Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture – Differential fluid etching apparatus – With means for passing discrete workpiece through plural...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-26
2003-01-07
Lund, Jeffrie R. (Department: 1763)
Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
Differential fluid etching apparatus
With means for passing discrete workpiece through plural...
C156S345310, C118S719000, C414S217000, C414S222070, C414S222010, C414S222120, C414S935000, C414S939000, C414S937000, C414S941000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06503365
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-chamber system of an etching facility for manufacturing semiconductor devices, and more particularly, to a multi-chamber system of an etching facility for manufacturing semiconductor devices which minimizes the space occupied by the facility by aligning a plurality of processing chambers with a transfer path in the center.
2. Background of the Related Art
The manufacturing of semiconductor devices involves many processes, including photolithography, etching, and thin film formation, which are repeatedly carried out during the manufacturing process. Generally, the etching process is carried out in a “focus-type” multi-chamber system which is capable of processing various process steps for wafers at the same time.
In particular, the multi-chamber system for a dry-etching process using plasma is operated with a plurality of processing chambers in which a high-vacuum state environment for the generation of plasma is formed. The system includes an inner transfer device for transporting wafers from a central chamber under a low vacuum state to the plurality of high vacuum processing chambers.
FIG. 1
illustrates a conventional focus-type multi-chamber system for a dry-etching process using plasma, which is constructed in such a manner that a hexagonal pillar-shaped central chamber
16
is located in its center; four processing chambers
15
are connected to four sides of the central chamber
16
, and between the central chamber
16
and each of the processing chambers
15
, there is formed a gate (not shown) for allowing the selective passage of wafers. An inner transfer device
14
inside the central chamber
16
is able to selectively load and unload the wafers into each processing chamber
15
through the gate. Note that the central chamber
16
can be formed as a square, pentagon, hexagon shape, etc., and
FIG. 1
shows the normal hexagonal shape of the central chamber
16
. Further, there is provided a vacuum pressure generator (not shown) in each of the processing chambers
15
and the central chamber
16
.
Therefore, the inner transfer device
14
transports wafers to the processing chamber
15
under the vacuum pressure environment. In addition to the central chamber
16
, a load lock chamber
13
, serving as a stand-by area for the wafers under a low vacuum state, is located between the central chamber
16
and the wafers which are under atmospheric pressure in cassettes
11
.
The load lock chamber
13
comprises an input load lock chamber for stacking wafers before processing, and an output load lock chamber for stacking wafers after processing.
In addition to the two load lock chambers
13
, there is connected a cassette stage
12
having the cassettes
11
mounted thereon for easy transportation of wafers under atmospheric pressure.
Therefore, in the conventional multi-chamber system; if the cassette
11
is mounted on the cassette stage
12
, an operator or the automatic transfer mechanism, etc., inside the load lock chamber
13
transfers the cassette
11
having wafers thereon to the load lock chamber
13
, and then, the load lock chamber
13
is sealed and placed under a low vacuum state. When the load lock chamber
13
reaches a certain level of vacuum, the gate of the load lock chamber
13
is opened, an inner transfer device
14
inside the central chamber
16
mounts wafers individually or in groups on a transfer arm (not shown) under a low vacuum state, and transfers them to a specific processing chamber
15
by rotating horizontally a certain angle, and proceeding toward the specific processing chamber
15
.
In addition, after wafers are transported into the processing chamber
15
, the gate of the processing chamber
15
is shut, and a specific corresponding process is carried out. The processed wafers are removed from the processing chamber by the inner transfer device
14
of the central chamber
16
, and stacked on the cassette
11
inside the load lock chamber
13
.
Here, while a specific process is carried out inside a specific processing chamber
15
, the inner transfer device
14
is capable of continuously loading and unloading wafers to another processing chamber
15
. Therefore, a plurality of wafers can be processed inside a plurality of processing chambers
15
at the same time.
However, the conventional multi-chamber system, which is constructed as described above, i.e., the hexagonal pillar shaped central chamber
16
, four processing chambers
15
and two load lock chambers
13
surrounding the central chamber
16
, occupies a space of width “W” inside the fabrication line layout, requiring a large vacuum facility to maintain the central chamber
16
in a vacuum state and increasing the expenses for the facilities and their installation.
In addition, the space taken up by the central chamber increases with the number of processing chambers. For instance, six processing chambers and two load lock chambers require an octagonal pillar shaped central chamber which takes up more space than the hexagonal pillar-shaped central chamber shown in FIG.
1
.
Therefore, if the number of processing chambers is increased, a different multi-chamber system is necessary, occupying additional cleanroom space and requiring additional expense. Various process gases and vacuum-related apparatus connected to the processing chamber or the load lock chamber must also be installed in duplicate.
An attempt to increase the number of processing chambers of the focus-type multi-chamber system, as shown in
FIG. 2
, comprises two central chambers
16
, each connected to three processing chambers
15
. The two central chambers
16
are connected to each other by a connection load lock chamber
17
between them. Two of the conventional focus-type multi-chamber systems
10
are thereby connected.
However, the installation of the six processing chambers
15
and one connection load lock chamber
17
as shown in
FIG. 2
costs more than the installation of an additional focus-type multi-chamber system
10
as shown in
FIG. 1
, and the seven-chamber set-up still occupies a lot of space in the cleanroom, and requires duplicate installation of various processing gases and vacuum-related apparatus.
Furthermore, as shown in
FIG. 3
, the conventional focus-type multi-chamber system
10
is normally installed inside the cleanroom along with other facilities
20
, with the cassette stages on the other facilities all being disposed to one side. Therefore, it is necessary for an operator or an automatic cassette car to transport cassettes between facilities.
In addition to the disadvantages of the focus-type multi-chamber system, the inner transfer device moves wafers under a vacuum state, and therefore, the wafers cannot be attached by vacuum-absorption, and are simply gravity-supported by the transfer arm. The wafers must therefore be moved at a low speed so as not to be displaced from the transfer arm, which results in a very slow wafer transfer operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a multi-chamber system of an etching facility for manufacturing semiconductor devices for greatly reducing the space and the width occupied by the facilities by aligning a plurality of processing chambers in multi-layers and in parallel, which substantially overcomes one or more of the problems due to the limitations and the disadvantages of the related art.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, the multi-chamber system for manufacturing semiconductor devices comprises: a cassette stage for mounting a cassette having wafers stacked thereon; a transfer path adjacent to the cassette stage and having a width slightly larger than the diameter of the wafers, preferably with a rectangular-shape, for providing a space for the transportation of wafers; a plurality of processing chambers aligned with the transfer path; and a transfer mechanism installed in the transfer path for loading and unloading the wafers stacked on the ca
Jeoung Gyu-chan
Kim Ki-sang
Kwag Gyu-hwan
Lund Jeffrie R.
Samsung Electronics Co,. Ltd.
Volentine & Francos, PLLC
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