JPH0637006A - Semiconductor processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] The present invention relates to a semiconductor processing apparatus, and a wafer surface
N in the atmosphere₂Without affecting the gas flow,
(C) Stabilizes the atmosphere on the surface at high temperature,
It is possible to process the film thickness uniformly on the wafer surface by reducing the
It is an object of the present invention to realize a semiconductor processing device that can be used. [Structure] The atmosphere on the wafer surface is shaded on the outside of the wafer 22.
N without giving a sound ₂Holes 16 that can supply gas, etc.
Lower part of the wafer which has a space and can be temperature controlled under the wafer
Positioned parallel to the heating plate 10 and the top of the wafer, temperature control is possible
And an upper heating plate 13 capable of functioning.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor processing apparatus and a semiconductor heat treatment method. More specifically, the present invention relates to a processing apparatus and a processing method capable of performing processing such that a film thickness of a resist or the like is uniform in a heat treatment process of a thin film formation processing apparatus of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.

In recent years, as semiconductors have become finer, the pattern width has become narrower. Therefore, it is necessary to create a highly accurate pattern in the photolithography process. In order to create a highly accurate pattern, it is necessary that the exposure device, the mask, the reticle, or the like be highly accurate, and that the thickness of the photoresist applied to the wafer be uniform. For this reason, it is required to uniformly process the film thickness of the photoresist on the wafer surface in the heat treatment process of the thin film formation processing apparatus for drying the photoresist applied to the wafer.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a conventional semiconductor processing apparatus for performing a thin film forming process. This semiconductor processing device is
A hot plate 2 having a heater 1, an N ₂ gas supply pipe 3 capable of supplying N ₂ gas from the periphery of the hot plate 2, and an exhaust plate 4 and an exhaust pipe 5 for collecting and exhausting the N ₂ gas. The wafer 6 is placed on the heating plate 1, and the N ₂ gas supply pipe 3 is formed.
The heat treatment can be performed in the N ₂ gas atmosphere supplied from

[0004]

In the conventional semiconductor processing apparatus described above, the heat radiation amount on the wafer surface changes due to the influence of the N ₂ gas flow supplied from the N ₂ gas supply pipe 3 to heat the wafer. Since the temperature of the atmosphere on the wafer surface is lower than that of the heating plate 2 and the amount of heat radiation on the wafer surface is large, the amount of heat radiation on the surface changes greatly. Therefore, there is a problem that the resist film thickness on the wafer surface cannot be processed uniformly.

According to the present invention, the atmosphere on the wafer surface is stabilized at a high temperature without affecting the atmosphere on the wafer surface by the N ₂ gas flow, the amount of heat radiation on the wafer surface is reduced, and the film thickness on the wafer surface is made uniform. An attempt is made to realize a semiconductor processing device capable of processing.

[0006]

In the semiconductor processing apparatus of the present invention, holes 16 through which N ₂ gas can be supplied to the outside of the wafer 22 without affecting the atmosphere of the wafer surface are provided at equal intervals. Further, the temperature controllable lower heating plate 10 is provided under the wafer, and the temperature controllable upper heating plate 13 is provided in parallel with the upper portion of the wafer.

Further, in the semiconductor heat treatment method of the present invention, the above-mentioned semiconductor processing apparatus is used and the upper and lower hot plates 10, 1 are used.
It is characterized in that the heat treatment is performed by setting the interval 3 to be several times the thickness of the wafer 22. Further, in addition, with the semiconductor processing apparatus, and supplies the N ₂ N ₂ gas from the gas supply hole 16, to form a blocking wall by N ₂ gas around the wafer 22, and the outside air atmosphere of the wafer surface It is characterized in that it is cut off and heat-treated. By adopting this configuration, a semiconductor processing apparatus and a processing method capable of uniformly processing the film thickness on the wafer surface can be obtained.

[0008]

According to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, the wafer 22 is to be substantially sealed between the upper and lower hot plates 10 and 13, the wafer 22 surface atmosphere of N ₂ gas exiting from the N ₂ gas supply hole 16 Since the high temperature is quickly stabilized without being affected by the air flow, the temperature difference between the heating plates 10 and 13 heating the wafer 22 and the wafer surface becomes small, and the heat radiation amount at the wafer surface decreases. Therefore, the amount of heat radiation on the wafer surface becomes uniform,
Since the film on the wafer surface is uniformly heat-treated, the film thickness becomes uniform.

[0009]

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the semiconductor heat treatment apparatus of the present invention. In the figure, 10 is a lower hot plate having a heater 11, 12 is a wafer support pin, and 13 is an upper hot plate having a heater 14. And the lower heating plate 10
Is a rising wall 15 forming a chamber for containing wafers,
And N ₂ gas supply holes 16 disposed at equal intervals for feeding N ₂ gas, a hole wafer support pin is slidably inserted is formed, and, the vertically movable by a driving means such as a cylinder 17 Has become.

Further, the wafer support pins 12 have at least three.
The book is fixed to the fixing plate 18. Also, the upper heating plate 13
Is a rising wall 1 corresponding to the rising wall 15 of the lower heating plate 10.
9 is formed and is supported by an exhaust cover 21 having an exhaust pipe 20.

A heat treatment method using this embodiment having the above structure will be described with reference to FIG. First, as shown in FIG. 3A, the wafer 22 is transferred onto the wafer support pins 12 from the direction of arrow A. Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the cylinder 17 operates to raise the lower heating plate 10. The raised lower heating plate 10 supports the wafer 22, and the rising wall 15
And the rising wall 19 of the upper heating plate 13 to substantially seal. In this case, the distance between the upper and lower heating plates is set to be several times the thickness of the wafer. Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, the N ₂ gas supply hole 16
₂ gas is discharged to form a wall by N ₂ gas, and the outside air is
₂ Shut off with the gas blocking wall. At the same time, the upper and lower hot plates 10,
13 is heated by the heaters 11 and 14, and the wafer 22 is heated from above and below.

When the processing is completed, the lower heating plate 10 is lowered by the operation of the cylinder 17 and returns to the state of FIG. 3A, and the atmosphere on the wafer surface is taken into the cover 21 together with the N ₂ gas and exhausted. Exhausted from tube 20. At the same time, the wafer 22 is placed on the wafer support pins 12 and waits for transportation.

In the processing method of processing as described above, the N ₂ gas flow from the N ₂ gas supply hole 16 is exhausted after forming a blocking wall for blocking outside air around the wafer and does not enter the atmosphere on the wafer surface. The atmosphere on the wafer surface is heated by the hot plates 10 and 13 and is stable at high temperature without being affected by the N ₂ gas flow. Therefore, the film such as the resist on the surface of the wafer is uniformly heated and has a uniform film thickness.

[0014]

According to the present invention, in the heat treatment process of the thin film forming apparatus, the atmosphere on the wafer surface is stable at a high temperature without being affected by the N ₂ gas flow, and the amount of heat radiation of the wafer is reduced, so that The film thickness can be processed uniformly, and it greatly contributes to the performance improvement of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a semiconductor processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a processing method using the semiconductor processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a conventional semiconductor processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... lower heating plate 11, 14 ... heater 12 ... wafer support pins 13 ... upper heating plate 15, 19 ... rising wall 16 ... N ₂ gas supply hole 17 ... cylinder 18 ... fixing plate 20 ... exhaust pipe 21 ... exhaust cover 22 ... Wafer

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. The wafer (22) has holes (16) at equal intervals outside the wafer (22) for supplying N ₂ gas without affecting the atmosphere of the wafer surface, and the temperature can be controlled under the wafer. A semiconductor processing apparatus comprising a lower heating plate (10) and an upper heating plate (13) positioned in parallel with an upper portion of the wafer and capable of temperature control. 2. The semiconductor processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heat treatment is performed by setting the interval between the upper and lower heating plates (10, 13) to be several times the thickness of the wafer (22). Processing method. 3. A use of a semiconductor processing apparatus according to claim 1, the N ₂ supply N ₂ gas from the gas supply hole (16), to form a blocking wall by N ₂ gas around the wafer (22), the wafer A method for treating a semiconductor, characterized in that the surface atmosphere is shielded from the outside air for heat treatment.