US-12618142-B2 - Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method

US12618142B2US 12618142 B2US12618142 B2US 12618142B2US-12618142-B2

Abstract

A substrate processing apparatus includes: a tray provided in a vacuum processing container and having a recess that accommodates a target made of a low-melting-point material; a refrigerator that cools the tray; a substrate holder that holds a substrate; a reversal driver that reverses the position of the substrate holder upside down; and a rotation driver that rotates the substrate holder in a circumferential direction of the substrate.

Inventors

Tatsuo Hatano
Naoki Watanabe

Assignees

TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20221202
Priority Date: 20211214

Claims (15)

1 . A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a tray provided in a vacuum processing container and having a recess that accommodates a first target; a first magnet disposed on a back surface of the tray; a target holder provided in the vacuum processing container, the target holder configured to hold a second target; a second magnet disposed on a back surface of the target holder; a magnet scanner configured to reciprocate the second magnet such that when the second target is determined to be sputtered, a position at which sputtered particles are emitted can be changed by reciprocating the second magnet; a refrigerator configured to cool the tray via an insulator positioned between the tray and a heat transfer member such that the first target is solidified; a first heater configured to heat the tray; a substrate holder configured to hold a substrate; a reversal driver configured to reverse a position of the substrate holder upside down; a rotation driver configured to rotate the substrate holder in a circumferential direction of the substrate; and a shielding plate having an opening, a controller configured to: heat the tray, via the first heater, such that a temperature is maintained at which the first target enters a liquid state; after the first target in a liquid state is introduced into the recess of the tray, evacuate an inside of the vacuum processing container; cool the first target, via the refrigerator, to a temperature sufficiently lower than a melting point of the first target; adsorb the substrate onto the substrate holder; rotate the substrate holder, via the reversal driver, to reverse the substrate holder upside down; rotate the shielding plate such that the opening is positioned facing the second target introduce a sputtering gas into the vacuum processing container and apply a voltage to the target holder to sputter the second target; rotate the shielding plate such that the opening is positioned facing the first target; introduce the sputtering gas into the vacuum processing container and apply a voltage to the tray to sputter the first target; wherein the shielding plate is configured to rotate such that when the opening of the shielding plate is positioned facing the first target, the second target is covered by the shielding plate, and when the opening of the shielding plate is positioned facing the second target, the first target is covered by the shielding plate, wherein the tray is provided to face upward, and the target holder is provided to be oblique with respect to a rotation axis of the substrate holder rotating in the circumferential direction.
2 . The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate holder includes an electrostatic chuck that adsorbs the substrate.
3 . The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate holder includes a second heater that heats the substrate.
4 . The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the recess of the tray is partitioned into a plurality of sections.
5 . The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: a gas supply configured to supply a gas into the vacuum processing container; and a power supply configured to apply a voltage to the tray.
6 . The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first target is Ga.
7 . The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the substrate holder includes a second heater that heats the substrate.
8 . The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the recess of the tray is partitioned into a plurality of sections.
9 . The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising: a gas supply configured to supply a gas into the vacuum processing container; and a power supply configured to apply a voltage to the tray.
10 . The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the first target is Ga.
11 . A substrate processing method comprising: providing a substrate processing apparatus including: a tray provided in a vacuum processing container and having a recess that accommodates a first target, a first magnet disposed on a back surface of the tray; a target holder provided in the vacuum processing container, the target holder configured to hold a second target, a second magnet disposed on a back surface of the target holder; a magnet scanner configured to reciprocate the second magnet such that when the second target is determined to be sputtered, a position at which sputtered particles are emitted can be changed by reciprocating the second magnet, a refrigerator configured to cool the tray via an insulator positioned between the tray and a heat transfer member such that the first target is solidified, a substrate holder configured to hold a substrate, a first heater configured to heat the tray, a reversal driver configured to reverse a position of the substrate holder upside down, a rotation driver configured to rotate the substrate holder in a circumferential direction of the substrate, and a shielding plate having an opening, wherein the shielding plate is configured to rotate such that when the opening of the shielding plate is positioned facing the first target, the second target is covered by the shielding plate, and when the opening of the shielding plate is positioned facing the second target, the first target is covered by the shielding plate, wherein the tray is provided to face upward, and the target holder is provided to be holder rotating in the oblique with respect to a rotation axis of the substrate circumferential direction; and forming a film on the substrate by sputtering the first target in a state where the first target is cooled by the refrigerator.
12 . The substrate processing method according to claim 11 , further comprising: heating the tray, via the first heater, such that a temperature is maintained at which the first target enters a liquid state; introducing the first target in a liquid state into the recess of the tray; evacuating an inside of the vacuum processing container to degas the first target in the liquid state; cooling the tray to solidify the first target; adsorbing the substrate onto the substrate holder; rotating the substrate holder, via the reversal driver, to reverse the substrate holder upside down; rotating the shielding plate such that the opening is positioned facing the second target; applying a voltage to the tray such that the first target is sputtered in a solid state; sputtering the second target; rotating the shielding plate such that the opening is positioned facing the first target; and sputtering the first target.
13 . The substrate processing method according to claim 11 , further comprising: liquefying the first target accommodated in the recess of the tray; and solidifying the first target accommodated in the recess of the tray.
14 . The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to: after the first target is sputtered, liquefy the first target by stopping the refrigerator and heating the tray via the first heater; and solidify the first target by cooling the first target via the refrigerator.
15 . The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the second target is a conductive material or a dielectric material.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is based on and claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-202854, filed on Dec. 14, 2021, with the Japan Patent Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method. BACKGROUND Japanese Patent No. 4979442 discloses a method of manufacturing a Ga sputtering target by pouring Ga or Ga alloy in a liquid state into a backing plate to obtain a Ga-holding backing plate, then, heat-treating the Ga-holding backing plate in a reduced pressure state or a hydrogen gas atmosphere, and then, cooling the Ga-holding backing plate until the Ga or Ga alloy becomes a solid state. SUMMARY According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a substrate processing apparatus including: a tray provided in a vacuum processing container and having a recess that accommodates a target made of a low-melting-point material; a refrigerator that cools the tray; a substrate holder that holds a substrate; a reversal driver that reverses a position of the substrate holder upside down; and a rotation driver that rotates the substrate holder in a circumferential direction of the substrate. The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an example of a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus. FIG. 2 is an example of a tray when viewed from above. FIGS. 3A to 3D are views illustrating an example of a film forming process using the substrate processing apparatus. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a target introducing process in the substrate processing apparatus. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a target erosion recovering process in the substrate processing apparatus. DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here. Hereinafter, embodiments for implementing the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the respective drawings, the same components may be denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions thereof may be omitted. (Substrate Processing Apparatus 1) A substrate processing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is an example of a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1. The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a processing chamber 10, a substrate holding unit 20, sputtered particle emitting units 30 and 40, a shielding plate 50, and a control unit 60. The substrate processing apparatus 1 is, for example, a physical vapor deposition (PVD) apparatus, and is a sputtering apparatus which forms a film by adhering sputtered particles (film formation atoms) emitted from the sputtered particle emitting units 30 and 40 to the surface of a substrate W such as a semiconductor wafer held by the substrate holding unit 20, in the processing chamber 10. The processing chamber 10 includes a chamber main body 10a with an upper opening, and a lid 10b provided to close the upper opening of the chamber main body 10a. The inside of the processing chamber 10 serves as a processing space S in which a film forming process is performed. The lid 10b is detachably provided. A carry in/out port is formed in the side wall of the processing chamber 10 to carry the substrate W in/out. The carry in/out port is opened and closed by a gate valve 11. A gas introduction port 12 is provided in the side wall of the processing chamber 10 to introduce a gas into the processing space S. A gas supply (not illustrated) is connected to the gas introduction port 12. A sputtering gas (e.g., an inert gas or Ar gas) is introduced into the gas introduction port 12 from the gas supply to sputter a target 100. Further, a reactive gas (e.g., N2 gas) is introduced into the gas introduction port 12 from the gas supply to react with the sputtered particles adhering to the surface of the substrate W. An exhaust port 13 is formed in the bottom portion of the processing chamber 10. An exhaust device 14 is connected to the exhaust port 13. The exhaust device 14 includes a pressure control valve and a vacuum pump. The processing space S is evacuated to a predetermined degree of vacuum by the exhaust device 14. The side wall of