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US-12624453-B2 - Substrate processing apparatus

US12624453B2US 12624453 B2US12624453 B2US 12624453B2US-12624453-B2

Abstract

A substrate processing apparatus includes: a processing container; a stage provided inside the processing container to place a substrate thereon; an exhaust port arranged around the stage along an inner wall of the processing container; a driver configured to move the stage up and down between a processing position and a transfer position lower than the processing position; a clamp ring that is arranged on a peripheral edge of the substrate on the stage to cover the peripheral edge of the substrate when the stage is at the processing position, and is supported by a shelf provided on a sidewall of the processing container when the stage is at the transfer position; and a pressure regulating mechanism configured to suppress a pressure difference between a space above the substrate on the stage and a space below the stage.

Inventors

  • Naoki Umehara
  • Syuji Nozawa
  • Ryohei YONEDA
  • Tatsuya Yamaguchi

Assignees

  • TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20230526
Priority Date
20220530

Claims (6)

  1. 1 . A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a processing container; a stage provided inside the processing container to place a substrate on the stage; an exhaust port arranged around the stage along an inner wall of the processing container; a driver configured to move the stage up and down between a processing position where the substrate placed on the stage is processed, and a transfer position which is lower than the processing position and is a position when the substrate is loaded onto the stage and when the substrate is unloaded from the stage; a clamp ring that is arranged on a peripheral edge of the substrate on the stage to cover the peripheral edge of the substrate when the stage is at the processing position, and is supported by a shelf provided on a sidewall of the processing container when the stage is at the transfer position; and a pressure regulating mechanism configured to suppress a pressure difference between a space above the substrate on the stage and a space below the stage, wherein the pressure regulating mechanism is a through-hole formed along a thickness direction of the clamp ring, wherein a convex portion that protrudes downward from an upper portion of the processing container is provided in the upper portion of the processing container, and wherein the convex portion blocks an opening of the through-hole by being inserted into the through-hole of the clamp ring when the stage is at the processing position, and opens the opening of the through-hole by being separated from the through-hole of the clamp ring when the stage moves from the processing position to the transfer position.
  2. 2 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising: a showerhead provided in an upper portion of the processing container and configured to supply a processing gas for processing the substrate on the stage into the processing container from a discharge port provided in a lower surface of the showerhead, wherein the through-hole is formed in a region outside a region where the discharge port is provided in a plan view.
  3. 3 . A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a processing container; a stage provided inside the processing container to place a substrate on the stage; an exhaust port arranged around the stage along an inner wall of the processing container: a driver configured to move the stage up and down between a processing position where the substrate placed on the stage is processed, and a transfer position which is lower than the processing position and is a position when the substrate is loaded onto the stage and when the substrate is unloaded from the stage; a clamp ring that is arranged on a peripheral edge of the substrate on the stage to cover the peripheral edge of the substrate when the stage is at the processing position, and is supported by a shelf provided on a sidewall of the processing container when the stage is at the transfer position; and a pressure regulating mechanism configured to suppress a pressure difference between a space above the substrate on the stage and a space below the stage, wherein the pressure regulating mechanism is a gap formed between the clamp ring and the shelf, wherein a convex portion is provided on an upper surface of the shelf, and wherein the gap is formed between a lower surface of the clamp ring and the upper surface of the shelf as the clamp ring is supported by the convex portion when the stage moves from the processing position to the transfer position.
  4. 4 . A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a processing container; a stage provided inside the processing container to place a substrate on the stage; an exhaust port arranged around the stage along an inner wall of the processing container: a driver configured to move the stage up and down between a processing position where the substrate placed on the stage is processed, and a transfer position which is lower than the processing position and is a position when the substrate is loaded onto the stage and when the substrate is unloaded from the stage; a clamp ring that is arranged on a peripheral edge of the substrate on the stage to cover the peripheral edge of the substrate when the stage is at the processing position, and is supported by a shelf provided on a sidewall of the processing container when the stage is at the transfer position; and a pressure regulating mechanism configured to suppress a pressure difference between a space above the substrate on the stage and a space below the stage, wherein the pressure regulating mechanism is a gap formed between the clamp ring and the shelf, and wherein a groove that extends beyond a region of the clamp ring in a plan view is formed in an upper surface of the shelf, and the gap is formed between a lower surface of the clamp ring and the groove of the shelf when the stage moves from the processing position to the transfer position.
  5. 5 . A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a processing container: a stage provided inside the processing container to place a substrate on the stage; an exhaust port arranged around the stage along an inner wall of the processing container; a driver configured to move the stage up and down between a processing position where the substrate placed on the stage is processed, and a transfer position which is lower than the processing position and is a position when the substrate is loaded onto the stage and when the substrate is unloaded from the stage; a clamp ring that is arranged on a peripheral edge of the substrate on the stage to cover the peripheral edge of the substrate when the stage is at the processing position, and is supported by a shelf provided on a sidewall of the processing container when the stage is at the transfer position; and a pressure regulating mechanism configured to suppress a pressure difference between a space above the substrate on the stage and a space below the stage, wherein the pressure regulating mechanism is a pipe that connects the space above the substrate on the stage and the space below the stage, and wherein the pipe is provided with a valve configured to be closed when the stage is at the processing position and be opened when the stage moves from the processing position to the transfer position.
  6. 6 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a purge gas is supplied to the space below the stage.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-087409, filed on May 30, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD Various aspects and embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a substrate processing apparatus. BACKGROUND In a substrate processing apparatus for forming a film on a substrate, when a film-forming gas goes around the back surface of the substrate, reaction by-products (so-called deposits) adhere to the back surface of the substrate. When the deposits adhere to the back surface of the substrate, the deposits may be peeled off from the substrate during transfer of the substrate and may scatter as particles inside the substrate processing apparatus. When the particles scatter inside the substrate processing apparatus, the particles may adhere to the substrate and contaminate the substrate. Therefore, in some cases, an annular clamp ring is provided on the peripheral edge of the substrate so as to cover the peripheral edge of the substrate (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below). As a result, the film-forming gas is prevented from going around the back of the substrate. PRIOR ART DOCUMENT Patent Document Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2020-007608 SUMMARY According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a substrate processing apparatus includes: a processing container; a stage provided inside the processing container to place a substrate on the stage; an exhaust port arranged around the stage along an inner wall of the processing container; a driver configured to move the stage up and down between a processing position where the substrate placed on the stage is processed, and a transfer position which is lower than the processing position and is a position when the substrate is loaded onto the stage and when the substrate is unloaded from the stage; a clamp ring that is arranged on a peripheral edge of the substrate on the stage to cover the peripheral edge of the substrate when the stage is at the processing position, and is supported by a shelf provided on a sidewall of the processing container when the stage is at the transfer position; and a pressure regulating mechanism configured to suppress a pressure difference between a space above the substrate on the stage and a space below the stage. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an example of a structure near a periphery of a stage according to a first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an example of a shape and arrangement of through-holes formed in a clamp ring in the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing another example of the shape and arrangement of the through-holes formed in the clamp ring in the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an example of a positional relationship between the stage and the clamp ring when the stage descends in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an example of a positional relationship between a stage and a clamp ring when the stage descends in a Comparative Example. FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an example of a state in which a substrate is damaged in the Comparative Example. FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an example of a structure near a periphery of a stage according to a second embodiment. FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an example of a positional relationship between a convex portion and a through-hole when the stage descends in the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an example of a shape of the convex portion and the through-hole in the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an example of a structure near a periphery of a stage according to a third embodiment. FIG. 12 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an example of a positional relationship between the stage and a clamp ring when the stage descends in the third embodiment. FIG. 13 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an example of a cross-section taken along line A-A in FIG. 12. FIG. 14 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an example of a structure near a periphery of a stage according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 15 is a plan view showing an example of a shape and arrangement of grooves formed in a shelf in the fourth embodiment. FIG.