Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/JP5573666B2/en
Timestamp: 2020-01-19 19:36:35
Document Index: 502850664

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 14', 'art 14', 'art 60', 'art 14', 'art 60', 'art 14', 'art 14']

JP5573666B2 - Raw material supply apparatus and film forming apparatus - Google Patents
Raw material supply apparatus and film forming apparatus Download PDF
JP5573666B2
JP5573666B2 JP2010293207A JP2010293207A JP5573666B2 JP 5573666 B2 JP5573666 B2 JP 5573666B2 JP 2010293207 A JP2010293207 A JP 2010293207A JP 2010293207 A JP2010293207 A JP 2010293207A JP 5573666 B2 JP5573666 B2 JP 5573666B2
JP2010293207A
JP2012142380A (en
治彦 古屋
2010-12-28 Application filed by 東京エレクトロン株式会社 filed Critical 東京エレクトロン株式会社
2012-07-26 Publication of JP2012142380A publication Critical patent/JP2012142380A/en
2014-08-20 Publication of JP5573666B2 publication Critical patent/JP5573666B2/en
The present invention relates to a raw material supply apparatus for supplying a liquid material and a film forming apparatus including the raw material supply apparatus.
As a processing gas used for a film forming process in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a gas obtained by vaporizing a liquid raw material such as a metal organic compound in a vaporizer may be used. As the film forming process, a liquid wafer such as TEMAZ (tetrakisethylmethylaminozirconium), TEMAH (tetrakisethylmethylaminohafnium), Sr (THD) 2 (strontium bistetramethylheptanedionate) or the like is used. For example, a high dielectric constant film or the like is formed on (hereinafter referred to as “wafer”). In this apparatus, a vacuum pump that evacuates the reaction vessel (reaction tube) in which film formation is performed and a raw material tank that is a storage part of a liquid material have a device footprint as small as possible, for example, a vaporizer or reaction It is provided on the lower side of the pipe (at the height or underground where the worker works). Then, the liquid material is supplied from the liquid tank to the vaporizer toward the upper side by a raw material supply apparatus including a raw material supply pipe and a valve.
Here, the vaporizer and the liquid tank may be removed from the apparatus when performing maintenance of the vaporizer or when replacing the liquid tank. At this time, when the liquid material comes into contact with the atmosphere, a toxic gas such as diethylamine ((C2H5) 2NH) or dimethylamine ((CH3) 2NH) gas is generated, or it is generated by a reaction between moisture in the atmosphere and the liquid material. There is a possibility that the inside of the raw material supply pipe may be blocked by the product. Therefore, when removing the vaporizer and the liquid tank from the apparatus, the liquid material is previously removed from the raw material supply pipe. Specifically, for example, an inert gas such as nitrogen (N2) gas is purged into the raw material supply pipe from the lower side (liquid tank side) to push the liquid material upward against gravity and supply the raw material on the vaporizer side. It is discharged from a VENT pipe provided on the front side (raw material supply pipe side) of the reaction tube through the tube. After that, for example, a cleaning liquid such as octane is allowed to flow from the lower side into the raw material supply pipe to clean the inside of the raw material supply pipe and the vaporizer. After the cleaning liquid is again discharged from the VENT pipe with an inert gas, the vaporizer is Then, the inside of the raw material supply pipe is evacuated and dried.
However, since the specific gravity of the liquid material described above is larger (heavy) than water, etc., even if it is pushed out from the lower side by gas, the liquid material stays in the raw material supply pipe, and gas bubbles rise in the liquid material. Attempting to do so results in a bubbling state. Therefore, it is difficult to remove the liquid material from the raw material supply pipe even if the gas pressure is increased. Further, since such a liquid material has a vapor pressure lower than that of water or the like, for example, even if the inside of the raw material supply pipe is evacuated before supplying the cleaning liquid, it is difficult to volatilize. Furthermore, since the inside of the raw material supply pipe is not opened, it cannot be directly confirmed that the liquid material has been completely removed from the raw material supply pipe.
If the liquid material remains when supplying the cleaning liquid into the raw material supply pipe, the water slightly contained in the cleaning liquid reacts with the liquid material. For example, a valve diaphragm installed in the raw material supply pipe The reaction product may adhere (adhere) to the surface. In this case, since the diaphragm and the valve need to be frequently replaced, the running cost of the apparatus increases.
Therefore, when removing the vaporizer or the liquid tank from the apparatus, even if the amount of the liquid material remaining in the raw material supply pipe is only about several tens of cc, the liquid draining time ( In order to secure the gas supply time), for example, the gas is kept flowing for several days to remove the liquid material in the raw material supply pipe. Therefore, the operation time (film formation time) of the apparatus is shortened by the time required for draining the liquid in the raw material supply pipe, and the cost of nitrogen gas is increased. Further, even when the gas is supplied into the raw material supply pipe for a long time as described above, the liquid material may still remain in the raw material supply pipe. Similarly, the cleaning liquid is also pushed out from the lower side to the upper side by the gas, so that it is difficult to discharge from the raw material supply pipe. If the liquid material is pushed back into the liquid tank by the gas from the upper side (vaporizer side) with respect to the raw material supply pipe, the liquid material in the liquid tank is contaminated through the inner wall surface of the raw material supply pipe. There is a fear.
Patent Documents 1 and 2 describe a technique for arranging a raw material supply pipe and a valve so that a liquid flows from the upper side to the lower side, but the above-described problems are not touched.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-129784 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-227368
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and its purpose is to easily discharge the liquid material from the raw material supply pipe when supplying the liquid material from the lower side to the upper side through the raw material supply pipe. An object of the present invention is to provide a raw material supply apparatus and a film forming apparatus.
The raw material supply apparatus of the present invention is
In the raw material supply apparatus for vaporizing the liquid raw material in the storage section with a vaporizer and supplying the vaporized gas into a reaction vessel for semiconductor production,
A raw material supply pipe which is located above the reservoir and has a rising pipe line extending vertically;
Provided in each branch from the lower end of the rising pipe, a branch supply pipe first material discharge pipe and the lower end side is connected to the reservoir,
For switching a flow path provided between the rising pipe, the first raw material discharge pipe and the branch supply pipe, which is provided at a branching site where the first raw material discharge pipe and the branch supply pipe are branched from the rising pipe. A first drainage mechanism comprising a plurality of valves;
A cleaning liquid supply pipe for supplying a cleaning liquid that is a cleaning fluid for discharging the liquid raw material in the flow path ;
Provided at a portion where the raw material supply pipe, the cleaning liquid supply pipe, and the liquid supply pipe for supplying the liquid raw material to the vaporizer merge at the upper end side of the rising pipe, and a flow path communicating between these supply pipes A second drainage mechanism comprising a plurality of valves for switching,
When supplying the liquid raw material to the vaporizer, the first liquid draining mechanism is operated so that the first raw material discharge pipe is closed and the rising pipe line and the branch supply pipe are in communication. Operating the second liquid draining mechanism so that the cleaning liquid supply pipe is closed and the raw material supply pipe and the liquid supply pipe communicate with each other;
When discharging the liquid raw material from the raw material supply pipe, the first liquid draining mechanism is operated so that the branch supply pipe is closed and the rising pipe line and the first raw material discharge pipe are in communication with each other. The second liquid draining mechanism is operated so that the liquid supply pipe is closed and the cleaning liquid supply pipe and the raw material supply pipe communicate with each other in order to flow the cleaning liquid into the raw material supply pipe. To do .
The film forming apparatus of the present invention includes the raw material supply apparatus described above,
A vaporizer for vaporizing the liquid material supplied from the raw material supply device;
And a reaction vessel for supplying a processing gas obtained by vaporizing a liquid material in the vaporizer to a substrate housed therein.
The present invention provides a discharge pipe on the lower end side of the raw material supply pipe on the storage section side, and supplies the liquid material from the storage section in which the liquid material is stored to the upper vaporizer via the raw material supply pipe. connecting the irrigation fluid supply tube for supplying cleaning liquid to the upper end side of the supply pipe. When the liquid material is discharged from the raw material supply pipe, the liquid material is discharged from the upper end side of the raw material supply pipe to the discharge pipe by the cleaning liquid , so that the liquid material is discharged from the upper side to the lower side without against gravity. The liquid material can be easily discharged from the inside of the raw material supply pipe.
It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows an example of the vertical heat processing apparatus provided with the raw material supply apparatus of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the 1st liquid draining mechanism in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows typically the said 1st liquid draining mechanism. It is sectional drawing which shows typically the three-way valve used for the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode that the flow path of the said three-way valve opens and closes. It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode that the flow path of the said three-way valve opens and closes. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the 2nd liquid draining mechanism in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows typically the said 2nd liquid draining mechanism. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the 3rd liquid draining mechanism in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows typically the said 3rd liquid removal mechanism. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the liquid draining process in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the effect | action in the said raw material supply apparatus. It is a characteristic view obtained in the vertical heat treatment apparatus. It is a picked-up photograph which shows the diaphragm of a valve | bulb in this invention and a prior art example.
An example of an embodiment of a vertical heat treatment apparatus to which the raw material supply apparatus of the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. The vertical heat treatment apparatus includes a vaporizer (vaporizer) 11 for vaporizing a liquid material containing a film-forming species, such as TEMAZ (tetrakisethylmethylaminozirconium), and a treatment obtained by vaporizing the liquid material in the vaporizer 11. The film forming apparatus includes a reaction tube (reaction vessel) 12 for supplying a gas to the wafer W to perform a film forming process. Then, the raw material supply device 13 supplies the liquid material from the raw material reservoir 14 provided below the vaporizer 11 and the reaction tube 12 to the vaporizer 11 via the raw material supply pipe (rising line) 15. Yes. As will be described later, this raw material supply device 13 is, for example, when performing drainage (removal of liquid material) in the raw material supply pipe 15 when performing maintenance of the vaporizer 11 or replacement of the raw material storage unit 14, The liquid material can be easily and quickly discharged from the raw material supply pipe 15.
First, the reaction tube 12 and the vaporizer 11 will be briefly described. As shown in FIG. 1, the reaction tube 12 is made of quartz formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. The lower end surface opens as a furnace port, and the atmosphere in the reaction tube 12 is formed at the center of the upper end surface. An exhaust port 12a for evacuating is formed. In addition, the reaction tube 12 is placed on the base plate 22 so that the lower end surface is at a height of about 2 m, for example, from the floor level so that the wafer boat 21 loaded with wafers W in a shelf shape can be inserted airtightly from below. It is supported. One end side of a gas injector 23 for supplying a processing gas into the reaction tube 12 is inserted into the flange portion at the lower end of the reaction tube 12 in an airtight manner. Outside the reaction tube 12, a heater 24 for heating the wafer W in the reaction tube 12 is provided in the circumferential direction. An exhaust pipe 25 extending from the exhaust port 12a is connected to a vacuum pump 27, which is a vacuum exhaust apparatus provided below the reaction pipe 12, for example, below the floor level (underground) via a pressure adjusting unit such as a butterfly valve 26. It is connected to the. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 28 denotes a motor for rotating the wafer boat 21 around the vertical axis. Note that the reaction tube 12 and the vaporizer 11 are drawn in a simplified manner in FIG.
On the side of the reaction tube 12, a substantially cylindrical vaporizer (vaporizer) 11 is provided adjacent to the reaction tube 12, and an upper end surface of the vaporizer 11 is provided in the vaporizer 11. A nozzle (two-fluid nozzle) 31 for discharging (spraying) the liquid material and the cleaning liquid is disposed. The nozzle 31 has a liquid supply pipe 41 for supplying a liquid material, and a gas supply pipe 42 for supplying a clean gas such as nitrogen (N2) gas as a carrier gas for the liquid material. Are connected to each other via a valve V. In the liquid supply pipe 41, a flow rate adjustment unit (liquid mass flow controller) 41 a is interposed on the upstream side (raw material storage unit 14 side) of the vaporizer 11.
A heater (not shown) for vaporizing the liquid material discharged into the vaporizer 11 is embedded in the inner wall surface of the vaporizer 11, and thus the internal region of the vaporizer 11 forms a heating chamber 11 a. A take-out port 32 for taking out the processing gas obtained by vaporizing the liquid material in the vaporizer 11 is formed on the lower side of the side surface of the vaporizer 11, and a gas material extending from the take-out port 32 is formed. The supply pipe 35 is connected to the proximal end side of the gas injector 23 described above. A VENT pipe 36 connected to the above-described exhaust pipe 25 is connected to the gaseous material supply pipe 35 via a valve V. In the vaporizer 11, a substantially cylindrical heat exchanging portion 33 in which a heater (not shown) is embedded is provided so as to face the nozzle 31. In FIG. 1, 34 is a drain port for discharging droplets that have not been vaporized in the vaporizer 11 and dropped onto the floor surface of the vaporizer 11 to a discharge unit (not shown), and V is a valve. Moreover, 16a in FIG. 1 is a flow volume adjustment part. The vaporizer (vaporizer) 11, the valve V on the vaporizer 11 side provided in the liquid supply pipe 41 and the gas supply pipe 42, and the flow rate adjusting unit 41a constitute the vaporization system 30. ,
Subsequently, the above-described raw material supply apparatus 13 will be described in detail. Here, the raw material storage part 14 in which the liquid material is stored is provided below the reaction tube 12 and the vaporizer 11, for example, underground, in the same manner as the vacuum pump 27 in order to make the footprint of the apparatus as small as possible. Therefore, as will be described below, the raw material supply device 13 is configured to be able to send liquid from the underground toward the vaporizer 11 on the upper side. The raw material reservoir 14 is provided with a supply pipe 14 a connected to the lower side of the raw material supply pipe 15 described above, and the lower end of the supply pipe 14 a is below the liquid level in the raw material supply pipe 15. Open on the side. In addition, the above-described clean gas (purge) supplied into the raw material supply pipe 15 is provided in the basement in order to easily and quickly drain the liquid from the raw material supply pipe 15 when performing maintenance of the apparatus. Gas storage section 16 and cleaning liquid storage section (supply section) 17 in which cleaning liquids such as gas and octane are stored. An auxiliary storage tank 17a in which the cleaning liquid is stored is provided adjacent to the raw material storage section 14 in order to supply the cleaning liquid to the supply pipe 14a described above. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 7 denotes a liquid supply gas line for supplying He (helium) gas or the like above the liquid level in the raw material supply pipe 15 to pressure-feed the liquid material toward the supply pipe 14a. Reference numeral 8 denotes an auxiliary cleaning liquid supply pipe for supplying a cleaning liquid from the auxiliary storage tank 17a to the supply pipe 14a. Further, 9 in FIG. 1 is an auxiliary gas supply pipe for supplying clean gas from the gas storage section 16 to the supply pipe 14a, and 10 in FIG. 1 is a filter for removing moisture contained in the clean gas.
The raw material supply device 13 is provided with a liquid draining mechanism 50 in which a plurality of valves 18 are combined in a plurality of places, for example, four places. As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid draining mechanism 50 includes a cleaning liquid supply pipe (cleaning fluid) for supplying a cleaning liquid to the vaporizer 11 from the raw material storage section 14 side and the vaporizer 11 side in the raw material supply pipe 15 and the cleaning liquid storage section 17. Supply pipe) 19 and the first raw material discharge pipe 61 extending from the drainage section 60, which is a discharge destination of the liquid material and the cleaning liquid, toward the upper side (vaporizer 11 side). Is provided. About these liquid draining mechanisms 50, the raw material storage part 14 side, the vaporizer 11 side, and the drainage part 60 side are respectively referred to as "first liquid draining mechanism 50a", "second liquid draining mechanism 50b", and " This will be referred to as a “third liquid draining mechanism 50c”. Further, the liquid draining mechanism 50 provided in the cleaning liquid supply pipe 19 has the same configuration as the first liquid draining mechanism 50a, and therefore will be referred to as a “first liquid draining mechanism 50a”. In FIG. 1, the valve 18 of the liquid draining mechanism 50 is simplified and schematically (largely) drawn. In addition, since the first liquid draining mechanism 50a is actually provided near the floor surface, the supply pipe 14a between the raw material reservoir 14 and the first liquid draining mechanism 50a is connected to the first liquid draining mechanism. Although it is extremely shorter than the raw material supply pipe 15 extending from 50a toward the second liquid draining mechanism 50b, FIG. 1 also schematically shows the lengths of the supply pipe 14a and the raw material supply pipe 15.
The valve 18 used in these liquid draining mechanisms 50 includes a two-way valve 18 a in which a channel 53 extending in the vertical direction is configured to be openable and closable, a channel 53 extending in the vertical direction, and a side of the channel 53. And a three-way valve 18b in which another flow path (bypass flow path 54) connected from is formed. The three-way valve 18b has an open state in which the flow path 53 and the bypass flow path 54 are in communication with each other, and a closed state in which one of the lower open end of the flow path 53 and the open end of the bypass flow path 54 is closed. It is configured to be switched. The two-way valve 18a and the three-way valve 18b are configured as electromagnetic valves that can be opened and closed in accordance with instructions from the control unit 1 described later.
Each of the first liquid draining mechanisms 50a is provided with two two-way valves 18a and one three-way valve 18b, and the second liquid draining mechanism 50b has one two-way valves 18a and 5b. Two three-way valves 18b are provided. The third liquid draining mechanism 50c is provided with one two-way valve 18a and two three-way valves 18b. Note that valves other than the liquid draining mechanism 50 are distinguished from the valves 18 (valves 71 to 82 described later) constituting the liquid draining mechanism 50 by attaching the symbol “V” as described above. .
Subsequently, the layout of each valve 18 in each liquid draining mechanism 50 will be described in detail. First, the first liquid draining mechanism 50a will be described. In the first liquid draining mechanism 50a, as shown in FIG. 2, from the upper side to the lower side, the valve 71 including the two-way valve 18a, the first raw material supply valve 72 including the three-way valve 18b, and the two-way valve A first material discharge valve 73 made of 18a is arranged in this order. One end side (lower end side) of the raw material supply pipe 15 and the first raw material discharge pipe 61 are connected to the upper end of the valve 71 and the lower end of the first raw material discharge valve 73, respectively. FIG. 3 schematically shows the first liquid draining mechanism 50a.
As schematically shown in FIG. 4, the first raw material supply valve 72 is formed with a flow path 53 extending in a generally vertical direction through the inside of the valve chamber 51 of the first raw material supply valve 72. The valve 71 and the first raw material discharge valve 73 described above are connected to the upper end and the lower end of the flow path 53, respectively. Further, in the valve chamber 51, one end side of the bypass flow path 54 is opened by a valve body 52 so as to be freely opened and closed, and the other end side of the bypass flow path 54 is bent downward, It is connected to the supply pipe 14 a at a position below the one raw material discharge valve 73. Therefore, when the first raw material supply valve 72 is in a closed state (a state where the opening end of the bypass flow path 54 is closed by the valve body 52), the supply of the liquid material from the supply pipe 14a is stopped as shown in FIG. In the open state, the liquid material is supplied into the valve chamber 51 as shown in FIG. Then, by opening and closing the valve 71 and the first raw material discharge valve 73 together with the first raw material supply valve 72, the liquid material to the vaporizer 11 side (second liquid draining mechanism 50b side) as described later. Supply and discharge of the liquid material from the vaporizer 11 are performed. Note that the upper ends of these valves 71, the lower ends of the first raw material discharge valves 73, and the opening ends at the lower ends of the bypass passages 54 are arranged so as to face in the same direction (left side in FIG. 2).
The first liquid draining mechanism 50a is also provided on the cleaning liquid reservoir 17 side of the cleaning liquid supply pipe 19, and supplies the cleaning liquid to the upper end of the valve 71 and the bypass flow path 54 of the first raw material supply valve 72, respectively. A supply pipe 19a extending from the pipe 19 and the cleaning liquid reservoir 17 is connected. The aforementioned first raw material discharge pipe 61 is connected to the lower end of the first raw material discharge valve 73.
Next, the second liquid draining mechanism 50b will be described with reference to FIGS. The second liquid draining mechanism 50b is configured to supply clean gas from the upper side to the raw material supply pipe 15 and discharge the liquid material and the cleaning liquid to the lower side. That is, the raw material supply pipe 15 and the cleaning liquid supply pipe 19 and the gas supply pipe 43 extending from the gas storage section 16 are connected to the second liquid draining mechanism 50b. Five three-way valves 18b and one two-way valve 18a are arranged so that the opening ends of the gas supply pipe 43 are positioned above the opening ends of the nineteen.
Specifically, the second liquid draining mechanism 50b is connected to the flow path 53 extending vertically and from the lateral side to the flow path 53 in the same manner as the first raw material supply valve 72 described above. And a second raw material supply valve 74 including a three-way valve 18b in which a bypass channel 54 is formed. The other end side (upper end side) of the raw material supply pipe 15 is connected to the bypass flow path 54 of the second raw material supply valve 74, and two ends are connected to the upper end of the flow path 53 of the second raw material supply valve 74. The lower end of the cleaning fluid supply valve 75 comprising the valve 18a is connected. The upper end of the flow path 53 in the second raw material discharge valve 76 composed of the three-way valve 18b is connected to the lower end of the flow path 53 of the second raw material supply valve 74. The aforementioned liquid supply pipe 41 is connected to the bypass flow path 54 in the second raw material discharge valve 76 via the discharge valve V, and at the lower end of the flow path 53 of the second raw material discharge valve 76, A second raw material discharge pipe 62 extending toward the third liquid draining mechanism 50c is connected.
One end side (upper end side) of the flow path 53 of the gas supply valve 77 including the three-way valve 18b is connected to the upper end of the cleaning fluid supply valve 75 via a pipe (cleaning fluid supply pipe) 63, and the one end side is connected to the upper end of the cleaning fluid supply valve 75. Both ends of the pipe 63 are bent downward so as to face upward. The other end side (lower side) of the flow path 53 of the gas supply valve 77 is connected to the upper end of the flow path 53 in the cleaning liquid supply valve 78 including the three-way valve 18b. A supply pipe 43 is connected. The upper end of the flow path 53 in the valve 79 including the three-way valve 18 b is connected to the lower end of the flow path 53 of the cleaning liquid supply valve 78, and the cleaning liquid supply pipe 19 is connected to the bypass flow path 54 of the cleaning liquid supply valve 78. Yes. The above-described second raw material discharge pipe 62 that also serves as a cleaning liquid discharge pipe is connected to the lower end of the flow path 53 of the valve 79, and the bypass flow path 54 of the valve 79 extends from the liquid supply pipe 41. A branch pipe 44 is connected. Each of these valves 74, 77, and 78 is configured such that each flow channel 53 and bypass flow channel 54 communicate with each other in the open state, and each bypass flow channel 54 is closed in the closed state. Further, each of the valves 76 and 79 communicates with each other in the open state, and the flow path 53 directed downward is closed in the closed state (the upper end of the flow path 53 and the bypass flow path). 54). FIG. 8 schematically shows the second liquid draining mechanism 50b in FIG. In FIG. 7, the second liquid draining mechanism 50 b is drawn in the opposite direction from FIG. 1.
Subsequently, the third liquid draining mechanism 50c will be described. In the third drainage mechanism 50c, a first fluid discharge valve 80 including a three-way valve 18b, a drainage suction valve 81 including a three-way valve 18b, and a second fluid discharge valve 82 including a two-way valve 18a are provided from above. They are provided in this order toward the lower side, and the flow paths 53 of the respective valves 80 to 82 are formed so as to extend in the vertical direction. A first raw material discharge pipe 61 is connected to the upper end of the first fluid discharge valve 80, and the bypass channel 54 of the first fluid discharge valve 80 is connected to the lower side from the second liquid draining mechanism 50 b. The 2nd raw material discharge pipe 62 which goes to is connected. Further, a vacuum pump 56 as an exhaust mechanism is connected to the bypass flow path 54 of the drainage suction valve 81 through a pressure adjusting unit 55 such as a butterfly valve. A drainage unit 60 is connected to the lower end of the second fluid discharge valve 82. Each of these valves 80 and 81 is configured such that the flow path 53 and the bypass flow path 54 communicate with each other in the open state, and the bypass flow path 54 is closed in the closed state. FIG. 10 schematically shows the third liquid draining mechanism 50c.
A valve V is provided in the first raw material discharge pipe 61 between the third liquid draining mechanism 50c and the first liquid draining mechanism 50a described above. One end sides of drain pipes 64 and 64 for discharging the liquid in the first raw material discharge pipe 61 are connected to the liquid discharge mechanism 50c side and the first liquid discharge mechanism 50a side through a valve V, respectively. The other ends of the drain pipes 64 are connected to the drain tank 65, respectively. In addition, a pressure detector 66 for measuring the pressure in the first raw material discharge pipe 61 is provided in the first raw material discharge pipe 61 on the third liquid draining mechanism 50c side from the drain pipes 64 and 64. Is provided. As will be described later, whether or not the drainage of the raw material supply pipe 15, the cleaning liquid supply pipe 19, the first raw material discharge pipe 61, and the second raw material discharge pipe 62 has been completed based on the detection value of the pressure detection unit 66. (Or whether the inside of each of the raw material supply pipe 15, the cleaning liquid supply pipe 19, the first raw material discharge pipe 61 and the second raw material discharge pipe 62 has been individually drained) is determined by the control unit 1. Is done. Note that the liquid material, the liquid such as the cleaning liquid or the drainage liquid is actually arranged in one place on the lower side (underground) of the reaction tube 12 or the vaporizer 11, for example. In FIG. 1, drawing is performed individually.
This vertical heat treatment apparatus includes a valve opening / closing device 5 that outputs a signal for performing an opening / closing operation of each valve 18 (V), and a computer for controlling the operation of the entire apparatus including the valve opening / closing device 5. And a control unit 1 is provided. In the memory of the control unit 1, a film forming program for supplying a processing gas obtained by vaporizing a liquid material in the vaporizer 11 into the reaction tube 12 and performing a film forming process on the wafer W, and A liquid draining program for draining liquid from the raw material supply pipe 15 is stored when performing maintenance of the apparatus (vaporizer 11) or when replacing the raw material storage unit 14. These programs are installed in the control unit 1 from the storage unit 2 which is a storage medium such as a hard disk, a compact disk, a magneto-optical disk, a memory card, and a flexible disk.
Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. First, the case where the film forming process is performed on the wafer W in the reaction tube 12 will be described. First, an empty wafer boat 21 is positioned below the reaction tube 12, and a plurality of wafers W are stacked on the wafer boat 21 in a shelf shape by a transfer arm (not shown). Next, the wafer boat 21 is inserted into the reaction tube 12 in an airtight manner, the inside of the reaction tube 12 is evacuated by the vacuum pump 27 to set the processing pressure, and the wafer W is heated while rotating the wafer boat 21. Further, the inside of the vaporizer 11 is heated so that the liquid material is vaporized in the vaporizer 11.
Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 11, clean gas is supplied as a carrier gas from the gas storage unit 16 to the heating chamber 11 a of the vaporizer 11, and gas is supplied from the liquid supply gas line 7 into the raw material storage unit 14. Then, the liquid material is supplied to the nozzle 31 by the raw material supply pipe 15 via the first liquid draining mechanism 50a and the second liquid draining mechanism 50b. That is, in the first liquid draining mechanism 50a, as shown in FIG. 12, the valve 71 and the first raw material supply valve 72 are set in an open state, and the first raw material discharge valve 73 is set in a closed state. The Therefore, as shown by a thick line in FIG. 12, the liquid material includes the bypass channel 54, the channel 53 and the first material supply valve between the first material supply valve 72 and the first material discharge valve 73. In a state where the flow path 53 extending from 72 to the upper end of the valve 71 is filled, the flow rises from the upper end of the valve 71 toward the second liquid draining mechanism 50b. In FIG. 12, the open and closed states of the valves 71 to 73 are indicated by circles as “open” or “closed”, and in FIGS. 11 and 12, the fluid (clean gas) The part where the liquid material is flowing is drawn with a thick line. FIG. 11 shows a simplified apparatus. The same applies to the subsequent drawings.
In the second liquid draining mechanism 50b, as shown in FIG. 13, the second raw material supply valve 74 is set in an open state, and the cleaning fluid supply valve 75 and the second raw material discharge valve 76 are set in a closed state. . The liquid material supplied from the first liquid draining mechanism 50a to the second liquid draining mechanism 50b descends from the second raw material supply valve 74 toward the second raw material discharge valve 76, and the second It flows through the liquid supply pipe 41 toward the nozzle 31 through the bypass flow path 54 and the discharge valve V of the raw material discharge valve 76. When the liquid material is sprayed into the vaporizer 11 from the nozzle 31 in this way, the liquid material is vaporized by the heat of a heater (not shown) provided on the inner wall surface of the vaporizer 11, and is taken out together with the carrier gas and the extraction port 32 and the gas injector. It flows into the reaction tube 12 through 23. When the processing gas comes into contact with the surface of the wafer W, the processing gas is thermally decomposed, and a thin film made of, for example, ZrO (zirconium oxide film) is formed on the surface of the wafer W.
Next, when the film forming process is completed, the liquid material to the vaporizer 11 is stopped, that is, for example, the second raw material supply valve 74 is closed and the valve V between the vaporizer 11 and the reaction tube 12 is closed. Then, the inside of the reaction tube 12 is evacuated to discharge the processing gas. Subsequently, an inert gas is supplied into the reaction tube 12 from a purge gas supply source (not shown), and the inside of the reaction tube 12 is returned to the atmosphere. Then, the wafer boat 21 is lowered and the wafer W is unloaded from the wafer boat 21 by a transfer arm (not shown). Thus, after performing batch processing (loading wafer W into wafer boat 21, film formation processing and taking out wafer W from wafer boat 21) a plurality of times, for example, maintenance of vaporizer 11 and film formation species are switched (raw material storage). In the case where the part 14 is replaced with another material), the liquid material described below is drained. This liquid draining method will be described in detail below based on the flowchart of FIG.
<Vaporizer drainage>
First, as shown in FIG. 15, the liquid material is discharged from the second liquid draining mechanism 50 b and the vaporizer 11 with the cleaning liquid. That is, by closing the second raw material supply valve 74, supply of the liquid raw material to the second liquid draining mechanism 50b is stopped (step S1), and the valve V between the vaporizer 11 and the reaction tube 12 is stopped. Is closed and the valve V of the VENT pipe 36 is opened. Further, as shown in FIG. 16, the cleaning fluid supply valve 75 and the cleaning liquid supply valve 78 are opened, and the second raw material discharge valve 76, the gas supply valve 77, and the valve 79 are closed. The liquid raw material remaining in the second liquid draining mechanism 50b is pushed out to the nozzle 31 side by the cleaning liquid supplied from the cleaning liquid supply pipe 19, and along with this cleaning liquid, the clean gas ( Atomized in the vaporizer 11 by the carrier gas). The mixed gas generated by vaporization of the liquid raw material and the cleaning liquid is exhausted toward the vacuum pump 27 via the VENT pipe 36 described above.
Subsequently, as shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, the cleaning liquid supply valve 78 is closed and the gas supply valve 77 is opened, and the second liquid draining mechanism 50 b and vaporization are performed by the clean gas supplied from the gas supply pipe 43. The cleaning liquid remaining in the vessel 11 is discharged to the vacuum pump 27 via the VENT pipe 36. Then, as shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, the valve V and the gas supply valve 77 of the gas supply pipe 42 in the vicinity of the nozzle 31 are closed, and the inside of the second liquid draining mechanism 50b and the inside of the vaporizer 11 are evacuated. To do. At this time, the cleaning fluid supply valve 75 may be opened. Next, the supply of clean gas to the second liquid draining mechanism 50b and the vaporizer 11 (FIGS. 17 and 18), and the evacuation of the second liquid draining mechanism 50b and the vaporizer 11 (FIGS. 19 and 20). ) And 4 times, for example. Thus, the cleaning liquid (or a mixed fluid of the cleaning liquid and the liquid raw material) is removed from the inside of the vaporizer 11 and the vicinity of the vaporizer 11 (the second liquid draining mechanism 50b side and the reaction tube 12 side of the vaporizer 11). .
Next, it is confirmed whether or not the drainage of the vaporizer 11 is completed. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, the valve V of the VENT pipe 36 is closed, and the second raw material discharge valve 76 and the valve 79 are opened. Further, the valve V of the first raw material discharge pipe 61 between the drain pipes 64 and 64 and the valve V of the drain pipe 64 on the third liquid draining mechanism 50c side are closed. Then, in the third drainage mechanism 50c, as shown in FIG. 23, when the first fluid discharge valve 80 and the drainage suction valve 81 are opened and the second fluid discharge valve 82 is closed, the second fluid discharge valve 80 is closed. The inside of the second drainage mechanism 50b and the vaporizer 11 is evacuated through the inside of the second raw material discharge pipe 62 from the drainage mechanism 50b to the third drainage mechanism 50c. Thus, as shown in FIG. 24, the drainage suction valve 81 is closed and a valve (not shown) provided on the first raw material discharge pipe 61 side of the pressure detection unit 66 is opened. read. At this time, if the detected value increases with the passage of time (the degree of vacuum becomes worse), for example, the cleaning liquid remains in the vaporizer 11, and the detected value does not increase. When it settles down, it turns out that the liquid draining in the vaporizer 11 was completed (step S2). Since the liquid raw material and the cleaning liquid do not remain in the vaporizer 11 and in the vicinity of the vaporizer 11 by the above steps, the valve (hand) on the second liquid draining mechanism 50b side of the liquid supply pipe 41 with respect to the flow rate adjustment unit 41a. After the valve (V) is closed, for example, even if the vaporizer 11 is removed, the air tightness in the reaction tube 12 and the second liquid draining mechanism 50b remains maintained, and the liquid raw material and the cleaning liquid do not flow outside. .
<Draining of raw material supply pipe>
Here, as shown in FIG. 25, since the liquid raw material remains in the raw material supply pipe 15, the liquid is drained from the raw material supply pipe 15 as follows. First, the valve V of the supply pipe 14a is closed, and then, as shown in FIG. 26, the second raw material discharge valve 76 in the second liquid draining mechanism 50b is opened. Further, in the third drainage mechanism 50c, as shown in FIG. 27, the first fluid discharge valve 80 and the second fluid discharge valve 82 are opened, and the drainage suction valve 81 is set in a closed state. .
Next, as shown in FIGS. 28 and 29, while supplying clean gas from the gas supply pipe 43 toward the second liquid draining mechanism 50b, the second raw material supply valve 74 in the second liquid draining mechanism 50b, The gas supply valve 77 and the cleaning fluid supply valve 75 are opened, and the cleaning liquid supply valve 78, the valve 79, and the second raw material discharge valve 76 are closed. The clean gas supplied to the gas supply valve 77 is closed because the flow path below the gas supply valve 77 (the discharge valve V in the cleaning liquid supply valve 78, the valve 79, and the branch pipe 44) is closed. The cleaning fluid supply valve 75 is circulated to the upper end side of the cleaning fluid supply valve 75 through the pipe 63 above the 77, and flows toward the second raw material supply valve 74 through the cleaning fluid supply valve 75. Since the second raw material discharge valve 76 and the discharge valve V in the liquid supply pipe 41 are closed, and since the second raw material supply valve 74 is opened, the second raw material supply valve 74 has an upper side. The clean gas that has arrived from the flow passes through the raw material supply pipe 15 to the lower side (the first liquid draining mechanism 50a side) through the bypass flow path 54 of the second raw material supply valve 74. Therefore, for example, the liquid material filled in the bypass flow path 54 and the raw material supply pipe 15 of the second raw material supply valve 74 is pushed back downward by the clean gas.
Then, in the first liquid draining mechanism 50a, as shown in FIG. 30, when the valve 71 and the first raw material discharge valve 73 are opened and the first raw material supply valve 72 is closed, as described above. Thus, the liquid material descending from the raw material supply pipe 15 is discharged to the first raw material discharge pipe 61 on the lower side through the flow path 53 of these valves 71 to 73 due to the pressure of the clean gas. Here, since the first raw material supply valve 72 is closed, the liquid material stays in the bypass flow path 54 of the first raw material supply valve 72, so to speak, a liquid reservoir is formed.
In the third liquid draining mechanism 50c, as described above, the second fluid discharge valve 82 is opened, and the first fluid discharge valve 80 and the drainage suction valve 81 are closed. As shown in FIG. 31, the liquid material pushed out from the extraction mechanism 50 a to the first raw material discharge pipe 61 is discharged to the drainage part 60 through the flow path 53 of these valves 80 to 82. In this way, the liquid material is quickly drained from the upper side to the lower side from the raw material supply pipe 15 between the second liquid draining mechanism 50b and the first liquid draining mechanism 50a without against gravity.
Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 32, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid reservoir 17 to the second liquid draining mechanism 50b via the first liquid draining mechanism 50a. That is, in the first liquid draining mechanism 50a, the open / close states of the valves 71 to 73 are set in the same manner as in FIG. In the second liquid draining mechanism 50b, as shown in FIG. 33, the cleaning liquid supply valve 78 is opened and the gas supply valve 77 is closed. The cleaning liquid reaches the second raw material supply valve 74 from the cleaning liquid supply valve 78 through the upper gas supply valve 77 and the cleaning fluid supply valve 75. Then, the cleaning liquid is discharged to the drainage unit 60 through the raw material supply pipe 15 through the path shown in FIGS. 30 and 31 described above. Therefore, even if a liquid material adheres to the inner wall surface of the raw material supply pipe 15, the inner wall surface is cleaned by the cleaning liquid.
Next, as shown in FIG. 34, the cleaning liquid is discharged from the first liquid draining mechanism 50a and the second liquid draining mechanism 50b. That is, after the supply of the cleaning liquid is stopped (the valve V of the supply pipe 19a is closed), the gas supply valve 77 in the second liquid draining mechanism 50b is opened, and the clean gas is supplied to the second liquid draining mechanism 50b. . As shown in FIG. 35, the clean gas flows downward through the raw material supply pipe 15 and the cleaning liquid supply pipe 19, so that the cleaning liquid in the raw material supply pipe 15 and the cleaning liquid supply pipe 19 flows into the drain 60. Discharged. Here, as shown in FIG. 36, in the first liquid draining mechanism 50a of the raw material supply pipe 15, the first raw material supply valve 72 is kept closed, so that the bypass of the first raw material supply valve 72 is bypassed. The liquid material remains in the flow path 54.
It should be noted that one of the second raw material supply valve 74 and the cleaning liquid supply valve 78 is opened first, and then the one valve is closed and the other valve is opened to supply the raw material supply pipe 15 and the cleaning liquid supply. Clean gas may be supplied to the tube 19 in order. Further, when only the liquid material is drained from the apparatus (the cleaning liquid is left in the apparatus), the cleaning liquid supply pipe 19 may not be drained. Therefore, when the cleaning liquid is left in the cleaning liquid supply pipe 19, the cleaning liquid supply pipe 19 remains filled with the cleaning liquid without evacuating the cleaning liquid supply pipe 19 in the subsequent steps. Become.
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 37, each liquid draining mechanism 50 is evacuated. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 38, in the second liquid draining mechanism 50b, the valves 74, 75, 76, 78 and 79 are opened, and the gas supply valve 77 is closed. As shown in FIG. 39, in the third liquid draining mechanism 50c, the valves 80 and 81 are opened, and the second fluid discharge valve 82 is closed. Therefore, for example, even if a slight amount of cleaning liquid remains inside the raw material supply pipe 15, the cleaning liquid supply pipe 19 and the raw material discharge pipes 61 and 62, the vacuum pump 56 connected to the bypass flow path 54 of the drainage suction valve 81 The inside becomes a vacuum state through the first liquid draining mechanism 50a and the second liquid draining mechanism 50b, and the cleaning liquid volatilizes. The pressure detector 66 detects whether or not the cleaning liquid has been drained (vaporized) from the raw material supply pipe 15, the cleaning liquid supply pipe 19, and the raw material discharge pipes 61 and 62. That is, a valve (not shown) provided on the first raw material discharge pipe 61 side of the pressure detection unit 66 is opened, and the detection value of the pressure detection unit 66 is read. For example, when the drainage suction valve 81 is closed and the detection value increases with the passage of time (the degree of vacuum becomes worse), for example, the cleaning liquid remains in the raw material supply pipe 15. In other words, when the detected value is settled without increasing, the cleaning liquid is discharged. In this way, liquid drainage from the inside of the raw material supply pipe 15, the cleaning liquid supply pipe 19 and the raw material discharge pipes 61 and 62 between the first liquid draining mechanism 50a, the second liquid draining mechanism 50b, and the third liquid draining mechanism 50c is performed. Upon completion, the interior is cleaned (step S3).
<Liquid draining on the raw material storage side>
Next, drainage and cleaning in the supply pipe 14a closer to the raw material reservoir 14 than the first drainage mechanism 50a is performed (step S4). That is, as shown in FIGS. 40 and 41, the valve 73 in the first liquid draining mechanism 50a is closed and the first raw material supply valve 72 is opened. Further, as shown in FIG. 29 described above, the open / close state of each valve 18 (74 to 79) of the second liquid draining mechanism 50b is set. And if the valve | bulb V of the supply pipe | tube 14a by the side of the raw material storage part 14 is open | released, the liquid material which remained in the bypass flow path 54 of the 1st raw material supply valve 72 will be the said raw material storage part 14 side by the pressure of clean gas. Pushed back to.
Then, after the liquid material is pushed back to the raw material reservoir 14 side of the valve V of the supply pipe 14a, the valve V is closed. In the first liquid draining mechanism 50a, the valve 71 is closed and the first raw material discharge valve 73 is opened. Next, as shown in FIG. 42, the valve V of the drain pipe 64 on the first liquid draining mechanism 50a side is opened, and the supply pipe 14a, the first raw material discharge pipe 61, and the drain pipe 64 are connected from the auxiliary storage tank 17a. Then, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the drain tank 65. With this cleaning liquid, the inside of the bypass flow path 54 of the first raw material supply valve 72 is cleaned. 43, one valve V on the vacuum pump 56 side of the two valves V of the drain pipes 64 and 64 is opened, and the valve V on the other side (first liquid draining mechanism 50a side) is opened. close up. Further, the valve V interposed in the first raw material discharge pipe 61 between the drain pipes 64 and 64 is closed. Thus, after the region above the liquid level in the drain tank 65 is evacuated via the vacuum pump 56, as shown in FIG. 44, the valves V are switched as shown in FIG. A clean gas is supplied from the reservoir 16 to the drain tank 65 through the supply pipe 14 a, the first raw material discharge pipe 61 and the drain pipe 64. With this clean gas, as shown in FIG. 45, for example, the cleaning liquid in the bypass flow path 54 of the first raw material supply valve 72 is discharged. Thereafter, the valve V of the drain pipe 64 is closed, and the valve V of the first raw material discharge pipe 61 is opened. Then, the supply of the clean gas to the supply pipe 14a, the first liquid draining mechanism 50a, and the first raw material discharge pipe 61 shown in FIG. 46, and the supply pipe 14a and the first liquid draining mechanism 50a shown in FIG. When the evacuation of the first raw material discharge pipe 61 is repeated a plurality of times, the inside of the supply pipe 14a is cleaned. Also in this case, whether or not the drainage from the first raw material discharge pipe 61 is completed is determined by the detection value detected by the pressure detection unit 66.
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 48, the step of supplying the cleaning liquid from the auxiliary storage tank 17a to the second liquid draining mechanism 50b through the supply pipe 14a and the raw material supply pipe 15 and discharging the cleaning liquid from the second raw material discharge pipe 62. The above-described series of liquid draining steps is completed by repeating the process of evacuating the supply pipe 14a, the raw material supply pipe 15 and the second raw material discharge pipe 62 a plurality of times. Thereafter, the raw material supply pipe 15 and the vaporizer 11 are removed from the apparatus and maintenance of the vaporizer 11 or the like is performed, or the raw material reservoir 14 and the vaporizer 11 for supplying another liquid material are attached to the apparatus. Will do. In the second drainage mechanism 50b, when liquid material or cleaning liquid remains on the discharge valve V side from the valve 79 or the second raw material discharge valve 76, the cleaning liquid or clean gas is on the discharge valve V side. Is supplied to the VENT pipe 36 via the vaporizer 11.
According to the above-described embodiment, when the liquid material is supplied from the raw material reservoir 14 to the upper vaporizer 11 by the raw material supply pipe 15, the first raw material discharge pipe 61 is provided below the raw material supply pipe 15. At the same time, clean gas and cleaning liquid are supplied downward from the upper side of the raw material supply pipe 15. A gas supply valve 77 for supplying clean gas is disposed above the second raw material supply valve 74 and the cleaning liquid supply valve 78 for supplying the liquid material and the cleaning liquid, respectively. Further, in each of the liquid draining mechanisms 50a, 50b, 50c, each valve 18 is arranged so that no liquid pool is formed or the liquid pool is minimized. Therefore, since the liquid material and the cleaning liquid are discharged from the upper side to the lower side without resisting gravity, even if the liquid material is TEMAZ or the like having a specific gravity larger than that of water and hardly volatilizing as described above, the raw material supply The liquid material can be quickly and easily discharged from the tube 15. That is, in the conventional method in which the cleaning gas is supplied to the raw material supply pipe 15 from the lower side to the upper side and the liquid is drained, it takes several days to drain the liquid. Although it may be insufficient (the degree of cleaning is low), in the present invention, the time required for draining the liquid can be shortened to about half, and the cleanliness of the site from which the liquid has been drained can be extremely increased.
Therefore, the operation time (film formation time) of the apparatus can be increased. In addition, when the raw material supply pipe 15 is removed, the liquid material becomes difficult to come into contact with the air or does not come into contact therewith, so that toxic gases such as diethylamine ((C2H5) 2NH) and dimethylamine ((CH3) 2NH) are generated. Can be suppressed. Moreover, since the production | generation of the reaction product by reaction with a liquid material and the water | moisture content in air | atmosphere can be suppressed, obstruction | occlusion in the raw material supply pipe | tube 15 by the said reaction product can be suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the reaction product from adhering to the valve body 52 of the valve 18, and therefore, the valve 18 can have a long life. Also, the amount of clean gas used can be reduced.
Further, the valve 18 is arranged so that when the liquid is drained from the raw material supply pipe 15, the portion where the liquid material of the first liquid draining mechanism 50 a remains is only the bypass flow path 54 of the first raw material supply valve 72. Therefore, it is possible to easily and quickly remove the liquid from the part and clean it.
Further, in the case where the liquid removal in the above-described step S1 is performed in order to perform the maintenance of the vaporizer 11, the conventional method required about ten and several hours for the liquid removal, but in the present invention, it can be shortened to several hours.
In providing the liquid draining mechanism 50 as described above, the valve 18 is arranged in a substantially vertical direction in each liquid draining mechanism 50. In addition, in the first liquid draining mechanism 50a, the bypass channel 54 discharges the first raw material. Since the three-way valve 18b that opens below the valve 73 is used, the area where the liquid material spreads (contacts) can be reduced as compared with the case where the valves 18 are arranged in the horizontal direction. Therefore, the time required for draining and cleaning can be shortened, and the footprint of each draining mechanism 50 can be minimized. Further, as described above, a space for providing the pressure detection unit 66 and the filter 10 can be secured as much as the footprint of the liquid draining mechanism 50 is kept small. Removal (suppression of reaction product generation in the raw material supply pipe 15) can be performed. Therefore, for example, when the vaporizer 11 is removed, the residual liquid (liquid raw material or cleaning liquid) does not leak from the vaporizer 11. Further, when the liquid material and the cleaning liquid are discharged from the first raw material discharge pipe 61 and the second raw material discharge pipe 62, the vacuum pump 56 does not directly evacuate the liquid material and the cleaning liquid. The deterioration (load) of the vacuum pump 56 can be suppressed and a long life can be achieved.
Further, for example, in the second liquid draining mechanism 50b, the liquid material and the cleaning liquid are prevented from facing each other through one valve 18. That is, the cleaning fluid supply valve 75 and the gas supply valve 77 are interposed between the second raw material supply valve 74 to which the liquid material is supplied and the cleaning liquid supply valve 78 to which the cleaning liquid is supplied. Therefore, for example, even if the cleaning liquid slightly leaks to the liquid material side through the cleaning liquid supply valve 78, the reaction between the moisture contained in the cleaning liquid and the liquid material can be suppressed, and the reaction product adheres to the inside of the valve 18. Can be suppressed.
Further, the second drainage mechanism 50b is provided with a second raw material discharge valve 76, and the liquid material in the second drainage mechanism 50b is discharged to the third drainage mechanism 50c. Compared with the case of discharging to the vaporizer 11 side through the nozzle 31, the liquid can be drained quickly. In addition, in discharging the cleaning liquid from the bypass flow path 54 of the first raw material supply valve 72 in FIG. 45 described above, the valve 71 close to the upper side of the first raw material supply valve 72 is closed. The outflow of the cleaning liquid to the raw material supply pipe 15 side can be suppressed. Further, for example, in the conventional valve configuration for discharging the liquid material from the lower side to the upper side, a heater is provided outside the supply pipes 15 and 19 in order to volatilize the cleaning liquid remaining in the raw material supply pipe 15 and the cleaning liquid supply pipe 19. However, in the present invention, it is possible to save space without providing such a heater.
Here, FIG. 49 shows the actual configuration of the vaporizer 11 in the case where the pipes and valves have a conventional connection configuration (configuration in which clean gas is supplied from the lower side to the raw material supply pipe 15) and in the configuration of the present invention. The result of measuring the number of particles adhering to each of the upper, middle, and lower wafers W in the reaction tube 12 when film formation is performed on each wafer W in the reaction tube 12 using the vaporized liquid material. Is shown. From FIG. 49, the number of particles in the present invention is almost the same as the conventional one. That is, it has been found that even if the raw material supply device 13 is provided, there is no adverse effect on the characteristics of the wafer W. In FIG. 49, the same process conditions are set for the prior art and the present invention, and detailed process conditions are omitted.
In addition, when the valve in the conventional configuration and the valve in the configuration of the present invention are used over a long period of time in each configuration, white deposits are seen on the surface of the valve body (diaphragm) in the conventional configuration. This deposit was a Zr—O-based compound. On the other hand, in the configuration of the present invention, almost no deposits were seen on the diaphragm surface. FIG. 50 shows a photograph of an actual image of the diaphragm after use in the present invention and the conventional example, and the name of each valve is written together in the photograph of the present invention. In FIG. 50, in the conventional example, the left photograph shows a valve diaphragm that touches the liquid material, and shows the diaphragm of the valve spaced from the left valve toward the right side toward the flow path through which the cleaning liquid flows from the valve. ing. In the conventional example, white deposits were confirmed in any diaphragm, but in the present invention, deposits were hardly seen in any valve.
Here, the liquid material is discharged from the raw material supply pipe 15 by the clean gas, but may be discharged by the cleaning liquid. That is, after stopping the film forming process, the cleaning liquid may be supplied to the raw material supply pipe 15 from above. In this case, after discharging the liquid material with the cleaning liquid, the cleaning liquid may be discharged with the clean gas, and then the cleaning liquid may be further supplied into the raw material supply pipe 15. Further, when discharging the liquid material with the cleaning liquid in this way, after supplying the cleaning liquid into the raw material supply pipe 15, the inside of the raw material supply pipe 15 is evacuated through the atmosphere in the vaporizer 11 and the reaction pipe 12. Thus, the cleaning liquid remaining in the raw material supply pipe 15 may be volatilized (clean gas may not be supplied).
In the first liquid draining mechanism 50a, the three-way valve 18b in which the bypass channel 54 opens below the first raw material discharge valve 73 is used. However, the second liquid draining mechanism 50b and the third liquid draining mechanism are used. As in 50c, a three-way valve 18b that opens on the side may be used. Further, as the three-way valve 18b of the second and third liquid draining mechanisms 50b and 50c, a three-way valve 18b having the same configuration as the first liquid draining mechanism 50a may be used.
Further, in the above-described example, when the liquid in the raw material supply pipe 15 is drained, the maintenance of the vaporizer 11 and the case where the raw material storage unit 14 is replaced with another material have been described. In the case of replacing (replacement) with the stored raw material storage unit 14, the liquid in the raw material supply pipe 15 is drained. In this case, after the liquid material is drained and cleaned from the raw material supply pipe 15 as described above, the liquid material in the bypass flow path 54 of the first raw material supply valve 72 is cleaned with the clean gas. Push back to raw material reservoir 14. Subsequently, after performing the steps of FIGS. 42 to 47, the raw material reservoir 14 is replaced. Thereafter, the inside of the supply pipe 14a in the atmospheric atmosphere is evacuated by the vacuum pump 56.
Here, in performing the liquid drainage in the vaporizer 11 in the above-described step S1, the flow rates in the second raw material supply valve 74, the cleaning liquid supply valve 78, and the liquid supply pipe 41 are replaced with the method of FIGS. The valves V closer to the nozzle 31 than the adjustment unit 41a are closed, and the gas supply valve 77, the second raw material discharge valve 76, the first fluid discharge valve 80, and the drainage suction valve 81 are opened, and the second The liquid raw material may be discharged together with the clean gas by the vacuum pump 56 through the raw material discharge pipe 62.
In the example described above, the pressure detection unit 66 is provided in the first raw material discharge pipe 61, but this pressure detection unit 66 is replaced with the first raw material discharge pipe 61 and the raw material supply pipe 15 and the second raw material. It may be provided in any one of the discharge pipes 62, or may be provided in at least one of the first raw material discharge pipe 61, the raw material supply pipe 15, and the second raw material discharge pipe 62.
In the example described above, TEMAZ is used as the liquid material. However, other liquid materials such as TEMAH (tetrakisethylmethylaminohafnium), Sr (THD) 2 (strontium bistetramethylheptanedionate) and the like may be used. . As the cleaning liquid, in addition to octane, hexane or alcohol liquid may be used.
Alternatively, two sets of the vaporizer 11 and the raw material supply device 13 may be provided, and different liquid materials may be alternately supplied to the wafer W to form a laminated film. Furthermore, in the above example, the liquid draining mechanisms 50 are provided at four locations, but at least the second liquid draining mechanism 50b may be provided.
Further, in the example described above, the drainage and cleaning of the raw material supply pipe 15 are performed via the control unit 1, but the operator may perform draining and cleaning of these manually. In this case, the operator can open and close the valve opening / closing buttons corresponding to the valves 18 (V) arranged on the operation screen or the operation panel based on the work procedure manual describing the opening / closing order of the valves 18 (V). (Not shown) is pushed and each step described above is advanced.
W Wafer 11 Vaporizer 12 Reaction tube 13 Raw material supply device 14 Raw material storage unit 15 Raw material supply tube 16 Gas storage unit 17 Cleaning liquid storage units 71 to 82 Valve 19 Cleaning liquid supply tube 50 Liquid removal mechanism
Provided at a portion where the raw material supply pipe on the upper end side of the rising pipe, the cleaning liquid supply pipe, and the liquid supply pipe for supplying the liquid raw material to the vaporizer merge, and the flow path communicating between these supply pipes is switched. A second liquid draining mechanism comprising a plurality of valves for,
When discharging the liquid raw material from the raw material supply pipe, the first liquid draining mechanism is operated so that the branch supply pipe is closed and the rising pipe line and the first raw material discharge pipe are in communication with each other. The second liquid draining mechanism is operated so that the liquid supply pipe is closed and the cleaning liquid supply pipe and the raw material supply pipe communicate with each other in order to flow the cleaning liquid into the raw material supply pipe. raw material supply device that.
In the second liquid draining mechanism, a gas supply pipe for supplying a gas that is a cleaning fluid for discharging the liquid raw material in the flow path is further joined.
When supplying the liquid raw material to the vaporizer, in addition to closing the cleaning liquid supply pipe, the gas supply pipe is operated to close,
When the liquid source is discharged from the source supply pipe, the second liquid draining mechanism is configured such that the liquid supply pipe and the cleaning liquid supply pipe are closed and the gas supply pipe and the source supply pipe communicate with each other. 2. The raw material supply according to claim 1, wherein the operation is performed so that the cleaning liquid supply pipe and the raw material supply pipe communicate with each other while the gas supply pipe is closed and the liquid supply pipe is closed. apparatus.
The first liquid draining mechanism includes:
It consists of a three-way valve with three ports, an upper port and two ports each formed at a position lower than the upper port, the lower side of the rising pipe is connected to the upper port, A first raw material supply valve in which the branch supply pipe is connected to one of the ports;
The first raw material supply valve is stacked on the lower side, and one of the two ports is connected to the other port, and the other port is connected to the raw material discharge pipe. A first material discharge valve comprising a two-way valve;
The raw material supply apparatus according to claim 1, comprising:
The second liquid draining mechanism is set at a position where the joining part of the raw material supply pipe is higher than the joining part of the liquid supply pipe, and the cleaning fluid is supplied from above the joining part of the raw material supply pipe. The raw material supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a supply pipe for supplying a cleaning fluid is connected so as to be supplied to a confluence portion of the pipe.
The second liquid draining mechanism includes:
It comprises a three-way valve having three ports, an upper port to which the cleaning fluid is supplied and two ports respectively formed at positions lower than the upper port, and one of the two ports A second raw material supply valve connected to the raw material supply pipe;
5. The raw material supply apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a valve connected to the other port of the second raw material supply valve and configured to supply and disconnect the liquid raw material to the liquid supply pipe.
An evacuation mechanism for evacuating and exhausting the inside of these flow paths in a state where the raw material supply pipe, the first raw material discharge pipe, the first liquid draining mechanism, and the second liquid draining mechanism are in communication with each other; A raw material supply according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , further comprising a pressure detection unit for detecting a pressure in the flow path in order to check a cleaning state in the path. apparatus.
The raw material supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6 ,
A film forming apparatus comprising: a reaction vessel for supplying a processing gas obtained by vaporizing a liquid material in the vaporizer to a substrate housed therein.
JP2010293207A 2010-12-28 2010-12-28 Raw material supply apparatus and film forming apparatus Active JP5573666B2 (en)
JP2010293207A JP5573666B2 (en) 2010-12-28 2010-12-28 Raw material supply apparatus and film forming apparatus
US13/328,252 US9080238B2 (en) 2010-12-28 2011-12-16 Raw material supplying device and film forming apparatus
TW100148748A TWI506151B (en) 2010-12-28 2011-12-27 Raw material supplying device and film forming apparatus
KR1020110143384A KR101463295B1 (en) 2010-12-28 2011-12-27 Raw material supplying device and film forming apparatus
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