Method and apparatus for manufacturing semiconductor wafer

• US 8,530,801 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2006
• Issued: 09/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sumco Techxiv Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Sumco Techxiv Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Nasu, Yuichi, Katou, Hirotaka, Narahara, Kazuhiro, Matsunaga, Hideyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): McAllister, Steven B
• Assistant Examiner(s): BARGERO, JOHN E
• Application Number:
  US11/922,997
• Publication Number:
  US 20090226293A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,629 Days
• Field of Search: 432/239, 432/241, 414/217
• US Class Current: 219/536
• 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. An apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer, comprising:

a heat treatment chamber which is provided with a processing table on which a wafer substrate is placed, a transfer means having a surface which transfers the wafer substrate to the heat treatment chamber,

a placing means which places the wafer substrate transferred by transfer means onto the processing table,

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

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

an automated control means which controls the transfer means to transfer the wafer substrate to a location suspended on the surface above the processing table in the heat treatment chamber and to suspend the wafer substrate on the surface above the processing table for a predetermined time period until the wafer substrate is warped, and

a placing control means which controls the placing means to place the warped wafer substrate onto the processing table by the placing means, the wafer substrate being warped from being suspended above the processing table by the transfer means for the predetermined time period.

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

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

a transfer means with a surface which transfers the wafer substrate to the heat treatment chamber,

a placing means which places the wafer substrate transferred by the transfer means onto the processing table,

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

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

an automated transfer control means which controls the transfer means to transfer the wafer substrate on the surface above the processing table in the heat treatment chamber and to suspend the wafer substrate above the processing table for a predetermined time period until the wafer substrate is warped, and

a placing control means which controls the placing means to place the warped wafer substrate onto the processing table by the placing means, the wafer substrate being warped from being suspended on the surface above the processing table by the transfer means for the predetermined time period that causes a temperature difference between a front surface temperature and a back surface temperature of the wafer substrate to reach a maximum value.

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

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

a transfer means having a surface which transfers the wafer substrate to the heat treatment chamber

a placing means which places the wafer substrate transferred by the transfer means onto the processing table,

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

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

an automated transfer control means which controls the transfer means to transfer the wafer substrate on the surface above the processing table in the heat treatment chamber and to suspend the wafer substrate on the surface above the processing table for a predetermined time period of 20 seconds or more until the wafer substrate is warped, and

a placing control means which controls the placing means to place the wafer substrate onto the processing table by the placing means, the wafer substrate being warped as having been suspended above the processing table by the transfer means

4. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer, comprising transferring a wafer substrate to a heat treatment chamber by a transfer means having a surface and placing by a placing means the wafer substrate transferred to the heat treatment chamber onto a processing table, for heat-treating the wafer substrate, comprising:

transferring, by the transfer means, the wafer substrate on the surface above the processing table in the heat treatment chamber;

suspending the wafer substrate, by the transfer means, on the surface above the processing table for a prescribed time period to cause a temperature difference between a front surface temperature and a back surface temperature of the wafer substrate to reach a maximum value;

warping the substrate due to the maximum temperature difference; and

placing, by the placing means, the wafer substrate onto the processing table after having been put into a warped state.

5. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer, in which a wafer substrate is heat-treated in a heat treatment chamber, comprising:

a step of transferring the wafer substrate to above a processing table in the heat treatment chamber by a transfer means and suspending the wafer substrate, by the transfer means on a surface above the processing table for a prescribed time period;

a step of irradiating infrared rays in an infrared transmitting temperature region onto a front surface side and a back surface side of the wafer substrate which is suspended, by the transfer means on a surface above the processing table, respectively by a front surface heating means and a back surface heating means;

a step of causing radiant heat via the heat treatment chamber by irradiating the infrared rays, applying the radiant heat of the wafer substrate, radiating on the back surface of the wafer substrate via the processing table the infrared ray that has reached the processing table among the infrared rays that have been irradiated by the front surface means and that have transmitted through the wafer substrate and causing the infrared rays from the front surface heating and the back surface heating means to be heat-absorbed by the processing table;

a step of causing a temperature difference between a front surface temperature and a back surface temperature of the wafer substrate, which is suspended by the transfer means on a surface above the processing table to reach a maximum value to thereby put the wafer substrate suspended by the transfer means in a warped state; and

a step of placing the wafer substrate after having been put into the warped state onto the processing table by the placing means.

6. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer, which a wafer substrate is heat-treated in a heat treatment chamber, comprising:

a step of transferring the wafer substrate to a transfer table on a surface above a processing table in the heat treatment chamber by the transfer table, the transfer table surface being made of a material which allows infrared rays of short wavelength in the infrared transmitting temperature region and suspending the wafer substrate on the transfer table surface, by the transfer means above the processing table for a prescribed time period;

a step of irradiating the infrared rays in the infrared transmitting temperature region onto a front surface side and a back surface side of the wafer substrate which is suspended on the transfer table above the processing table, respectively by a front surface heating means and a back surface heating means;

a step of causing radiant heat via the heat treatment chamber by irradiating the infrared rays, applying the radiant heat to the wafer substrate, radiating on the back surface of the wafer substrate via the processing table the infrared ray that has reached the processing table among the infrared rays that have been irradiated by the front surface means and that have transmitted through the wafer substrate and causing the infrared rays from the front surface heating and the back surface heating means to be heat-absorbed by the processing table;

a step of causing a temperature difference between a front surface temperature and a back surface temperature of the wafer substrate suspended by the transfer means above the processing table to reach a maximum value to thereby put the wafer substrate suspended on the transfer table surface in a warped state; and

a step of placing the wafer substrate after having been put into the warped state onto the processing table by the placing means.