MANUFACTURING METHOD OF A HOLDER OF A BOAT FOR LOADING A SUBSTRATE
A manufacturing method of a holder of the boat for loading a semiconductor substrate includes molding a holder substrate of a pipe shape having inner and outer circumference of a predetermined size in such a manner that a lower portion of the semiconductor substrate is seated thereon, and forming a plurality of holder rings by cutting the holder rings from the holder substrate in such a manner that each holder ring is matched to a disposal interval of the semiconductor substrates in the boat. The manufacture of the holder and the batch type boat are simple by means of the holder ring supported on the supporting rods and the end-effector escapes the supporting rods, so that the pitch interval can be minimized, whereby it can load the compact semiconductor substrate to the boat, the amount of the substrate treatment can be improved and thus the productivity thereof can be improved.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a holder manufacturing method for loading a substrate of a semiconductor manufacturing device, a batch type boat having the holder, a loading/unloading method of a semiconductor substrate using the same, and a semiconductor manufacturing device having the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a semiconductor manufacturing device for treating the semiconductor substrate divides into a batch type including a boat for loading substrates in bulk therein in order to improve the processing capacity and a single wafer type for treating the process one by one in order to extremely decrease the processing time.
In these processes, since the process time is consumed in order to increase or decrease the processing temperature, a semiconductor manufacturing device of the batch type is generally used in the manufacturing process thereof, especially a process of high temperature.
Referring to
Here, the semiconductor substrates 100 located at a cassette 3 mounted on a stage are transferred to the boat 1 through an end-effector 2.
The boat 1 includes the plural boat frames 4 of a pole type, a plurality of supporting grooves (slits) formed along the boat frames 4 at a predetermined interval, and a plurality of holders 7 for loading the semiconductor substrates inserted in the supporting grooves.
At this time, the boat 1 further includes a front opening portion 5 in regard to the working path (drawing in and out) of the end-effector 2 through the boat frame (note
That is, the boat frame 4 occupies a half circle on the circumference thereof and the front opening portion 5 occupies the remaining portion in order to allow the loading/unloading of the semiconductor substrate 100.
Also, the boat 1 further includes a boat cap capable of supporting the lower portion thereof and opening and closing the opening portion of the reaction chamber. The boat 1, in which the loading operation is completed, is putted into the reaction chamber through a lifting up and down device.
Generally, the holder 7 for supporting the semiconductor substrate 100 is mounted on the boat 1.
That is, it is necessary to mount the holder 7 on account of the characteristic of the heat treatment and the large diameter of the semiconductor substrate. Since the transformation of the semiconductor substrate starts at about 750° c. and the temperature of the reaction chamber is beyond the temperature, it is necessary to locally support 0.7 R (Radius) of the semiconductor substrate so as to prevent its fall.
More concretely, the semiconductor process in the reaction chamber includes the heat treatment process. For example, there are a deposition process, a heat treatment process for removing a COP (crystal originated particle), a diffusion process (well drive-in) for diffusing the dopant added to the semiconductor for doping into the semiconductor substrate, a oxide forming process of the semiconductor substrate and a SOI heat treatment process and so on. At this time, the environment of high temperature is required.
The large diameter (about 12 inch) of the semiconductor substrate is positively performed in order to improve the productivity of the semiconductor. Also, the supporting method of the semiconductor substrate is changed in the heat treatment process according to the process of the high temperature and the large aperture.
That is, since the transformation of the semiconductor substrate starts at about 750° c., the local support on the circumference of the wafer in the boat 2 brings about the fall of the semiconductor substrate.
Especially, in the course of the heat treatment process, a slip, which is a crystallization defect of a silicon lattice of the semiconductor substrate, can be more easily occurred on account of the large aperture of the wafer. In order to prevent this problem, the holder is used. The holder supports the lower portion located at 0.7 R (Radius) of the semiconductor substrate thereon so as to prevent its fall.
The material of the holder 7 is made of a ceramic type for example, a silicon carbide (SiC) so as to cope with the environment of high temperature and the chemical environment of the reaction process. Also, a supporting ring 9 for a target-support of the 0.7 R is formed at the supporting panel 8 of a circular plate type similar to the shape of the semiconductor substrate
However, the conventional holder 7 brings about the manufacturing inconvenience on account of the manufacturing difficulty of the holder itself. Also, in order to supplement it, a peripheral device is used. However, there are various problems owing to the complexity of the peripheral device and so on.
As shown in
However, since the manufacturing methods of the conventional holder uses the silicon carbide of a high-price, there is a problem in that the productivity of semiconductor manufacturing device is deteriorated.
Also, the height of the supporting ring 9 is restricted on account of the occupying space of the supporting panel 8 and the supporting ring 9 of the holder.
Especially, where the semiconductor substrate 100 is seated on the holder 7, the holder 7 and semiconductor substrate 100 have one occupying space and it is necessary to consider the pitch of one unit and the working space of the end-effector 2 together.
In the batch type boat, the compact arrangement capable of minimizing the pitch is linked with the productivity (amount of the substrate treatment) of the semiconductor substrate 100.
As shown in
This problem is occurred in the top-edge-grip manner (
In case of the top-edge-grip type, the working space “a” for drawing in and out the end-effector 2 and the height of the supporting ring 9 for the working space of the grip should be ensured.
Accordingly, the total pitch “P” is the sum of the total thickness of the end-effector 2, the working space “a”, the thickness of the semiconductor substrate 100, the thickness of the supporting ring 9 and the thickness of the supporting panel 8 (note
In the meantime, in case of the bottom-lift type using the end-effector 2 of an U-shape, because the end-effector 2 is inserted between the supporting rings 9, the supporting ring 9 should be formed at a height providing the allowing space “a” equal to the total height of the end-effector 2. Accordingly, the pitch “P” is the sum of the lifting height and the thickness of the supporting panel (note
In the aspect of the working speed of the bottom-lift type, since the insertion process to the lower portion of the semiconductor substrate, the lifting process and the drawing-out process are performed in turns, the working speed is quickly and the gain of the pitch can be obtained in comparison with the top-edge-grip type. However, in case of using the silicon carbide so as to cope with the process of high-temperature, there is a problem in that the molding process for ensuring the height of the supporting ring is difficulty.
After all, the holder itself is complicated and the holder 7 having the supporting ring for performing the support of 0.7 R is required in the process of high-temperature for a large-diameter semiconductor, there are problems in that the manufacturing cost is high, the manufacturing process thereof is inconvenient and the productivity thereof is lowered.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a holder manufacturing method for loading a substrate of a semiconductor manufacturing device capable of simply manufacturing the holder.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a batch type boat having the holder, in that the manufacture thereof is simple by means of a holder ring and the holder ring is supported on supporting rods and an end-effector escapes the supporting rods, so that the pitch interval can be minimized, whereby it can load the compact semiconductor substrate to the boat, the amount of the substrate treatment can be improved and thus the productivity thereof can be improved.
Further another object of the present invention is to provide a loading/unloading method of the semiconductor substrate using the batch type boat and a semiconductor manufacturing device having the batch type boat.
To accomplish the objects, the present invention provides a manufacturing method of a holder of a boat for loading a semiconductor substrate comprising the steps of: molding a holder substrate of a pipe shape having inner and outer circumference of a predetermined size in such a manner that a lower portion of the semiconductor substrate is seated thereon; and forming a plurality of holder rings by cutting the holder rings from the holder substrate in such a manner that each holder ring is matched to a disposal interval of the semiconductor substrates in the boat.
To accomplish the objects, the present invention provides a loading/unloading method of a semiconductor substrate comprising the steps of protruding supporting rods from a boat frame of a batch type boat for treating the semiconductor substrate in bulk; supporting holder rings on the supporting rods; supporting a lower portion of the semiconductor substrate on a circular girth of each holder ring; preparing the end-effector for allowing a occupying space of the supporting rod; and loading/unloading the plurality of semiconductor substrates toward the batch type boat having a pitch interval except for a thickness of the supporting rod through the end-effector.
To accomplish the objects, the present invention provides a batch type boat for loading a semiconductor substrate of a semiconductor manufacturing device comprising: a plurality of supporting rods supporting a lower portion of the semiconductor substrate and formed at a boat frame of the boat for loading/unloading the semiconductor substrate; and a plurality of holder rings mounted on the supporting rods.
To accomplish the objects, the present invention provides semiconductor manufacturing device having a batch type boat for mounting and treating a semiconductor substrate in bulk and an end-effector of a robot arm for loading/unloading the semiconductor substrate to the batch type boat comprising: a plurality of holder rings for supporting a lower portion of the semiconductor substrate on a circular girth thereof; a plurality of supporting rods supporting the semiconductor substrate by means of each holder ring and protruded from the boat frame in order to provide the working space of the end-effector, the end-effector for escaping an interference with the supporting rods located at a space between the holder rings vertically adjacent to each other; and the batch type boat having any pitch interval except for a thickness of the supporting rod 16 in order to support the holder ring by means of the supporting rod and the end-effector.
The above as well as the other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
A preferred embodiment of the invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Also,
Firstly, as shown in
A manufacturing method of the holder of the boat for loading the semiconductor substrate 100 includes the steps of forming a holder substrate 10 of a pipe shape having inner and outer circumference of a predetermined size in such a manner that the lower portion of the semiconductor substrate 100 is seated thereon, and forming a plurality of holder rings 12 by cutting the holder rings 12 from the holder substrate 12 in such a manner that each holder ring is matched to a disposal interval of the semiconductor substrates 100 in the boat 20.
Here, as shown in
Also, as shown in
In the holder ring 12 manufactured by the above methods, the lower portion of the semiconductor substrate 100 is supported on the circular girth thereof as described above. Here, with the mounting of the holder ring 12, the manufacturing of the holder is simple and the gain of the pitch thereof is obtained.
A loading/unloading method of the semiconductor substrate 100 using the holder ring 12 according to the present invention includes the steps of protruding supporting rods 16 from a boat frame of the batch type boat 20 for treating the semiconductor substrate 100 in bulk, supporting the holder rings 12 on the supporting rods 16, supporting the 0.7 R lower portion of the semiconductor substrate 100 on the circular girth of each holder ring 12, preparing the end-effector 18 for allowing (escaping) a occupying space of the supporting rod 16 in its planar view and a vertical occupying space (thickness) of the supporting rod 16 having any thickness secured by the supporting of the holder ring 12, and loading/unloading the plurality of semiconductor substrates 100 toward the batch type boat 12 having a pitch interval except for the thickness of the supporting rod 16 through the end-effector 18.
As shown in
As shown in
Also, as shown in
Moreover, a semiconductor manufacturing device having the batch type boat 20 for mounting and treating the semiconductor substrate 100 in bulk and the end-effector 18 of a robot arm for loading/unloading the semiconductor substrate 20 to the batch type boat 20 comprises the holder rings 12 for supporting the lower portion of the semiconductor substrate 100 on the circular girth thereof, the supporting rods 16 supporting the semiconductor substrate 100 by means of each holder ring 12 and protruded from the boat frame 22 in order to provide the working space of the end-effector 18, the end-effector 18 for escaping the interference with the supporting rods 16 located at a space between the holder ring 12 vertically adjacent to each other, and the batch type boat 20 having any pitch interval except for the thickness of the supporting rod 16 in order to support the holder ring by means of the supporting rod 16 and the end-effector 18.
As shown in
Here, the holder ring 12 is divided equally at an angle of 120 degrees to support the holder ring 12 on the supporting rods 16 by three spots.
That is, the supporting rods 16 are protruded from the boat frame 22 toward the three spots of the lower portion of the circumference of each holder ring 12 divided equally at an angle of 120 degrees. Accordingly, where the semiconductor substrate 100 is drawn out and in, an opening portion 28 is formed in such a manner that the interval between two spots protruded from both side of the boat frame 22 having the front opening portion 5 is larger than the width of the end-effector in regard to the working path thereof, so that the working can be easily performed.
As shown in
Also, a pair of the boat frames 22 is formed at the extension line of the working path of the end-effector 18 and a pair of the supporting rods 16 is penetrated through the inner circumference of the holder ring 12 at the boat frames 22.
Here, the holder ring 12, the boat frame 22 and the supporting rod 16 are made of the silicon carbide or its equivalents.
In the meantime, the holder ring 12, the boat frame 22 and the supporting rod 16 can be made of quartz. Also, the present invention may be applied to the semiconductor manufacturing device except for a process of a high temperature on account of the manufacturing convenience and the gain of the pitch thereof.
As described above, the present invention is provided to a simple semiconductor manufacturing method and a device thereof in that the capacity of the substrate treatment is improved and the manufacturing method is simple by means of the batch type boat having a compact pitch interval and a simple holder.
Accordingly, the holder according to the present invention having supporting rings integrally molded therein and supporting 0.7 R of the semiconductor substrate 100 includes the holder rings 12 having only supporting ring to the exclusion of the supporting panel, the boat 20 for supporting the holder rings 12 therein, and the supporting rods 16 having no effect on the pitch interval, whereby ensuring the compact pitch interval.
The present invention is divided into two embodiments according to the supporting manner of the holder ring 12 through the supporting rod 16 and the structure of the end-effector 18 corresponding to the holder ring 12. Firstly, the holder ring 12 according to one embodiment of the present invention is manufactured by the manufacturing method of
Also,
Accordingly, since the holder rings 12 are cut from the holder substrate 10 of the pipe shape, the separate molding instrument for individually manufacturing the conventional holder is unnecessary. Also, because the conventional process such as the cutting molding and so on is deleted, the productivity of the holder can be maximized.
According to the providing of the holder ring 12, the plurality of supporting rods 16 for supporting the lower portion of the semiconductor substrate 100 is formed at the boat frame 22 of the boat 20 for loading/unloading the semiconductor substrate 100 and the boat 20 for loading the semiconductor substrate 10 of the batch type semiconductor manufacturing device and having the holder rings 12 is provided.
Concretely, the function of the supporting panel of the conventional holder is performed by the boat 20 of the present invention. On this account, the holder rings 12 are arranged at the boat through the supporting rods 16.
That is, the supporting rods 16 are mounted on the boat frame 22 of the boat 20 and protruded toward the inside of the boat 20 owing to the inside disposal of the holder ring 12 in the boat 20.
Also, a seating groove 30 for seating the holder ring 12 is formed at the upper end of the supporting rod 16. That is, the holder ring 12 is inserted into the seating groove 30 to ensure the supporting location (note
The supporting rod 16 of the present invention is divided into two embodiments according to the supporting manner.
As shown in
Here, the supporting rods 16 are protruded from the boat frame 22 and the lower portion of the circumference of each holder ring 12 is divided equally and supported thereon.
The boat frame 22 is formed at the semi-circumference in order to form the front opening portion 5 as described above. Here, when three supporting rods 16 are protruded in the central direction, since the holder ring 12 is supported on the supporting rods by three spots in the semi-circumference thereof, the support of the holder ring 12 can be unstable.
Accordingly, both supporting rods 16 protruded from the boat frame 22 located at the front opening portion are slanted radially and divided equally at an angle of 120 degrees from the other supporting rod 16 located at the center line of the working path, in order to stably support the holder ring 12.
Accordingly, the holder ring 12 can be stably supported on the three supporting rods.
By means of the supporting rods 16 and the holder ring 12, the lower space of the semiconductor substrate 100 is closed and the upper space of the semiconductor substrate 100 except for the supporting rods 16 is opened to outside.
Concretely, the outer space of the holder ring 12 is occupied by the two supporting rods 16 and is interfered by one protruded supporting rod 16 at the center line in regard to the drawing out and in path in its planar view.
Therefore, it is necessary to adopt the end-effector 18 of the top-edge-grip type. The end-effector 18 of the top-edge-grip type has the width for inserting between two supporting rods 16 protruded on both sides in regard to the working path and the escape groove 24 for receiving the remaining one supporting rod 16 protruded in the inner direction in regard to the working path and gripping the semiconductor substrate 100.
By means of the supporting rods 16 and the end-effector 18 of the top-edge-grip type, it is unnecessary to consider the thickness of the supporting rod 16 as well as ensure the height (thickness) of the holder ring for gripping the semiconductor substrate 100 on the supporting rods 16.
That is, as shown in
Also, when the grip of the end-effector 18 goes down, it can escape the interference with the supporting rod 16 owing to the escape groove 24, thereby minimizing the thickness of the holder ring 12. Accordingly, the pitch interval is determined by the minimized thickness (about 1 mm: including insertion thickness of the seating groove 30), the thickness (about 1 mm) of the semiconductor substrate 100 and the working space (about 3.5 mm) of the end-effector 18.
Here, in a case that the end-effector 18 does not escape the supporting rod 16, it is approximately doubled in pitch. For example, in order to ensure its strength, since the supporting rod 16 is protruded from the supporting frame occupying the most external angle of the boat 20 to the lower portion of the holder ring 12 supporting 0.7 R thereof, the predetermined thickness (about 4-5 mm) for supporting and the added height of the holder ring 12 for working space of the grip are necessary.
Also, the supporting panel and the holder having the supporting ring are applied in the same manner as described above.
Accordingly, it can be seen that the difference can be surely occurred in productivity in the reaction chambers having the same working space according to yes or no of the escape of the occupying space of the supporting rod 16.
In the meantime,
That is, the pair of the supporting rods 16 is penetrated through the inner circumference of the holder ring 12 at the lower portion thereof in the direction of the working path of the end-effector 18, so that the holder ring 12 is supported on the supporting rods 16 by four spots.
Preferably, it inscribes a regular square in the central circumference of the holder ring 12, so that the outside of the holder ring 12 is open to the working space of the end-effector 18.
Accordingly, the holder ring 12 is stably supported on the supporting rods 16 and it can obtain more rapid loading/unloading of the semiconductor substrate 100 and the gain of pitch by means of the end-effector of the bottom-lift type.
The end-effector 18 of the bottom-lift type has the holder ring receiving groove 26 of a U-shape for receiving the holder ring 12, so that it is unnecessary to consider the thickness of the supporting rod 16 as the pitch thereof.
That is, as shown in
Moreover, since the grip protruded down as in the end-effector 18 of the top-edge-grip type does not exist, the gain of the pitch is larger than that of one embodiment of the present invention. Furthermore, because the working time of the grip is unnecessary in the course of the loading/unloading, the working speed can be quickly.
Here, since the holder ring 12 is supported on the supporting rods 16 by four spots, not three spots, the processing details of the supporting rod 16 is required.
Accordingly, it considers the thickness of the holder ring 12, the thickness of the semiconductor substrate 100 and the working space of the end-effector between the holder rings 12 as the pitch and the thickness of the holder ring 12 for supporting the semiconductor substrate 100 can be minimized, thereby obtaining a plenty of holder rings from one holder substrate and a compact arrangement.
As can be seen from the foregoing, in the holder manufacturing method for loading the substrate of the semiconductor manufacturing device, the batch type boat having the holder, a loading/unloading method of a semiconductor substrate using the same, and a semiconductor manufacturing device having the same, there are effects in that the manufacture of the holder and the batch type boat are simple by means of the holder ring, the holder ring is supported on supporting rods and the end-effector escapes the supporting rods, so that the pitch interval can be minimized, whereby it can load the compact semiconductor substrate to the boat, the amount of the substrate treatment can be improved and thus the productivity thereof can be improved.
While this invention has been described in connection with what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments and the drawings, but, on the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and variations within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1-15. (canceled)
16. A manufacturing method of a holder of a boat for loading a semiconductor substrate comprising the steps of:
- molding a holder substrate of a pipe shape having inner and outer circumference of a predetermined size in such a manner that a lower portion of the semiconductor substrate is seated thereon; and
- forming a plurality of holder rings by cutting the holder rings from the holder substrate in such a manner that each holder ring is matched to a disposal interval of the semiconductor substrates in the boat.
17. A manufacturing method as claimed in claim 16, wherein the holder substrate of the pipe shape is powder-molded through a silicon carbide powder and a silicon carbide is coated on the cut holder rings.
18. A manufacturing method as claimed in claim 16, wherein the holder substrate of the pipe shape is molded by coating a silicon carbide on a graphite molding rod of a pipe shape and the graphite molding rod is removed from the holder substrate and then, the holder substrate is cut to manufacture the holder rings.
Type: Application
Filed: May 13, 2011
Publication Date: Sep 8, 2011
Inventors: Taek Young Jang (Suwon-si), Byoung II Lee (Seongnam-si)
Application Number: 13/107,691
International Classification: B05D 1/12 (20060101); B29D 23/00 (20060101);