JP3209472B2 - Screw cap and processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a screw cap and a processing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus or the like, a so-called susceptor on which a processing object such as a semiconductor wafer is placed is maintained at a predetermined temperature, and the temperature of the semiconductor wafer or the like is controlled to a predetermined temperature. ing. The member maintained at the predetermined temperature in this manner is usually made of a material having high thermal conductivity so that the temperature is made uniform.

In the above-described susceptor of the etching apparatus, for example, if a screw or the like for fixing the susceptor is disposed on a mounting surface on which a semiconductor wafer or the like is mounted, heat conduction in this portion is hindered, and the temperature is lowered. There is a risk that control will be adversely affected. On the other hand, in recent semiconductor device manufacturing processes, delicate microfabrication accompanying high integration is required, so high temperature uniformity is required. In many cases, a fixing screw or the like is provided around or on the back surface of the susceptor that does not contact the wafer, and the susceptor is fixed to another component.

[0004]

As described above, in a conventional susceptor or the like of an etching apparatus, a fixing screw or the like is not disposed on a contact surface with a semiconductor wafer which adversely affects temperature control, and the periphery of the susceptor is not provided. Alternatively, a fixing screw or the like is arranged on the back surface or the like, and the fixing is performed.

[0005] For this reason, the structure of the apparatus has been limited, and this has caused a problem that the apparatus is increased in size and maintenance of the apparatus is deteriorated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional situation, and it is possible to arrange a fixing screw or the like at a desired position without adversely affecting temperature control. An object of the present invention is to provide a screw cap and a processing apparatus capable of increasing the degree of freedom in design and achieving downsizing of the apparatus and improvement of maintainability.

[0007]

That is, a screw cap according to the present invention is provided so as to cover a head of a screw for locking a susceptor on which a substrate is placed and which is controlled to a predetermined temperature. a screw cap that is, the formed of a material having a susceptor equal to or higher thermal conductivity in a substantially cylindrical shape, the groove for engaging the upper surface, before the periphery <br/> Symbol screw A screw portion screwed into the inner wall of the concave portion of the susceptor into which the head is inserted has a taper on at least a part of the bottom portion.
Parts are formed and attached
The bottom is in close contact with the bottom of the recess of the susceptor,
The upper surface and the upper surface of the susceptor form the same plane .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the screw cap according to the first aspect, wherein a through hole for venting gas is formed substantially at the center so as to communicate from the bottom to the top. Features.

[0009]

[0010]

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the screw cap according to the first aspect, wherein an insulating film is formed on at least an upper surface.

A screw cap according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the screw cap according to the first aspect, wherein the screw cap is formed of a ceramic or metal comprising at least one of aluminum nitride, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, and boron nitride. It is characterized by having.

[0013] processing apparatus according to claim 5 comprises a process chamber, disposed in the processing chamber, the processing apparatus having a susceptor board is placed, the susceptor is locked by the screw, the screw A screw cap is provided so as to cover the head of the susceptor, and the screw cap is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape from a material having a thermal conductivity equal to or higher than that of the susceptor, and a locking groove is formed on the upper surface. But,
Threaded portion around which is screwed into the recess in the side wall of the susceptor that the head of the screw is inserted, at least a portion of the bottom
The screw cap is formed respectively ,
In the state where is attached, the bottom of the screw cap
Part is in close contact with the bottom of the recess of the susceptor, and the screw cap is
The same plane is formed by the upper surface of the pump and the upper surface of the susceptor.
It is characterized by having been done .

[0014]

The screw cap of the present invention having the above-described structure is made of a material having a thermal conductivity equal to or higher than that of a member whose temperature is controlled to a predetermined temperature, and at least a part of the bottom is formed in a tapered shape. By screwing a threaded portion formed on the periphery to the inner wall of the concave portion of the member, the tapered portion or the like is disposed so as to cover the head of the screw in a state of being in close contact with the temperature-controlled member.

Therefore, the screw hole portion is closed by the screw cap having good thermal conductivity in close contact with the surroundings, and it is possible to prevent the heat conduction of this portion from being hindered and a temperature difference from the surroundings from occurring. Can be.

In the screw cap of the present invention, a through hole for venting is formed substantially at the center so as to communicate from the bottom to the top, so that, for example, even when the screw cap is disposed in a vacuum chamber, the screw cap and the screw It is possible to prevent a gas such as air from entering between the member and the member to which the cap is screwed, and prevent the gas from gradually leaking out and reducing the degree of vacuum.

Further, by forming the upper surface of the screw cap so as to form the same plane as the surface of the surrounding members, for example, even when the screw cap is arranged on the semiconductor wafer mounting surface of the susceptor of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, The temperature of the wafer can be kept uniform.

Further, in the screw cap of the present invention, it is preferable that a groove for locking a driver or the like is formed on the upper surface of the screw cap when the screw cap is engaged with the screw cap. Is disposed on the semiconductor wafer mounting surface or the like of the susceptor on which is disposed, it is preferable to provide an insulating film on the upper surface.

The material constituting the screw cap of the present invention is a ceramic made of at least one of aluminum nitride, silicon carbide, silicon nitride and boron nitride, or a metal (for example, aluminum, copper, gold, silver, platinum, etc.). )
Etc. are preferred.

In the processing apparatus of the present invention, by covering the head of the screw that locks the susceptor with the screw cap, it is possible to prevent the heat conduction of the locking portion from being obstructed and to prevent a temperature difference from the surroundings. Can be.

[0021]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show the structure of a screw cap according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the screw cap 1 according to the embodiment is made of a material such as anodized aluminum. It is formed in a substantially columnar shape from aluminum to which a thread is applied, and a screw portion 2 is formed on an outer side wall portion.

A recess 3 is formed in the bottom of the screw cap 1 in conformity with the shape of the screw head 11 of the bolt 10. Around the recess 3, a tapered portion 4 having an inclined surface is formed. Are formed. On the other hand, a linear locking groove 5 is formed on the upper surface of the screw cap 1 so as to be rotatable with a so-called flathead screwdriver.
An insulating film 6 is applied.

Further, on the center axis of the screw cap 1,
A gas vent hole 7 is formed so as to penetrate vertically.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 12 denotes a susceptor of an etching apparatus formed in a disc shape from aluminum whose surface has been subjected to alumite treatment.
An insulating film 13 for an electrostatic chuck is formed. The susceptor 12 is disposed on a susceptor support 14, and a plurality of bolts 10 (only one is shown in FIG. 1) inserted and screwed from the upper surface of the susceptor 12.
It is fixed to the susceptor support 14.

A screw is formed on the inner wall surface 15 of the recess of the susceptor 12 into which the screw head 11 of the bolt 10 is inserted, and the screw cap 1 is screwed into the screw cap 1 to fix the screw head 11 of the bolt 10. It is arranged to cover. When the screw cap 1 is screwed into the recess of the susceptor 12, the tapered portion 4 formed on the bottom of the screw cap 1 is configured to be in close contact with the bottom of the recess of the susceptor 12. Are formed so as to be flush with the upper surface of the surrounding susceptor 12.

Further, similarly to the screw cap 1, the bolt 1
A vent hole 16 for venting gas is also formed on the center axis of 0 so as to penetrate vertically. These gas vent holes 7 and 16 are provided with the susceptor 12 or the susceptor support 14.
To prevent a gas such as air from entering between the bolt 10 and the screw cap 1 and gradually leaking out the gas to lower the degree of vacuum in the etching chamber 20 described later. It is.

The susceptor 12 and the susceptor support 1
4 is disposed in an etching processing chamber 20 of the etching apparatus as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, an etching apparatus in which the susceptor 12 and the susceptor support 14 are arranged will be described with reference to FIG.

The etching chamber 20 has a bottom portion 21 having a cylindrical shape having a bottom and made of a material, for example, aluminum whose surface has been subjected to alumite treatment, and an upper opening of the lower portion 21 of the etching chamber is hermetically closed. And an upper portion 22 of the etching chamber formed in a disk shape from the same material. An O-ring 23 for keeping the inside airtight is provided at these contact portions.

On the side wall of the lower portion 21 of the etching chamber,
Openings 24 for loading and unloading the semiconductor wafer W are formed on both sides so as to face each other. Load lock chambers 26 are disposed outside these openings 24 via gate valves 25, respectively. . A transfer mechanism 27 for loading and unloading the semiconductor wafer W is provided in each of the load lock chambers 26 (only one is shown). Usually, one of the load lock chambers 26 is dedicated to loading.
The other load lock chamber 26 is dedicated to unloading. In addition,
28 is a gate valve for shutting off and releasing each load lock chamber 26 from the outside.

The susceptor 12 and the susceptor support 14 provided in the etching chamber 20 constitute a lower electrode, and are connected to a high-frequency power supply 30 via a matching circuit 29. Also, the susceptor support 14
Inside, a heat medium circulation path 14a for circulating a heat medium for temperature control is provided.

On the other hand, a portion of the upper part 22 of the etching chamber facing the susceptor 12 constitutes an upper electrode, and a predetermined etching gas supplied from a gas supply pipe 31 is supplied to a gas diffusion portion formed therein. The gas is diffused by the gas diffusion plate in the air gap 32, and is uniformly supplied to the semiconductor wafer W on the susceptor 12 from the many through holes 33 formed on the lower surface.

In the lower part of the etching chamber 20,
An exhaust pipe 35 connected to an exhaust pump 34 is connected, and a baffle plate 36 having a number of through holes formed around the susceptor 12 so that uniform exhaust is performed from the periphery of the susceptor 12. Have been.

In the etching apparatus configured as described above, the inside of the etching chamber 20 is set to a predetermined degree of vacuum by operating the exhaust pump 34 in advance.

Then, one of the load lock chambers 2
6, the gate valve 28 is opened, and the semiconductor wafer W is carried into the load lock chamber 26 by the transfer mechanism 27. Thereafter, the gate valve 28 is closed to set the inside of the load lock chamber 26 to a predetermined degree of vacuum. Then, the gate valve 25 is opened, and the semiconductor wafer W is placed on the susceptor 12 by the transfer mechanism 27. The semiconductor wafer W is attracted to the susceptor 12 by the action of DC power applied from a DC power supply (not shown) to the electrostatic chuck mechanism.

Thereafter, the transport mechanism 27 is retracted from the etching chamber 20, the gate valve 25 is closed, and a predetermined etching gas, for example, Cl _{2 is} supplied from the gas supply pipe 31.
+ BCl ₃ is supplied, and at the same time, a high-frequency power of, for example, 13.56 MHz is supplied from the high-frequency power supply 30 to turn the etching gas into plasma, and the semiconductor wafer W is subjected to an etching process by so-called reactive ion etching.

At this time, a coolant for controlling the temperature of, for example, cooling the semiconductor wafer W is circulated in the heat medium circulating path 14a.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a bolt 10 inserted and screwed from above the susceptor 12 is used.
Thus, the susceptor 12 and the susceptor support 14 are fixed to each other. However, since the screw cap 1 is disposed above the bolt 10, heat conduction in this portion is impeded, and the temperature difference between the susceptor 12 and the surroundings is reduced. Can be prevented, and the semiconductor wafer W can be cooled uniformly. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the semiconductor wafer W from being locally heated, and it is possible to perform a uniform etching process at a uniform temperature. Also, for example,
Even when the susceptor 12 is detached, the bolt 10 can be operated from above, so that attachment and detachment can be easily performed. Further, for example, the structure can be simplified and the device can be downsized, as compared with a case where the susceptor 12 and the susceptor support 14 are fixed at the side or the like.

In order to promote heat exchange between the screw cap 1 and the susceptor 12, it is effective to increase the contact area between them. For this reason, for example, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, while the concave portion 40 is provided on the bottom of the screw cap 1, the convex portion 41 is provided on the susceptor 12 corresponding to the concave portion 40, and these are fitted to each other to increase the contact area.

In the above embodiment, the case where the screw cap 1 is made of the same material aluminum because the susceptor 12 is made of aluminum has been described.
When the susceptor 12 is made of another metal, ceramic, or the like, it is preferable that the screw cap 1 is also made of the same material. As the ceramic, for example, a ceramic made of at least one of aluminum nitride, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, and boron nitride is preferable, and as the metal other than aluminum, copper, gold, silver, platinum, and the like are preferable.

In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a susceptor of an etching apparatus has been described.
The present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and can be similarly applied to a member whose temperature is controlled, for example, a fixed portion of a CVD chamber wall in a hot wall type CVD apparatus.

[0042]

As described above, according to the screw cap and the processing apparatus of the present invention, fixing screws and the like can be arranged at desired positions without adversely affecting temperature control. In comparison, the degree of freedom in the design of the device can be increased, and the size of the device can be reduced and the maintainability can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a screw cap according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a screw cap of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of an etching apparatus provided with the screw cap of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a screw cap according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Screw cap 2 Screw part 3 Depressed part 4 Taper part 5 Locking groove 6 Insulating film 7 Gas vent through hole 10 Bolt 11 Screw head 12 Susceptor 13 Insulating film 14 Susceptor support

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F16B 37/14 H01L 21/68 H01L 21/3065

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A support substrate is placed is controlled to a predetermined temperature
A screw cap disposed as to cover the head of the screw for locking the septum, it is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape from a material having a susceptor equal to or higher thermal conductivity, the upper surface engaging Groove for stopping
But threaded portion around which is screwed into the recess side wall of the susceptor <br/> the head of the screw is inserted, at least a portion of the bottom tapered portion is formed respectively, mounted The bottom is the susceptor
The upper surface and the upper surface of the susceptor
Is a screw cap characterized by forming the same plane . 2. The screw cap according to claim 1, wherein a gas vent hole is formed substantially at the center so as to communicate from the bottom to the top. 3. The screw cap according to claim 1, wherein an insulating film is formed on at least an upper surface. 4. The screw cap according to claim 1, wherein the ceramic comprises at least one of aluminum nitride, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, and boron nitride.
A screw cap formed of metal. 5. A process chamber, disposed in the processing chamber, the processing apparatus having a susceptor board is placed, the susceptor is locked by screws, the screws as to cover the head of the screw A cap is provided, and the screw cap is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape from a material having a thermal conductivity equal to or higher than that of the susceptor, and a screw cap is provided on the upper surface.
Groove for fastening the threaded portion on the periphery screwed into the recess in the side wall of the susceptor that the head of the screw is inserted, at least a portion of the bottom tapered portion is formed respectively, the screw With the cap attached, the
The bottom of the screw cap is in close contact with the bottom of the susceptor recess
And the upper surface of the screw cap and the upper surface of the susceptor
Therefore , a processing apparatus characterized in that the same plane is formed .