JP5027430B2 - Substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus, and more particularly to a technique for improving throughput. For example, a semiconductor wafer in which a semiconductor integrated circuit including a semiconductor element is manufactured in a manufacturing method of a semiconductor integrated circuit device (hereinafter referred to as an IC). The following description relates to a material that is effective when used in a heat treatment apparatus (furnace) that performs thermal treatment on a wafer.

In an IC manufacturing method, a heat treatment apparatus is widely used in a heat treatment step of forming a CVD film such as an insulating film, a metal film, or a semiconductor film on a wafer or diffusing impurities.
A conventional heat treatment apparatus of this type includes a processing chamber for batch processing while holding a plurality of wafers in a boat, a standby chamber in which the boat waits before and after loading into and out of the processing chamber, and a filter that supplies a clean atmosphere to the standby chamber And a clean unit comprising a blower, and a boat elevator provided in the standby chamber so as to face the filter and moving the boat up and down between the standby chamber and the processing chamber, and a plurality of wafers by one boat It is common to be configured for batch processing.
Such a heat treatment apparatus has a problem that the throughput is poor because the wafer transfer operation to the boat cannot be performed while the boat is being carried into the processing chamber.
Therefore, a heat treatment apparatus has been proposed that improves throughput by using two boats alternately. For example, see Patent Document 1.
JP 2001-338890 A

However, even in a heat treatment apparatus that uses two boats alternately, the boat that has been unloaded from the processing chamber after the completion of the treatment is hot, so the boat immediately after the boat unloading is used as a mounting table for replacement. When retracted, there is a problem that the sensor installed on the mounting table is damaged by high temperature.
In order to avoid breakage of this sensor, if the boat after processing is naturally cooled and then moved to the mounting table, the effect of improving the throughput by using two boats alternately decreases. There is a problem.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus that can immediately retract a boat during boat unloading.

Typical means for solving the above-described problems are as follows.
(1) a processing chamber for processing while holding a substrate by a substrate holder;
Heating means for heating the substrate;
Transport means for carrying in the processing chamber while holding the substrate holder with a lid;
A mounting table for mounting the substrate holder heated by the heating means in the processing chamber at a position different from the lid;
A substrate holder moving means for moving the substrate holder between the lid and the mounting table;
A cooling gas supply means for supplying a cooling gas so as to cool the substrate holder placed on the mounting table;
A mounting table cooling means for cooling the mounting table;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
(2) The substrate processing apparatus according to (1), wherein the mounting table cooling means cools the mounting table by locally sucking a peripheral portion of the mounting table.
(3) The substrate holder moving means may include the cooling gas supply means and the mounting table when the substrate holder heated by the heating means is placed on the mounting table in the processing chamber. The placement table cooling means is a position where the suction port for locally sucking the peripheral portion of the placement table is positioned where the substrate holder moving means is located with respect to the placement table. The substrate processing apparatus according to (1), wherein the substrate processing apparatus is disposed at an opposite position.

  According to the means (1) described above, since the mounting table and the substrate holder placed on the mounting table can be forcibly cooled, the high-temperature substrate holder can be immediately retracted to the mounting table. it can.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the present embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is configured as a heat treatment apparatus 10 as shown in FIGS.
By the way, as a carrier (conveying jig) for storing and transporting a wafer, an open cassette formed in a substantially cubic box shape having a pair of opposed surfaces opened and one surface opened. There is also a FOUP (front opening unified pod, hereinafter referred to as a pod) in which a cap is detachably mounted on an opening surface.
When a pod is used as a wafer carrier, the wafer is transported in a sealed state. Therefore, even if particles are present in the surrounding atmosphere, the cleanness of the wafer (cleanness) is Can be maintained.
Therefore, in this embodiment, the pod 2 is used as the carrier for the wafer 1.

The heat treatment apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes a housing 11 constructed in an airtight structure.
A wafer loading / unloading port 12 for loading and unloading the wafer 1 is opened on the front wall of the housing 11. The cap 3 (see FIG. 2) of the pod 2 is attached to and detached from the wafer loading / unloading port 12. A pod opener 13 that opens and closes is installed.

A standby chamber 14 is set in the housing 11, and a wafer transfer equipment 15 is installed in a space in front of the standby chamber 14. The wafer transfer device 15 is configured to be moved up and down by a wafer transfer device elevator 16.
A boat elevator 17 is vertically installed in a space on the rear side of the waiting room 14, and the boat elevator 17 is configured to raise and lower a seal cap 18 as a lid in the vertical direction.

On the center line of the seal cap 18, a process tube 20 forming a processing chamber 21 is vertically installed via a manifold 22 and installed on the housing 11.
As shown in FIG. 3, the manifold 22 is connected with a gas introduction pipe 23 for introducing a raw material gas, a purge gas or the like into the processing chamber 21, and an exhaust pipe 24 for evacuating the processing chamber 21. Yes.
An opening (furnace port) at the lower end of the manifold 22 is opened and closed by a shutter 25.

A heater unit 26 is arranged concentrically on the outside of the process tube 20 and supported by the casing 11, and the heater unit 26 is configured to heat the processing chamber 21 uniformly or with a predetermined temperature distribution throughout. .
A notch aligner 4 is installed on the left side of the wafer loading / unloading port 12 in the standby chamber 14.

As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, two boats 27 as substrate holders are used.
The two boats 27 and 27 are configured in the same manner, and as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, are vertically arranged between a pair of end plates 27 a and 27 b and both end plates 27 a and 27 b. And a plurality of (three in this embodiment) holding members 27c disposed on the holding member 27c. Each holding member 27c has a plurality of holding grooves 27d arranged at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction. Each is carved so as to open in the same plane.
The outer peripheral edge of the wafer 1 is inserted between the holding grooves 27d of the same stage of the holding members 27c, so that the plurality of wafers 1 are aligned horizontally and aligned with each other, and the boat 27 Is supposed to be retained.

A heat insulating cap portion 28 is formed under the boat 27, and the heat insulating cap portion 28 insulates the vicinity of the furnace port while being inserted into the furnace port.
A support base 29 is installed on the seal cap 18, and a boat 27 is placed on the support base 29 via a heat insulating cap portion 28. The support base 29 is rotated by a rotating device (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 1, a boat transfer device 30 as a substrate holder moving means is installed on the opposite side of the standby chamber 14 from the boat elevator 17.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the boat transfer device 30 includes a first arm 31 and a second arm 32 that reciprocally rotate in a horizontal plane. Both the first arm 31 and the second arm 32 are formed in an arc shape, and are inserted into the lower surface of the heat insulating cap portion 28 and engaged from below, thereby supporting the entire boat 27 vertically. Yes.
As shown in FIG. 1, a first mounting table 33 is installed at a facing position where the first arm 31 is separated from the center of the seal cap 18 by about 90 degrees.
The boat transfer device 30 is configured to transfer the boat 27 between the first mounting table 33 and the support table 29 on the seal cap 18 by the first arm 31.
In addition, a second mounting table 34 is installed at an opposing position where the second arm 32 is separated from the center of the seal cap 18 by about 90 degrees.
The boat transfer device 30 uses the second arm 32 to transfer the boat 27 between the second mounting table 34 and the support table 29 on the seal cap 18 and between the second mounting table 34 and the first mounting table 33. It is configured.

Since the first mounting table 33 and the second mounting table 34 are configured in substantially the same manner, the configuration of the first mounting table 33 and the second mounting table 34 is represented by the second mounting table 34 (hereinafter referred to as the mounting table if it is not necessary to distinguish). This will be described with reference to FIGS.
The mounting table 34 includes a pedestal 35, and the pedestal 35 is formed in a disk shape as shown in FIG. A presence sensor 36 and an identification sensor 37 are installed on the upper surface of the pedestal 35. Both the presence sensor 36 and the identification sensor 37 have the same structure.
As shown in FIG. 7, a resin-made pin 38 is slidably passed through the pedestal 35, and a detector 39 for the presence sensor 36 and the identification sensor 37 is provided directly below the pin 38. Has been placed. The detector 39 is attached to a metal plate 41 fixed to the pedestal 35 via a resin plate 40.

A circulation duct 52 that constitutes a circulation path 51 that circulates nitrogen gas 50 as an inert gas in the standby chamber 14 is laid in the casing 11 as shown in FIGS.
The circulation duct 52 includes a suction side duct portion 53, and the suction side duct portion 53 isolates the wafer transfer device elevator 16 and the boat elevator 17 from the standby chamber 14 on the right side which is one side surface of the standby chamber 14. In addition, it is laid vertically over substantially the entire surface.
Two insertion holes 54 are formed in the side wall in contact with the standby chamber 14 of the suction side duct portion 53 over the range of the up and down movement of the arms of the wafer transfer device elevator 16 and the boat elevator 17. The arms of the wafer transfer device elevator 16 and the boat elevator 17 are inserted through 54 and 54, respectively.
Similarly to the two insertion holes 54, 54, a suction hole 67 is formed on a side wall in contact with the standby chamber 14 of the suction side duct portion 53 on a substantially extended line connecting a clean unit 58 to be described later and the second mounting table 34. Has been.
The suction side end of the main connection duct portion 55 is connected to the front end of the lower end portion of the suction side duct portion 53, and the main connection duct portion 55 is laid horizontally so as to cross the lower end portion outside the standby chamber 14. ing. On the side wall of the main communication duct portion 55 facing the standby chamber 14, a suction port 56 is largely opened in a horizontally long manner.

A blow-out duct portion 57 is laid vertically on the left side surface of the standby chamber 14 opposite to the suction-side duct portion 53. A blow-off end of the main connection duct portion 55 is connected to a lower end portion of the blow-out duct portion 57.
A clean unit 58 for supplying a clean atmosphere to the standby chamber 14 is installed on the entire side wall of the blow-out duct portion 57 facing the standby chamber 14.
The clean unit 58 includes a filter 59 for collecting particles and a plurality of blowers 60 for blowing the cleaned atmosphere. The filter 59 is exposed to the standby chamber 14 and is located downstream of the blower 60 group. It is configured.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a supply pipe 61 that supplies nitrogen gas 50 to the circulation path 51 is connected to the outlet side end portion of the main connection duct portion 55 of the circulation duct 52.
As shown in FIG. 1, a discharge pipe 62 is connected as a discharge path for discharging the nitrogen gas 50 from the circulation path 51, and an open / close valve 63 is interposed in the discharge pipe 62.
When the boat 27 is unloaded from the processing chamber 21, a predetermined flow rate of nitrogen gas 50 discharged from the standby chamber 14 through the discharge pipe 62 is supplied from the supply pipe 61 to the standby chamber 14. The open / close valve 63 is configured so that the nitrogen gas 50 can be circulated to the standby chamber 14 through the circulation path 51 when being carried into the chamber 21.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a clean air introduction pipe 64 for introducing clean air is connected to the upper end of the outlet side duct portion 57 of the circulation duct 52, and the clean air introduction pipe 64 is stopped. A valve 65 is interposed.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a cooler 66 for cooling the nitrogen gas 50 collected in the blowout side duct portion 57 extends in the front-rear direction at the lower end portion of the blowout side duct portion 57. Is laid to do.
In the present embodiment, the cooler 66 is a water-cooled heat exchanger.

As shown in FIG. 1, a sub-connecting duct portion 70 serving as a cooling gas supply means is laid on the bottom surface of the front side of the second mounting table 34 in the standby chamber 14 so as to cross in the left-right direction. ing.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the suction side end (upstream side end) 71 of the sub-connection duct portion 70 is connected to the lower end portion of the suction-side duct portion 53, and the sub-connection duct portion 70 is blown out. The side end (downstream side end) 72 is connected to the lower end portion of the blowout side duct portion 57.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, in order to increase conductance, the sub-connecting duct portion 70 is formed in a shape having no corners. Further, the seal cap 18, the main body portion of the boat transfer device 30 and the second mounting table 34 are meandered in the horizontal direction so as to escape. Further, the cross-sectional area of the sub-connecting duct portion 70 is set as large as possible in order to increase the air volume while preventing the rotation of the second arm 32 and the transfer operation of the boat 27 to the second mounting table 34. Has been.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 4, 6, and 7, a cooling plate 74 as a mounting table cooling unit is vertically provided on one side of the second mounting table 34 on the side opposite to the clean unit 58. Has been. The cooling plate 74 is formed in a semi-cylindrical shape, and the opening side (string side) is directly opposed to the clean unit 58 side, and covers the half of the second mounting table 34 opposite to the clean unit 58.
A branch duct 75 constituting a part of the mounting table cooling means is installed between the cooling plate 74 and the sub-connecting duct portion 70. The suction side end (upstream side end) 76 of the branch duct 75 is connected to the center of the upper end portion of the cooling plate 74, and the outlet side end (downstream side end) 77 of the branch duct 75 is the upper surface wall of the sub-connecting duct portion 70. It is connected to the.
The connecting portion of the outlet side 77 of the branch duct 75 with the sub-connecting duct portion 70 is disposed at the end of the sub-connecting duct portion 70 as much as possible downstream so that a large amount of air can be secured. Yes.

  Next, the operation of the heat treatment apparatus according to the above configuration will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pod 2 in which a plurality of wafers 1 are stored is supplied to a mounting table 13 a of a pod opener 13.
The pod 2 mounted on the mounting table 13a of the pod opener 13 is removed from the cap 3 by the pod opener 13 and the wafer loading / unloading opening is opened.

  The wafer 1 stored in the pod 2 is transferred to an empty boat (hereinafter referred to as a first boat 27A) placed on the first mounting table 33 by the wafer transfer device 15 as shown in FIG. Reprinted.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the other boat 27 holding the predetermined number of wafers 1 is carried into the processing chamber 21 of the process tube 20 by the boat elevator 17 while being supported vertically by the seal cap 18. Then, a predetermined process is performed.
That is, the boat 27 that is vertically supported by the seal cap 18 is lifted by the boat elevator 17 and loaded into the processing chamber 21 of the process tube 20 (boat loading). When the boat 27 reaches the upper limit, the outer peripheral portion on the upper surface of the seal cap 18 closes the lower end opening of the manifold 22 in a sealed state, so that the processing chamber 21 is hermetically closed.
In a state where the processing chamber 21 is hermetically closed by the seal cap 18, the processing chamber 21 is evacuated to a predetermined vacuum level by the exhaust pipe 24, and has a predetermined processing temperature (for example, 800 to 1000 ° C.) by the heater unit 26. The whole is uniformly heated, and the processing gas is supplied to the processing chamber 21 through the gas introduction pipe 23 at a predetermined flow rate. Thereby, a predetermined heat treatment is performed.
During the heat treatment, as described above, the wafer 1 is transferred (wafer loading) to the first boat 27A by the wafer transfer device 15 in the first mounting table 33.

When a preset processing time has elapsed, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the seal cap 18 that supports the boat 27 is lowered by the boat elevator 17, so that the boat 27 processes the process tube 20. It is unloaded from the chamber 21 (boat unloading).
The lower end opening of the manifold 22 from which the boat 27 has been unloaded is closed by the shutter 25 to prevent the hot gas in the processing chamber 21 from escaping.
The boat 27 carried out from the processing chamber 21 and a group of wafers held by the boat 27 (hereinafter referred to as a processed boat 27B) are in a high temperature state.

The high-temperature processed boat 27B carried out of the processing chamber 21 is immediately transferred from the seal cap 18 to the second mounting table 34 by the second arm 32 of the boat transfer device 30 and mounted as shown in FIG. Placed.
That is, the second arm 32 is rotated about 90 degrees in a state where the processed boat 27B is vertically supported by engaging with the lower surface of the heat insulating cap portion 28 of the processed boat 27B from the side. 27B is transferred from the seal cap 18 to the second mounting table 34 and mounted.
After the placement, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the second arm 32 stands by at a position between the clean unit 58 and the second placement table 34.

When the processed boat 27 </ b> B is retracted from the seal cap 18, the first boat 27 </ b> A to which a specified number of wafers 1 are transferred in advance on the first mounting table 33 is transferred from the first mounting table 33 to the seal cap 18. It is transferred by the first arm 31 of the boat transfer device 30 and transferred onto the support base 29 of the seal cap 18.
That is, the first arm 31 is rotated about 90 degrees in a state where the first boat 27A is vertically supported by engaging with the lower surface of the heat insulating cap portion 28 of the first boat 27A from the side. 27A is transferred from the first mounting table 33 to the seal cap 18 and transferred onto the support table 29 of the seal cap 18.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 4, since the second mounting table 34 is disposed in the vicinity of the clean unit 58, the processed boat 27 </ b> B in the high temperature state transferred to the second mounting table 34 is clean. The nitrogen gas 50 blown out from the unit 58 is very effectively cooled.

  On the other hand, the first boat 27A transferred on the support base 29 of the seal cap 18 is lifted by the boat elevator 17 and is carried into the processing chamber 21 of the process tube 20 to perform a predetermined process on the wafer group 1. .

During the heat treatment for the first boat 27A, in the space below the process tube 20, the processed boat 27B that has been heat-treated and placed on the second table 34 is moved by the second arm 32 to the second table 34. To the first mounting table 33 to be mounted.
At this time, since the processed boat 27B is sufficiently cooled, the temperature of the processed boat 27B is, for example, 150 ° C. or less.

  When the processed boat 27B is transferred to the first mounting table 33, the wafer transfer device 15 receives the wafer 1 from the processed boat 27B of the first mounting table 33 and receives the empty pod 2 on the mounting table of the pod opener 13. Go to the reprint.

When all the wafers 1 are returned to the pod 2, new wafers 1 to be processed next are transferred to the empty boat 27 </ b> A on the first mounting table 33 by the wafer transfer device 15.
When the designated number of wafers 1 are transferred, the boat 27 </ b> A enters a state of waiting for the next operation on the first mounting table 33.

  Thereafter, the operation described above is repeated and the wafer 1 is batch processed by the heat treatment apparatus 10.

During the above operation, the nitrogen gas 50 is circulated in the standby chamber 14 by the circulation path 51.
That is, the nitrogen gas 50 supplied from the supply pipe 61 to the circulation path 51 is a clean unit built in the outlet side duct portion 57 in the circulation duct 52 as shown in FIGS. 58 is blown out to the standby chamber 14, flows through the standby chamber 14, and is sucked into the main connection duct portion 55 from the suction port 56, or is sucked into the suction side duct portion 53 from the insertion hole 54 and the suction hole 67.
The nitrogen gas 50 sucked into the main communication duct portion 55 returns directly to the blowout side duct portion 57.
The nitrogen gas 50 sucked into the suction side duct portion 53 returns to the blowout side duct portion 57 via the main connection duct portion 55 and the sub connection duct portion 70. The nitrogen gas 50 that has returned to the blowout side duct portion 57 is blown out again from the clean unit 58 to the standby chamber 14.
By repeating the above flow, the nitrogen gas 50 circulates between the standby chamber 14 and the circulation path 51.

  When the boat 27 holding the processed wafer 1 is unloaded (during the boat unloading step), the open / close valve 63 is opened so that the nitrogen gas 50 in the circulation path 51 is discharged through the discharge pipe 62. In addition, the flow rate of the nitrogen gas 50 corresponding to the flow rate of the nitrogen gas 50 discharged from the discharge pipe 62 may be replenished from the supply pipe 61.

By the way, when the processed boat 27 </ b> B is retracted from the seal cap 18 to the second mounting table 34 by the second arm 32 immediately after the boat unloading, the second arm 32 moves between the clean unit 58 and the second mounting table 34. The nitrogen gas 50 blown out from the clean unit 58 is obstructed by the second arm 32 and hardly flows to the installation position of the detector 39 of the presence sensor 36 or the identification sensor 37. .
For this reason, there is a problem in that the presence / absence sensor 36 installed on the second mounting table 34 and the detector 39 of the identification sensor 37 are heated and damaged due to the heat effect of the processed boat 27B.

However, in the present embodiment, the second mounting table 34 and the processed boat 27B can be cooled by the cooling plate 74 and the branch duct 75 installed on the second mounting table 34. It is possible to prevent an accident in which the detector 39 of the sensor 37 is damaged due to high temperature.
That is, as shown in FIGS. 4, 6, and 7, the nitrogen gas 50 blown out from the clean unit 58 by the suction force from the branch duct 75 and the induction of the cooling plate 74 is converted into the base of the second mounting table 34. The lower part of 35 is passed.
Therefore, a large amount of cold fresh nitrogen gas 50 comes into contact with the lower portion of the pedestal 35 of the second mounting table 34, and the second mounting table 34 is efficiently cooled.
As a result, it is possible to prevent an accident in which the presence / absence sensor 36 installed on the second mounting table 34 and the detector 39 of the identification sensor 37 are damaged due to high temperatures.
Moreover, since the cooling plate 74 and the branch duct 75 are provided on the downstream side of the nitrogen gas 50 blown out by the clean unit 58, the flow of the nitrogen gas 50 in the standby chamber 14 is not disturbed.
Furthermore, even when the second arm 32 is in a standby state between the clean unit 58 and the second mounting table 34, the lower portion of the pedestal 35 of the second mounting table 34 can be cooled, so that the space can be used effectively. The extra operation of the second arm 32 can be eliminated.
At this time, the sub-connecting duct portion 70 is formed in a shape having no corners, and the cross-sectional area is set as large as possible. Therefore, the nitrogen gas 50 passing through the lower portion of the pedestal 35 of the second mounting table 34. Is guided to the cooling plate 74 and easily sucked into the branch duct 75.
Moreover, since the suction side end 76 of the branch duct 75 is provided in the upper center of the cooling plate 74, the detector 39 can be efficiently cooled.

  According to the embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

1) Since the second mounting table 34 and the processed boat 27B can be forcibly cooled by providing the cooling plate 74 and the branch duct 75 on the second mounting table 34 on which the processed boat 27B is mounted. It is possible to prevent an accident in which the detectors 39 of the sensor 36 and the identification sensor 37 are damaged due to high temperatures.

2) The sub-connecting duct portion 70 is formed in a shape having no corners, the cross-sectional area is set as large as possible, and the nitrogen gas 50 passing near the second mounting table 34 is sucked into the branch duct 75 by the cooling plate 74. Therefore, the second mounting table 34 and the processed boat 27B can be cooled very efficiently.

3) The processed boat 27B that has been brought out of the process chamber 21 of the process tube 20 and brought to a high temperature state is immediately transferred by the second arm 32 of the boat transfer device 30 to the second mounting table 34 facing the clean unit 58. As a result, the overall throughput can be increased.

4) The processed boat 27B in the high temperature state is immediately transferred from the seal cap 18 to the second mounting table 34 by the second arm 32 of the boat transfer device 30 and retracted from the seal cap 18. Can be prevented from reaching the wafer 1 of the boat 27 of the first mounting table 33, so that the processing accuracy of the new wafer 1 to be processed is lowered due to the thermal effect of the processed boat 27B. Can be prevented.

5) By avoiding thermal influence on the wafer 1, the accuracy of the heat treatment of the heat treatment apparatus can be increased, and the quality and reliability of the semiconductor device manufactured by the wafer can be enhanced.

  Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

For example, a blower may be installed in the sub-connecting duct part.
Furthermore, by installing an air volume adjustment damper inside the sub-connecting duct, the flow rate of nitrogen gas sucked in by the branch duct is adjusted, and the flow of nitrogen gas in the standby chamber and the nitrogen gas at the bottom of the base of the second mounting table are adjusted. You may comprise so that the balance with the flow of may be adjusted.
Furthermore, you may comprise so that a fan and / or an air volume adjustment damper may be made to cooperate with the output of the sensor of the 2nd mounting base 34, etc.
For example, when the boat presence sensor detects that a boat is placed on the second mounting table, the air volume is increased, and when the boat presence sensor detects that the boat is retracted from the second mounting table, the air volume is increased. You may control so that becomes small.

  The clean atmosphere that becomes the cooling gas is not limited to using nitrogen gas, and clean air or the like may be used.

  The filter installed in the clean unit may be any type that removes particles and cleans them, but preferably both a type that removes particles and a type that removes organic matter are installed.

  The heat treatment apparatus can be used in general heat treatment such as annealing, oxide film formation, diffusion, and film formation.

  In the present embodiment, the case of a batch type vertical hot wall type heat treatment apparatus has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to all substrate processing apparatuses such as a batch type horizontal hot wall type heat treatment apparatus.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the heat treatment is performed on the wafer has been described. However, the substrate to be processed may be a photomask, a printed wiring board, a liquid crystal panel, a compact disk, a magnetic disk, or the like.

It is a plane sectional view showing the heat treatment apparatus which is one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is a partially omitted front sectional view. It is front sectional drawing through a sub connection duct part. It is a perspective view which shows a boat transfer apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows a sub connection duct part and a 2nd mounting base. It is sectional drawing which shows a sub connection duct part and a 2nd mounting base.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Wafer (substrate), 2 ... Pod (wafer carrier), 3 ... Cap, 4 ... Notch aligning device, 10 ... Heat treatment device (substrate processing device), 11 ... Housing, 12 ... Wafer loading / unloading port, 13 ... Pod Opener, 14 ... Standby chamber, 15 ... Wafer transfer device, 16 ... Wafer transfer device elevator, 17 ... Boat elevator (conveying means), 18 ... Seal cap, 20 ... Process tube, 21 ... Processing chamber, 22 ... Manifold, 23 ... Gas introduction pipe, 24 ... Exhaust pipe, 25 ... Shutter, 26 ... Heater unit (heating means), 27 ... Boat (substrate holder), 27A ... First boat, 27B ... Second boat (processed boat), 28 ... heat insulating cap part, 29 ... support base, 30 ... boat transfer device (substrate holder moving means), 31 ... first arm, 32 ... second arm, 33 ... first mounting base, 3 ... second mounting table, 35 ... pedestal, 36 ... presence sensor, 37 ... identification sensor, 38 ... resin pin, 39 ... detector, 40 ... resin plate, 41 ... metal plate, 50 ... nitrogen gas (cooling gas) , 51 ... Circulation path, 52 ... Circulation duct, 53 ... Suction side duct part, 54 ... Insertion hole, 55 ... Main connection duct part, 56 ... Suction port, 57 ... Outlet side duct part, 58 ... Clean unit, 59 ... Filter, 60 ... Blower, 61 ... Supply pipe, 62 ... Discharge pipe, 63 ... Open / close valve, 64 ... Clean air introduction pipe, 65 ... Stop valve, 66 ... Cooler, 67 ... Suction hole, 70 ... Sub connecting duct part ( Cooling gas supply means), 71... Suction side end (upstream side end), 72... Outlet side end (downstream side end), 74... Cooling plate, 75. ... Blow-off end (downstream end).

Claims (1)

A processing chamber for processing while holding the substrate by the substrate holder;
Heating means for heating the substrate;
Transport means for carrying in the processing chamber while holding the substrate holder with a lid;
A mounting table for mounting the substrate holder heated by the heating means in the processing chamber at a position different from the lid;
A substrate holder moving means for moving the substrate holder between the lid and the mounting table;
A cooling gas supply means for supplying a cooling gas so as to cool the substrate holder placed on the mounting table;
A mounting table cooling means for cooling the mounting table;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:

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