JPH0317344B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is applicable to devices that require ultra-high vacuum, such as Auger analyzers and secondary ion mass spectrometers that perform surface analysis of samples. ,
The present invention relates to an apparatus for moving the sample to a certain degree in ultra-high vacuum.

(Prior Art) As this type of device, the devices shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 are conventionally known.

The apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is provided with a plurality of power transmission rods 3 to 5 on a mounting flange 2 provided on a vacuum vessel 1, and one end of these power transmission rods 3 to 5 is connected via movable seals 14 to 16. It is located outside the vacuum container 1 and has knobs 6 to 8 on its protruding end, while the other end is located inside the vacuum container 1.

Further, a movable mechanism 10 supported by a sample stage 9 is provided inside the vacuum container 1, and by turning the knobs 6 to 8, the sample mounted on the moving mechanism 10 can be moved. 11 in the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction.

In addition, in FIG. 2, numerals 12 and 13 are universal joints.

Further, in the apparatus shown in FIG. 3, a moving mechanism 10 is supported by a sample stage 17 provided outside the vacuum container 1, and a sample rod 18 is moved by this moving mechanism 10. And this sample rod 18
The sample 11 is placed at the tip facing into the vacuum container 1 via the movable seal 19. Therefore, when the sample rod 18 is moved by the moving mechanism 10, the sample 11 placed at its tip can be moved in the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction.

(Problems to be Solved by the Present Invention) The apparatus shown in FIG. 2 as described above has a moving mechanism 1
0 and universal joints 12 and 13 must be located within the vacuum vessel 1.

However, inside this vacuum container 1, lubricating oil cannot be used to avoid gas release in the vacuum.
Furthermore, since the coefficient of friction in a vacuum is extremely large compared to that in the atmosphere, there is a problem in that smooth movement of the moving mechanism 10, universal joints 12, 13, etc. is impaired.

Furthermore, when baking the inside of the vacuum container 1, the moving mechanism and the sliding parts of the universal joints expand, which, together with the inability to use the lubricating oil, impairs smooth movement. Ta.

Furthermore, since the moving mechanism is located inside the vacuum container as described above, a large amount of gas is released from that part, which is an obstacle to creating an ultra-high vacuum inside the container. Furthermore, in the apparatus shown in FIG. 3, which requires the use of a plurality of movable bellows and universal joints, the moving mechanism 10 is located outside the vacuum vessel 1, so the second
The drawbacks of the device shown have been overcome.

However, in the device shown in FIG. 3, although the sample rod 18 must be sufficiently long, it is not possible to provide rigidity commensurate with that length. vibration could not be prevented.

In addition, each mechanical element of the moving mechanism 10 essentially needs to have some wobbling, but since the sample rod 18 is too long as described above, the wobbling of the moving mechanism 10 is caused by the wobbling of the sample rod 18. There was a problem that the wobbling in the tilt direction at the tip of the sample was amplified and caused the position of the sample to move.

Furthermore, during baking of the device, the lubricating oil of the moving mechanism 10 reacts with gas in the atmosphere,
There was also a problem that the smooth operation of this moving mechanism was impaired because it could be oxidized or carbonized.

The object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that ensures smooth operation of the moving mechanism and prevents the sample rod from vibrating.

(Means for solving the problem) This invention provides a sample stage provided at one end of a sample rod.
This is based on an ultra-high vacuum sample moving device in which the sample rod faces into a vacuum container that maintains an ultra-high vacuum, and the other end of the sample rod is connected to a moving mechanism provided outside the vacuum container. be.

Based on the above-mentioned device, the present invention provides an auxiliary vacuum chamber adjacent to the vacuum container, and provides a bearing to support the sample rod at the boundary between the vacuum container and the auxiliary vacuum chamber. The device is characterized in that a vacuum pump other than the vacuum pump for the vacuum container is connected to the vacuum chamber, and by evacuating this auxiliary vacuum chamber, the bearing portion is maintained in a vacuum state.

(Operation of the present invention) With the above-described configuration, the vacuum container and the auxiliary vacuum chamber are evacuated by separate pumps, so gas released from the bearing or the auxiliary vacuum chamber does not flow into the vacuum container. .

(Effects of the Invention) According to the moving device of the present invention, the vacuum container can be completely sealed by evacuating the auxiliary vacuum chamber without sealing the bearing portion or baking the auxiliary vacuum chamber. This makes it easy to realize ultra-high vacuum.

Furthermore, in this invention, since a sealing member is not required in the bearing portion, an ultra-high vacuum can be achieved by baking the bearing portion. If a sealing member were present, a large amount of gas would be released during baking, which would impede ultra-high vacuum, but this invention eliminates such concerns.

(Embodiment of the present invention) In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a container body 20 of a vacuum container a and an auxiliary space 21 whose main element is a hollow member connected to this container body are arranged adjacent to each other. It is set up.

A mounting flange 22 is provided at the boundary between the container body 20 and the auxiliary vacuum chamber 21, and a bearing member 23 is provided on the mounting flange 22. A spherical bearing 24 is provided on the bearing support member 23, and the spherical bearing 24 supports the sample rod 27 so as to be movable in an inclined direction. Furthermore, a cylindrical parallel bearing 25 is inserted into this spherical bearing 24, and a ball 2 is attached to the inner periphery of this parallel bearing 25.
6 is provided, and the sample rod 27 is supported by this ball 26 so as to be movable in the axial direction.

The tip of the sample rod 27 thus constructed is located within the container body 20 and holds a sample stage 28, and this sample stage 28 is provided with a rotary table 30 on which a sample 29 is placed.

On the other hand, the other end of the sample rod 27 is connected to the moving mechanism b via an auxiliary vacuum chamber 21, and this auxiliary vacuum chamber 21 is provided with a differential exhaust pipe 31, and the container body 20 is evacuated. The differential exhaust pipe 31 is connected to a pump different from the pump that is used.

Further, a conductance ring 32 is provided on the parallel bearing 25, and a compression spring 33 is interposed between the conductance ring 32 and the moving mechanism b. Since the container body 20 and the auxiliary vacuum chamber 21 communicate only through the bearing,
The conductance, which indicates the ease with which gas flows, has a very small value. However, by providing this conductance ring, the value of conductance is further reduced, and almost no gas flows between the container body 20 and the auxiliary vacuum chamber 21.

The reason for providing the compression spring 33 as described above is that the action of this spring 33 causes the spherical bearing 2 to
This is to ensure that the parts 4 and 4 are in close contact with each other to ensure smooth sliding.

Further, by driving the motors 34 to 36 of the moving mechanism b, the sample 29 can be moved together with the sample stage 28 in the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction. At this time, the sample rod 27 is
Since the sample rod is supported at a substantially intermediate position, it is possible to prevent the tip of the sample rod from vibrating, and the sample 29 is also prevented from moving significantly due to rattling of the moving mechanism b.

It goes without saying that conventional knobs may be used in place of the motors 34-36.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

While evacuating the container body 20, the auxiliary vacuum chamber 21
When the auxiliary vacuum chamber 21 is exhausted, the gas released into the auxiliary vacuum chamber 21 is also exhausted from the differential exhaust pipe 31. Therefore, the released gas does not flow into the released gas container main body 20 within the auxiliary vacuum chamber 21 in this way. That is, by evacuating this auxiliary vacuum chamber 21, the container body 20 is completely sealed.

Therefore, there is no need to seal the bearing portion provided in the environment between the container body 20 and the auxiliary chamber empty space 21 with a sealing member such as an O-ring. Therefore, complete baking up to this bearing part is possible, and together with the above-mentioned complete sealing property, the container body 20
It is possible to create an ultra-high vacuum inside.

In this embodiment, the auxiliary vacuum chamber 21 is made of a hollow member, and the conductance ring 32 and the compression spring 33 are installed inside the auxiliary vacuum chamber 21. A differential exhaust pipe may be directly connected to this bellows.

In short, in this invention, the auxiliary vacuum chamber 2
Any mechanism may be used as long as the bearing portion can be substantially sealed by exhausting the air.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a device showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are schematic diagrams showing conventional devices. a... Vacuum container, 20... Container body, 21...
Auxiliary vacuum chamber, 24... Spherical bearing, 25... Parallel bearing, 27... Sample rod, 28... Sample stand, 29...
Sample, b...Movement mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A sample stage provided at one end of the sample rod faces into a vacuum container that maintains an ultra-high vacuum, and the other end of this sample rod is connected to a moving mechanism provided outside the vacuum container. In the ultra-high vacuum sample moving device, an auxiliary vacuum chamber is provided adjacent to the vacuum container, a bearing is provided at the boundary between the vacuum container and the auxiliary vacuum chamber to support the sample rod, and the auxiliary vacuum chamber includes: An ultra-high vacuum sample transfer device configured to maintain the bearing part in a vacuum state by connecting a vacuum pump other than the vacuum pump for the vacuum container and evacuating this auxiliary vacuum chamber.