JP4839097B2 - Vacuum equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum apparatus that enables a desired process to be performed on an object to be processed in a vacuum, and more specifically, to a processing chamber in which a desired process is performed in a vacuum, and to carry the object to be processed in an atmospheric environment. The present invention relates to a vacuum apparatus including a preliminary chamber capable of being evacuated and discharged.

  In a conventional vacuum apparatus configured to perform a desired process such as thin film formation or etching by PVD or CVD on an object to be processed such as a silicon wafer in a vacuum, the object to be processed is carried into a vacuum processing chamber or In order to carry out the object to be processed after the process is completed, it is known that a preparation chamber provided with a vacuum exhaust means is connected to the processing chamber.

  In this vacuum apparatus, an isolation means such as a gate valve is interposed between the processing chamber and the preparation chamber so that the processing chamber and the preparation chamber can be isolated from each other, and at least one of the processing chamber and the preparation chamber is conveyed The object to be processed is freely transportable between the loading / unloading position of the object to be processed in the preparation chamber and the process position with respect to the object to be processed in the processing chamber.

  When the object to be processed is carried to the process position in the processing chamber, the object to be processed is once loaded into the air environment preparation chamber at the closed position of the gate valve that isolates the processing chamber and the preparation chamber, and the preparation chamber is sealed. Then, when the pressure in the preparation chamber reaches a predetermined degree of vacuum by evacuating, the gate valve is moved to the open position, and the object to be processed is carried into the processing chamber that has already been evacuated by the transfer means. When the object to be processed is transferred to the process position of the processing chamber, the gate valve is moved again to the closed position to isolate the processing chamber from the preparation chamber, and then a desired process is performed.

On the other hand, when unloading the object to be processed, the gate valve is moved again to the open position, and then the object is moved from the processing chamber to the loading / unloading position in the preparation chamber by the transfer means. When the object to be processed is transported to the loading / unloading position, after moving the gate valve to the closed position again, the preparation chamber is vented to return the preparation chamber to the atmospheric environment, and the object to be processed is unloaded (for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-125536 (for example, FIG. 5)

  However, in the above, since the conveying means and the gate valve are provided separately, it is necessary to provide a driving source such as an air cylinder provided with a vacuum seal for each, and a control means for controlling the operation thereof. There is a problem that the number of points increases and the cost increases, and the structure of the device itself is complicated.

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum apparatus that can separate a processing chamber and a preparation chamber from each other with a simple structure and that is low in cost.

In order to solve the above problems, the present onset Ming, a processing chamber for a desired process is performed with respect to the workpiece in a vacuum, a vacuum evacuable preparation chamber loading and unloading of the workpiece is performed in the atmospheric environment And a conveying means that enables conveyance of the object to be processed between the processing chamber and the preparation chamber, and a partitioning means for partitioning the processing chamber and the preparation chamber from each other is provided integrally with the conveying means. In the vacuum apparatus configured such that when the means is moved to the processing chamber side, the processing chamber and the preparation chamber are isolated from each other by the partitioning means , the transfer means includes a holder for holding the object to be processed, and a drive And a support plate which is connected to the driving means and reciprocates linearly between a process position in the processing chamber and a loading / unloading position in the preparation chamber, and is long in the reciprocating direction. Is provided on the support plate .

  According to the present invention, for example, when the workpiece set in the transport means is transported from the preparation chamber to the processing chamber, the transport means is moved to the processing chamber side, and the processing chamber and the preparation chamber are mutually connected by the partitioning means. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately provide isolation means such as a gate valve having a drive source, the number of parts can be reduced, and the device can be manufactured at low cost, and the structure of the apparatus itself can be simplified.

  If a delivery means for delivering the object to be processed to the holder is provided in the preparation chamber, this delivery is performed when the object to be processed is transferred into the vacuum processing chamber or when the object to be processed is completed. By temporarily holding the object to be processed by the means and moving the conveying means to the processing chamber side to isolate the processing chamber and the preparation chamber from each other, only the preparation chamber is brought into the atmospheric environment while the processing chamber is held in vacuum. The object to be processed can be loaded and unloaded.

  The drive means has a threaded spindle connected to a drive source and a support plate connected to one end of the spindle to support the holder, and at least two locations along the reciprocating direction of the spindle and support plate In addition, if there is a restricting means that applies a pressing force to the spindle and support plate from both directions crossing the reciprocating direction, it will not be affected by the swing or deflection of the support plate and spindle, and at the process position and loading / unloading position. The holder can be accurately positioned.

In addition, if the transfer means is further provided with other partitioning means, and the transfer means is moved to the preparation chamber side, the processing chamber and the preparation chamber are separated from each other by the other partitioning means. In a state where the processing chamber is kept in a vacuum state, from the loading of the object to be processed into the processing chamber to the unloading of the object to be processed can be performed by a single reciprocation of the conveying means, thereby shortening the processing time. it can.

  As described above, the vacuum apparatus of the present invention can isolate the processing chamber and the preparation chamber with a simple structure, and also has an effect that the number of parts can be reduced and can be manufactured at low cost.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a processing chamber in which a desired process is performed on a target object in a vacuum, and a preparation chamber capable of being evacuated in which the target object is carried in and out in an atmospheric environment. A transfer means that enables transfer of the object to be processed between the processing chamber and the preparation chamber, and a partition means for partitioning the processing chamber and the preparation chamber from each other is provided integrally with the transfer means. moving the processing chamber side, the in a vacuum device configured as a processing chamber and the preparatory chamber is isolated from each other by a partition means, said conveying means comprises a holder for holding the object to be processed, this holder and a driving means for reciprocating in a straight line between the loading and unloading position in the process position and preparation chamber of processing chamber, said driving means includes a spindle having a driving source, which is connected to one end of the spindle A support plate for supporting the holder; A, the spindle, the at least two locations along the reciprocating direction of the support plate and from both directions intersecting the reciprocating direction the spindle, characterized in that a regulating means for applying a pressing force to the supporting plate.

  In the processing chamber 21, a resistance heating type evaporation source having a known structure, a sputtering cathode, heating of an object to be processed according to a desired process to be performed in the processing chamber 21 such as thin film formation or etching by PVD or CVD. Means, gas introduction means, plasma generator and the like are appropriately provided at predetermined positions. For example, a slide-type opening / closing door (not shown) is provided on the upper surface of the preparation chamber 31 so that the object can be opened and closed when the object to be processed is carried into and out of the preparation chamber 31.

Each of the first and second vacuum chambers 2 and 3 is connected to an evacuation system 5 composed of a cryopump, a turbo molecular pump, a rotary pump, or the like, and each of the processing chamber 21 and the preparation chamber 31 is independent or At the same time, it can be evacuated to a predetermined degree of vacuum (for example, 10 × 10 ⁻⁶ Pa). Conveying means 6 is provided on the side of the processing chamber 21 that faces away from the preparation chamber 31.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the transport unit 6 includes a holder 61 that holds a target object such as a glass substrate or a silicon wafer, a process position in which a desired process is performed in the processing chamber 21, and a preparation chamber 31. It is comprised from the drive means which makes the holder 61 movable between the carrying in / out positions in which a to-be-processed object is carried in.

  For example, when the object to be processed is a substantially circular silicon wafer used for semiconductor manufacturing, the holder 61 is constituted by a frame body 61a that substantially matches the outer shape of the silicon wafer and has a predetermined height, and has a plate-like support. It is attached to the upper surface of the plate 62. As a result, it is set and held at a predetermined position of the holder 61 simply by dropping the object to be processed from above.

  One end of the support plate 62 is connected to one end of a spindle 63 with a thread. The spindle 63 is sized to have a length necessary for moving the holder 61 between the process position and the loading / unloading position, and is arranged inside a worm wheel 64c that circumscribes a worm 64b connected to a motor (drive source) 64a. It meshes with teeth. In this case, the support plate 62 that supports the holder 61, the spindle 63, the worm 64b having the motor 64a, and the worm wheel 64c constitute drive means.

  In the present embodiment, the driving means 62, 63, 64a, 64b, 64c are housed in a third chamber 60 connected to the first chamber 2 and capable of being evacuated, except for the support plate 62, and the driving means. The holder 61 supported by the support plate 62 is placed at the process position in the processing chamber 21 in the standby state of 62, 63, 64a, 64b, 64c (a state positioned on the processing chamber side).

  When the motor 64a is rotated in either direction, the spindle 63 moves horizontally toward the preparation chamber 31 via the worm wheel 64c, and the support plate 62 connected to the spindle 63 moves accordingly. The holder 61 moves to the loading / unloading position in the preparation chamber 31 through the opening 41 formed in the partition wall 4. Next, when the motor 64 a is rotated in the reverse direction, the spindle 63 moves horizontally in the reverse direction, and the holder 61 moves to the process position in the processing chamber 21. Thereby, the holder 61 can be reciprocated between the process position and the carry-in / out position.

  When the drive means 62, 63, 64a, 64b, and 64c are configured as described above, when the long support plate 62 and the spindle 63 are moved horizontally, the swinging and bending of the support plate 62 and the spindle 63 that support the holder 61 are prevented. Under the influence, the holder 61 may not be accurately positioned at the process position and the loading / unloading position. Therefore, the spindle 63 is chamfered to form a flat upper surface 63a and a lower surface 63b that are located on the same horizontal plane as the upper and lower surfaces of the support plate 62 along the longitudinal direction thereof. At least two places along the reciprocating direction were provided with restricting means 7 for applying a pressing force to the support plate 62 and the spindle 63 from above and below to restrict the deflection and deflection of the support plate 62 and the spindle 63.

  The restricting means 7 includes a support plate 62, a guide roller 71 in surface contact with the upper surface 63a and the lower surface 63b of the spindle 63, and a frame 72 that rotatably supports the rotation shaft 71a of the guide roller 71. The frame 72 is connected to one end of an adjusting bolt 73 attached to the wall surface of each of the first and third chambers 2 and 60 via a sealing means, and the guide roller to the support plate 62 and the spindle 63 via the adjusting bolt 73. The pressing force of 71 can be changed. As a result, when the motor 64a is rotated to reciprocate the support plate 62 and the spindle 63, the holder 61 can be brought into and out of the process position by restricting the swinging and bending of the support plate 62 and the spindle 63 by the restricting means 7. It can always reciprocate on the same line with the position.

  Further, in order to isolate the processing chamber 21 and the preparation chamber 31 from each other, a partition plate 8 which is a partition means having a predetermined thickness is provided at the other end of the support plate 62. The partition plate 8 has a shape slightly larger than the outer shape of the opening 41 provided in the partition wall 4, and an O-ring 81 is provided along the outer periphery of the side surface of the partition plate 8 on the processing chamber 21 side. When the driving means 62, 63, 64a, 64b, 64c are operated to move the holder 61 from the loading / unloading position to the process position, the O-ring 81 provided on the side surface of the partition plate 8 moves around the opening 41. The processing chamber 21 and the preparation chamber 31 are isolated from each other by abutting against the partition 4 over the entire circumference so as to surround.

  Thereby, it is not necessary to separately provide a separating means such as a gate valve that separates the processing chamber 21 and the preparation chamber 31, so that the number of parts can be reduced and the device can be manufactured at a low cost, and the structure of the apparatus itself can be simplified. Further, when the drive means 62, 63, 64a, 64b, 64c are operated to move the holder 61 from the loading / unloading position to the process position, the side surface of the partition plate 8 comes into surface contact with the partition wall 4 toward the processing chamber 21 side. In combination with the fact that the movement of the holder 61 is always reciprocated on the same line, the holder 61 and thus the object to be processed can be accurately positioned at the process position and the loading / unloading position.

  Furthermore, when the object to be processed is carried into the vacuum processing chamber 21 or the object to be processed after the process is completed, only the preparation chamber 31 is brought into the atmospheric environment while the processing chamber 21 is kept in a vacuum state. The preparation chamber 31 is provided with delivery means (not shown) for temporarily holding the object to be processed above the holder 61 in the preparation chamber 31.

  The delivery means is composed of at least two lift pins and a tongue piece, for example. In this case, each lift pin is disposed below the loading / unloading position of the holder 61 and can be raised and lowered by a driving source such as an air cylinder. When the upper end of each lift pin is moved from the lowered position below the holder 61 to the raised position via the drive source, the lower surface of the object to be processed passes through the gap between the frame body 61a and the support plate 62. The object to be processed is lifted and carried at a position higher than the frame body 61a.

  On the other hand, each tongue piece is disposed above the loading / unloading position of the holder 61 and can be translated in the reciprocating direction of the support plate 62 by a driving source such as an air cylinder. Then, when moving from the standby position separated from the object to be processed to the support position via the driving source, the tip protrudes through the lower side of the object to be processed supported by each lift pin, and in this state, each lift pin is When moved to the lowered position, the object to be processed is placed on each tongue piece.

  Next, the operation of the vacuum device 1 of the present invention will be described. First, the vacuum evacuation system 5 is operated by the partition plate 8 in a standby state in which the processing chamber 21 and the preparation chamber 31 are separated from each other, and the processing chamber 21 is evacuated to a predetermined degree of vacuum. At the same time, in the preparation chamber of the atmospheric environment, the drive source is operated to move each tongue of the delivery means to the support position, and the open / close door on the upper surface of the preparation chamber 31 is opened, for example, a known structure having a vacuum chuck. The object to be processed is set at a predetermined position of each tongue piece by the carrying robot, and then the preparation chamber 31 is evacuated.

Next, when the processing chamber 21 and the preparation chamber 31 reach a predetermined degree of vacuum (10 × 10 ⁻⁶ Pa), the motor 64 a is rotated to move the holder 61 to the loading / unloading position in the preparation chamber 31. When the holder 61 reaches the loading / unloading position, the lift pins are moved to the ascending position, the workpieces are once carried by the lift pins, and then the tongue pieces are returned to the standby position. Then, when each lift pin is moved again to the lowered position, the object to be processed is set on the frame 61 a of the holder 61.

  Next, the motor 64 a is rotated in the reverse direction to move the holder 61 from the loading / unloading position in the preparation chamber 31 to the process position in the processing chamber 21. When the O-ring 81 provided on the side surface of the partition plate 8 abuts against the partition wall 4, the processing chamber 21 and the preparation chamber 31 are isolated from each other, and the holder 61 reaches the process position in the processing chamber 21 and is positioned. Is done.

  Next, a desired process is performed at this position, and when this process is completed, the motor 64a is rotated to move the holder 61 to the loading / unloading position in the preparation chamber 31 again. Then, each lift pin is moved to the raised position, and the object to be processed is lifted and carried at a position higher than the frame body 61a, then each tongue piece is moved to the support position, and each lift pin is moved again to the lowered position to be processed. The body is supported by each tongue piece, and the motor 64a is rotated in the reverse direction to move the holder 61 from the loading / unloading position in the preparation chamber 31 to the process position in the processing chamber 21. Finally, the processing chamber 21 and the preparation chamber 31 are vented to return to the atmospheric environment, the door is opened, and the object to be processed is unloaded from the holder 61 by the transfer robot.

  In the present embodiment, the partition plate 8 provided only at the other end of the support plate 62 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and partition plates having the same configuration are provided on both sides of the holder 61. When the holder 61 is moved to the loading / unloading position in the preparation chamber 31 by the conveying means, the O-ring provided on the side surface of the other partition plate comes into contact with the partition wall 4 so as to surround the opening 41. Thus, the processing chamber 21 and the preparation chamber 31 may be separated from each other. Thereby, in a state where the processing chamber 21 is kept in a vacuum, the reciprocating motion of the transport means 6 is performed once from the loading of the processing target into the processing chamber 21 to the unloading of the processing target after the process is completed. The processing time can be shortened.

  In the present embodiment, the transfer means 6 is provided on the processing chamber side. However, when the transfer means 6 is moved, the process chamber 21 and the preparation chamber 31 are isolated from each other by a partition means integrated therewith. As long as it is a thing, it will not be limited to this, You may provide in the preparation room 31 side.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The figure which illustrates schematically the structure of the vacuum apparatus of this invention. Sectional drawing explaining the detail of the conveying means shown in FIG. The perspective view explaining the detail of the conveyance means shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum apparatus 2 Processing chamber 3 Preparation chamber 4 Partition 6 Transfer means 61 Holder 8 Partition means

Claims (3)

A processing chamber in which a desired process is performed on a target object in a vacuum, a preparation chamber in which the target object is carried in and out in an atmospheric environment, and a processing chamber between the processing chamber and the preparation chamber. A partitioning means for partitioning the processing chamber and the preparation chamber, the partitioning means is provided integrally with the transporting means, and the partitioning means is moved to the processing chamber side. In the vacuum apparatus configured so that the processing chamber and the preparation chamber are isolated from each other by
Said conveying means includes a holder for holding the object to be processed, the this holder, and drive means for reciprocating in a straight line between the loading and unloading position in the process position and preparation chamber of processing chamber,
The drive means includes a spindle having a drive source and a support plate that supports the holder connected to one end of the spindle, and the spindle and the support plate are reciprocated in at least two locations along the reciprocating direction of the spindle. 1. A vacuum apparatus comprising a regulating means for applying a pressing force to a spindle and a support plate from both directions intersecting with a moving direction . The vacuum apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein delivery means for delivering an object to be processed to the holder is provided in the preparation chamber. The transfer means is further provided with another partitioning means, and when the transfer means is moved to the preparation chamber side, the processing chamber and the preparation chamber are separated from each other by the other partitioning means. The vacuum apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

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