Vacuum processing system and substrate transfer method

Abstract

A vacuum processing system (1) is provided with a first processing section (2) wherein PVC processing chambers (12-15) are connected to a first transfer chamber (11) to which a wafer (W) is to be transferred; a second processing section (3) wherein CVD processing chambers (22, 23) are connected to a second processing chamber (21) to which the wafer is to be transferred; a buffer chamber (5a), which is arranged between the first transfer chamber (11) and the second transfer chamber (12) through a gate valve (G), stores the wafer (W), and is capable of adjusting pressure therein; and a control section (110) for controlling opening / closing of a gate valve (G) and pressure in the buffer chamber (5a) so that the buffer chamber (5a) is selectively communicated with either the first transfer chamber (11) or the second transfer chamber (12) and that pressure inside matches with pressure inside the communicating transfer chamber.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to a vacuum processing system in which a processing chamber is arranged in a transfer chamber capable of maintaining a vacuum, and a substrate transfer method in the vacuum processing system. Background technique [0002] In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, a process of forming a plurality of metal or metal compound films is performed on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as wafer) as a substrate to be processed in order to form a contact structure or a wiring structure. This type of film formation process is carried out in a process chamber kept in vacuum. However, recently, from the viewpoint of effective processing and suppression of contamination such as oxidation and pollutants, the following cluster tool (cluster tool) type A chamber system attracts attention, that is, a plurality of processing chambers are connected to a transfer chamber kept in a vacuum, so that wafers can be ...

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Problems solved by technology

[0005] However, the pressure levels required in PVD processing and CVD processing generally differ by more than 10,000 times, and it is necessary to set the transfer chamber to a higher pressure when carrying out wafers in and out of the CVD processing chamber. Therefore, in Patent Document 2 In the technology, it takes time to adjust the pressure, and there is a problem of lowering productivity.

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