Substrate processing apparatus

Details Substrate processing apparatus Substrate processing apparatus

2000-09-25

2001-12-25

Lund, Jeffrie R. (Department: 1763)

Coating apparatus

Gas or vapor deposition

With treating means

C118S724000, C118S715000, C219S390000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06332927

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a substrate processing apparatus for subjecting a semiconductor wafer to a process such as a film formation in a single substrate-processing manner or a small number of substrates-processing manner at a time.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a reaction tube used with a substrate processing apparatus of a type described above has the structure shown in.
FIG. 15
, which is a plan view of a conventional substrate processing apparatus.
The substrate processing apparatus
200
is provided with a heater
70
and a reaction tube
80
disposed therein. The reaction tube
80
is provided with a reaction tube body
81
, a reaction gas introducing tube
85
and a reaction tube flange
83
. A reaction gas introducing hole
82
is provided at a central portion of an upstream of the reaction tube body
81
. The reaction gas introducing tube
85
is provided in communication with an interior of the reaction tube body
81
through the reaction gas introducing hole
82
. The reaction tube body
81
is provided at its downstream with the reaction tube flange
83
. The reaction tube flange
83
is provided with a wafer transfer hole
84
. In a state where a semiconductor wafer
90
is held in the reaction tube body
81
, heating is effected by the heater
70
and a reaction gas is introduced from the reaction gas introducing hole
82
into the reaction tube body
81
, and is exhausted from the wafer transfer hole
84
of the reaction tube flange
83
, thereby processing the semiconductor wafer
90
such as to achieve film formation.
According to the conventional reaction tube
80
, however, the reaction gas is introduced into the reaction tube
80
without being sufficiently heated and therefore, a temperature of the reaction gas upstream of the semiconductor wafer
90
is lowered, and there is a problem that a thickness of a film formed on the semiconductor wafer
90
becomes nonuniform.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of conducting a uniform substrate processing such as obtaining an excellent thickness distribution of a formed film.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus, including:
a heater;
a reaction tube body provided in the heater, and having a first gas introducing section and a gas exhausting section separated at a predetermined distance from each other in a predetermined first direction;
a substrate holder disposed in the reaction tube body and being capable of holding a substrate within the reaction tube body between the first gas introducing section and the gas exhausting section in a state where a main face of the substrate is substantially parallel to a first plane which includes the first direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; and
a gas heating tube provided in the heater along the reaction tube body, and having a second gas introducing section and a gas discharging section which is in communication with the first gas introducing section of the reaction tube body, the gas heating tube having a structure wherein a gas flowing in the gas heating tube first flows from the side of the first gas introducing section toward the side of the gas exhausting section and then, returns to flow from the gas exhausting section side toward the first gas introducing section side.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hot-wall type substrate processing apparatus, including:
a heater;
a reaction tube body provided in the heater, the reaction tube body including: a first gas introducing section and a gas exhausting section separated at a predetermined distance from each other in a predetermined first direction; a first side plate substantially perpendicular to the first direction and having the first gas introducing section; a ceiling plate and a bottom plate substantially parallel to a first plane including the first direction and a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction; and second and third side plates which is substantially parallel to the first direction and is substantially perpendicular to the first plane;
a substrate holder disposed in the reaction tube body and being capable of holding a substrate within the reaction tube body between the first gas introducing section and the gas exhausting section in a state where a main face of the substrate is substantially parallel to the first plane; and
a gas heating tube provided in the heater along one of or both of the second side plate and the third side plate, and having a second gas introducing section and a gas discharging section which is in communication with the gas introducing section of the reaction tube body.


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