube.

[0037] Next, the gas supply system will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 3(a), a gas supply pipe 251 is provided with, in order from the upstream direction, a first gas source 252, a mass flow controller (MFC) 253 which is a flow rate controller (flow rate control part), and a valve 254 which is an on-off valve.

[0039] The first gas source 252 is a source of a first gas containing a first element (also referred to as a "first element-containing gas"). The first gas is a source gas, i.e., one of the process gases.

[0040] A first gas supply system 250 is mainly constituted by a gas supply pipe 251, an MFC 253, and a valve 254. The gas supply pipe 251 is connected to an inlet pipe 222b of the distributor 222.

[0041] A gas supply pipe 255 is connected to the supply pipe 251 on the downstream side of the valve 254. An inert gas source 256, an MFC 257, and an on-off valve 258 are provided in this order from the upstream side of the gas supply pipe 255. An inert gas is supplied from the inert gas source 256.

[0042] A first inert gas supply system is mainly composed of a gas supply pipe 255, an MFC 257, and a valve 258. In the substrate processing step, the inert gas supplied from the inert gas source 256 acts as a purge gas for purging gas remaining in the reaction tube 210. The first inert gas supply system may be added to the first gas supply system 250.

[0043] 3(b), a second-element-containing gas source 262, an MFC 263 which is a flow rate controller (flow rate control section), and an on-off valve 264 are provided in this order from the upstream direction in the gas supply pipe 261. The gas supply pipe 261 is connected to an inlet pipe 224b of the distributor 224.

[0044] The second-element-containing gas source 262 is also referred to as a second-element-containing gas source containing a second element. The second-element-containing gas is one of the process gases. The second-element-containing gas may also be considered as a reaction gas or a modifying gas.

[0045] The second gas supply system 260 is mainly composed of the gas supply pipe 261, the MFC 263, and the valve 264.

[0046] A gas supply pipe 265 is connected to the supply pipe 261 on the downstream side of the valve 264. An inert gas source 266, an MFC 267, and an on-off valve 268 are provided in this order from the upstream side of the gas supply pipe 265. An inert gas is supplied from the inert gas source 266.

[0047] A second inert gas supply system is mainly composed of the gas supply pipe 265, the MFC 267, and the valve 268. In the substrate processing step, the inert gas supplied from the inert gas source 266 acts as a purge gas for purging gas remaining in the reaction tube 210. The second inert gas supply system may be added to the second-element-containing gas supply system 260.

[0048] It is desirable that no obstruction that would obstruct the flow of the supplied gas is placed between the nozzles 223 and 225 and the substrate S.

[0049] Next, the configuration of the gas supply structure 212 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 11. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a gas supply structure according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the front and back surfaces of a first component and a second component according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view of the back surfaces of the first component and the second component according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a first purge gas path and a second purge gas path according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a purge gas supply system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the amount of oxygen (O2) permeation according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Here, a technology that can reduce the risk of oxygen (O2) permeation at the connection portion of the opening of the vacuum vessel will be described using the gas supply structure 212 as a configuration example.

[0050] 6, the gas supply structure 212 and the housing 227 are separable and are fixed together via an O-ring 229. That is, the opening of the vacuum vessel (reaction tube 210) formed by the housing 227 is connected to the gas supply structure 212. Therefore, there is a high risk of oxygen (O2) permeation at the connection between the opening of the vacuum vessel and the gas supply structure 212. In order to reduce the risk of oxygen (O2) permeation, the gas supply structure 212 is configured as follows.

[0051] The gas supply structure 212 is composed of a first member 901 and a second member 902. As shown in FIG. 10, each of the first member 901 and the second member 902 is composed of a plate such as a rectangular plate.

[0052] The first member 901 has a front surface 901a and a back surface 901b opposite the front surface 901a. The second member 902 has a front surface 902a and a back surface 902b opposite the front surface 902a. The back surface 901b and the front surface 902a are connected. The back surface 902b is connected to the housing 227, which is the third member.

[0053] As shown schematically in FIG. 6, the gas supply structure 212 is configured such that gas supply pipes 251 and 261 connected to gas supply units 250 and 260 are connected to nozzles 223 and 225 via distribution units 222 and 224, so that raw material gases and reaction gases can be supplied to the reaction tube 210.

[0054] A first seal member 904o1 is provided between the back surface 901b and the front surface 902a so as to surround the distribution units 222, 224. That is, the first seal member 904o1 is located between the back surface 901b of the first member 901 and the front surface 902a of the second member 902, and is provided so as to have a process gas distribution path (222, 224) therein. Also, on the back surface 901b, a second purge gas path (second gas path) 912 is arranged along the outer periphery of the first seal member 904o1, and a purge gas is configured to circulate through the second purge gas path 912. Furthermore, a third seal member 904o2 is arranged between the back surface 901b and the front surface 902a so as to be arranged along the outer periphery of the second purge gas path 912. The second purge gas path 912 is configured by closing a recess provided on the rear surface 901 b of the first member 901 with the front surface 902 a of the second member 902 .

[0055] Furthermore, a second seal member 229o1 is provided between the rear surface 902b and the housing 227 so as to surround the distributors 222, 224. The second seal member 229o1 is located between the rear surface 902b of the second member 902 and the housing 227 and is provided so as to have a process gas distribution path (222, 224) therein. A first purge gas path (first gas path) 910 is also arranged on the rear surface 902b along the outer periphery of the second seal member 229o1, so that purge gas circulates through the first purge gas path 910. Furthermore, a fourth seal member 229o2 is arranged between the rear surface 902b and the housing 227 along the outer periphery of the first purge gas path 910. The first purge gas path 910 is configured by blocking a recess provided in the rear surface 902b of the second member 902 with the surface (side surface) of the housing 227.

[0056] 6, a third purge gas path (third gas path) 913 connecting the first purge gas path 910 and the second purge gas path 912 is provided in the second member 902. The first member 901 is also provided with a purge gas supply unit (a supply port for supplying a second gas) 914in that supplies a purge gas (an inert gas) as a second gas to the first purge gas path 910, and a purge gas discharge unit (a discharge port for discharging the second gas) 914ot that discharges the purge gas from the second purge gas path 912. The purge gas supply unit 914in and the purge gas discharge unit 914ot are disposed adjacent to each other. As will be described later with reference to FIG. 10, the purge gas supply unit 914in is connected to a purge gas supply system (second gas supply unit) 270, and is configured to supply an inert gas, such as nitrogen (N2) gas, from an inert gas source 276 as a purge gas. The purge gas supplied from the purge gas supply unit 914in flows through the first purge gas path 910, the third purge gas path 913, and the second purge gas path 912, and is discharged from the purge gas discharge unit 914ot.

[0057] Here, the flow direction of the purge gas relative to the flow direction of the processing gas as the first gas is configured to be different in the first purge gas path 910 and the second purge gas path 912. That is, referring to cross section A in Fig. 6, if the flow direction of the purge gas in the first purge gas path 910 is a first direction (counterclockwise here when viewed along the flow direction of the processing gas), the flow direction of the purge gas in the second purge gas path 912 is a second direction (clockwise here when viewed along the flow direction of the processing gas) different from the first direction.

[0058] 7 shows a perspective view of the front surface (901a, 902a) of a first member 901 and a second member 902 constituting the gas supply structure (gas supply unit) 212, and a perspective view of the back surface (901b, 902b) of the first member 901 and the second member 902. A purge gas supply port (second gas supply port) 914in and a purge gas exhaust port (second gas exhaust port) 914ot are arranged adjacent to each other on the front surface 901a of the first member. Gas supply ports 251 and 261 are also arranged on the front surface 901a of the first member. Distribution units 222 and 224 are provided on the front surface 902a and the back surfaces 901b and 902b. The processing gas or raw material gas (first gas) supplied from the gas supply section (first gas supply section) 250, 260 flows into each distribution section 222, 224 of the first member 901 and the second member 902 via the gas supply port (first gas supply port) 251, 261.

[0059] 8 shows an enlarged perspective view of regions RR1 and RR2 in FIG. 7 along with the flow of purge gas. As shown in FIG. 8, a region where a first seal member 904o1 is disposed and a region where a third seal member 904o2 is disposed are provided on the rear surface side 901b, and a second purge gas path 912 is provided between the region where the first seal member 904o1 is disposed and the region where the third seal member 904o2 is disposed. A region where a second seal member 229o1 is disposed and a region where a fourth seal member 229o2 is disposed are provided on the rear surface side 902b, and a first purge gas path 910 is provided between the region where the second seal member 229o1 is disposed and the region where the fourth seal member 229o2 is disposed.

[0060] The purge gas (second gas) from the purge gas supply unit 914in passes through the opening P1 of the first member 901, flows to the opening P2 of the second member 902, and flows along the outer periphery of the first seal member 904o1 (toward the left in this figure) to the first purge gas path 910. The purge gas then makes approximately one full circle along the outer periphery of the first seal member 904o1 and reaches the opening P3 of the second member 902 from below.

[0061] The purge gas that has reached the opening P3 reaches the region P4 of the second member 902 via the third purge gas path 913. That is, the third purge gas path 913 is provided between the opening P3 and the region P4.

[0062] The purge gas that reaches region P4 flows along the outer periphery of the second seal member 229o1 (toward the lower left in this figure) into the second purge gas path 912. The purge gas then makes approximately one full circle along the outer periphery of the second seal member 229o1 and reaches an opening P5 of the second member 902 from the right side. The purge gas that reaches opening P5 is discharged from the purge gas discharge portion 914ot.

[0063] 9 shows the overall flow of purge gas through the first purge gas path 910 and the second purge gas path 920. The paths through which the purge gas flows have been explained in FIG. 8, so a duplicate explanation will be omitted.

[0064] The flow path of the purge gas is from the second member 902, which is the inner plate, to the first member 901, which is the outer plate. If the temperature of the inner plate (902) is high, the risk of O2 permeation increases, but it is possible to flow the purge gas as a cooling gas through the inner plate (902). Therefore, by first flowing the purge gas through the inner plate (902), which has a higher temperature, it is possible to lower the temperature of the inner plate (902). This makes it possible to reduce the risk of O2 permeation.

[0065] To minimize the number of areas where the purge gas does not flow, the purge gas supply section 914in and the purge gas discharge section 914ot are positioned close to each other. This makes the flow direction of the purge gas opposite between the inner plate (902) and the outer plate (901). Because the gas flows in opposite directions, it is possible to average out the cooling temperatures of the components of the inner plate (902) and the outer plate (901) caused by the purge gas.

[0066] 10, an inert gas source 276, an MFC 277, and an on-off valve 278 are provided in this order from the upstream side of the gas supply pipe 271. An inert gas, such as nitrogen (N) gas, used as a purge gas is supplied from the inert gas source 276.

[0067] A purge gas supply system 270 is mainly composed of a gas supply pipe 271, an inert gas source 276, an MFC 277, and a valve 278. The gas supply pipe 271 is connected to a purge gas supply unit 914 in, and the inert gas supplied from the inert gas source 276 acts as a purge gas supplied to a first purge gas path 910 and a second purge gas path 920 in the substrate processing step.

[0068] From the results of the calibration curves in the graph shown in FIG. 11, when the O2 permeation amount is about 0.02 sccm, diluting by 100 times or more eliminates the influence of permeation into the processing chamber 210. It is preferable to set the flow rate of N2 as a purge gas to 2 to 400 sccm. It can be seen that if the N2 flow rate is less than 2 sccm, the risk of O2 permeation (permeation amount) cannot be reduced. On the other hand, if the N2 flow rate is more than 400 sccm, the pressure in the N2 flow paths (the first purge gas path 910, the second purge gas path 920, the third purge gas path 930, etc.) becomes high, increasing the possibility of N2 leaking (leaking amount) from the N2 flow paths to the outside. Furthermore, a large amount of N2 will be consumed.

[0069] In this specification, when a numerical range is expressed, such as "2 to 200 sccm," it means that the lower limit and upper limit are included in the range. For example, "2 to 400 sccm" means "2 sccm or more and 400 sccm or less." The same applies to other numerical ranges.

[0070] Next, the controller will be described with reference to Fig. 4. The substrate processing apparatus 100 has a controller 600 that controls the operations of each part of the substrate processing apparatus 100.

[0071] 4 shows an outline of the controller 600. The controller 600, which is a control unit (control means), is configured as a computer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 601, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 602, a storage unit 603 as a storage unit, and an I / O port 604. The RAM 602, the storage unit 603, and the I / O port 604 are configured to be able to exchange data with the CPU 601 via an internal bus 605. Data transmission and reception within the substrate processing apparatus 100 is performed according to instructions from a transmission / reception instruction unit 606, which is one of the functions of the CPU 601.

[0072] The controller 600 is provided with a network transceiver 683 that is connected to the host device 670 via a network. The network transceiver 683 is capable of receiving information, such as the processing history and processing schedule of the substrates S stored in the pod 111, from the host device.

[0073] The storage unit 603 is configured by, for example, a flash memory, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), etc. The storage unit 603 readably stores a control program for controlling the operation of the substrate processing apparatus, a process recipe describing procedures and conditions for substrate processing, etc.

[0074] The process recipe functions as a program, which is a combination of procedures in a substrate processing step (described later) that are executed by the controller 600 to obtain a predetermined result. Hereinafter, the process recipe, control program, etc. are collectively referred to as simply a program. In this specification, the term "program" may refer to only a process recipe, only a control program, or both. The RAM 602 is configured as a memory area (work area) in which programs, data, etc. read by the CPU 601 are temporarily stored.

[0075] The I / O port 604 is connected to each component of the substrate processing apparatus 100. The CPU 601 is configured to read and execute a control program from the storage unit 603, and to read a process recipe from the storage unit 603 in response to an input of an operation command from the input / output device 681. The CPU 601 is configured to be able to control the substrate processing apparatus 100 in accordance with the contents of the read process recipe.

[0076] The CPU 601 includes a transmission / reception instruction unit 606. The controller 600 according to this embodiment can be configured by installing the program into a computer using an external storage device 682 (e.g., a magnetic disk such as a hard disk, an optical disk such as a DVD, a magneto-optical disk such as an MO, or a semiconductor memory such as a USB memory) storing the program. The means for supplying the program to the computer is not limited to supplying the program via the external storage device 682. For example, the program may be supplied via a communication means such as the Internet or a dedicated line, without going through the external storage device 682. The storage unit 603 and the external storage device 682 are configured as computer-readable recording media. Hereinafter, these will be collectively referred to as "recording media." In this specification, the term "recording media" may refer to the storage unit 603 alone, the external storage device 682 alone, or both.

[0077] Next, as one step in a semiconductor manufacturing process that is a semiconductor device manufacturing method (substrate processing method), a step of forming a thin film on a substrate S using the substrate processing apparatus 100 having the above-described configuration will be described. In the following description, the operation of each part constituting the substrate processing apparatus is controlled by a controller 600.

[0078] Here, a film formation process in which a first gas and a second element-containing gas are alternately supplied to form a film on a substrate S will be described with reference to FIG.

[0079] (S202) The transfer chamber pressure adjustment step S202 will now be described. Here, the pressure inside the transfer chamber 217 is adjusted to the same level as that of the vacuum transfer chamber 140. Specifically, an exhaust system (not shown) connected to the transfer chamber 217 is activated to exhaust the atmosphere inside the transfer chamber 217 to a vacuum level.

[0080] The heater 282 may be operated in parallel with this step. Specifically, the heater 282a and the heater 282b may be operated separately. When the heater 282 is operated, it is operated at least during the film treatment step 208 described later.

[0081] (S204) Next, the carrying-in step S204 will be described.

[0082] Once the transfer chamber 217 reaches a vacuum level, the transfer of the substrate S begins. When the substrate S arrives at the vacuum transfer chamber 140, a gate valve (not shown) adjacent to the substrate loading port 149 is opened, and the substrate S is loaded into the transfer chamber 217 from the adjacent vacuum transfer chamber (not shown).

[0083] At this time, the substrate support 300 is placed on standby in the transfer chamber 217, and the substrates S are transferred to the substrate support 300. When a predetermined number of substrates S have been transferred to the substrate support 300, the vacuum transfer robot is retracted to the housing 141, and the substrate support 300 is raised to move the substrates S into the reaction tube 210.

[0084] When the substrate S is moved to the reaction tube 210 , it is positioned so that the surface of the substrate S is flush with the height of the partition plates 226 and 232 .

[0085] (S206) The heating step S206 will now be described. After the substrate S is loaded into the reaction tube 210, the pressure inside the reaction tube 210 is controlled to a predetermined value, and the heater 211 is controlled so that the surface temperature of the substrate S is a predetermined value. The temperature is in the high temperature range described below, for example, 400°C or higher and 800°C or lower. Preferably, it is 500°C or higher and 700°C or lower. The pressure may be, for example, 50 to 5000 Pa. At this time, when the upstream heating unit 228 is operated, the gas passing through the distribution unit 222 is controlled to be heated to a low decomposition temperature range or a non-decomposition temperature range described below, at a temperature at which the gas will not re-liquefy. For example, the gas is heated to about 300°C.

[0086] At this time, the MFC 277 and the valve 278 are controlled in accordance with the process recipe, and the purge gas from the inert gas source 276 is supplied from the gas supply pipe 271 to the first purge gas path 910 and the second purge gas path 920. The supply of the purge gas from the inert gas source 276 continues at least until the film treatment step S208, which will be described later, is completed.

[0087] (S208) The film treatment step S208 will be described. The film treatment step S208 is performed after the heating step S206. In the film treatment step S208, the first gas supply system 250 is controlled to supply a first gas into the reaction tube 210 according to the process recipe, and the exhaust system 280 is controlled to exhaust the treatment gas from the reaction tube 210, thereby performing film treatment. Note that the second element-containing gas supply system 260 may be controlled to cause a second element-containing gas to be present in the treatment space simultaneously with the first gas to perform CVD treatment, or the first gas and the second element-containing gas may be alternately supplied into the reaction tube 210 to perform alternating supply treatment. Furthermore, when treating the second element-containing gas in a plasma state, the plasma state may be generated using a plasma generation unit (not shown).

[0088] The following method can be considered as an alternate supply process, which is a specific example of a film processing method: For example, a first gas is supplied into the reaction tube 210 in a first step, a second element-containing gas is supplied into the reaction tube 210 in a second step, and as a purge step, nitrogen (N) gas as an inert gas is supplied into the reaction tube 210 between the first and second steps while the atmosphere in the reaction tube 210 is evacuated, and a desired film is formed by performing an alternate supply process in which the first step, purge step, and second step are combined multiple times.

[0089] The supplied gas forms a gas flow in the upstream rectifier 214, the space above the substrates S, and the downstream rectifier 215. At this time, the gas is supplied to the substrates S without any pressure loss above each substrate S, making it possible to process each substrate S uniformly.

[0090] (S210) The substrate unloading step S210 will now be described. In S210, the processed substrate S is unloaded from the transfer chamber 217 in the reverse order to the substrate loading step S204 described above.

[0091] (S212) The determination S212 will now be explained. Here, it is determined whether or not the substrate has been processed the predetermined number of times. If it is determined that the substrate has not been processed the predetermined number of times, the process returns to the loading step S204, and the next substrate S is processed. If it is determined that the substrate has been processed the predetermined number of times, the process ends.

[0092] Although the gas flow formation is described as horizontal in the above, it is sufficient that the main gas flow is formed in a horizontal direction overall, and the gas flow may be diffused in a vertical direction as long as it does not affect the uniform processing of multiple substrates.

[0093] Furthermore, although expressions such as "same level," "equivalent," and "equal" are used above, it goes without saying that these include things that are essentially the same.

[0094] Although the embodiment of this aspect has been specifically described above, it is not limited thereto and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0095] In addition, for example, in each of the above-described embodiments, a case where a film is formed on a substrate S using a first gas and a second-element-containing gas in a film formation process performed by a substrate processing apparatus has been exemplified, but this aspect is not limited to this. That is, other types of gases may be used as the process gas used in the film formation process to form other types of thin films. Furthermore, even when three or more types of process gases are used, this aspect can be applied as long as the film formation process is performed by alternately supplying these gases.

[0096] Here, the first gas is not limited to silicon as long as it contains silicon and has a Si-Si bond, and for example, tetrachlorodimethyldisilane ((CH3)2Si2Cl4, abbreviated as TCDMDS), hexachlorodisilane (Si2Cl6, abbreviated as HCDS), or dichlorotetramethyldisilane ((CH3)4Si2Cl2, abbreviated as DCTMDS) may be used. TCDMDS has a Si-Si bond and also contains a chloro group and an alkylene group. DCTMDS has a Si-Si bond and also contains a chloro group and an alkylene group. The first element may be various elements such as titanium (Ti), silicon (Si), zirconium (Zr), hafnium (Hf), etc.

[0097] The second-element-containing gas contains a second element different from the first element. The second element is, for example, any one of oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), and carbon (C). In this embodiment, the second-element-containing gas is, for example, a nitrogen-containing gas. Specifically, it is a hydrogen nitride-based gas containing an N-H bond, such as ammonia (NH), diazene (NH) gas, hydrazine (NH) gas, or NH gas.

[0098] In the above-described embodiment, an example of forming a film using a batch-type substrate processing apparatus that processes multiple substrates at a time has been described. The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment and can be suitably applied, for example, to a case where a film is formed using a single-wafer substrate processing apparatus that processes one or several substrates at a time. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, an example of forming a film using a substrate processing apparatus having a hot-wall processing furnace has been described. The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment and can be suitably applied to a case where a film is formed using a substrate processing apparatus having a cold-wall processing furnace.

[0099] Furthermore, in the above-described aspect, a film formation process is exemplified as a process performed by the substrate processing apparatus, but this aspect is not limited thereto. That is, this aspect can be applied to the film formation processes exemplified in each embodiment as well as film formation processes other than the thin film formation processes exemplified in each embodiment. Furthermore, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, or to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, it is also possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of each embodiment with other configurations. [Explanation of symbols]

[0100] 100: substrate processing apparatus, 210: reaction tube (processing chamber), 212: gas supply structure, 227: housing (third member), 250, 260: first gas supply unit, 270: second gas supply unit, 901: first member, 902: second member, 904o1: first sealing member, 229o1: second sealing member, 910: first purge gas path (first gas path), 912: second purge gas path (second gas path)

Claims

1. a first gas supply unit that supplies a first gas; a first member that allows the first gas from the first gas supply unit to flow; a second member that allows the first gas to flow from the first member; a third member that allows the first gas to flow from the second member; a processing chamber to which the first gas is supplied from the third member; a first seal member positioned between the first member and the second member; a second seal member positioned between the second member and the third member; a second gas supply unit that supplies a second gas; a first gas path disposed along the second seal member and through which the second gas flows; a second gas path disposed along the first seal member and allowing the second gas to flow; A substrate processing apparatus in which a flow direction of the second gas flowing through the first gas path is different from a flow direction of the second gas flowing through the second gas path.

2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a third gas path through which the second gas flows between the first gas path and the second gas path.

3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first gas path is provided between the second member and the third member.

4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the second gas path is provided between the first member and the second member.

5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first gas supply unit is connected to the first member.

6. A first gas supply unit that supplies a first gas; a first member that allows the first gas from the first gas supply unit to flow; a second member that allows the first gas to flow from the first member; a third member that allows the first gas to flow from the second member; a processing chamber to which the first gas is supplied from the third member; a first seal member positioned between the first member and the second member; a second seal member positioned between the second member and the third member; a second gas supply unit that supplies a second gas; a first gas path disposed along the second seal member and through which the second gas flows; a second gas path disposed along the first seal member and allowing the second gas to flow; The second gas supply unit is connected to the first member.

7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an exhaust unit for exhausting the second gas.

8. A first gas supply unit that supplies a first gas; a first member that allows the first gas from the first gas supply unit to flow; a second member that allows the first gas to flow from the first member; a third member that allows the first gas to flow from the second member; a processing chamber to which the first gas is supplied from the third member; a first seal member positioned between the first member and the second member; a second seal member positioned between the second member and the third member; a second gas supply unit that supplies a second gas; a first gas path disposed along the second seal member and through which the second gas flows; a second gas path disposed along the first seal member and through which the second gas flows; an exhaust unit that exhausts the second gas, The exhaust unit is connected to the first member.

9. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the second gas supply unit and the exhaust unit are connected to the first member.

10. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein a supply port for supplying the second gas and an exhaust port for exhausting the second gas are provided adjacent to each other.

11. A substrate processing apparatus as described in Claim 10, wherein the second gas path is provided along the outer periphery of the first sealing member.

12. A first gas supply unit that supplies a first gas; a first member that allows the first gas from the first gas supply unit to flow; a second member that allows the first gas to flow from the first member; a third member that allows the first gas to flow from the second member; a processing chamber to which the first gas is supplied from the third member; a first seal member positioned between the first member and the second member; a second seal member positioned between the second member and the third member; a second gas supply unit that supplies a second gas; a first gas path disposed along the second seal member and through which the second gas flows; a second gas path disposed along the first seal member and allowing the second gas to flow; The first gas path is provided along an outer periphery of the second seal member.

13. A first gas supply unit that supplies a first gas; a first member that allows the first gas from the first gas supply unit to flow; a second member that allows the first gas to flow from the first member; a third member that allows the first gas to flow from the second member; a processing chamber to which the first gas is supplied from the third member; a first seal member positioned between the first member and the second member; a second seal member positioned between the second member and the third member; a second gas supply unit that supplies a second gas; a first gas path disposed along the second seal member and through which the second gas flows; a second gas path disposed along the first seal member and allowing the second gas to flow; The second gas path is provided along an outer periphery of the first seal member.

14. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first gas is a processing gas.

15. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the second gas is a purge gas.

16. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the third member is a housing that defines the processing chamber.

17. a first gas supply unit that supplies a first gas; a first member that allows the first gas from the first gas supply unit to flow; a second member that allows the first gas to flow from the first member; a third member that allows the first gas to flow from the second member; a first seal member positioned between the first member and the second member; a second seal member positioned between the second member and the third member; a second gas supply unit that supplies a second gas; a first gas path disposed along the second seal member and through which the second gas flows; a second gas path disposed along the first seal member and through which the second gas flows; a gas supply unit in which a flow direction of the second gas flowing through the first gas path is different from a flow direction of the second gas flowing through the second gas path; 18. A process for transporting a substrate into the processing chamber of the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, 6, 8, 12, or 13; supplying the first gas to process the substrate; A substrate processing method comprising:

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate is transported into the processing chamber of the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1; supplying the first gas to process the substrate; A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising:

20. The steps of: loading a substrate into the processing chamber of the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1; supplying the first gas to process the substrate; A program for causing a computer to execute the above in the substrate processing apparatus.

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