Substrate processing device, substrate processing method, method for producing semiconductor device, and program

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a feature enabling improvement in the uniformity of the in-plane film thickness between substrates resulting from heat treatment.　This substrate processing device comprises a processing chamber for processing a plurality of substrates, an electromagnetic wave generator for supplying electromagnetic waves to the plurality of substrates, a first gas supply unit for supplying a first gas toward a first portion of the substrate from a side of the plurality of substrates, and a second gas supply unit for supplying a second gas toward a second portion different from the first portion from the side of the plurality of substrates.

Description

Substrate processing apparatus, substrate processing method, semiconductor device manufacturing method and program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing apparatus, a substrate processing method, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, and a program.

[0002] One process in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices is a modification process, typically exemplified by annealing, in which a substrate in a processing chamber is heated using a heating device to change the composition or crystalline structure of a thin film formed on the surface of the substrate or to repair crystal defects in the thin film. In recent years, semiconductor devices have become significantly smaller and more highly integrated, which has led to a demand for modification processes for high-density substrates on which patterns with high aspect ratios are formed. Heat treatment methods using electromagnetic waves, such as those described in Patent Document 1, have been considered as a modification process for such high-density substrates.

[0003] JP 2015-070045 A

[0004] In conventional processes using electromagnetic waves, heat treatment can cause non-uniformity in the in-plane film thickness between substrates.

[0005] The present disclosure provides a technique that makes it possible to improve the uniformity of the in-plane film thickness between substrates by heat treatment.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a technology including: a processing chamber for processing a plurality of substrates; an electromagnetic wave generator that supplies electromagnetic waves to the plurality of substrates; a first gas supply unit that supplies a first gas from a side of the plurality of substrates toward a first location on the substrates; and a second gas supply unit that supplies a second gas from a side of the plurality of substrates toward a second location different from the first location.

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the uniformity of the in-plane film thickness between substrates by heat treatment.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing, in a vertical cross section, a processing furnace portion of a substrate processing apparatus preferably used in an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is a vertical cross section showing the schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus preferably used in an embodiment of the present disclosure, at the position of the processing furnace; FIG. 3 is a cross section showing the cross section of a substrate processing apparatus preferably used in an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a controller of a substrate processing apparatus preferably used in an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing, in a horizontal cross section, a processing furnace portion of a substrate processing apparatus preferably used in an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining hole spacing, number of holes, hole diameter, and examples of a substrate processing apparatus nozzle preferably used in an embodiment of the present disclosure; and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a substrate processing flow preferably used in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 7. Note that all drawings used in the following description are schematic, and the dimensional relationships, ratios, etc. of elements shown in the drawings do not necessarily match those of reality. Furthermore, the dimensional relationships, ratios, etc. of elements between multiple drawings do not necessarily match.

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0011] (1) Configuration of the Substrate Processing Apparatus The substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is configured as a single-wafer heat treatment apparatus that performs various heat treatments on multiple wafers, and will be described as an apparatus that performs an annealing treatment (i.e., a modification treatment) using electromagnetic waves, which will be described later. The substrate processing apparatus in this embodiment uses a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod, hereinafter referred to as a pod) as a storage container (carrier) that houses wafers as substrates inside a processing chamber. The pod is also used as a transport container for transporting wafers between various substrate processing apparatuses.

[0012] 1, 2, and 3, the substrate processing apparatus 100 includes a transfer housing 202 having a transfer chamber 203 therein for transferring wafers 200, and cases 102-1 and 102-2 as processing containers (described later) provided on the side walls of the transfer housing 202 and having processing chambers 201-1 and 201-2 therein for processing the wafers 200. A cooling case 109 forming a cooling chamber 204 is provided between the processing chambers 201-1 and 201-2.

[0013] 2 (lower side in FIG. 3), which is the front side of the transfer housing 202, is disposed a load port unit (LP) 106 as a pod opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing the lid of the pod 110 and loading and unloading the wafers 200 into and out of the transfer chamber 203. The load port unit 106 includes a housing 106a, a stage 106b, and an opener 106c. The stage 106b is configured to mount the pod 110 and bring the pod 110 close to a substrate loading / unloading port 134 formed in the front of the housing of the transfer chamber 203, and the opener 106c opens and closes a lid (not shown) provided on the pod 110. The load port unit 106 also controls the inside of the pod 110 to be N ２ The transfer housing 202 may have a function of purging with a purge gas such as a gas. The transfer housing 202 also has a purge gas circulation structure (described later) for circulating a purge gas within the transfer chamber 203.

[0014] 2 (upper side in FIG. 3), which is the rear side of the transfer housing 202, are disposed gate valves (GV) 205-1 and 205-2 for opening and closing the processing chambers 201-1 and 201-2, respectively. A substrate transfer robot, which is a substrate transfer mechanism for transferring the wafer 200, and a transfer machine 125 serving as a substrate transfer unit are disposed in the transfer chamber 203. The transfer machine 125 is composed of tweezers (arms) 125a-1 and 125a-2 serving as a placement unit for placing the wafer 200, a transfer device 125b capable of rotating or linearly moving each of the tweezers 125a-1 and 125a-2 in the horizontal direction, and a transfer device elevator 125c for raising and lowering the transfer device 125b. The system is configured such that continuous operation of the tweezers 125a-1 and 125a-2, the transfer device 125b, and the transfer device elevator 125c enables the wafers 200 to be charged or discharged into or from a substrate holder (substrate holder) 217 ​​(described later), the cooling chamber 204, and the pod 110. Hereinafter, when there is no need to particularly distinguish between them, the cases 102-1 and 102-2, the processing chambers 201-1 and 201-2, and the tweezers 125a-1 and 125a-2 will be simply referred to as the case 102, the processing chamber 201, and the tweezers 125a, respectively.

[0015] The tweezers 125a-1 are made of ordinary aluminum and are used to transport wafers at low and room temperatures. The tweezers 125a-2 are made of a material with high heat resistance but poor thermal conductivity, such as aluminum or quartz, and are used to transport wafers at high and room temperatures. In other words, the tweezers 125a-1 are low-temperature substrate transport units, and the tweezers 125a-2 are high-temperature substrate transport units. The high-temperature tweezers 125a-2 are preferably configured to be heat-resistant to, for example, 100°C or higher, and more preferably, 200°C or higher. A mapping sensor can be installed on the low-temperature tweezers 125a-1. By installing a mapping sensor on the low-temperature tweezers 125a-1, it becomes possible to confirm the number of wafers 200 in the load port unit 106, the number of wafers 200 in the reaction chamber 201, and the number of wafers 200 in the cooling chamber 204.

[0016] In the substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the tweezers 125a-1 are described as low-temperature tweezers, and the tweezers 125a-2 are described as high-temperature tweezers, but this is not limiting. The tweezers 125a-1 may be made of a material with high heat resistance but poor thermal conductivity, such as aluminum or quartz, and used to transport wafers at high and room temperatures, while the tweezers 125a-2 may be made of a normal aluminum material and used to transport wafers at low and room temperatures. Alternatively, both the tweezers 125a-1 and 125a-2 may be made of a material with high heat resistance but poor thermal conductivity, such as aluminum or quartz.

[0017] (Processing Furnace) In area A enclosed by a dashed line in Fig. 2, a processing furnace (processing chamber) 201 having a substrate processing structure as shown in Fig. 1 is configured. As shown in Fig. 3, in this embodiment, a plurality of processing furnaces are provided, but since the processing furnaces have the same configuration, only the configuration of one of them will be described, and a description of the configuration of the other processing furnace will be omitted.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 1 , the processing furnace has a case 102 serving as a cavity (processing vessel) made of a material that reflects electromagnetic waves, such as metal. A cap flange (closing plate) 104 made of a metal material closes the upper end of the case 102 via an O-ring (not shown) that serves as a sealing member. The space inside the case 102 and the cap flange 104 constitutes a processing chamber 201 for processing substrates, such as silicon wafers. A quartz reaction tube (not shown), which transmits electromagnetic waves, may be installed inside the case 102, or the processing vessel may be configured so that the interior of the reaction tube serves as the processing chamber. Alternatively, the processing chamber 201 may be configured using a case 102 with a closed ceiling, without providing the cap flange 104.

[0019] A mounting table 210 is provided within the processing chamber 201, and a boat 217 serving as a substrate holder for holding a wafer 200 as a substrate is mounted on the upper surface of the mounting table 210. The boat 217 holds the wafer 200 to be processed and susceptors 103a and 103b, which are mounted vertically above and below the wafer 200 so as to sandwich the wafer 200, at a predetermined distance. The susceptors 103a and 103b are made of materials such as silicon plates (Si plates) or silicon carbide plates (SiC plates) and are disposed above and below the wafer 200 to prevent the electric field intensity from concentrating on the edge of the wafer 200. In other words, the susceptors suppress the absorption of electromagnetic waves by the edge of the wafer. Furthermore, quartz plates 101a and 101b serving as heat insulating plates may be held at a predetermined distance on the upper and lower surfaces of the susceptors 103a and 103b. In this embodiment, the quartz plates 101a and 101b and the susceptors 103a and 103b are each composed of the same parts, and hereinafter, unless there is no need to distinguish between them, they will be referred to as the quartz plate 101 and the susceptor 103.

[0020] The case 102 serving as a processing vessel has, for example, a circular cross section and is configured as a flat, sealed vessel. The transfer housing 202 serving as a lower vessel is configured, for example, from a metal material such as aluminum (Al) or stainless steel (SUS), or from quartz. The space enclosed by the case 102 may be referred to as a processing chamber 201 or a reaction area 201 serving as a processing space, and the space enclosed by the transfer housing 202 may be referred to as a transfer chamber or a transfer area 203 serving as a transfer space. The processing chamber 201 and the transfer chamber 203 are not limited to being configured adjacent to each other horizontally as in this embodiment, but may also be configured adjacent to each other vertically, with a substrate holder having a predetermined structure being raised and lowered between them.

[0021] 1, 2, and 3, a substrate loading / unloading port 206 adjacent to a gate valve 205 is provided on the side of the transfer housing 202, and the wafer 200 moves between the processing chamber 201 and the transfer chamber 203 through the substrate loading / unloading port 206. A choke structure having a length of ¼ wavelength of the electromagnetic wave used is provided around the gate valve 205 or the substrate loading / unloading port 206 as a countermeasure against leakage of the electromagnetic wave, which will be described later.

[0022] An electromagnetic wave supply unit serving as a heating device, which will be described in detail later, is installed on the side of the case 102, and electromagnetic waves such as microwaves supplied from the electromagnetic wave supply unit are introduced into the processing chamber 201 to heat the wafers 200, etc., and process the wafers 200.

[0023] The mounting table 210 is supported by a shaft 255 serving as a rotation axis. The shaft 255 penetrates the bottom of the processing chamber 201 and is further connected to a drive mechanism 267 that performs rotational operations outside the processing chamber 201. By operating the drive mechanism 267 to rotate the shaft 255 and the mounting table 210, it is possible to rotate the wafer 200 mounted on the boat 217. The lower end of the shaft 255 is covered with a bellows 212, and the processing chamber 201 and the transfer area 203 are kept airtight.

[0024] Here, the mounting table 210 may be configured to be raised or lowered by a drive mechanism 267 depending on the height of the substrate loading / unloading port 206 so that the wafer 200 is at a wafer transfer position when the wafer 200 is being transported, and to be raised or lowered to a processing position (wafer processing position) within the processing chamber 201 when the wafer 200 is being processed.

[0025] An exhaust unit that exhausts the atmosphere in the processing chamber 201 is provided below the processing chamber 201 and on the outer periphery of the mounting table 210. As shown in Fig. 1, the exhaust unit is provided with an exhaust port 221. An exhaust pipe 231 is connected to the exhaust port 221, and a pressure regulator 244 such as an APC valve that controls the valve opening depending on the pressure inside the processing chamber 201 and a vacuum pump 246 are connected to the exhaust pipe 231 in series.

[0026] Here, the pressure regulator 244 is not limited to an APC valve, and may be configured to use a normal opening / closing valve and a pressure adjustment valve in combination, as long as it is capable of receiving pressure information within the processing chamber 201 and a feedback signal from a pressure sensor 245 described later and adjusting the exhaust volume.

[0027] An exhaust unit (also referred to as an exhaust system or an exhaust line) is mainly composed of the exhaust port 221, the exhaust pipe 231, and the pressure regulator 244. A vacuum pump 246 may be included in the exhaust system. Note that exhaust ports may be provided to surround the mounting table 210, allowing gas to be exhausted from the entire periphery of the wafer 200.

[0028] The cap flange 104 is provided with a gas supply pipe 232 for supplying various process gases for substrate processing, such as an inert gas, a source gas, and a reactive gas, into the process chamber 201. The gas supply pipe 232 is provided with, from upstream to downstream, a mass flow controller (MFC) 241, which is a flow rate controller (flow rate control unit), and a valve 243, which is an on-off valve. An inert gas source, for example, is connected to the upstream side of the gas supply pipe 232, and the gas is supplied into the process chamber 201 via the MFC 241 and the valve 243. When multiple types of gases are used during substrate processing, multiple types of gases can be supplied by using a configuration in which a gas supply pipe provided with an MFC, which is a flow rate controller, and a valve, which is an on-off valve, is connected downstream of the valve 243 of the gas supply pipe 232, from upstream to downstream. A gas supply pipe provided with an MFC and a valve for each gas type may be installed.

[0029] The processing chamber 201 is provided with a nozzle 105 connected to a gas supply pipe 232. A gas supply port is provided on the side of the nozzle 105 for supplying gas. The gas supply port opens toward the wafer 200 and supplies gas parallel to the surface of the wafer 200. A plurality of gas supply ports are provided from the bottom to the top of the processing chamber 201 (i.e., in the direction (vertical direction) in which the wafers 200 are held (loaded) on the substrate holder 217) to match the spacing between the wafers 200 held on the substrate holder 217. Each of the plurality of gas supply ports has the same opening area and is provided at the same opening pitch. In this embodiment, the nozzle 105 is provided from the top of the processing chamber 201, but it may be provided from the bottom of the processing chamber 201. Although the nozzle 105 is provided on the side of a microwave oscillator 655 (described later) in FIG. 1 , the nozzle 105 is not limited thereto and may be provided on the side of a gate valve (GV) 205 (described later). A gas supply system (gas supply unit) is mainly composed of the gas supply pipe 232, the MFC 241, the valve 243, and the nozzle 105. When an inert gas flows through the gas supply system, it is also called an inert gas supply system. Examples of the inert gas include N ２ Gases such as Ar gas, He gas, Ne gas, and Xe gas can be used.

[0030] A temperature sensor 263 is installed on the cap flange 104 as a non-contact temperature measurement device. The output of a microwave oscillator 655 (described later) is adjusted based on the temperature information detected by the temperature sensor 263 to heat the substrate and achieve a desired substrate temperature distribution. The temperature sensor 263 is configured as a radiation thermometer, such as an IR (Infrared Radiation) sensor. The temperature sensor 263 is installed to measure the surface temperature of the quartz plate 101a or the surface temperature of the wafer 200. If a susceptor is provided as the heating element, the temperature sensor 263 may be configured to measure the surface temperature of the susceptor. In this embodiment, the term "wafer temperature" refers to the wafer temperature converted using temperature conversion data (described later), i.e., the estimated wafer temperature, the temperature directly measured by the temperature sensor 263, or both.

[0031] The temperature sensor 263 may acquire the transition of temperature changes in advance for the quartz plate 101 or the susceptor 103 and the wafer 200, and store temperature conversion data indicating the correlation between the temperatures of the quartz plate 101 or the susceptor 103 and the wafer 200 in the storage device 121c or the external storage device 123. By creating the temperature conversion data in advance in this manner, the temperature of the wafer 200 can be estimated by measuring only the temperature of the quartz plate 101, and the output of the microwave oscillator 655, i.e., the heating device, can be controlled based on the estimated temperature of the wafer 200.

[0032] The temperature measurement device for measuring the substrate temperature is not limited to the radiation thermometer described above, and temperature measurement may be performed using a thermocouple, or a combination of a thermocouple and a non-contact thermometer. However, when temperature measurement is performed using a thermocouple, the thermocouple must be placed near the wafer 200. In other words, since the thermocouple must be placed inside the processing chamber 201, the thermocouple itself is heated by microwaves supplied from a microwave oscillator (described later), making it impossible to accurately measure the temperature. Therefore, it is preferable to use a non-contact thermometer as the temperature sensor 263.

[0033] Furthermore, the temperature sensor 263 is not limited to being provided on the cap flange 104, but may be provided on the mounting base 210. The temperature sensor 263 may not only be directly installed on the cap flange 104 or the mounting base 210, but may also be configured to measure indirectly by reflecting, with a mirror or the like, radiation from a measurement window provided on the cap flange 104 or the mounting base 210. Furthermore, the number of temperature sensors 263 installed is not limited to one, but multiple sensors may be installed.

[0034] Electromagnetic wave introduction ports 653-1 and 653-2 are installed on the sidewall of the case 102. One end of waveguides 654-1 and 654-2 for supplying electromagnetic waves (microwaves) into the processing chamber 201 is connected to the electromagnetic wave introduction ports 653-1 and 653-2, respectively. Microwave oscillators (electromagnetic wave sources, electromagnetic wave generators) 655-1 and 655-2 are connected to the other ends of the waveguides 654-1 and 654-2, respectively, as heating sources that supply electromagnetic waves into the processing chamber 201 to heat the interior. The microwave oscillators 655-1 and 655-2 supply electromagnetic waves such as microwaves to the waveguides 654-1 and 654-2, respectively. Furthermore, magnetrons, klystrons, or the like are used as the microwave oscillators 655-1 and 655-2. Hereinafter, when there is no need to particularly distinguish between the electromagnetic wave introduction ports 653-1 and 653-2, the waveguides 654-1 and 654-2, and the microwave oscillators 655-1 and 655-2, they will be referred to as the electromagnetic wave introduction port 653, the waveguide 654, and the microwave oscillator 655.

[0035] The frequency of the electromagnetic waves generated by microwave oscillator 655 is preferably controlled to be in the frequency range of 13.56 MHz to 24.125 GHz. More preferably, it is controlled to be 2.45 GHz or 5.8 GHz. Here, the frequencies of microwave oscillators 655-1 and 655-2 may be the same or different.

[0036] Furthermore, in this embodiment, four microwave oscillators 655 are described as being arranged on the side surface of case 102, but this is not limiting, and one or more may be provided, and the microwave oscillators may be arranged on different side surfaces, such as opposing side surfaces, of case 102. An electromagnetic wave supply unit (also referred to as an electromagnetic wave supply device, microwave supply unit, or microwave supply device) serving as a heating device is mainly configured by microwave oscillators 655-1 and 655-2, waveguides 654-1 and 654-2, and electromagnetic wave introduction ports 653-1 and 653-2.

[0037] A controller 121, which will be described later, is connected to each of the microwave oscillators 655-1 and 655-2. The controller 121 is connected to a temperature sensor 263, which serves as a temperature measurement unit, for measuring the temperature of the quartz plate 101a or 101b or the wafer 200 housed in the processing chamber 201. The temperature sensor 263 measures the temperature of the quartz plate 101 or the wafer 200 using the method described above and transmits the measured temperature to the controller 121, which then controls the output of the microwave oscillators 655-1 and 655-2 to control the heating of the wafer 200. Heating control methods using the heating device include controlling the voltage input to the microwave oscillator 655 to control the heating of the wafer 200, and changing the ratio of the time the microwave oscillator 655 is powered on to the time it is powered off to control the heating of the wafer 200.

[0038] Here, microwave oscillators 655-1 and 655-2 are controlled by the same control signal transmitted from controller 121. However, this is not limiting, and microwave oscillators 655-1 and 655-2 may be configured to be individually controlled by transmitting individual control signals from controller 121 to microwave oscillators 655-1 and 655-2, respectively.

[0039] 4, the controller 121, which is a control unit (control device, control means), is configured as a computer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 121a, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 121b, a storage device 121c, and an I / O port 121d. The RAM 121b, the storage device 121c, and the I / O port 121d are configured to be able to exchange data with the CPU 121a via an internal bus 121e. An input / output device 122, which is configured as, for example, a touch panel, is connected to the controller 121.

[0040] The storage device 121c is composed of, for example, a flash memory, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), etc. Control programs for controlling the operation of the substrate processing apparatus, process recipes describing the procedures and conditions of the annealing (modification) process, etc. are readably stored in the storage device 121c. The process recipe is a combination of procedures in the substrate processing step (described later) that are executed by the controller 121 to obtain a predetermined result, and functions as a program. Hereinafter, the process recipes, control programs, etc. are collectively referred to simply as "programs." Furthermore, the process recipes are also simply referred to as "recipe." In this specification, the term "program" may refer to a recipe alone, a control program alone, or both. The RAM 121b is configured as a memory area (work area) in which programs, data, etc. read by the CPU 121a are temporarily stored.

[0041] The I / O port 121d is connected to the above-mentioned transfer machine 125, MFC 241, valve 243, pressure sensor 245, APC valve 244, vacuum pump 246, temperature sensor 263, drive mechanism 267, microwave oscillator 655, and the like.

[0042] The CPU 121a is configured to read and execute a control program from the storage device 121c, and to read a recipe from the storage device 121c in response to input of an operation command from the input / output device 122. The CPU 121a is configured to be able to control, in accordance with the contents of the read recipe, the substrate transfer operation by the transfer machine 125, the flow rate adjustment operation of various gases by the MFC 241, the opening and closing operation of the valve 243, the pressure adjustment operation by the APC valve 244 based on the pressure sensor 245, the start and stop of the vacuum pump 246, the output adjustment operation of the microwave oscillator 655 based on the temperature sensor 263, the rotation and rotation speed adjustment operation or the lifting and lowering operation of the mounting table 210 (or the boat 217) by the drive mechanism 267, etc.

[0043] The controller 121 can be configured by installing the above-mentioned program stored in an external storage device 123 (for example, a magnetic disk such as a hard disk, an optical disk such as a CD, a magneto-optical disk such as an MO, or a semiconductor memory such as a USB memory) into a computer. The storage device 121c and the external storage device 123 are configured as computer-readable recording media. Hereinafter, these will be collectively referred to as recording media. When the term recording media is used in this specification, it may include only the storage device 121c alone, only the external storage device 123 alone, or both. Note that the program may be provided to the computer using a communication means such as the Internet or a dedicated line, without using the external storage device 123.

[0044] In this embodiment, when the wafer is heated by microwave radiation, the amount of heat dissipated from the wafer is controlled by supplying cooling gas from a gas nozzle, thereby making it possible to uniformly crystallize the film formed on the wafer. This embodiment, by spraying cooling gas from a nozzle to control the amount of heat dissipated from the wafer, improves the processing quality of the wafer, for example, by making the crystallization of the film formed uniform, thereby fully resolving the above-mentioned problems.

[0045] 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a processing furnace portion of the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. A first gas nozzle (first nozzle) 105 serving as a first gas supply unit and a second gas nozzle (second nozzle) 305 serving as a second gas supply unit are provided in a processing chamber 102. The first gas nozzle 105 is configured to supply cooling gas to the center of the wafer 200, which serves as a first location on the wafer 200. The second gas nozzle 305 is configured to supply cooling gas to a second location on the wafer 200, which serves as a second location on the wafer 200 (e.g., a location on the wafer 200 where the temperature is high, a location where crystallization of a film formed on the wafer 200 is advanced, i.e., a location where the film is thick due to advanced crystallization, a location where the wafer 200 dissipates a large amount of heat, etc.). Second gas nozzle 305 also includes a rotating unit 306 as a rotation mechanism for rotating second gas nozzle 305. When the second location is changed to another location, the direction in which gas is supplied from second gas nozzle 305 is changed by rotating unit 306. The rotation direction of rotating unit 306 is controlled by controller 121.

[0046] For example, by supplying cooling gas from the second gas nozzle 305 to a location on the wafer 200 where the temperature is high as the second location, the processing temperature of the wafer 200 can be made uniform. Furthermore, by supplying cooling gas from the second gas nozzle 305 to a location on the wafer 200 where crystallization of the film formed thereon is progressing or a location on the wafer 200 where the film is thick as the second location, the film thickness of the wafer 200 can be made uniform. Furthermore, by supplying cooling gas from the second gas nozzle 305 to a location on the wafer 200 where the heat dissipation of the wafer 200 is high as the second location, the amount of heat dissipation from the wafer 200 can be controlled, thereby making the crystallization of the film formed on the wafer 200 uniform. Furthermore, when the second location changes, the direction of the cooling gas supplied from the second gas nozzle 305 is changed so that the direction of the cooling gas supplied to the second location changes, making it possible to make the crystallization of the film formed on the wafer 200 uniform. Note that the processing temperature in this specification refers to the temperature of the wafer 200 or the temperature inside the processing chamber 201. This also applies to the following description.

[0047] The wafers 200 are heated by microwaves (electromagnetic waves) supplied from microwave oscillators 655-1 and 655-3 provided on the side of the processing chamber 102. The first gas nozzle 105 and the second gas nozzle 305 are provided on the gate valve (GV) 205 side in the processing chamber 102, and are provided at positions away from the path along which the wafers 200 are carried into the processing chamber 102 from the GV 205.

[0048] An example of the conditions for the first gas nozzle 105 and the second gas nozzle 305 serving as the gas supply unit according to this embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is shown below. The first gas nozzle 105 and the second gas nozzle 305 are provided in the processing chamber 201 and supply gas to the side of the wafers 200 loaded and held in the boat 217. Hole spacing: The same as the wafer spacing. Gas flow rate: The flow rate of the gas supplied to each wafer is 1 slm or more and 50 slm or less. Gas flow velocity: The flow velocity of the gas supplied to each wafer is 0.2 m / s or more and 40.0 m / s or less.

[0049] The number of gas supply holes should be equal to or greater than the number of wafers and susceptors. Specifically, for five wafers and two susceptors positioned above and below the wafers, the number of holes is seven. Regarding the gas flow rate, if it is less than 1 slm, the gas may not reach the center of the wafers. Furthermore, if it exceeds 50 slm, the gas supply volume becomes excessive, resulting in waste of cooling gas. Furthermore, if the gas flow velocity is less than 0.2 m / s, the gas may not reach the center of the wafers. Furthermore, if it exceeds 40.0 m / s, the gas passing between the wafers may collide with the wall surface, disrupting the gas flow and adversely affecting the wafers. By performing heat treatment (modification treatment) while supplying gas between multiple wafers 200 using a nozzle, it is possible to increase the number of wafers 200 being processed simultaneously.

[0050] By providing a gas nozzle as a gas supply unit and supplying gas between the substrates, it becomes possible to improve the uniformity of the film thickness formed on the substrates between the substrate surfaces.

[0051] (Cyclic Supply of Microwaves) When microwaves are applied intermittently to the wafer, the location where gas is supplied to the rotating substrate is controlled to vary (in other words, the timing is staggered so that the gas is not supplied to the same location). The heat generated when microwaves are supplied (ON) is removed by cooling gas, and when the microwaves are stopped (OFF), the supply of cooling gas is reduced or stopped to prevent the wafer from cooling down too much. Note that, in cases where the wafer suddenly becomes too high or when high-power microwaves are applied for heating, cooling gas may be supplied without reducing or stopping the supply of cooling gas when the microwaves are turned OFF.

[0052] FIG. 7 shows an example of the flow of a substrate processing method (semiconductor device manufacturing method) according to this embodiment. Here, an example of a method for modifying (e.g., crystallizing) an amorphous silicon film, which is a silicon-containing film formed on a substrate, using the above-described substrate processing apparatus as one step in the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device will be described along the processing flow shown in FIG. 7. In the following description, the operation of each component of the substrate processing apparatus is controlled by the control unit described in FIG. 4. Here, the term "wafer" may refer to the wafer itself or to a laminate of the wafer and predetermined layers or films formed on its surface.

[0053] First, after the substrate removal step (S801), a substrate loading step (S802) is performed, in which wafers 200 are loaded (boat loaded) into a predetermined processing chamber 201 by opening and closing the gate valve 205. That is, for example, five wafers are loaded into the processing chamber 201 using the low-temperature tweezers 125a-1 and the high-temperature tweezers 125a-2.

[0054] (Inner Furnace Pressure / Temperature Adjustment Process (S803)) Once the wafer 200 has been loaded into the processing chamber 201, the atmosphere inside the processing chamber 201 is controlled to a predetermined pressure (for example, 10 to 102,000 Pa). Specifically, while exhausting the gas using the vacuum pump 246, the valve opening of the pressure regulator 244 is feedback-controlled based on pressure information detected by the pressure sensor 245, so that the pressure inside the processing chamber 201 is set to the predetermined pressure. Note that in this specification, the notation of a numerical range such as "10 to 102,000 Pa" means that the lower limit and upper limit are included in the range. Therefore, for example, "10 to 102,000 Pa" means "10 Pa or more and 102,000 Pa or less." The same applies to other numerical ranges.

[0055] (Inert Gas Supply Step (S804)) After the pressure and temperature inside the processing chamber 201 are controlled to predetermined values ​​by the furnace pressure / temperature adjustment step S803, the drive mechanism 267 rotates the shaft 255 to rotate the wafer 200 via the boat 217 on the mounting table 210. At this time, an inert gas such as nitrogen gas is supplied via the gas supply pipe 232 (S804). Furthermore, at this time, the pressure inside the processing chamber 201 is adjusted to a predetermined value in the range of 10 Pa to 102,000 Pa, for example, 101,300 Pa to 101,650 Pa. Note that the shaft may be rotated during the substrate loading step S402, i.e., after the wafer 200 has been loaded into the processing chamber 201.

[0056] (Preheating Step (S805)) Subsequently, when the pressure inside the processing chamber 201 reaches a predetermined level, the microwave oscillator 655 supplies a first microwave into the processing chamber 201 via the above-mentioned components. A preheating process is performed to heat the wafer 200 with the first microwave output (e.g., 3600 W) and the microwave supply ON time (e.g., 150 seconds). This allows the temperature of the substrate to rise slowly, thereby preventing warping or cracking of the substrate.

[0057] (Modification Step (S806)) While maintaining a predetermined pressure inside the processing chamber 201, the microwave generator 655 supplies second microwaves (e.g., 5130 W) into the processing chamber 201 via the above-mentioned components for a predetermined time (e.g., 600 seconds). By supplying the second microwaves into the processing chamber 201, the wafers 200 are heated to a predetermined temperature of 100°C or higher and 1000°C or lower, preferably 400°C or higher and 900°C or lower, and more preferably 500°C or higher and 700°C or lower. By processing the substrates at such temperatures, the wafers 200 are processed at a temperature at which they efficiently absorb microwaves, thereby improving the speed of the modification process. In other words, if the wafers are processed at a temperature lower than 100°C or higher than 1000°C, the surface of the wafers is altered, making it difficult for the wafers to absorb microwaves and making it difficult to heat the wafers. For this reason, it is desirable to perform substrate processing within the above-mentioned temperature range. During the modification process, while maintaining the temperature of the wafer 200 at the predetermined temperature, the first gas nozzle 105 supplies cooling gas to the center of the wafer 200, which is a first location on the wafer 200. The second gas nozzle 305 supplies cooling gas to a second location on the wafer 200 different from the first location, such as a location where the temperature of the wafer 200 is high, a location where the crystallization of a film formed on the wafer 200 is advanced, a location where the film formed on the wafer 200 is thick, or a location where the amount of heat radiation from the wafer 200 is high. The flow rates and flow speeds of the cooling gas supplied from the first gas nozzle 105 and the second gas nozzle 305 are adjusted by the MFC 241. The flow rate of the gas supplied from the second gas nozzle 305 is adjusted to be higher than the flow rate supplied from the first gas nozzle 105. Adjusting the cooling gas in this manner enables heat buildup in the center of the substrate, which is the first location, to be released, and enables the film formed at the second location to have a uniform thickness.

[0058] (Substrate Unloading Step (S807)) After the pressure inside the processing chamber 201 is returned to atmospheric pressure, the gate valve 205 is opened to spatially connect the processing chamber 201 to the transfer chamber 203. Thereafter, the heated (processed) wafers 200 placed on the boat 217 are unloaded into the transfer chamber 203 by the high-temperature tweezers 125a-2 of the transfer machine 125 (S807).

[0059] (Substrate cooling process (S808)) The heated (i.e., processed) wafers 200 are transported by the high-temperature tweezers 125a-2 to the cooling chamber 204 by the continuous operation of the transfer device 125b and the transfer device elevator 125c, and for example, five wafers 200 are placed in the cooling chamber 204 by the high-temperature tweezers 125a-2 and cooled by being left there for a predetermined time (S808).

[0060] (Substrate Accommodating Step (S809)) The wafers 200 cooled in the substrate cooling step S808 are taken out of the cooling chamber 204 and transferred to a predetermined pod.

[0061] In the above description of the embodiment, the first microwave output was described as 3600 W, but the first output may be 2000 W to 4000 W. The advantage of a first output of 2000 W to 4000 W is that it shortens the time from when the wafer begins to warp until it reaches its maximum and then settles down. The disadvantage of a first output lower than 2000 W is that it takes too long for the wafer temperature to start rising. Furthermore, the disadvantage of a first output higher than 4000 W is that the wafer temperature rises too quickly, causing the wafer to warp too much, which could result in contact with other objects.

[0062] Furthermore, in the above description of the embodiment, the second microwaves were described as being 5130 W, but the second output is set to 4000 W to 12000 W. The advantage of using a power of 4000 W to 12000 W is that the process wafers can be adjusted to an appropriate temperature for treatment. The disadvantage of using a power lower than 4000 W is that the treatment time becomes longer or insufficient treatment occurs. Furthermore, the disadvantage of using a power higher than 12000 W is that, depending on the number of wafers being processed at one time, the microwave absorption limit of the wafers may be exceeded, which could result in discharge or plasma generation.

[0063] According to the apparatus of the present embodiment described above, by supplying a cooling gas from the second gas supply unit to a second location different from the first location, for example, a location where the substrate temperature is high, it is possible to uniformize the film thickness formed on the substrate. Furthermore, when the substrate is heated to uniformize the in-plane temperature distribution of the semiconductor substrate, gas is supplied from the nozzle to the substrate for a predetermined time while maintaining the substrate at a predetermined temperature, thereby performing a modification process. This reduces temperature differences on the semiconductor substrate, thereby improving the processing quality of the semiconductor substrate and suppressing the occurrence of warping and cracking. Furthermore, it becomes possible to process multiple substrates simultaneously, thereby improving productivity.

[0064] The above-described embodiments can be used with appropriate modifications, and the same effects can be obtained. For example, the above description describes a process for modifying an amorphous silicon film into a polysilicon film, which is a film mainly composed of silicon. However, the present invention is not limited to this process. A gas containing at least one of oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), carbon (C), and hydrogen (H) may be supplied to modify a film formed on the surface of the wafer 200. For example, if a hafnium oxide film (HfxOy film) is formed on the wafer 200 as a high-dielectric film, the missing oxygen in the hafnium oxide film can be replenished by supplying microwaves while supplying a gas containing oxygen, thereby improving the characteristics of the high-dielectric film.

[0065] Although the hafnium oxide film has been described here, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be suitably applied to oxide films containing metal elements including at least one of aluminum (Al), titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), tantalum (Ta), niobium (Nb), lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), yttrium (Y), barium (Ba), strontium (Sr), calcium (Ca), lead (Pb), molybdenum (Mo), tungsten (W), etc., i.e., to the modification of metal-based oxide films. That is, the above-described film formation sequence can also be suitably applied to the case of modifying a TiOCN film, a TiOC film, a TiON film, a TiO film, a ZrOCN film, a ZrOC film, a ZrON film, a ZrO film, a HfOCN film, a HfOC film, a HfON film, a HfO film, a TaOCN film, a TaOC film, a TaON film, a TaO film, a NbOCN film, a NbOC film, a NbON film, a NbO film, an AlOCN film, an AlOC film, an AlON film, an AlO film, a MoOCN film, a MoOC film, a MoON film, a MoO film, a WOCN film, a WOC film, a WON film, or a WO film on the wafer 200.

[0066] Furthermore, not only high-dielectric-constant films but also films containing silicon as a main component and doped with impurities may be heated. Examples of films containing silicon as a main component include Si-based oxide films such as silicon nitride films (SiN films), silicon oxide films (SiO films), silicon oxycarbide films (SiOC films), silicon oxycarbonitride films (SiOCN films), and silicon oxynitride films (SiON films). The impurities may include at least one of bromine (B), carbon (C), nitrogen (N), aluminum (Al), phosphorus (P), gallium (Ga), and arsenic (As).

[0067] Alternatively, the resist film may be based on at least one of methyl methacrylate resin (Polymethyl methacrylate: PMMA), epoxy resin, novolac resin, polyvinylphenyl resin, and the like.

[0068] Furthermore, although the above describes one step in the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, the present invention is not limited to this and can also be applied to techniques for processing substrates, such as patterning processes in the manufacturing process of liquid crystal panels, patterning processes in the manufacturing process of solar cells, and patterning processes in the manufacturing process of power devices.

[0069] It should be noted that the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described examples, and various modifications are also included. For example, the above-described examples have been described in detail to clearly explain the present disclosure, and the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to those having all of the described configurations.

[0070] Furthermore, although the above-described configurations, functions, and controllers serving as control units have been described mainly with reference to examples in which programs are created to realize some or all of them, it goes without saying that some or all of them may be realized in hardware, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits. That is, some or all of the functions of the processing unit may be realized by integrated circuits such as ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) and FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) instead of programs.

Claims

1. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a processing chamber for processing a plurality of substrates; an electromagnetic wave generator that supplies electromagnetic waves to the plurality of substrates; a first gas supply unit that supplies a first gas from a side of the plurality of substrates toward a first location on the substrates; and a second gas supply unit that supplies a second gas from a side of the plurality of substrates toward a second location different from the first location.

2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first location is the center of the substrate.

3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second location is other than the center of the substrate.

4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second location is a location where crystallization of a film formed on the substrate is progressing.

5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second location is a location where the temperature of the substrate is high.

6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second gas supply unit is configured to be able to control the flow rate of the second gas.

7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the flow rate of the gas supplied to the second location is set to be greater than the flow rate of the gas supplied to the first location.

8. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second gas supply unit includes a rotation unit that changes the supply direction of the second gas.

9. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising: a temperature measuring unit that measures the temperature of the substrate; and a control unit that controls the rotation unit based on the measurement result of the temperature measuring unit, and is capable of varying the direction of the gas supplied from the second gas supply unit.

10. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first gas and the second gas are cooling gases.

11. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electromagnetic wave generator is provided on a side surface of the processing chamber.

12. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a substrate holder for holding a plurality of the substrates in a stack.

13. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the first gas supply unit or the second gas supply unit includes a plurality of gas supply ports.

14. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the first gas supply unit is a first nozzle configured to be able to supply the first gas to each of the plurality of substrates loaded thereon.

15. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the second gas supply unit is a second nozzle configured to be able to supply the second gas to each of the plurality of substrates loaded thereon.

16. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electromagnetic waves are microwaves.

17. A substrate processing method comprising: a step of loading the substrates into a processing chamber of a substrate processing apparatus equipped with: a processing chamber for processing a plurality of substrates; an electromagnetic wave generator for supplying electromagnetic waves to the plurality of substrates; a first gas supply unit for supplying a first gas from the side of the plurality of substrates toward a first location on the substrates; and a second gas supply unit for supplying a second gas from the side of the plurality of substrates toward a second location different from the first location; and a step of processing the substrates.

18. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device using the substrate processing method of claim 17.

19. A program for causing a substrate processing apparatus to execute the following steps: a procedure for loading the substrates into the processing chamber of the substrate processing apparatus; the substrate processing apparatus comprising: a processing chamber for processing a plurality of substrates; an electromagnetic wave generator for supplying electromagnetic waves to the plurality of substrates; a first gas supply unit for supplying a first gas from the side of the plurality of substrates toward a first location on the substrates; and a second gas supply unit for supplying a second gas from the side of the plurality of substrates toward a second location different from the first location.

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