Substrate processing apparatus, substrate processing method and storage medium
First Claim
1. A substrate processing apparatus for performing a predetermined substrate process on a plurality of target substrates under a vacuum atmosphere, comprising:
- a plurality of processing parts installed within a single chamber and configured to perform the substrate process on the plurality of target substrates, respectively, each of the plurality of processing parts including a substrate mounting table on which one of the plurality of target substrates is mounted, a showerhead facing the substrate mounting table, and a cylindrical inner wall surrounding the substrate mounting table and the showerhead so as to define a process space located between the substrate mounting table and the showerhead;
a gas supply mechanism positioned outside the single chamber and configured to separately supply a processing gas and a pressure control gas to the plurality of processing parts, the gas supply mechanism including a processing gas supply pipe and a pressure control gas supply pipe which are connected to the showerhead of each of the plurality of processing parts, and each of the processing gas supply pipe and the pressure control gas supply pipe including flow rate controllers and on-off valves;
a single exhaust mechanism configured to collectively exhaust the processing gas and the pressure control gas within the plurality of processing parts, the single exhaust mechanism including an exhaust pipe connecting an exhaust port formed in a bottom portion of the single chamber with a vacuum pump via an automatic pressure control valve; and
a control part as a process controller configured to control the gas supply mechanism and the single exhaust mechanism,wherein the control part performs a control to;
while the inside of the plurality of processing parts are collectively exhausted by the single exhaust mechanism,supply the pressure control gas into the plurality of processing parts such that the internal pressure of the plurality of processing parts is stabilized to have the same level of pressure;
when the internal pressure of the plurality of processing parts is stabilized to have the same level of pressure, start supply of the processing gas into the plurality of processing parts, and supply the pressure control gas into the plurality of processing parts at a first flow rate, such that the predetermined substrate process is performed in the plurality of processing parts, the processing gas and the pressure control gas being different from each other; and
when the predetermined substrate process is terminated in at least one of the plurality of processing parts, stop the supply of the processing gas into the at least one of the plurality of processing parts, and supply the pressure control gas into the at least one of the plurality of processing parts at a second flow rate that is different from the first flow rate, while the processing gas continues to be supplied into the remaining of the plurality of processing parts and the pressure control gas continues to be supplied into the remaining of the plurality of processing parts at the first flow rate,wherein the first flow rate and the second flow rate are non-zero and set such that a difference in internal pressure among the plurality of processing parts is prevented from occurring due to the stop of the supply of the processing gas.
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Accused Products
Abstract
There is provided a substrate processing apparatus of performing a predetermined substrate process on a plurality of target substrates under a vacuum atmosphere, including: a plurality of processing parts each configured to perform the substrate process on each of the plurality of target substrates; a gas supply mechanism configured to supply a processing gas to each of the plurality of processing parts; a single exhaust mechanism configured to exhaust the processing gas within the plurality of processing parts; and a control part configured to control the single exhaust mechanism to collectively exhaust the processing gas within the plurality of processing parts, and control the gas supply mechanism to separately supply the processing gas into each of the plurality of processing parts such that a difference between internal pressures of the plurality of processing parts is prevented.
11 Citations
10 Claims
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1. A substrate processing apparatus for performing a predetermined substrate process on a plurality of target substrates under a vacuum atmosphere, comprising:
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a plurality of processing parts installed within a single chamber and configured to perform the substrate process on the plurality of target substrates, respectively, each of the plurality of processing parts including a substrate mounting table on which one of the plurality of target substrates is mounted, a showerhead facing the substrate mounting table, and a cylindrical inner wall surrounding the substrate mounting table and the showerhead so as to define a process space located between the substrate mounting table and the showerhead; a gas supply mechanism positioned outside the single chamber and configured to separately supply a processing gas and a pressure control gas to the plurality of processing parts, the gas supply mechanism including a processing gas supply pipe and a pressure control gas supply pipe which are connected to the showerhead of each of the plurality of processing parts, and each of the processing gas supply pipe and the pressure control gas supply pipe including flow rate controllers and on-off valves; a single exhaust mechanism configured to collectively exhaust the processing gas and the pressure control gas within the plurality of processing parts, the single exhaust mechanism including an exhaust pipe connecting an exhaust port formed in a bottom portion of the single chamber with a vacuum pump via an automatic pressure control valve; and a control part as a process controller configured to control the gas supply mechanism and the single exhaust mechanism, wherein the control part performs a control to; while the inside of the plurality of processing parts are collectively exhausted by the single exhaust mechanism, supply the pressure control gas into the plurality of processing parts such that the internal pressure of the plurality of processing parts is stabilized to have the same level of pressure; when the internal pressure of the plurality of processing parts is stabilized to have the same level of pressure, start supply of the processing gas into the plurality of processing parts, and supply the pressure control gas into the plurality of processing parts at a first flow rate, such that the predetermined substrate process is performed in the plurality of processing parts, the processing gas and the pressure control gas being different from each other; and when the predetermined substrate process is terminated in at least one of the plurality of processing parts, stop the supply of the processing gas into the at least one of the plurality of processing parts, and supply the pressure control gas into the at least one of the plurality of processing parts at a second flow rate that is different from the first flow rate, while the processing gas continues to be supplied into the remaining of the plurality of processing parts and the pressure control gas continues to be supplied into the remaining of the plurality of processing parts at the first flow rate, wherein the first flow rate and the second flow rate are non-zero and set such that a difference in internal pressure among the plurality of processing parts is prevented from occurring due to the stop of the supply of the processing gas. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification