US-12628608-B2 - Substrate processing apparatus, method of manufacturing semiconductor device and non-transitory computer-readable recording medium

US12628608B2US 12628608 B2US12628608 B2US 12628608B2US-12628608-B2

Abstract

According to the present disclosure, there is provided a technique capable of substantially uniformizing the quality of each substrate by setting the position of the substrate in accordance with the process conditions for each step of the substrate processing. According to one aspect thereof, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus including: a support structure capable of supporting at least a substrate; and a controller provided with a memory in which a recipe capable of setting a support position of the substrate is stored, wherein the controller is configured to be capable of controlling an operation of elevating and lowering the support structure such that the support position set in the recipe is located at a predetermined reference position.

Inventors

Taku HISADA
Tsukasa Yashima
Shin TSUJIMURA

Assignees

Kokusai Electric Corporation

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230511
Priority Date: 20220513

Claims (17)

1 . A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a support structure capable of supporting at least a substrate; a temperature sensor capable of measuring a temperate of the substrate; and a controller provided with a memory in which a recipe capable of setting a support position of the substrate is stored, wherein the controller is configured to be capable of controlling an operation of elevating and lowering the support structure such that the support position set in the recipe is located at a predetermined reference position, and wherein the controller is further configured to be capable of controlling the operation of elevating and lowering the support structure such that the support position faces a same height as a temperature measuring position of the temperature sensor that indicates the reference position.
2 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the recipe comprises at least a step, and the support position is set in the step.
3 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the operation of elevating and lowering the support structure during the recipe being performed is designated by a control mode determined by the recipe.
4 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the control mode comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of an elevation mode in which the operation of elevating and lowering the support structure is capable of being controlled, a temperature measuring mode in which an operation of measuring the temperature of the substrate is capable of being performed and a temperature monitoring mode in which an operation of monitoring the temperature of the substrate is capable of being continuously performed in accordance with conditions set in advance.
5 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 4 , wherein, in the elevation mode, the support position is capable of being designated, and wherein the controller is configured to be capable of controlling the operation of elevating and lowering the support structure such that the support position designated in the elevation mode is located at the reference position.
6 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 5 , wherein, in the elevation mode, the controller is configured to be capable of controlling the operation of elevating and lowering the support structure such that the support position designated in the elevation mode moves to the reference position in a shortest time.
7 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 4 , wherein, in the temperature measuring mode, the support position is capable of being designated among a plurality of support positions, and wherein the controller is configured to be capable of controlling the operation of elevating and lowering the support structure such that the support position designated in the temperature measuring mode is located at the reference position and capable of performing the operation of measuring the temperature of the substrate for the temperature sensor to perform a temperature detection in a state where the support position of the substrate is located at the reference position.
8 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 4 , wherein, in a case where each of a plurality of support positions is designated in the temperature measuring mode, the operation of elevating and lowering the support structure and the operation of measuring the temperature of the substrate are repeatedly performed so that each of the plurality of support positions is located at the reference position.
9 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 4 , wherein, in a case where each of a plurality of support positions is designated in the temperature measuring mode, a support position whose temperature is highest among the plurality of support positions is stored in the memory in the temperature measuring mode.
10 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 9 , wherein in the temperature monitoring mode, the controller is configured to be capable of controlling the operation of elevating and lowering the support structure such that the support position stored in the memory in the temperature measuring mode moves to the reference position and performing the operation of monitoring the temperature of the substrate by using the temperature sensor in a state where the support position of the substrate is located at the reference position.
11 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the operation of monitoring the temperature of the substrate is terminated in a case where a temperature measurement result for the substrate obtained by the temperature sensor is lower than a threshold stored in the memory.
12 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 10 , wherein, a time lapse process set by the recipe is performed in a case where the operation of monitoring the temperature of the substrate is performed longer than a temperature monitoring time acquired from information stored in the memory.
13 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 4 , wherein, in a case where each of a plurality of support positions is designated in the temperature measuring mode and there is a support position where no substrate is supported, the support position where no substrate is supported is skipped.
14 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 4 , further comprising: a display capable of displaying a processing status of the substrate, wherein the display is capable of displaying on a monitor a temperature measurement result for the substrate whose support position is designated in the temperature measuring mode or the temperature monitoring mode.
15 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the display is capable of graphically displaying, in real time or as historical information, the temperature measurement result for the substrate whose support position is designated in the temperature measuring mode or the temperature monitoring mode.
16 . A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: (a) performing a recipe capable of setting a support position of a substrate in a support structure capable of supporting the substrate; and (b) elevating and lowering the support structure such that the support position set in (a) is located at a predetermined reference position, wherein the reference position indicates a temperature measuring position of a temperature sensor capable of measuring a temperature of the substrate, and wherein, in (b), the support structure is elevated and lowered such that the support position faces the reference position at a same height.
17 . A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program that causes a substrate processing apparatus, by a computer, to perform: (a) performing a recipe capable of setting a support position of a substrate in a support structure capable of supporting the substrate; and (b) elevating and lowering the support structure such that the support position set in (a) is located at a predetermined reference position, wherein the reference position indicates a temperature measuring position of a temperature sensor capable of measuring a temperature of the substrate, and wherein, in (b), the support structure is elevated and lowered such that the support position faces the reference position at a same height.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a)-(d) to Application No. JP 2022-079683 filed on May 13, 2022, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing apparatus, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device and a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium. BACKGROUND Conventionally, a substrate processing apparatus provided with a load lock chamber may be used. A substrate may be transferred (loaded) into the load lock chamber or transferred (unloaded) from the load lock chamber. According to some related arts, the load lock chamber of the substrate processing apparatus is provided with a function of switching an inner atmosphere of the load lock chamber between an atmospheric state and a vacuum state. By the way, in the substrate processing apparatus, when performing a recipe for processing the substrate, a plurality of steps may be performed while a position of the substrate is fixed. SUMMARY According to the present disclosure, there is provided a technique capable of substantially uniformizing a quality of a substrate by setting a position of a substrate suitable for process conditions for each step of a substrate processing. According to an aspect of the technique of the present disclosure, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus including: a support structure capable of supporting at least a substrate; and a controller provided with a memory in which a recipe capable of setting a support position of the substrate is stored, wherein the controller is configured to be capable of controlling an operation of elevating and lowering the support structure such that the support position set in the recipe is located at a predetermined reference position. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a vertical cross-section of the substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a vertical cross-section of a load lock chamber of the substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an exemplary configuration of a controller and related components of the substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating an exemplary setting of a recipe step of the substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating a control mode for a substrate support in the recipe step shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a flow chart schematically illustrating a flow of a temperature measuring mode of the substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 is a flow chart schematically illustrating a flow of a temperature monitoring mode of the substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically illustrating a display of the substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments of Present Disclosure Hereinafter, one or more embodiments (also simply referred to as “embodiments”) of the technique of the present disclosure will be described in detail mainly with reference to the drawings. The drawings used in the following descriptions are all schematic. For example, a relationship between dimensions of each component and a ratio of each component shown in the drawing may not always match the actual ones. Further, even between the drawings, the relationship between the dimensions of each component and the ratio of each component may not always match. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a substrate processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiments may include: an atmospheric transfer chamber (EFEM: Equipment Front End Module) 12; loading port structures 29-1 through 29-3 connected to the atmospheric transfer chamber 12 and serving as mounting structures on which pods (which are substrate storage containers) 27-1 through 27-3 are placed, respectively; load lock chambers 14A and 14B serving as pressure-controlled preliminary chambers; a transfer chamber 16 serving as a vacuum transfer chamber; and process chambers 18A and 18B in which a plurality of substrates including a substrate 100 are processed. Hereinafter, the plurality of substrates including the substrate 100 may also be referred to as “substrates 100”. For example, a partition wall (which is a boundary wall) 20 is provided to separate the process chamber 18A from the process chamber 18B. According to the present embod