Apparatus and method for processing wafers

Abstract

To provide an apparatus to process a wafer.SOLUTION: The present disclosure relates to: an apparatus for processing wafers with a process chamber to process wafers held in a wafer boat; a cassette handler chamber to handle wafer cassettes; and, a wafer handler chamber provided with a wafer handler to transfer wafers from the wafer cassettes to the wafer boat. The wafer handler is constructed and arranged to transfer wafers between a wafer storage, the wafer boat and the wafer cassettes.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for processing wafers. The apparatus comprises: a process chamber for processing a boat loaded with wafers; a cassette handler for handling wafer cassettes; a wafer handler chamber comprising a wafer handler for transferring wafers from the wafer cassettes for processing in the process chamber. The present invention also relates to a method for processing wafers. [Background Art]

[0002] An apparatus for processing wafers may comprise a cassette handler chamber for handling wafer cassettes. The cassette handler chamber can accommodate cassettes for storing wafers. The cassette may be a standardized FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) wafer storage cassette for 300 mm diameter wafers, or another type of standardized cassette for 200 mm diameter wafers, and may have 25 slots for accommodating 25 wafers.

[0003] The cassette handler chamber may comprise a wafer cassette handler capable of transferring cassettes between input / output stations, wafer transfer stations, and / or cassette storage. The apparatus may also comprise a wafer handler, whereby wafers can be taken out from a cassette disposed at the wafer transfer station and placed into a wafer boat for processing within the process chamber of the apparatus.

[0004] During wafer processing in the process chamber of a batch furnace, filling empty spaces in the wafer boat can be beneficial to the process. Filler wafers can be used to fill the empty spaces between production wafers. When filler wafers are placed on top of and / or at the bottom of the wafer stack in the wafer boat, they are used as side fillers and improve the reaction characteristics of the production wafers placed between them. Generally, filler wafers can be reused and remain in the equipment until cleaning is required.

[0005] Test wafers can also be used to test the process within the process chamber. These test wafers are placed between production wafers or filler wafers in a wafer boat and may pass through the process chamber once before being stored or used for testing.

[0006] When using filler and / or test wafers in the apparatus, storing them in cassettes within the cassette handler chamber reduces the storage capacity for production wafers. For processes requiring a large number of filler and / or test wafers, this can lead to cassette storage problems. The obvious solution to this problem is to increase the number of cassette receiving sites within the cassette handler chamber. However, such a solution requires additional space within the apparatus, which may not be available and / or may be costly.

[0007] During each loading process, transporting filler and / or test wafers from the cassette in the cassette handler chamber to the wafer handler chamber can also be time-consuming. Wafer cassettes for filler and / or test wafers may need to be specially transported to and opened by a door opener, but even if only a few filler and / or test wafers are needed from the cassette, this can be very time-consuming. While transporting and with the door open, the door opener may not be used for production wafers, potentially reducing the machine's throughput. [Overview of the project] [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] It may be desirable to provide improved methods and apparatus for supplying fillers and / or test wafers.

[0009] Therefore, an apparatus for processing wafers can be provided. The apparatus may comprise a process chamber for processing a wafer-filled boat, a cassette handler chamber for handling wafer cassettes, and a wafer handler chamber equipped with a wafer handler for transporting wafers from the wafer cassette to the wafer boat for processing within the process chamber. The wafer handler chamber may include wafer storage, and the wafer handler may be configured and positioned to transport wafers between the wafer storage, the wafer boat, and / or the wafer cassette.

[0010] Having wafer storage accessible by wafer handlers can improve the supply of filler and / or test wafers.

[0011] Therefore, a method for processing wafers can be provided. The method is Using a wafer handler, product wafers are loaded from the wafer cassette into the wafer boat, Using a wafer handler, filler and / or test wafers are loaded from wafer storage into a wafer boat. Moving the wafer boat into the process chamber, Processing production, filler, and / or test wafers within a wafer boat in a process chamber, Moving the wafer boat outside the process chamber, This includes using a wafer handler to remove product wafers from a wafer boat into a wafer cassette.

[0012] These and other embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following embodiments for carrying out the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, and the present invention is not limited to any particular embodiment disclosed.

[0013] Naturally, the elements in the figures are illustrative for simplification and clarity and are not necessarily drawn to actual size. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to others to help improve understanding of the illustrated embodiments of this disclosure. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first exemplary embodiment of the apparatus of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a top view of the first exemplary embodiment shown in Figure 1. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a partially open side view of the first exemplary embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, which includes wafer storage. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0015] The diagrams are not drawn to actual size, and dimensions and thickness are exaggerated, especially for clarity. Corresponding areas have the same reference numerals whenever possible.

[0016] Figure 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the apparatus of the present disclosure for processing wafers. Apparatus 1 comprises two process chambers 30, 31 into which a wafer boat 34 can be loaded from the bottom, into which a number of wafers can be supplied. The wafer boat 34 is positioned on a boat carousel 32, which allows the boat 34 to be transported from a pick-up and / or loading position 35, clearly shown in Figure 2, to a processing position below the first process chamber 30 or the second process chamber 31. A lift 33 is provided below both process chambers 30, 31, which allows the wafer boat with wafers to be lifted and transported into the process chambers 30, 31. Furthermore, a cooling position 36 is available on the opposite side of the pick-up and / or loading position 35, where the wafer boat with wafers 34 located on the carousel 32 can be cooled after processing in the process chambers 30, 31.

[0017] A boat carousel 32, comprising process chambers 30, 31 and a boat lift 33, is located within the rear chamber 39 of the apparatus. Walls 38, 43 can form a wafer handling chamber 44 within the apparatus. A wafer handler 13 can be placed within this wafer handler chamber 44, thereby allowing wafers to be placed in a wafer boat 34. The wafer boat 34 can be transported by a boat handling device 12 through a door in wall 38 to a loading and / or unloading position 35, from where it can be removed and placed in a wafer loading and / or unloading position 46.

[0018] A portion of the wall 43 includes several door openings bounded by so-called door opening and closing devices 18, 19. In this exemplary embodiment, the door opening and closing devices 18, 19 are available in two states. Using such door opening and closing devices 18, 19, the doors of a wafer cassette, also known in the present art as a FOUP, can be opened and closed. For a precise description, see International Patent Publication No. 99 / 38199, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0019] The cassette handler chamber can be located on the side of the door opening devices 18, 19 opposite the wafer handler chamber 44. The wafer cassette storage system 2 is supplied with a cassette handler 10 and a number of wafer cassettes 4. Within the cassette handler chamber 45, two turntables 15, 16 are available, on which wafer cassettes 4 can be placed by the wafer cassette handler 10. The wafer cassettes 4 can be transported by the turntables 15, 16 to the wafer transport station in front of the door opening devices 18, 19. The wafer cassettes 4 may be pressed against the door opening devices 18, 19. The door opening devices 18, 19 can open the wafer cassettes at the wafer transport station, and the wafer handler 13 can transport wafers through the door opening between the wafer boat 34 and the wafer cassettes.

[0020] The wafer cassette handler 10 may also be positioned to receive wafer cassettes 4 from the input / output station 21 and place them either in the storage system 2 or on the turntable 15 or 16. The input / output station 21 may be used to transport cassettes 4 between the equipment and other wafer processing equipment within the semiconductor plant where the equipment is located. Furthermore, an operation panel 20 is visible, allowing an operator to operate the equipment.

[0021] FIG. 3 shows a partially opened side view of the first exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, wherein the wafer storage wafer 40 is provided for storing fillers and / or test wafers. The wafer storage 40 may be provided in the wafer handler chamber 44 of FIG. 2.

[0022] The wafer handler chamber 44 may comprise walls 38 and 43. The wafer storage 40 may be a wafer storage box provided with a box opening on the wall 43 in the direction of the wafer handler 13. For example, the wafer storage box may be installed on a part of the wall 43 above the door opening and closing devices 18 and 19. The door opening and closing devices 18 and 19 may be configured and arranged to open the door of the wafer cassette 4.

[0023] The wafer handler 13 may be configured and arranged to transfer wafers among the wafer storage 40, the wafer boat 34 and / or the wafer cassette 4. The wafer handler 13 may comprise a movable wafer support for supporting wafers. The wafer handler 13 may comprise a horizontal driving device for moving the wafer support in a horizontal plane. The wafer handler 13 may comprise a Z driving device for moving the wafer support up and down in a vertical Z direction substantially perpendicular to the horizontal plane from a minimum reach height to a maximum reach height.

[0024] The distance between the minimum reach height and the maximum reach height may be substantially equal to the length of the wafer boat 34. The distance between the minimum height and the maximum height may be at least the height of the door opening of the door opening and closing device plus the height of the opening of the wafer storage 40.

[0025] The wafer storage 40 may be located in the wafer handler chamber 44 above the door opening and closing devices 18, 19. In this case, the upper end of the wafer storage 40 can be less than or equal to the maximum reachable height of the wafer support, and as a result, all storage locations within the wafer storage 40 can be handled by the wafer handler 13.

[0026] Alternatively, the wafer storage 40 may be located below the door opening and closing devices 18, 19. In this case, the bottom of the wafer storage 40 can be greater than or equal to the minimum reachable height of the wafer support, and as a result, all storage locations within the wafer storage 40 can be handled by the wafer handler 13.

[0027] Alternatively, the wafer storage 40 may also be located between the two door opening devices 18 and 19. In this case, the bottom of the door opening of the lower door opening device can be greater than or equal to the minimum reachable height of the wafer support. The upper end of the door opening of the upper door opening device can be less than or equal to the maximum reachable height of the wafer support. In this configuration, all storage positions of both door opening devices 18 and 19 and the wafer storage can be handled by the wafer handler 13.

[0028] The wafer storage may be equipped with 2 to 50, preferably 3 to 30, and most preferably 4 to 25 wafer holders for holding wafers. The wafer holders may be equipped with flat surfaces for supporting wafers.

[0029] The wafer holder of the wafer storage 40 may have slots for supporting wafers. The height of the box of the wafer storage 40 may be lower than, equal to, or higher than the height of the wafer cassette 4. The pitch of the slots in the wafer storage 40 may be smaller than the pitch of the slots in the wafer cassette 4 so that the wafer storage can accommodate more wafers than the wafer cassette. The pitch of the wafer slots in a standardized wafer cassette 4 may be 10 mm for a cassette 4 that stores wafers with a diameter of 300 mm. The pitch of the wafer slots in the wafer storage 40 may be, for example, 3 to 9, preferably 4 to 8, and most preferably 5 to 7 mm.

[0030] The 10mm wafer slot pitch of the standardized wafer cassette 4 is chosen so that wafers in the standardized wafer cassette 4 used in manufacturing can be handled by any wafer handling tool in the semiconductor factory. This requirement may not be as strict for filler and test wafers transported to the wafer storage 40, as they can only be handled by a single dedicated wafer handler 13 that can also transport them to the standard cassette 4. The smaller the wafer slot pitch of the wafer storage 40, the more wafer slots can be provided within the wafer storage 40, in contrast to the standardized wafer cassette 4, allowing for the storage of more wafers or occupying less space within the wafer handling chamber 44.

[0031] Filling the wafer storage 40 with filler and / or test wafers can be performed as follows: A wafer cassette 4 containing filler and / or test wafers can be introduced into the input / output station 21. The wafer cassette 4 containing filler and / or test wafers can be transported from the input / output station 21 into the storage system 2 and / or to the turntables 15, 16 using a cassette handler 10. As the turntables 15, 16 rotate, the cassette containing filler and / or test wafers can be positioned facing the door opening / closing devices 18, 19. After removing the doors of the wafer cassette 4 using the door opening / closing devices 18, 19, the filler and / or test wafers can be transported directly to the wafer storage 40 by a wafer handler 13. Alternatively, some of the filler and / or test wafers may be loaded directly into a wafer boat 34, processed in reaction chambers 6, 7, and then removed from the wafer storage 40. By transporting the majority of the filler and / or test wafers to the wafer storage 40, the wafer cassette 4, filled with up to 25 filler and / or test wafers, can be retrieved by the wafer handler 13. Since up to 25 test and / or filler wafers can thus completely fill the wafer cassette 4, the cassette opening and transport functions can be used efficiently.

[0032] The processing of multiple production wafers can be carried out as follows: Multiple wafer cassettes 4 can be introduced into the input / output station 21. Each wafer cassette 4 can be transported from the input / output station 21 to the storage system 2 and / or to the turntables 15, 16 using a cassette handler 10. As the turntables 15, 16 rotate, the wafer cassettes can be positioned facing the door opening / closing devices 18, 19. After the doors of the wafer cassettes 4 are removed using the door opening / closing devices 18, 19, the production wafers can be transported to the wafer boat 34 by a wafer handler 13.

[0033] While wafers are being filled into the wafer boat 34, the wafer handler can transport filler and / or test wafers from the wafer storage 40 to the wafer boat 34. The filler and / or test wafers may be inserted, for example, at the top and bottom of the wafer boat 34. The test wafers may be spread evenly on the wafer boat 34.

[0034] After filling the substrate boat 34 with production wafers and filler and / or test wafers, the substrate boat 34 can be placed on a boat carousel 32 equipped with a boat handling device 12. The boat carousel 32 can then move the substrate boat 34 to a position below the process chambers 6 and 7 into which it will be loaded. The lift 33 can then move the boat 34 into the process chambers 6 and 7.

[0035] The processed substrate can be moved in the reverse direction. Filler and / or test wafers may be selected from the production wafers and loaded into the wafer storage 40 by the wafer handler 13.

[0036] Filler wafers may be reused from the wafer storage 40. Filler wafers may be stored in the wafer storage 40 for later cleaning. When a reasonable number of used filler wafers (e.g., 10 to 25) are present in the wafer storage 40, they can be transported to a cassette for cleaning. Since 25 filler wafers can thus completely fill the cassette 4, the cassette opening and transport function can be used efficiently.

[0037] Each test wafer can only be used once. Since only a limited number of test wafers are inserted into the wafer boat for each process run, temporarily storing a large number of test wafers in wafer storage saves space and time. When a reasonable number of used wafers (e.g., 10-25) are present in wafer storage 40, they can be transported to a cassette for further processing. Since 25 test wafers can thus completely fill cassette 4, the cassette opening and transport functions can be used efficiently.

[0038] The configurations and / or techniques described herein are illustrative in nature, and it should be understood that these particular embodiments or examples are not intended to be limited in meaning, as numerous variations are possible. The specific routines or methods described herein may represent one or more of any number of processing strategies. Therefore, the various operations described herein may be performed in the order shown, in other orders, or, in some cases, omitted.

[0039] The subject matter of this disclosure includes all novel and non-obvious combinations and partial combinations thereof of the various processes, systems, and configurations disclosed herein, as well as other features, functions, operations, and / or characteristics, and all their equivalents. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0040] 1 device 2. Wafer Cassette Storage System 4 wafer cassettes 6, 7 Process Chambers 10 Cassette Handlers 13 Wafer Handlers 15, 16 Turntables 18, 19 Door opening and closing device 20 Control Panel 21 Input / Output Stations 30, 31 Process Chambers 32 Carousels 33 Lifts 34 wafer boats 35 Removal and / or loading position 38, 43 Wall 39 Rear Chamber 40 wafer storage 44 Wafer Handling Chambers 46 Wafer loading and / or removal position

Claims

1. A device for processing wafers, A process chamber configured and positioned to process wafer boats, A cassette handler chamber for handling wafer cassettes containing wafers, A wafer handler chamber comprising a wafer handler for transporting wafers from a wafer cassette to a wafer boat, wherein the wafer handler chamber comprises a wafer storage and a wall separating the cassette handler chamber from the wafer handler chamber, and the wafer handler is configured and positioned to transport wafers between the wafer storage, the wafer boat and / or wafer cassette, A door opening for a wafer cassette door opening / closing device for opening the wafer cassette is provided in a part of the wall, The wafer storage is provided as a box with a box opening in the wall in the direction of the wafer handler, and is positioned above or below the wafer cassette door opening and closing device. The wafer storage device is provided for storing filler and / or test wafers.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wafer handler is configured and positioned to transport wafers between the wafer storage, the wafer boat and / or wafer cassette through the door opening and the box opening.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wafer storage comprises 2 to 50 wafer holders for holding wafers.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the wafer storage comprises slots for supporting the filler and / or test wafers.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cassette handler chamber comprises a wafer cassette handler for transporting cassettes between an input / output station, a wafer transport station, and / or a wafer cassette storage system.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wafer handler comprises a movable wafer support for supporting a wafer, a horizontal drive device for moving the wafer support in a horizontal plane, and a Z drive device for moving the wafer support up and down in a vertical Z direction substantially perpendicular to the horizontal plane from a minimum reach to a maximum reach.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the distance between the minimum reachable height and the maximum reachable height is substantially equal to the length of the wafer boat.

8. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the wafer storage has a wafer storage height higher than the height at which wafers can be stored, and the distance between the minimum reach height and the maximum reach height of the wafer handler is at least the height of one or more door openings of the wafer cassette door opening / closing device plus the height of the wafer storage.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wafer storage is fixed to the wall of the wafer handler chamber.

10. A method for processing a wafer using the apparatus described in any one of claims 1 to 9, Opening and closing the wafer cassette door using a wafer cassette door opening and closing device, Using a wafer handler, the production wafers are loaded from the wafer cassette into the wafer boat. Using the wafer handler, filler and / or test wafers are loaded from the wafer storage into the wafer boat. Moving the wafer boat into the process chamber, Processing the production wafer, the filler and / or test wafer in the wafer boat within the process chamber, Moving the wafer boat outside the process chamber, A method comprising using the wafer handler to remove the production wafer from the wafer boat into the wafer cassette.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the method includes loading the filler and / or test wafers from a wafer cassette filled with the filler and / or test wafers into the wafer storage using the wafer handler before loading the filler and / or test wafers from the wafer storage into the wafer boat using the wafer handler.

12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising inserting filler wafers into the upper and lower parts of the wafer boat.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein the method includes using the wafer handler to remove the filler and / or test wafer from the wafer boat into the wafer storage.

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