JP5158959B2 - Processing apparatus and film forming apparatus using the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a processing apparatus and a film forming apparatus using the same.

  Conventionally, in a solar cell manufacturing process, a substrate is heated to 100 ° C. or more (heating process), and a metal layer and a semiconductor layer are sequentially formed on the heated substrate (film forming process) to form a laminate. After that, the substrate is taken out from the manufacturing apparatus, and this stacked body portion is cut by a laser beam (cutting step), so that a plurality of solar battery cells are manufactured on one substrate. In this case, since the substrate temperature after the film formation process remains at 100 ° C. or higher, it is necessary to cool the substrate appropriately in order to perform the subsequent process on this substrate. However, with natural cooling, it takes a considerable amount of time to cool, and the substrate cools from the edge, causing high temperature portions and low temperature portions on the substrate surface, resulting in distortion, resulting in tensile stress acting on the substrate, Substrate cracking is likely to occur. Therefore, as a device capable of performing a substrate cooling step in order to prevent substrate cracking after the film forming step, a film forming device including a vent pipe from which vent gas is jetted as a cooling means for cooling the substrate is known (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-64478 A (refer to claim 1, FIG. 1)

  According to the film forming apparatus, cooling can be sufficiently performed and substrate cracking can be prevented. However, there is a need for a processing device with a simpler configuration than at present.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and provide a processing apparatus capable of cooling the substrate by preventing the substrate cracking with a simple configuration and a film forming apparatus using the same. It is something to try.

The processing apparatus of the present invention is transported to a predetermined position by a chamber, a transport means for transporting the substrate, a control means for controlling the operation of the transport means to stop the substrate at a predetermined position in the chamber. Two or more cooling fans installed so as to face the central portion of the stopped substrate, and the cooling fan is arranged so that the flow of air from the cooling fan becomes a vortex in the chamber. It is characterized by being installed .

The processing apparatus of the present invention has a simple configuration in which two or more cooling fans are provided in the chamber as cooling means, and this cooling fan is opposed to the central portion of the substrate that has been transported to a predetermined position and stopped. Therefore, it is possible to cool from the vicinity of the central portion of the substrate to the end portion, and to prevent the substrate from cracking. In addition, by forming a vortex in the chamber, it is possible to cool from the center and to improve the cooling efficiency.

  In this case, it is preferable that the cooling fan is provided on the ceiling of the chamber so as to cool from the film forming surface having a high temperature.

  Specifically, the cooling fan is installed with an inclination so that the flow of air from the cooling fan is swirled in the chamber, and a wind direction control plate is provided on the cooling fan, and the cooling fan is provided. It is mentioned that the flow of air from the industrial fan is swirled in the chamber.

  The film forming apparatus of the present invention includes a heating apparatus that heats a substrate, a film forming apparatus that forms a film on the heated substrate, and the processing apparatus. Since the film forming apparatus of the present invention includes the processing apparatus, the film can be cooled and taken out without causing substrate cracking.

  According to the processing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to achieve an excellent effect of preventing substrate cracking. In addition, according to the film forming apparatus of the present invention using this, it is possible to achieve an excellent effect that it is possible to prevent substrate cracking after film formation.

  A film forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The film forming apparatus 1 includes a load lock chamber 11, a heating chamber 12, a film forming chamber 13, an isolation chamber 14, and a cooling chamber 15 which is a processing apparatus of the present invention. A gate valve 16 is provided between the upstream side of the load lock chamber 11 and the downstream side of the cooling chamber 15, and between the load lock chamber 11, the heating chamber 12, the film forming chamber 13, and the isolation chamber 14. The load lock chamber 11, the heating chamber 12, the film forming chamber 13, the isolation chamber 14, and the cooling chamber 15 can each be provided with an evacuation means (not shown) to maintain a vacuum state. The isolation chamber 14 is provided to isolate the cooling chamber 15 that is open to the atmosphere from the film formation chamber 13 and maintain the vacuum state of the film formation chamber 13.

  The operation of the film forming apparatus 1 will be described. The substrate S is transferred to the load lock chamber 11 by opening the gate valve 16 on the upstream side of the load lock chamber 11, and after evacuating the load lock chamber 11, the gate valve 16 on the downstream side of the load lock chamber 11 is opened to open the heating chamber. The substrate S is transported to 12. In the heating chamber 12, the substrate S is heated to a predetermined temperature by a heater such as an infrared lamp. Thereafter, the substrate S is transferred to the film formation chamber 13 and film formation is performed on the substrate surface by, for example, the CVD method. After the film formation, the substrate S is transferred to the cooling chamber 15 via the isolation chamber 14, and after being cooled to a predetermined temperature, the downstream side gate valve 16 is opened and taken out to the outside.

  Here, the configuration of the cooling chamber 15 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1 to FIG. 7, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same components. 2A and 2B are views for explaining a cooling chamber which is a processing apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the cooling chamber, and FIG. 2B is a schematic transverse sectional view.

  The cooling chamber 15 includes a transport unit 151 for transporting the substrate S. The transport unit 151 includes a transport unit 152 that transports the substrate S and a support unit 153 that supports the transport unit 152. The transport unit 152 is, for example, a roller or a belt conveyor, and is configured so that the substrate S can be transported in the short direction of the substrate S by placing the substrate S in a substantially horizontal state. The transport unit 152 includes a control unit 154 that controls stop / operation of the transport operation of the substrate S. Two cooling fans 155 a and 155 b are provided in the central portion of the ceiling wall of the cooling chamber 15 so as to be separated in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate S. The cooling fans 155a and 155b are installed so as to be horizontal with the substrate S on which the air blowing surface 156 is placed.

  The operation of the cooling chamber 15 will be described. When the substrate S is placed on the transport unit 152, the transport unit 152 is operated by the control unit 154 to transport the substrate S. When the substrate S is transported until the center of the substrate S is positioned substantially below the central portion of the cooling chamber 15, the operation of the transport unit 152 is stopped by the control unit 154, and the transport of the substrate S is stopped. Here, the cooling fans 155 a and 155 b are opposed to the longitudinal direction of the substrate S in the vicinity of the center portion of the substrate S. In this state, the cooling fans 155a and 155b are driven by a driving source (not shown) to start blowing air.

  The state of this ventilation will be described with reference to FIG. FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams for explaining the state of the flow of the air flow in the cooling chamber 15, wherein FIG. 3A is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the cooling chamber, and FIG. 3B is a schematic transverse sectional view. Note that the control unit 154 and the gate valve 16 are omitted in FIG. 3 for explaining the blowing state. When the air blowing is started, as shown in FIG. 3, the air from the two cooling fans 155a and 155b (shown by dotted lines in FIG. 3) hits the central portion of the substrate S most frequently, Cool the substrate towards the edge. Thus, it is possible to prevent the substrate S from cracking by cooling the substrate from the center.

  In the present embodiment, by providing two cooling fans 155a and 155b in the longitudinal direction, it is possible to cool from the center of the substrate S to the end of the substrate S to prevent substrate cracking. .

  Another embodiment of the cooling chamber 15 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining the configuration of the cooling chamber, in which FIG. 4A is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the cooling chamber, and FIG. 4B is a schematic transverse sectional view.

  The present embodiment shown in FIG. 4 differs from the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 in the installation angle of the cooling fan 155. That is, in FIG. 2, the cooling fans 155 a and 155 b are installed so that the air blowing surface 156 is horizontal with respect to the substrate S. However, in FIG. 4, the cooling fans 155 a and 155 b are the cooling fans 155. The air blowing surface 156 is inclined and installed so that the flow of air from the air becomes spiral in the cooling chamber 15.

  More specifically, the cooling fan 155a is inclined from the downstream side in the substrate transport direction toward the upstream side in FIG. 4A, and is inclined from the center side of the substrate toward the end side of the substrate. Is attached. The cooling fan 155b (not shown in FIG. 4A) is inclined from the upstream side toward the downstream side, and is inclined from the center side of the substrate toward the end portion side of the substrate. As described above, when the cooling fans 155a and 155b are installed so that the air blowing surfaces 156 of the cooling fans 155a and 155b face each other slightly and face each other in the substrate transfer direction, the cooling fans The air blown from 155a and 155b becomes vortex in the cooling chamber 15 as indicated by the dotted line in FIG. As a result, the substrate S can be cooled from the central portion, and the cooling efficiency of the substrate S can be increased, thereby preventing the substrate from being cracked more reliably.

  Moreover, in order to make the ventilation from a fan into a vortex shape, it is also possible to comprise as shown in FIG. 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining the configuration of the cooling chamber 15, wherein FIG. 5A is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the cooling chamber, and FIG. 5B is a schematic transverse sectional view. The embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is different from the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 in that two other cooling fans 155c and 155d are provided. These cooling fans 155c and 155d are also installed so that the air is inclined from the center side of the substrate toward the end portion of the substrate, and the cooling fan 155c is directed from the downstream side to the upstream side in the substrate transport direction. Further, the cooling fan 155d is installed to be inclined from the upstream side to the downstream side in the substrate transport direction.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, since the four cooling fans 155 a to 155 d are installed as described above, the flow of air from the cooling fan becomes a vortex in the cooling chamber 15. As a result, the substrate S can be cooled from the central portion, and the cooling efficiency of the substrate S can be further increased, and substrate cracking can be prevented more reliably.

  Furthermore, in order to make the flow of the air blown from the fan into a spiral shape, it is possible to configure as shown in FIG. 6A and 6B are diagrams for explaining the configuration of the cooling chamber 15, wherein FIG. 6A is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the cooling chamber, and FIG. 6B is a schematic transverse sectional view. FIG. 6 is different from the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 in that an air direction control plate (filter) 157 is provided on each of the cooling fans 155a and 155b. The air direction control plate 157 is configured to control the air direction so that the flow of air from the cooling fans 155a and 155b is spiral. The wind direction control plate 157 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of the wind direction control plate, in which (a) is a schematic front view, and (b) is an enlarged perspective view of a slit portion. As shown in FIG. 7, the air direction control plate 157 is provided with a slit 158. In this embodiment, eight slits 158 are provided as an example, and the slit inlet 159a formed on the surface connected to the air blowing surface 156 side of the cooling fans 155a and 155b of the airflow direction control plate 157 and the other surface, respectively. The slit outlet 159b formed on the side is formed in a shifted position. That is, the slit 158 is formed at an angle rather than perpendicular to the surface connected to the air blowing surface 156 side of the cooling fans 155a and 155b of the airflow direction control plate 157. Therefore, when the air flows from the slit inlet 159a on the air blowing surface 156 side and the air flows out from the slit outlet 159b, the air is swirled in the cooling chamber 15.

  By making the airflow vortexed by the slit 158 of the airflow direction control plate 157 in the cooling chamber 15, the substrate S can be cooled from the central portion and the cooling efficiency of the substrate S can be increased, and the substrate cracking can be further improved. It can be reliably prevented. Further, when the air direction control plate 157 is provided as described above, it is not necessary to incline the cooling fans 155 a and 155 b, and the flow of the air can be easily swirled in the cooling chamber 15.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, in FIGS. 2 to 6, the cooling fans are provided separately from each other. However, when the air direction control plate 157 is provided, the cooling fans may not be provided separately. In addition, when the cooling fans 155a to 155d are installed with an inclination, the inclination angle may be determined as appropriate in consideration of the size of the substrate, etc., and different inclination angles may be used. In addition, if the flow of air in the cooling chamber 15 can be made vortex, the direction of inclination can be freely set.

  Further, the cooling fan may be provided on the bottom surface of the cooling chamber 15 as long as it is at a position facing the substrate. In this case, if the transport unit 152 is composed of a roller, the air blown from the cooling fan provided at the bottom of the cooling chamber 15 passes through the gap between the rollers, and similarly the substrate S can be cooled from the center. Is possible.

  The processing apparatus and film forming apparatus of the present invention can be used in the fields of semiconductor device manufacturing, solar cell manufacturing, and thin display manufacturing.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the film-forming apparatus. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the structure of a cooling chamber. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the state of the flow of the ventilation in a cooling chamber. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the structure of a cooling chamber. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the structure of a cooling chamber. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the structure of a cooling chamber. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the structure of a wind direction control board.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Film-forming apparatus 11 Load lock chamber 12 Heating chamber 13 Film-forming chamber 14 Isolation chamber 15 Cooling chamber 16 Gate valve 151 Transfer means 152 Transfer section 153 Support section 154 Control sections 155a to 155d Cooling fan 156 Air blowing surface 157 Air direction control plate

Claims (5)

A chamber, transport means for transporting the substrate, control means for controlling the operation of the transport means to stop the substrate at a predetermined position in the chamber, and a center of the substrate transported to the predetermined position and stopped Two or more cooling fans installed so as to face the part ,
The processing apparatus , wherein the cooling fan is installed so that the flow of air from the cooling fan is swirled in the chamber .   The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling fan is provided on a ceiling portion of the chamber. The cooling fan installed with a slope, processing apparatus according to the flow of the air from the cooling fan to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a vortex in the chamber. The cooling fan provided air direction control board, the processing device according the flow of air blown from the cooling fan to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a vortex in the chamber. A heating device for heating the substrate, a film forming apparatus for forming a film on a heated substrate, the film formation apparatus being characterized in that a said processing device according to any one of claims 1-4.

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