THERMAL PROCESSING APPARATUS AND THERMAL PROCESSING METHOD FOR HEATING SUBSTRATE BY LIGHT IRRADIATION

• US 20140161429A1
• Filed: 11/15/2013
• Published: 06/12/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: YOKOUCHI, Kenichi, NISHIDE, Nobuhiko
• Granted Patent: US 9,831,108 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 392/416
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67115 mainly by radiation

Abstract

A susceptor that holds a semiconductor wafer placed thereon is capable of moving up and down inside a chamber. For preheating with a halogen lamp, the susceptor moves to a preheating position. The preheating position is a height of the susceptor that achieves the most uniform in-plane illumination distribution of light emitted from the halogen lamp and applied to the semiconductor wafer. After the preheating is finished, the susceptor moves to a flash heating position for irradiation with a flash from a flash lamp. The flash heating position is a height of the susceptor that achieves the most uniform in-plane illumination distribution of a flash emitted from the flash lamp and applied to the semiconductor wafer.

Claims

1. A thermal processing apparatus for heating a substrate by irradiating the substrate with light, comprising:

a chamber that houses a substrate;

a susceptor that holds the substrate placed thereon inside said chamber;

a halogen lamp that preheats the substrate held on said susceptor to a given preheating temperature by irradiating one surface of the substrate with light;

a flash lamp that irradiates an opposite surface of the preheated substrate with a flash;

an up-and-down driving unit that moves said susceptor up and down; and

an up-and-down controller that controls said up-and-down driving unit to move said susceptor holding the substrate to a first position for preheating with said halogen lamp and to move said susceptor to a second position for irradiation with a flash from said flash lamp.

2. The thermal processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said up-and-down controller is configured to control said up-and-down driving unit to move said susceptor back and forth within a certain range covering said first position.

3. The thermal processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transfer pin at a fixed height, the transfer pin transferring and receiving a substrate to and from said susceptor in response to moving up and down of said susceptor.

4. The thermal processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a tilting mechanism that tilts said susceptor relative to a horizontal plane.

5. The thermal processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a rotating mechanism that rotates said susceptor.

6. The thermal processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a buffering mechanism that absorbs an impact on said susceptor.

7. A thermal processing method for heating a substrate by irradiating the substrate with light, comprising the steps of:

(a) moving a susceptor holding a substrate placed thereon up and down inside a chamber to a first position;

(b) preheating the substrate held on said susceptor to a given preheating temperature by irradiating one surface of the substrate with light emitted from a halogen lamp;

(c) moving said susceptor up and down to a second position, the step (c) being performed after said step (b); and

(d) irradiating an opposite surface of the preheated substrate with a flash emitted from a flash lamp.

8. The thermal processing method according to claim 7, wherein in said step (b), said susceptor is moved back and forth within a certain range covering said first position.

9. The thermal processing method according to claim 7, wherein in said step (b), said susceptor is tilted relative to a horizontal plane.

10. The thermal processing method according to claim 7, wherein in said step (b), said susceptor is rotated.