JPH0762251B2 - Multi-chamber sputtering equipment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-chamber sputtering apparatus, and more particularly to a multi-chamber sputtering apparatus having an improved process chamber removing mechanism provided for maintenance of a separation chamber.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional multi-chamber type sputtering apparatus, the following structure has been adopted in consideration of maintenance of a separation chamber. FIG. 4 shows the first configuration.
Shown in. In FIG. 4, 1 is a separation chamber, 2 is
Is a load lock chamber, 3 to 6 are process chambers (also referred to as modular), and a plurality of 7 are gate valves arranged between the separation chamber 1 and the load lock chamber 2 and the process chambers 3 to 6, respectively. Is. In the apparatus having the configuration shown in the figure, for maintenance of the separation chamber 1 located in the central portion, no process chambers are provided at all the process chamber allocable portions around the separation chamber 1, and one portion is indicated by a broken line 8. So that it is an empty space. As a second configuration, there is also a multi-chamber type sputtering apparatus in which a process chamber is provided without forming an empty space in a place where a chamber can be arranged around the separation chamber. In the case of such a configuration, the take-out mechanism is provided in any of the plurality of process chambers, and when the separation chamber is maintained, the take-out mechanism is driven to make a space. However, in the case of such a configuration, there is a structural constraint that the pipe cannot be taken out unless the piping and electric wiring of the exhaust pump in the exhaust mechanism provided in the process chamber are removed.

[0003]

In the structure of the conventional multi-chamber type sputtering apparatus described above, according to the first structure, the number of process chambers is reduced because the empty space 8 must be secured. There is a defect. Further, according to the second configuration, when the process chamber is removed, the exhaust mechanism is stopped each time, and it takes a long time to start the exhaust operation after the removed process chamber is restored. There is. An object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum chamber in all the spaces around the separation chamber, and when the process chamber is removed for maintenance of the separation chamber, the process chamber can be removed without stopping the exhaust operation. An object of the present invention is to provide a multi-chamber sputtering apparatus that can perform an operation and does not require an exhaust start-up operation after restoration.

[0004]

A multi-chamber type sputtering apparatus according to the present invention has a structure in which a plurality of vacuum chambers are provided around the entire circumference of a separation chamber, and the plurality of vacuum chambers are one load lock chamber. A plurality of process chambers are provided, and a process chamber take-out mechanism for pulling out the process chamber while maintaining the evacuation operation by the evacuation mechanism in any of the plurality of process chambers is provided. In the above configuration, the process chamber take-out mechanism is a take-out mechanism having a rotating structure, and the pipe section and the electric wiring section of the exhaust mechanism are arranged in the vicinity of the rotating shaft section of the take-out mechanism. In addition, each of the above-mentioned configurations is characterized by including a gate valve that holds the separation chamber and other process chambers in a vacuum state when the process chamber is pulled out.

[0005]

According to the multi-chamber type sputtering apparatus of the present invention, even if a predetermined process chamber is taken out for performing maintenance on the separation chamber located in the central portion, the exhaust operation by the exhaust pump of the process chamber is continued. It is not necessary to start the exhaust operation of the exhaust system even when the removed process chamber is returned to its original position. As a concrete structure, preferably, a process chamber take-out mechanism having a rotating structure is provided, and a rotary pipe part and an electric wiring part are arranged in the vicinity of a rotating shaft part which is a rotation fulcrum thereof, so that the process chamber is taken out by a rotating operation. At that time, the operation of the exhaust pump in the exhaust mechanism can be continued.
Further, the vacuum chambers other than the removed process chambers, that is, the separation chamber and the other remaining process chambers are closed by the gate valve, and are continuously kept in a vacuum state by the operation of the respective exhaust systems.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a chamber configuration of a multi-chamber sputtering apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a system diagram showing a schematic configuration of an exhaust mechanism in a process chamber, and FIG. 3 is a main part of a process chamber takeout mechanism and an exhaust mechanism. It is a figure which shows a structure. In each figure, the elements substantially the same as the elements described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a separation chamber located at the center, and 2 is load lock chambers 3-6.
Reference numeral 9 is a process chamber, and a plurality of 7 are gate valves arranged between the separation chamber 1 and the process chambers 3 to 6, 9. Process chamber 3
Is provided with a take-out mechanism 10 for rotating and pulling out the process chamber 3. The take-out mechanism 10 includes a rotating shaft portion 10a having a predetermined space, and an arm portion 1 fixed to the rotating shaft portion 10a and supporting the process chamber 3.
It consists of 0b. A drive device such as a motor (not shown) is provided on the rotary shaft portion 10a of the take-out mechanism portion 10, and the rotary shaft portion 10a functions as a fulcrum of rotation and rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 1 to separate the process chamber 3 from the separation chamber. Separate from chamber 1 and pull out. The position of the process chamber 3 shown by the broken line in FIG. 1 shows the chamber position in the pulled-out state. Note that the process chamber 3 can be pulled out manually.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 2, each of the process chambers 3 to 6 and 9 is provided with an exhaust mechanism. This is to maintain the inside of the process chamber at a required level of vacuum. The same applies to vacuum chambers such as the separation chamber 1 and the load lock chamber 2. Such an exhaust mechanism includes, for example, a roughing rotary valve 11 and associated pipes 11a and valves 11b, a cryopump 12 for generating a high vacuum state, associated pipes 13 and a compressor 14. It Cryopump 1
2, the exhaust pipe, etc. are fixedly installed in the lower part of the process chamber,
It is arranged integrally with the chamber. In this way, the exhaust mechanism is integrally assembled in a vacuum chamber such as a process chamber.

Therefore, in the take-out mechanism 10 of the process chamber 3 described above, the exhaust pipe of the exhaust mechanism disposed in the process chamber 3 and the electric power supply wiring for operating the exhaust pump and the control system are connected to the rotating shaft portion. The space formed in the vicinity of 10 is arranged. At the connecting portion between the fixed side portion and the rotating side portion of the pipe,
A rotating mechanism that can rotate the pipe while maintaining the airtightness of the pipe is provided, and a wiring rotating mechanism is provided for electrical wiring. An example of the rotating mechanism is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 3, the process chamber 2 has an arm portion 10b fixed to its lower portion, and one end of the arm portion 10b is attached to the upper end of the rotary shaft portion 10a. An exhaust chamber 15 is provided below the process chamber 2, a cryopump 12 is fixed to the exhaust chamber 15, and a pipe 11a for roughing is connected. Further, the pipe 13 is also drawn out from the cryopump 12. The rotating shaft portion 10a is fixedly mounted on a support base 16, and the support base 16 is a base 17
Fixed to. The process chamber 3 has a rotating shaft portion 10a.
In addition to the take-out mechanism 10 including the arm 10b, the column 22 is also supported by the support column 22 that moves together with the process chamber 3 while supporting the process chamber 3 in accordance with the rotational drawing operation of the process chamber 3. The column 22 is provided with a roller at the lower part and can move on the rail of the base 17. A space is formed below the support base 16, and a pipe rotating mechanism and a wiring rotating mechanism are arranged in this space. In FIG. 3, 18 and 19 are pipe rotating mechanisms, and these pipe rotating mechanisms 18 and 19 are arranged on the same axis as the rotating shaft portion 10a, and are fixed portions 18a and 19a and rotating portion 18b, respectively.
It consists of 19b. 20 is a pipe rotating mechanism 18, 19
Is a mounting base for arranging at the upper and lower positions. In such a pipe rotating mechanism, the pipe 11a is connected to the rotating portion 18b, and the pipe 13 is connected to the rotating portion 19b. Further, the pipes 20 and 21 are further drawn out from the fixed portions 18a and 19 of the pipe rotating mechanisms 18 and 19, respectively. In the pipe rotating mechanism 18, the pipe 11a and the pipe 20 are rotatably connected while maintaining a sealing property, and similarly, in the pipe rotating mechanism 19, the pipe 13 and the pipe 21 are connected. Although the wiring rotating mechanism is not shown, it is arranged near the pipe rotating mechanism.
The wire rotation mechanism does not take up as much space as the pipe rotation mechanism. In the above configuration, when the process chamber 3 is pulled out by the rotating operation of the rotary take-out mechanism 10, the pipes 11a and 13 of the exhaust mechanism also rotate, but this rotation does not contact the support base 16. Further, the pipes 11a and 13 can smoothly rotate by the action of the pipe rotating mechanisms 18 and 19.

According to the above configuration, when performing maintenance on the separation chamber 1, the rotary take-out mechanism 10 is operated with the gate valve 7 closed,
The process chamber 3 is separated from the separation chamber 1 and taken out. At this time, the arrangement state of the pipes and electric wiring of the exhaust mechanism of the process chamber 3 is maintained in the vicinity of the rotating shaft portion 10a without being removed, and exhaust and power supply can be continued, so that the exhaust operation of the exhaust mechanism is stopped. The process chamber 3 can be taken out without the need. When the process chamber 3 is taken out, the separation chamber 1 and other process chambers 4 to
The insides of 6 and 9 are maintained in a vacuum state by the exhaust operation of each exhaust mechanism and each gate valve 7.

Further, as described above, the rotary take-out mechanism 10 is provided with the rotary mechanisms 18 and 19 for the exhaust pipe and the rotary mechanism (not shown) for the electric wiring for power supply so that the pipe and the wiring can move smoothly. In the case where the process chamber 3 is rotated and pulled out, it is not necessary to remove any piping or wiring, and the process chamber 3 can be pulled out and restored easily.

In the above-described embodiment, the take-out mechanism 10 of the process chamber 3 for performing maintenance of the separation chamber 1 is constituted by a rotary type, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the process is performed while the operation of the exhaust pump is maintained. Any configuration can be adopted as long as it can realize the similar function of pulling out the chamber. Further, the vacuum chamber taken out for performing maintenance of the separation chamber is not limited to the process chamber.

[0014]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, in a multi-chamber sputtering apparatus, the process chamber can be taken out without stopping the operation of the exhaust mechanism such as the process chamber, For this reason, the time for starting up the exhaust operation after restoration is unnecessary, the vacuuming of the taken-out process chamber can be started up in a short time, and the operation efficiency can be improved. It takes 2-3 hours to restart the exhaust pump after stopping the exhaust pump in the chamber as in the conventional case, but in the case of the present invention, this time is completely unnecessary because the exhaust pump is not stopped. . Further, according to the present invention, with such a configuration, it is possible to provide a processing vacuum chamber all around the separation chamber,
Space utilization efficiency can be improved. Further, since the exhaust system piping and electric wiring are not removed at the time of removing the process chamber, removal and restoration are facilitated, and maintainability of the separation chamber is improved. At the same time, a pipe leak test after restoration is not required. In addition, the process chambers other than the taken-out process chamber and the separation chamber can be kept in a vacuum state by the gate valve, which is convenient for processing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a chamber configuration of a multi-chamber sputtering apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a system diagram showing a schematic configuration of an exhaust mechanism in a process chamber.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a main structure of a process chamber takeout mechanism and an exhaust mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a chamber configuration of a conventional multi-chamber sputtering apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Separation Chamber 2 Load Lock Chamber 3-6, 9 Process Chamber 7 Gate Valve 10 Process Chamber Extraction Mechanism 11 Rotary Pump 12 Cryopump 11a, 13 Piping 18, 19 Piping Rotation Mechanism

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A multi-chamber sputtering apparatus having a plurality of vacuum chambers all around the separation chamber, wherein the plurality of vacuum chambers comprises one load lock chamber and a plurality of process chambers. A multi-chamber sputtering apparatus comprising a process chamber take-out mechanism that draws out the process chamber while maintaining the exhaust operation by the exhaust mechanism. 2. The multi-chamber sputtering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the process chamber take-out mechanism is a take-out mechanism having a rotating structure, and a pipe part and an electric device of the exhaust mechanism are provided in the vicinity of a rotary shaft part of the take-out mechanism. A multi-chamber sputtering apparatus having a wiring section. 3. The multi-chamber sputtering apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a gate valve that holds the separation chamber and other process chambers in a vacuum state when the process chamber is pulled out. Multi-chamber type sputtering system.