Method and Apparatus for Manufacturing Semiconductor Wafer

• US 20090226293A1
• Filed: 06/30/2006
• Published: 09/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sumco Techxiv Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Sumco Techxiv Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Katou, Hirotaka, Matsunaga, Hideyuki, Nasu, Yuichi, Narahara, Kazuhiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,530,801 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 414/804
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/24 Deposition of silicon only
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/52 Controlling or regulating the coating process C23C16/45557, C23C16/279 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 25/105 by irradiation or electric discharge
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 29/06 Silicon
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 35/005 Transport systems
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67115 mainly by radiation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67288 Monitoring of warpage, curvature, damage, defects or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/68742 characterised by a lifting arrangement, e.g. lift pins

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer are provided for improving a quality of the semiconductor wafer, and further, for improving a quality of a semiconductor device manufactured by using the semiconductor wafer, by preventing warping from being generated at a stage of a placing step, at the time of performing heat treatment to a semiconductor wafer substrate. The placing process is performed by a placing means so that a time when a temperature difference between a wafer front surface temperature and a wafer rear surface temperature becomes maximum, and a time when warping is generated in the wafer are prior to a time when the wafer is brought into contact with lift pins or a susceptor (i.e., a time after the temperature is at an upper limit value of an infrared temperature region at 600° C.), and the lift pins are brought into contact with the wafer rear surface.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer, comprising transferring the semiconductor wafer to a heat treatment chamber, placing the semiconductor wafer onto a processing table and performing a heat treatment of the semiconductor wafer, wherein:

the semiconductor wafer transferred to the heat treatment chamber is left standing for a prescribed leaving time to put the semiconductor wafer in a warped state and is placed onto the processing table.

11. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer according to claim 1, wherein:

the semiconductor wafer is placed on the transfer table and transferred to the above of the processing table, and

the processing to place the semiconductor wafer onto the processing table comprises a first processing to lift the semiconductor wafer, which is on the transfer table, by lift pins, a second processing to externally retract the transfer table from the heat treatment chamber and a third processing to move up the processing table or to move down the lift pins to place the semiconductor wafer on the processing table.

2. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer, comprising transferring the semiconductor wafer to a heat treatment chamber, placing the semiconductor wafer onto a processing table and performing a heat treatment of the semiconductor wafer, wherein:

the semiconductor wafer transferred to the heat treatment chamber is left standing for a prescribed leaving time to cause a temperature difference between a front surface temperature and a back surface temperature of the semiconductor wafer reach a maximum value and is placed onto the processing table.

3. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer, comprising transferring the semiconductor wafer to a heat treatment chamber, placing the semiconductor wafer onto a processing table and performing a heat treatment of the semiconductor wafer, wherein:

the semiconductor wafer transferred to the heat treatment chamber is left standing for a leaving time of 20 seconds or more and is placed onto the processing table.

4. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer, comprising transferring the semiconductor wafer to a heat treatment chamber, placing the semiconductor wafer onto a processing table, and performing a heat treatment of the semiconductor wafer by a front surface-side heating means and a back surface-side heating means which are disposed at a front surface side and a back surface side of the semiconductor wafer, wherein:

at least one of three factors, which include a leaving time period between the transfer of the semiconductor wafer to the heat treatment chamber and the placing of the semiconductor wafer onto the processing table, a transferring temperature in the heat treatment chamber at the time when the semiconductor wafer is transferred to the heat treatment chamber and an output ratio between the front surface-side heating means and the back surface-side heating means, is controlled to put the semiconductor wafer in a warped state, and the semiconductor wafer is placed onto the processing table.

5. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer, comprising transferring the semiconductor wafer to a heat treatment chamber, placing the semiconductor wafer onto a processing table, and performing a heat treatment of the semiconductor wafer by a front surface-side heating means and a back surface-side heating means which are disposed at a front surface side and a back surface side of the semiconductor wafer, wherein:

at least one of three factors, which include a leaving time period between the transfer of the semiconductor wafer to the heat treatment chamber and the placing of the semiconductor wafer onto the processing table, a transferring temperature in the heat treatment chamber at the time when the semiconductor wafer is transferred to the heat treatment chamber and an output ratio between the front surface-side heating means and the back surface-side heating means, is controlled to cause a temperature difference between a front surface temperature and a back surface temperature of the semiconductor wafer reach a maximum value, and the semiconductor wafer is placed onto the processing table.

6. An apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer, comprising:

a heat treatment chamber which is provided with a processing table on which the semiconductor wafer is placed,

a transfer means which transfers the semiconductor wafer to the heat treatment chamber,

a placing means which places the semiconductor wafer onto the processing table,

a front surface-side heating means which heats a front surface of the semiconductor wafer,

a back surface-side heating means which heats a back surface of the semiconductor wafer, and

a control means which controls the transfer means and the placing means to leave standing the semiconductor wafer transferred to the heat treatment chamber for a prescribed leaving time period to put the semiconductor wafer in a warped state and to place the semiconductor wafer onto the processing table.

12. The apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer according to claim 6, wherein:

the transfer means transfers the semiconductor wafer, which is on the transfer table, to the above of the processing table, and

the placing process by the placing means comprises a first processing to lift the semiconductor wafer, which is on the transfer table, by lift pins, a second processing to externally retract the transfer table from the heat treatment chamber and a third processing to move up the processing table or to move down the lift pins to place the semiconductor wafer on the processing table.

7. An apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer, comprising:

a heat treatment chamber which is provided with a processing table on which the semiconductor wafer is placed,

a transfer means which transfers the semiconductor wafer to the heat treatment chamber,

a placing means which places the semiconductor wafer onto the processing table,

a front surface-side heating means which heats a front surface of the semiconductor wafer,

a back surface-side heating means which heats a back surface of the semiconductor wafer, and

a control means which controls the transfer means and the placing means to leave standing the semiconductor wafer transferred to the heat treatment chamber for a prescribed leaving time period to cause a temperature difference between a front surface temperature and a back surface temperature of the semiconductor wafer reach a maximum value and to place the semiconductor wafer onto the processing table.

8. An apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer, comprising:

a heat treatment chamber which is provided with a processing table on which the semiconductor wafer is placed,

a transfer means which transfers the semiconductor wafer to the heat treatment chamber,

a placing means which places the semiconductor wafer onto the processing table,

a front surface-side heating means which heats a front surface of the semiconductor wafer,

a back surface-side heating means which heats a back surface of the semiconductor wafer, and

a control means which controls the transfer means and the placing means to leave standing the semiconductor wafer transferred to the heat treatment chamber for a leaving time period of 20 seconds or more and to place the semiconductor wafer onto the processing table.

9. An apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer, comprising:

a heat treatment chamber which is provided with a processing table on which the semiconductor wafer is placed,

a transfer means which transfers the semiconductor wafer to the heat treatment chamber,

a placing means which places the semiconductor wafer onto the processing table,

a front surface-side heating means which heats a front surface of the semiconductor wafer,

a back surface-side heating means which heats a back surface of the semiconductor wafer, and

a control means which controls at least one of three factors, which include a leaving time period between the transfer of the semiconductor wafer to the heat treatment chamber and the placing of the semiconductor wafer onto the processing table, a transferring temperature in the heat treatment chamber at the time when the semiconductor wafer is transferred to the heat treatment chamber, and an output ratio between the front surface-side heating means and the back surface-side heating means, to put the semiconductor wafer in a warped state and to place the semiconductor onto the processing table.

10. An apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer, comprising:

a heat treatment chamber which is provided with a processing table on which the semiconductor wafer is placed,

a transfer means which transfers the semiconductor wafer to the heat treatment chamber,

a placing means which places the semiconductor wafer onto the processing table,

a front surface-side heating means which heats a front surface of the semiconductor wafer,

a back surface-side heating means which heats a back surface of the semiconductor wafer, and

a control means which controls at least one of three factors, which include a leaving time period between the transfer of the semiconductor wafer to the heat treatment chamber and the placing of the semiconductor wafer onto the processing table, a transferring temperature in the heat treatment chamber at the time when the semiconductor wafer is transferred to the heat treatment chamber and an output ratio between the front surface-side heating means and the back surface-side heating means, to cause a temperature difference between a front surface temperature and a back surface temperature of the semiconductor wafer reach a maximum value and to place the semiconductor wafer onto the processing table.