US-20260130136-A1 - BONDING SYSTEM

US20260130136A1US 20260130136 A1US20260130136 A1US 20260130136A1US-20260130136-A1

Abstract

A first transfer device and a second transfer device are configured to transfer a first substrate and a second substrate in a normal pressure atmosphere. A third transfer device is configured to transfer the first substrate and the second substrate in a decompressed atmosphere. A load lock chamber has accommodation sections allowed to accommodate therein the first substrate and the second substrate, and is allowed to switch an inside of the accommodation sections between the normal pressure atmosphere and the decompressed atmosphere. Multiple gates are respectively disposed on three different sides of the load lock chamber, and allowed to open or close the load lock chamber. The first transfer device, the second transfer device, and the third transfer device carry the first substrate and the second substrate into/out of the load lock chamber through different gates among the multiple gates.

Inventors

Takuo Kawauchi
Masataka Matsunaga
Ryoichi SAKAMOTO
Masaru Honda
Satoshi Nishimura

Assignees

TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251230
Priority Date: 20200413

Claims (10)

1 . A bonding system configured to form a combined substrate by bonding a first substrate and a second substrate with an intermolecular force, the bonding system comprising: a carry-in/out block having a placing table on which a cassette is placed; a processing block accommodating therein a surface modifying apparatus configured to modify bonding surfaces of the first substrate and the second substrate in a decompressed atmosphere, and a surface hydrophilizing apparatus configured to hydrophilize the modified bonding surfaces of the first substrate and the second substrate; a first transfer device and a second transfer device each configured to transfer the first substrate and the second substrate in a normal pressure atmosphere; a third transfer device configured to transfer the first substrate and the second substrate in the decompressed atmosphere; and a load lock chamber having a first accommodation section and a second accommodation section allowed to accommodate therein the first substrate and the second substrate, and allowed to switch an inside of the first accommodation section and the second accommodation section between the normal pressure atmosphere and the decompressed atmosphere, wherein the first transfer device is disposed in the carry-in/out block, and configured to transfer the first substrate and the second substrate from the cassette to the first accommodation section, the third transfer device is disposed in the processing block, and configured to transfer the first substrate and the second substrate from the first accommodation section to the surface modifying apparatus, and the second transfer device is disposed in the processing block, and configured to transfer the first substrate and the second substrate from the second accommodation section to the surface hydrophilizing apparatus.
2 . The bonding system of claim 1 , wherein the third transfer device is configured to transfer the first substrate and the second substrate from the surface modifying apparatus to the second accommodation section.
3 . The bonding system of claim 1 , wherein the first accommodation section is disposed between the first transfer device and the second transfer device.
4 . The bonding system of claim 2 , wherein the first accommodation section is disposed between the first transfer device and the second transfer device.
5 . The bonding system of claim 1 , further comprising: a bonding apparatus configured to bond the hydrophilized first substrate and the second substrate by an intermolecular force, wherein the bonding apparatus is disposed in the processing block.
6 . The bonding system of claim 2 , further comprising: a bonding apparatus configured to bond the hydrophilized first substrate and the second substrate by an intermolecular force, wherein the bonding apparatus is disposed in the processing block.
7 . The bonding system of claim 5 , wherein the processing block comprises: a first processing block, provided adjacent to the carry-in/out block, accommodating therein the second transfer device, the third transfer device, the surface modifying apparatus, and the surface hydrophilizing apparatus; and a second processing block adjacent to the first processing block, and wherein the bonding apparatus is disposed in the second processing block.
8 . The bonding system of claim 6 , wherein the processing block comprises: a first processing block, provided adjacent to the carry-in/out block, accommodating therein the second transfer device, the third transfer device, the surface modifying apparatus, and the surface hydrophilizing apparatus; and a second processing block adjacent to the first processing block, and wherein the bonding apparatus is disposed in the second processing block.
9 . The bonding system of claim 7 , wherein the first processing block comprises a second transition unit between the second transfer device and the second processing block, and the second processing block comprises a fourth transfer device configured to transfer the first substrate and the second substrate placed in the second transition unit by the second transfer device to the bonding apparatus.
10 . The bonding system of claim 8 , wherein the first processing block comprises a second transition unit between the second transfer device and the second processing block, and the second processing block comprises a fourth transfer device configured to transfer the first substrate and the second substrate placed in the second transition unit by the second transfer device to the bonding apparatus.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/995,931 filed on Oct. 11, 2022, which is a U.S. national phase application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of PCT Application No. PCT/JP2021/013436 filed on Mar. 30, 2021, which claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-071650 filed on Apr. 13, 2020, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The various aspects and embodiments described herein pertain generally to a bonding system. BACKGROUND Conventionally, in order to meet the requirement for high integration of semiconductor devices, it has been proposed to use a three-dimensional integration technique of stacking semiconductor devices three-dimensionally. As a system using this three-dimensional integration technique, there is known, for example, a bonding technique of bonding substrates such as semiconductor wafers to each other. As one of bonding techniques, there is known a method of directly bonding substrates by chemical bonding without using an adhesive or the like. A bonding system using this method is equipped with a surface modifying apparatus configured to modify bonding surfaces of first and second substrates, a hydrophilizing apparatus configured to hydrophilize the bonding surfaces of the first and second substrates after the modification, and a bonding apparatus configured to bond the first and second substrates after the hydrophilization. In addition, the bonding system includes a plurality of substrate transfer devices configured to transfer the first and second substrates between the apparatuses. Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2018-010921 SUMMARY In an exemplary embodiment, a bonding system configured to form a combined substrate by bonding a first substrate and a second substrate with an intermolecular force includes a first transfer device and a second transfer device, a third transfer device, a load lock chamber and multiple gates. The first transfer device and the second transfer device are each configured to transfer the first substrate and the second substrate in a normal pressure atmosphere. The third transfer device is configured to transfer the first substrate and the second substrate in a decompressed atmosphere. The load lock chamber has an accommodation section allowed to accommodate therein the first substrate and the second substrate, and is allowed to switch an inside of the accommodation section between the normal pressure atmosphere and the decompressed atmosphere. The multiple gates are respectively disposed on three different sides of the load lock chamber, and allowed to open or close the load lock chamber. The first transfer device, the second transfer device, and the third transfer device carry the first substrate and the second substrate into/out of the load lock chamber through different gates among the multiple gates. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view illustrating a configuration of a bonding system according to an exemplary embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view illustrating the configuration of the bonding system according to the exemplary embodiment. FIG. 3 is a layout diagram of the bonding system according to the exemplary embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of a first substrate and a second substrate. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a bonding apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment. FIG. 6 is a plan view of a load lock chamber according to the exemplary embodiment. FIG. 7 is a side view of the load lock chamber seen from an access direction of a first transfer device according to the exemplary embodiment. FIG. 8 is a side view of the load lock chamber seen from an access direction of a second transfer device according to the exemplary embodiment. FIG. 9 is a side view of the load lock chamber seen from an access direction of a third transfer device according to the exemplary embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a transfer sequence of the first substrate, the second substrate, and a combined substrate in the bonding system according to the exemplary embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a layout example of an inspecting apparatus. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a layout example of the inspecting apparatus. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a layout example of the inspecting apparatus. FIG. 14 is a schematic plan view illustrating a configuration of a bonding system according to a second modification example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, embodiments (hereinafter, referred to as “exemplary embodiments”) for a bonding system according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Further, it should be noted that the present disclosure is not limited by the exemplary embodiments. Further, unless processing contents are contradictory, the various exemplary embodiments can