JPH0410199B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus that performs heat treatment on objects to be heat treated, such as semiconductor wafers.

[Conventional technology]

In a heat treatment apparatus for semiconductor processing, a large-diameter exothermic wire is disposed on the inner surface of a furnace so as to cover the circumferential surface of the reaction tube in order to heat the reaction tube containing a semiconductor wafer from the circumferential surface.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In such a heat treatment apparatus, supporting the heat generating wire has the following drawbacks. (a) Because the heat generating wires are supported by forming through holes in the heat insulating material of the furnace body, heat radiation is high and a water cooling jacket cannot be installed. (b) There is a risk that the metal object called Cantalrot and the supporting ceramic member may fall off. (c) Large-diameter heating wires may sag when generating heat, and the distance from the reaction tube may vary, which may result in uneven heating temperature. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a heat treatment apparatus that can improve the reliability of supporting heat generating wires and perform soaking treatment on objects to be heat treated such as semiconductor wafers.

[Means to solve the problem]

The heat treatment apparatus of this invention has an apparatus main body (furnace main body 2
0), which surrounds all or part of the circumferential surface of the object to be heat-treated, and the body part 8 which locks and sandwiches this heat-generating element wire with the locking parts 12 and 24, and this body part. support pieces 2 and 4 that support the heat generating wire with arm portions 10 integrally formed with the support pieces 2 and 4; the arm portions of the support pieces are supported by support portions 144 to attach the heat generating wire to the device main body; The present invention is characterized in that it includes mounting frames 14A, 14B or a holding frame 15 in which an air layer is formed between the support piece and the main body of the apparatus, and a space 23 is formed to allow movement of the support piece.

[Function] In the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, the heat generating wire is movably attached to the mounting frame via the support piece, increasing the reliability of attaching the heat generating wire to the main body of the apparatus, and furthermore, the heat generating wire can be moved. An air layer is formed between the back side of the heating element wire, that is, between the support piece and the main body of the device. Therefore, the air layer provides a heat insulating function and a heat storage function, contributing to a uniform heat effect, and the supporting piece can move within the mounting frame in response to the deformation of the heat generating wire due to thermal expansion or contraction. This movement absorbs changes in the shape of the heat generating wire, thereby preventing damage to the heat generating wire due to thermal deformation.

【Example】

The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. 1 to 4 show an embodiment of the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, this heat treatment apparatus is provided with a first support piece 2 and an auxiliary second support piece 4, and each support piece 2, 4 is a member to be supported. In order to support the heating element wire 6, it is made of a heat insulating material with sufficient mechanical strength, such as ceramic. The support piece 2 has arm parts 10 integrally formed on the left and right sides of the top of the flat body part 8, and locking parts 12 forming recesses corresponding to the shape of the heating element wire 6 on both sides of the body part 8. This is what I did. In the case of this embodiment, the heating element wire 6 is a rod-shaped body with a circular cross section, and the locking part 12 is formed into a curved recess corresponding to the outer shape of the heating element wire 6 in order to sandwich the heating element wire 6. has been done. The support piece 2 is integrally formed with a body portion 8 and an arm portion 10 having a T-shape. Further, the support piece 4 is installed between the two support pieces 2 and is sandwiched between them, and the support piece 4 is disposed on the side surface corresponding to the locking part 12 of the support piece 2.
A locking portion 24 is formed in the form of a recess similar to the locking portion 12 of. Therefore, the heating element wire 6 is the third
As shown in the figure, by joining the support piece 2 and the support piece 4 so that the locking parts 12 and 24 match, the support piece 2 and the support piece 4 are sandwiched and supported at a constant width inside the locking parts 12 and 24. . Mounting frames 14A and 1 serve as mounting means for mounting the heat generating wire 6 to the main body of the device via the support piece 2.
4B is installed. Each mounting frame 14A, 14B
A fixing part 140 to be fixed to the main body of the device is formed on the fixing part 140, and an L-shaped standing wall part 142 having a width larger than the thickness of the arm part 10 is formed on this fixing part 140. The supporting part 144 that supports the standing wall part 1 is located on the opposite side of the fixing part 140.
42 and is formed in an L-shape. Each mounting frame 14A, 14B is integrally formed of an Inconel plate, and a screw hole 16 is formed in the fixing part 140. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, each mounting frame 14A, 14B is arranged on the inner wall portion of the device main body side with the supporting parts 144 facing each other, and each screw hole 16
Similar to the bolt 18 as a fixing means, it is fixed to the apparatus main body, ie, the furnace main body 20, as a mounting member.
The mounting pieces 14A, 14B have vertical wall portions 14.
A space 23 is formed by the width of 2 to allow movement of the support piece 2. If the heat treatment apparatus is configured in this way, the furnace body 2
Attach the mounting frames 14A, 14B to the mounting frame 14A, 14B with bolts 18, support each support piece 2 to each mounting frame 14A, 14B, and sandwich the support piece 4 between the adjacent support pieces 2, 2. By inserting the heat generating wires 6 between the locking portions 12 and 24 of the two, as shown in FIG. be able to. A mounting frame 14 is provided on the back side of the support piece 2.
Since the width of the vertical wall portions 142 of A and 14B is larger than the thickness of the arm portion 10 of the support piece 2, a space 23 is formed between the inner wall portion of the furnace body 20 and the support piece 2, and the support piece 2 It is movably attached to the mounting frames 14A and 14B. That is, the space 23 allows the movement of the heat generating wire 6, and an air layer is formed between the support piece 2 and the inner wall of the furnace body 20, and this air layer provides a heat insulation function and a heat storage function. is obtained. Therefore, the air layer formed on the back side of the heat generating wire 6 contributes to the heat uniformity effect, and the support piece 2 moves within the mounting frame in accordance with the deformation of the heat generating wire 6 due to thermal expansion or contraction. The change in shape of the heat generating wire 6 is absorbed by the space 23, and the heat generating wire 6 is protected from damage due to thermal deformation. Furthermore, since the heating element wire 6 is supported by each of the support pieces 2 and 4, it is easy to assemble the heating element wire 6 into the furnace body 20 even when the heating element wire 6 is curved. Therefore, the manufacturing time of the heat treatment equipment can be shortened. Furthermore, by adjusting the width of the support piece 4, the installation interval of the heating element wires 6 can be adjusted to any desired interval, and the heat generation distribution can also be controlled by the width of the support piece 4. Next, FIG. 4 shows a specific embodiment of the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention. In this embodiment, the heating element wire 6
A cylindrical furnace body 20 is used as the equipment body in which the
Attachment frames 14A and 14B are continuously attached to the inner wall surface of the furnace body 20 in the longitudinal direction. In this case, mounting frames 14A, 14B
is fixed to the inner wall of the furnace body 20 with bolts 18. For example, a heating element wire 6 having a coil shape is attached between the mounting frames 14A and 14B using support pieces 2 and 4. According to such a heat treatment apparatus, semiconductor wafers and the like as the objects to be heat treated are transported together with the boat and the heat generating wire 6.
can be carried inside and subjected to desired heat treatment. Next, FIGS. 5 and 6 show another embodiment of the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention. In this embodiment, the locking portion of the support piece 2 is formed by protrusions 13, and the upper surface of each protrusion 13 is curved to match the outer shape of the heating element wire 6. A protrusion 25 corresponding to the support piece 2 is formed as a locking part of the piece 4, and its lower side is curved to match the heating element wire 6. In place of the mounting frames 14A and 14B of the embodiment described above, a U-shaped holding frame 15 for holding the arm portion 10 of the support piece 2 may be used. In this case, the holding frame 15 includes a fixing portion 1 to be fixed to the device main body.
50 is formed, and this fixed part 150 has a standing wall part 1
52 is formed in an L shape with a height greater than the thickness of the arm portion 10, and a locking portion 154 for locking the support piece 2 is formed in an L shape with respect to the vertical wall portion 152 facing oppositely. . Therefore, even with such a heat treatment apparatus, the same effects as those of the above embodiment can be obtained, and since the mountings 14A and 14B of the above embodiment are configured as one mounting frame 15, the heating element Another advantage is that the wire 6 can be firmly supported with a simple structure. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the heat generating wire 6 may be supported only by the support piece 2. In this way, the heat generating wire 6 can be supported at the interval between the locking portions 12 of the support piece 2. can be supported.

【Effect of the invention】

As explained above, according to the present invention, the heat generating wire can be firmly attached to the device main body, and a space is formed between the support piece that supports the heat generating wire and the device main body. Since the air phase in this space has a heat insulating function and a heat storage function, the heat generated by the heating element wire is not radiated to the outside of the heat treatment apparatus via the support piece, and partial heat radiation from the support piece is prevented. It is possible to obtain uniform heating of the object to be heat-treated, and also allows mechanical deformation due to thermal expansion and contraction of the heating element wire, effectively preventing damage caused by internal stress such as expansion and contraction of the heating element wire. It is possible to improve the heat uniformity effect and maintain and promote the durability of the heating element wire.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the assembled state of the heat treatment apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is the heat treatment apparatus shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of one embodiment of the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing another embodiment of the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention. 2...First support piece, 4...Second support piece, 6
...Heating element wire, 8...Body part, 10...Arm part, 1
2, 24...Locking part, 13, 25...Protrusion as a locking part, 14A, 14B, 15...Mounting frame, 2
0...Furnace body (apparatus main body), 23...Space part, 1
44...Support part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A heating element wire installed in the apparatus main body and surrounding all or part of the circumferential surface of the object to be heat treated, together with a body part that locks and holds the heating element wire in a locking part. a support piece that supports the heat generating wire with an arm integrally formed on a body portion; the arm portion of the support piece is supported by the support portion to attach the heat generating wire to the device main body; and a mounting frame that forms an air layer between the support piece and the apparatus main body, and a space that allows movement of the support piece.