Substrate processing apparatus, method of manufacturing semiconductor device, and recording medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12518981-B2
Application number	US-202418607968-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 18, 2024
Priority date	Mar 27, 2020
Publication date	Jan 6, 2026
Grant date	Jan 6, 2026

Abstract

A substrate processing apparatus includes: a processing module including a process container in which at least one substrate is processed and a substrate loading port installed at a front side of the processing module, a utility system including a supply system which supplies a processing gas into the first process container and a surface of the first utility system is connected or arranged close to a rear surface of the processing module; a vacuum-exhauster behind the processing module and configured to exhaust an inside of the process container; an exhaust pipe that brings the process container into fluid communication with the vacuum-exhauster; a pipe housing which supports the exhaust pipe; and a first vibration-damping fastener connecting the vacuum-exhauster and the pipe housing. The exhaust pipe includes a first flexible portion that allows displacement of the exhaust pipe's end, and the vacuum-exhauster and pipe housing are installed at a floor.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A substrate processing apparatus, comprising:
a processing module including a process container in which at least one substrate is processed and a first gate valve installed at a front side of the processing module; a utility system including a supply system configured to supply a processing gas into the process container, a surface of the utility system is connected or arranged close to a rear surface of the processing module; a vacuum-exhauster arranged behind the processing module and configured to exhaust an inside of the process container; an exhaust pipe configured to bring the process container into fluid communication with the vacuum-exhauster; a pipe housing configured to support the exhaust pipe; and a first vibration-damping fastener connecting the vacuum-exhauster and the pipe housing, wherein the exhaust pipe includes a first flexible portion configured to allow displacement of an end of the exhaust pipe and installed outside the vacuum-exhauster, and wherein the vacuum-exhauster and the pipe housing are installed at a floor.

2 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first vibration-damping fastener and the first flexible portion are configured to be capable of suppressing a vibration transmitted from the vacuum-exhauster to the process container.

3 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the pipe housing is installed outside the processing module, and includes a frame and a panel configured to cover an outside of the frame, and
wherein the pipe housing further includes a vibration-damper which is installed on at least one connector between the frame and the exhaust pipe.

4 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a second vibration-damping fastener which connects the processing module and the pipe housing, and
wherein the first vibration-damping fastener and the second vibration-damping fastener are made of resin or rubber.

5 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the first flexible portion is installed on a side of the exhaust pipe adjacent to the vacuum-exhauster, and the at least one connector is installed closer to the process container than the first flexible portion.

6 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the first flexible portion is further configured such that a fixer configured to fix both ends of the first flexible portion is attachable to the first flexible portion.

7 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the vacuum-exhauster and the pipe housing are installed at the floor so that an air intake port of the vacuum-exhauster is at the same height as an exhaust port of the process container.

8 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the vibration-damper is made of a vibration-damping alloy that absorbs mechanical vibration, and the first vibration-damping fastener is made of resin or rubber.

9 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the exhaust pipe includes a plurality of separable sections connected via elastic seals, and at least one connector is installed at each of the sections.

10 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the exhaust pipe includes a second flexible portion configured to allow displacement of another end of the exhaust pipe, and
wherein the apparatus further comprises a holder that bridges both sides of the second flexible portion to bear a load generated between the both sides of the second flexible portion, and is made of a vibration-damping member.

11 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the vibration-damper has a plate-shape, and
wherein the vibration-damper is configured to support at least a portion of a gravity applied to the exhaust pipe as a shear load in a direction parallel to a plate-shaped surface of the vibration-damper.

12 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the vacuum-exhauster is a pump having a rotor rotating shaft extending in a vertical direction.

13 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the vacuum-exhauster is installed at the floor via a vibration-damping member.

14 . A substrate processing apparatus, comprising:
a processing module including a process furnace in which at least one substrate is processed and a first gate valve installed at a front side of the processing module; a utility system including a supply system configured to supply a processing gas into the process furnace, a surface of the utility system is connected or arranged close to a rear surface of the processing module; a vacuum-exhauster arranged behind the processing module and configured to exhaust an inside of the process furnace; an exhaust pipe configured to bring the process furnace into fluid communication with the vacuum-exhauster; a pipe housing configured to support the exhaust pipe; and a first vibration-damper fastener connecting the vacuum-exhauster and the pipe housing, wherein the exhaust pipe includes a first flexible portion configured to allow displacement of an end of the exhaust pipe and installed outside the vacuum-exhauster.

15 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the exhaust pipe further includes a connector connecting the exhaust pipe to the pipe housing at a position closer to the process furnace than the first flexible portion.

16 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the vacuum-exhauster and the pipe housing are installed at a floor.

17 . A substrate processing method comprising:
providing the substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 ; and processing the at least one substrate in the process container while damping a vibration transmitted from the vacuum-exhauster to the process container via the exhaust pipe.

18 . A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising the substrate processing method of claim 17 .

19 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the pipe housing is installed outside the processing module, and includes a frame, a panel configured to cover an outside of the frame and at least one connector connecting the exhaust pipe to the frame.

20 . The substrate processing apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the first vibration-damping fastener is configured to be capable of suppressing transmission of a vibration from the vacuum-exhauster to the process container through the pipe housing, and
wherein the first flexible portion is configured to be capable of suppressing the vibration transmitted from the vacuum-exhauster to the process container through the exhaust pipe.

Assignees

• Kokusai Electric Corp

Inventors

• Kamimura Daigi
• Taniyama Tomoshi
• Shirako Kenji
• Shimada Hironori
• Horii Akira
• Nakada Takayuki
• YAMASHIMA Norihiro

Classifications

• H10P72/0431

  Apparatus for thermal treatment · CPC title

• H10P72/0402 Primary

  Apparatus for fluid treatment (H10P72/0441, H10P72/0448 take precedence) · CPC title

• H04W72/0453

  Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA · CPC title

• H04W72/0446

  Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames · CPC title

• H04W72/02

  Selection of wireless resources by user or terminal · CPC title