CN100424814C - Vacuum treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a vacuum processing device capable of simplifying the substrate transfer process of the vacuum processing device. The vacuum processing device (10) includes a loading/unloading chamber (11), a vacuum preheating chamber (12) and a processing chamber (13). In the vacuum preheating chamber (12), a forward transfer mechanism (22), a reverse transfer mechanism (32) and a heater (H) for heating the substrate (W) are provided. One heater (H) is provided on the forward transfer mechanism (22) side. The forward transfer mechanism (21, 22) transfers the substrate (W) in the forward direction, and the reverse transfer mechanism (31, 32) transfers the processed substrate (W) in the reverse direction. The load/unload chamber (11) is a chamber that can be switched between air-opening and vacuum-tight. The substrate (W) is put in from the load/unload chamber (11), and the substrate (W) is recovered through the transfer operation (x2~x5). .

Description

Vacuum treatment device

technical field

The present invention relates to a vacuum processing device for performing thin film formation, etching, heat treatment, etc. in a vacuum environment.

Background technique

When a plurality of different vacuum processes are sequentially performed by one device, as a device for transferring the object to be processed from the processing chamber to the next processing chamber in a vacuum, there is known a device having a vacuum preheating chamber and a processing chamber, and in A load lock type vacuum device with a plurality of substrate transfer devices is installed in the vacuum preheating chamber. This apparatus employs a configuration in which substrates are transferred between processing chambers on two separate transfer lines provided in a vacuum preheating chamber (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-239144 (page 2, Fig. 1, Fig. 2 )

In the load-lock vacuum apparatus of Patent Document 1, since the substrate is transported to and loaded from the processing chamber by one of the two transport lines, there is a problem that the transport operation of the transport line is complicated.

Contents of the invention

(1) The vacuum processing apparatus of the present invention includes: two or more 1st to nth processing chambers that are connected to each other and continuously perform vacuum processing on the object to be processed; In the processing chamber, a forward transfer mechanism for forwardly transferring the aforementioned object to be processed to the next processing chamber respectively; , and from the nth processing chamber that is vacuum-treated at the end, through the (n-1) to the first processing chambers in sequence, the reverse transfer mechanism that transfers the processed object in reverse; When the processing chamber sequentially transfers the object to be processed and when the processed object is reversely transferred from the nth processing chamber, the forward transfer mechanism and the reverse transfer mechanism of the (n-1) processing chamber are fixed to one respectively. The drive mechanism for moving the movable position.

(2) In the above vacuum processing apparatus, the object to be processed is transferred by the forward transfer mechanism, and the processed object is recovered from the nth processing chamber where the vacuum processing is performed last by the reverse transfer mechanism.

(3) In the above-mentioned vacuum processing apparatus, a transfer chamber capable of being switched between air-opening and vacuum-sealing is further provided, and is used to transfer the object to be processed to the first processing chamber that performs vacuum processing first among the first to n-th processing chambers. , and recover the processed object from the nth processing chamber which is vacuum-treated last among the first to nth processing chambers.

In the vacuum processing apparatus of the present invention, since the forward transfer mechanism and the reverse transfer mechanism are specially equipped, the substrate transfer process can be simplified.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic overall configuration diagram showing the configuration of a vacuum processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a transfer device of a vacuum processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a timing chart showing substrate transfer using the vacuum processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

10: Vacuum processing device 11: Load/unload chamber

11a: Exhaust System 11b: Bleed System

12: Vacuum preparatory heating chamber 12a: Exhaust system

13: Processing chamber 13a: Exhaust system

14: Holding part 14a: Transporting components

21, 22: To the transfer mechanism 22a: Lifting mechanism

22b: Moving components 23: Frame

23a: Import entrance 23b: Exit exit

31, 32: Reverse transfer mechanism 32a: Lifting mechanism

32b: Moving components 33: Frame

33a: import entrance 33b: export exit

100: External room G1～G3: Door

H: Heater P: Electrode

W, W1～W6: substrate (object to be processed) x1～x6: transfer action (action)

y, y1, y2: lifting action

Detailed ways

Next, a vacuum processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 .

Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a schematic overall configuration diagram of a vacuum processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The vacuum processing device 10 includes a load/unload chamber 11 , a vacuum preheating chamber 12 , a processing chamber 13 , forward transfer mechanisms 21 , 22 and reverse transfer mechanisms 31 , 32 . The load/unload chamber 11 is configured to be open to the atmosphere and to be vacuum-tight, and is used to transfer the unprocessed substrate W to the vacuum preheating chamber 12 and collect the processed substrate W. The vacuum preheating chamber 12 and the processing chamber 13 are always kept in a vacuum state during the operation of the vacuum processing apparatus 10 . The load/unload chamber 11 is connected to the exhaust system 11a and the discharge system 11b, and the vacuum preheating chamber 12 and the processing chamber 13 are respectively connected to the exhaust systems 12a, 13a. The external chamber 100 is configured separately from the vacuum processing apparatus 10, and is a chamber for storing and supplying unprocessed substrates W to the vacuum processing apparatus 10 and recovering processed substrates W. The interior is always for atmospheric pressure.

In the loading/unloading chamber 11, a door G1 is provided on the side facing the external chamber 100, and on the boundary of the loading/unloading chamber 11 and the vacuum preheating chamber 12, a door G2 is provided, and between the vacuum preheating chamber 12 and the processing chamber 13 On the boundary, a gate G3 is provided. The door G1 opens the load/unload chamber 11 only when the substrate W is carried in and out of the apparatus, and is normally in a sealed state. The doors G2 and G3 respectively seal the chamber during the processing of the substrate W, and open the chamber respectively during the loading and unloading of the substrate W. Arrows x1 and x6 represent the movement of the substrate W passing through the gate G1, arrows x2 and x5 represent the movement of the substrate W passing through the gate G2, and arrows x3 and x4 represent the movement of the substrate W passing through the gate G3. Also, an arrow y indicates the movement of the substrate W in the vacuum preliminary heating chamber 12 . The substrate W is an object to be processed that is heated in the vacuum preliminary heating chamber 12 and subjected to predetermined processing by RF plasma such as film formation, etching, and sputtering in the processing chamber 13 .

In the load/unload chamber 11, a forward transfer mechanism 21 and a reverse transfer mechanism 31 are provided. The forward transfer mechanism 21 uses action x1 to transfer the substrate W transferred to the load/unload chamber 11 to the vacuum preheating chamber 12 (action x2), and the reverse transfer mechanism 31 carries in the processed substrate from the vacuum preheating chamber 12 W (action x5).

In the vacuum preheating chamber 12, a forward transfer mechanism 22, a reverse transfer mechanism 32, and a heater H for preheating the substrate W are provided. One heater H is provided on the forward feed mechanism 22 side. The forward transfer mechanism 22 is movable in the arrow y direction by the elevating mechanism 22a, and the reverse transfer mechanism 32 is movable in the arrow y direction by the elevating mechanism 32a. As shown in the figure, the forward transfer mechanism 22 uses the position at the same height as the forward transfer mechanism 21 (it may also be a position during preliminary heating) as a fixed position, and when the preliminary heating is completed, it is lowered by the lifting mechanism 22a, and the The substrate W is transferred to the processing chamber 13 (action x3). The reverse transfer mechanism 32 takes the position at the same height as the reverse transfer mechanism 31 as a fixed position, and when the plasma processing is finished, it is lifted by the lift mechanism 32a, and the processed substrate W is carried into the vacuum preheating chamber from the processing chamber 13. In chamber 12 (action x4).

That is, by using the forward transfer mechanisms 21, 22, the unprocessed substrate W can be sequentially transferred to the vacuum preheating chamber 12 and the processing chamber 13, and by using the reverse transfer mechanisms 31, 32, the processed substrate W can be transferred from The processing chamber 13 is reversely transferred to the load/unload chamber 11 through the vacuum preheating chamber 12

In the processing chamber 13, an RF electrode P for performing plasma processing on the substrate W, and a holding unit 14 for holding the substrate W are provided. In the present embodiment, when the holding part 14 transfers the substrate W to the forward transfer mechanism 22 and the reverse transfer mechanism 32, it is kept fixed without moving up and down, but it is also possible to use the forward transfer mechanism 22 and the reverse The transfer mechanism 32 is configured to move the holding unit 14 up and down to transfer the substrate W while being fixed.

In addition, the vacuum processing apparatus 10 is also provided with a carrying-in device for carrying the substrate W into the load/unload chamber 11 from the external chamber 100 (operation x1), and carrying out the substrate W from the load/unload chamber 11 to the external chamber. 100 (action x6) of the unloading device, but the illustration is omitted. These devices allow loading of the substrate W into the vacuum processing apparatus 10 and recovery of the substrate W from the vacuum processing apparatus 10 . Moreover, when not only transferring the substrate W alone but also transferring the substrate W on a tray as a whole, it is only necessary to collect the substrate W in the external chamber 100 and transfer the collected tray to the external chamber. The input side (upper side in the figure) of 100 can be turned back.

Next, the forward feed mechanism 22 and the reverse feed mechanism 32 will be described. Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of the forward transfer mechanism 22 and the reverse transfer mechanism 32 of the vacuum processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. The forward transfer mechanism 22 and the reverse transfer mechanism 32 are respectively arranged in the liftable frame bodies 23 and 33, and the frame bodies 23 and 33 are raised and lowered in the vacuum preheating chamber 12 by the lift mechanisms 22a and 32a respectively.

The forward feed mechanism 22 has a some conveyance member (conveyance roller) 22b. The conveying member 22b is a rotating member (rotating roller) that mounts the substrate W during preheating, rotates around an axis during substrate transfer, and transfers the substrate W to the processing chamber 13 along an operation x3. Further, the frame body 23 is provided with an opening for passing the substrate W, that is, a loading port 23a and a loading port 23b.

The reverse transport mechanism 32 also has a plurality of transport members (conveyance rollers) 32b in the same manner. The conveying member 32 b is a rotating member (rotating roller) that rotates around an axis and transfers the substrate W that has been plasma-processed in the processing chamber 13 into the vacuum preprocessing chamber 12 along an operation x4 . The rotation direction of the conveyance member 32b at this time is opposite to the rotation direction of the conveyance member 22b. Further, the frame body 33 is provided with an opening for passing the substrate W, that is, a loading port 33a and a loading port 33b.

The holding unit 14 has a transport member (transport roller) 14a rotatable around an axis. The transport member 14a assists the transfer of the substrate from the vacuum preliminary heating chamber 12 to the processing chamber 13 by the forward transfer mechanism 22, and A rotating member (rotating roller) that assists substrate transfer from the processing chamber 13 to the vacuum preheating chamber 12 by the reverse transfer mechanism 32 . Of course, the rotation direction of the conveyance member 14a is reversed in forward transfer and reverse transfer.

The state shown in Fig. 2 is that the conveying member 22b of a kind of forward conveying mechanism 22 is at the height position corresponding to the conveying member 14a of the holding part 14, preferably both are on the same plane, and the preheating can be finished. The state in which the substrate W is transferred to the processing chamber 13 . In this way, since the substrate W is transferred on the same plane, it is possible to prevent the substrate W from falling or the like when it is transferred to the holding portion 14 . Conversely, when the substrate W is transferred from the processing chamber 13 to the pre-vacuum heating chamber 12 by the reverse transfer mechanism 32, the forward transfer mechanism 22 is raised by the elevating mechanism 22a, and the reverse transfer mechanism is moved by the elevating mechanism 32a. 32 also rises, and is positioned so that the transport member 32b of the reverse transport mechanism 32 is at a height position corresponding to the transport member 14a of the holding portion 14, preferably both are on the same plane. Thereby, the processed substrate W can be transferred on a horizontal plane. In addition, even if the forward transfer mechanism 22 and the reverse transfer mechanism 32 are provided on a frame that can be raised and lowered, and the elevating mechanism is also configured as one, the forward transfer of the substrate W as described above can also be performed. Transfer and reverse transfer.

Like this, since the action x3 of the transfer is forward, and the action x4 is reverse, and dedicated transfer devices are respectively provided, the rotation directions of the transport members 22b, 32b are only one direction set respectively. Therefore, the transfer control of the substrate W can be simplified. And, as shown in the figure, since the forward transfer mechanism 22 is disposed on the upper level, the reverse transfer mechanism 32 is disposed on the lower level, and the heater H is disposed on the uppermost level, the influence of heating by the heater H will not be affected. Spread to the reverse transfer mechanism 32. That is, the substrate W that is being transferred in the reverse direction in the action x4 is recovered without being affected by the heating. In addition, the arrangement of the forward transfer mechanism 22 and the reverse transfer mechanism 32 is not limited to two upper and lower stages, and may be arranged in two rows in the horizontal direction. When arrange|positioning in 2 rows along the horizontal direction, the heater H is arrange|positioned at the forward transfer mechanism 22 side.

Next, the transfer operation of the substrate W will be described with reference to FIG. 3 . FIG. 3 is a timing chart of substrate transfer by the vacuum processing apparatus 10 , and FIGS. 3( a ) to ( d ) show states inside the apparatus when a set time elapses. In addition, in order to avoid complicating the illustration, in FIG. 3 the substrate W and its operation are mainly shown, and only the symbols of the constituent members are attached to FIG. 3( a ). Furthermore, the substrates W are numbered W1, W2, W3, . . . in the order in which they are processed.

Referring to Fig. 3 (a), action x1～x3 is the transfer action (forward transfer) advancing to the right in the figure, and action x4～x6 is the transfer action (reverse transfer) advancing to the left in the figure. In operation x1, after adjusting the pressure of the load/unload chamber 11 to atmospheric pressure, the door G1 is opened to carry the substrate W in, and the door G1 is closed to evacuate the load/unload chamber 11. In action x6, after adjusting the pressure of the load/unload chamber 11 to atmospheric pressure, the door G1 is opened to carry out the substrate W, and the door G1 is closed to vacuum the load/unload chamber 11. During actions x2, x3, x4, and x5, each chamber of the load/unload chamber 11, the pre-vacuum heating chamber 12, and the processing chamber 13 is under approximately the same vacuum pressure, and the doors are closed without pressure adjustment.

In this embodiment, for simplicity, the vacuum preheating chamber 12 is equivalent to the processing chamber for vacuum processing at first, and the processing chamber 13 is equivalent to the processing chamber for vacuum processing at the end, and the preliminary heating in the vacuum preheating chamber 12 is The time is the same as the processing time in the processing chamber 13 . Let the time of one cycle of them be T.

Fig. 3(a) shows the state after the transfer is performed in the following sequence. That is, the first substrate W1 is transferred from the load/unload chamber 11 to the vacuum preheating chamber 12 by operation x2. After this transfer, the load/unload chamber 11 is released to the atmosphere, and the second substrate W2 is transferred from the external chamber 100 to the load/unload chamber 11 by operation x1. The third substrate W3 is placed on standby in the external chamber 100 to set the state of FIG. 3( a ) to the initial state t=0.

FIG. 3( b ) shows the state of the vacuum processing apparatus 10 when t=T after one cycle of time T has elapsed. During this one cycle, the evacuation of the load/unload chamber 11 released to the atmosphere is completed. After the forward transfer mechanism 22 is lowered from the fixed position in the y2 direction to be at the same height as the holding part 14 of the processing chamber 13, the substrate W1 that has completed the preliminary heat treatment is transferred to the processing chamber 13 by operation x3. The forward transfer mechanism 22 is returned to the fixed position, and the substrate W2 is transferred from the load/unload chamber 11 to the vacuum preheating chamber 12 by action x2, and the substrate W3 is transferred from the external chamber 100 to the load/unload chamber 11 by action x1 While being transferred, the fourth substrate W4 is kept on standby in the external chamber 100 .

FIG. 3( c ) shows the state of the vacuum processing apparatus 10 when t=2T after one cycle has elapsed. After the reverse transfer mechanism 32 is raised from the fixed position in the y1 direction to be at the same height as the holding part 14 of the processing chamber 13, the substrate W1 after plasma processing is transferred to the vacuum preheating chamber 12 by operation x4. 3(b), the substrates W2 and W3 are transferred to the right by one chamber each, and the substrate W4 is transferred from the external chamber 100 to the load/unload chamber 11 by operation x1, and The fifth substrate W5 is made to stand by in the external chamber 100 .

FIG. 3( d ) shows the state of the vacuum processing device 10 when t=3T after one cycle has elapsed. The reverse transfer mechanism 32 is returned to the fixed position, and the substrate W1 is transferred from the pre-vacuum heating chamber 12 to the load/unload chamber 11 by operation x5. After the reverse transfer mechanism 32 is raised in the y1 direction to be at the same height as the stage of the processing chamber 13, the substrate W2 after the plasma processing is transferred to the vacuum preheating chamber 12 by operation x4. 3(b), the substrates W3 and W4 are transferred to the right by one chamber each, and the substrate W5 is transferred from the external chamber 100 to the load/unload chamber 11 by operation x1, and The sixth substrate W6 is made to stand by in the external chamber 100 .

Next, by repeating the above process, a plurality of substrates W can be processed and recovered continuously. The vacuum processing apparatus of the present embodiment is specially provided with forward transfer mechanisms 21, 22 for forward transfer and reverse transfer mechanisms 31, 32 for reverse transfer, so simple transfer operations (algorithms) can be used. The transfer and recovery of the substrate W are performed, and the transfer and recovery of the substrate W may be performed at the same time sequence. Therefore, as shown in the timing chart of FIG. 3, the substrate W always exists in the load/unload chamber 11, the pre-vacuum heating chamber 12, and the processing chamber, and no idle time occurs. Furthermore, since the heater H is not necessarily provided in the reverse transfer mechanism 32 for reverse transfer, but is provided only in the forward transfer mechanism 22 for forward transfer, equipment costs can be reduced.

In addition, the load/unload chamber 11 is opened to the atmosphere and evacuated once in each cycle time for loading and unloading the substrate W, but since this operation is performed during the processing of the substrate W, no processing error occurs at all. free time. Therefore, when performing multiple types of vacuum processing with one vacuum processing apparatus, the intermittent time can be shortened.

The vacuum processing apparatus 10 of this embodiment is composed of three chambers: a load/unload chamber 11, a vacuum preheating chamber 12, and a processing chamber 13. Since the loading chamber for transferring and the unloading chamber for recovering the processed substrate W from the processing chamber 13 can realize miniaturization of the vacuum processing apparatus 10 as a whole.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above as long as the characteristics are not impaired. For example, even if the loading/unloading chamber 11 is omitted and a two-chamber configuration of the vacuum preheating chamber 12 and the processing chamber 13 is adopted, the present invention can be applied, and further miniaturization can be achieved. In this case, the pre-vacuum heating chamber 12 is opened to the atmosphere and evacuated, and the substrate W can be directly carried in and out of the pre-vacuum heating chamber 12 from the outside (for example, an external room). Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to a vacuum processing apparatus in which two or more processing chambers are connected in front of the processing chamber 13 where vacuum processing is performed last, and three or more types of processing are performed continuously. In addition, in this embodiment, the combination of the vacuum preheating chamber 12 and the processing chamber 13 for performing plasma processing is described as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to other combinations of vacuum processing.

Claims (9)

1. A vacuum treatment device, characterized in that it comprises: Two or more 1st to nth processing chambers that are connected to each other and continuously perform vacuum processing on the object to be processed; Installed in each of the first to (n-1) processing chambers, a forward transfer mechanism for forwardly transferring the aforementioned objects to be processed to the next processing chamber respectively; Each of the first to (n-1) processing chambers is provided separately from the aforementioned forward transfer mechanism, and passes through each of the (n-1) to first processing chambers sequentially from the nth processing chamber where the vacuum processing is performed last. a processing chamber, a reverse transfer mechanism for reverse transfer of processed objects; and When the aforementioned processed objects are sequentially transferred to the aforementioned nth processing chamber and when the aforementioned processed processed objects are reversely transferred from the aforementioned nth processing chamber, the aforementioned forward transfer of the aforementioned (n-1)th processing chamber The driving mechanism that the mechanism and the aforementioned reverse transfer mechanism move to a fixed and transferable position respectively. 2. The vacuum processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises: The object to be processed is transferred by the forward transfer mechanism, and the object to be processed is recovered from the nth processing chamber where the vacuum treatment is performed last by using the reverse transfer mechanism. 3. The vacuum processing device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is also equipped with a transfer chamber that can switch between open atmosphere and vacuum airtight, and is used to initially carry out vacuum in the aforementioned 1st to nth processing chambers. The first processing chamber for processing transfers the object to be processed, and recovers the processed object from the nth processing chamber that is vacuum-processed last among the first to nth processing chambers. 4. The vacuum processing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the processing chamber includes a vacuum preheating chamber for heating the aforementioned object to be processed in a vacuum state. 5. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said vacuum preheating chamber is equipped with a heater, and the heater is only arranged in one of the aforementioned forward transfer mechanism and the aforementioned reverse transfer mechanism. side. 6. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the processing chamber includes a plasma processing chamber for performing plasma processing on the aforementioned object to be processed in the plasma processing chamber. 7. The vacuum processing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the forward transfer mechanism and the reverse transfer mechanism are disposed in the aforementioned processing chamber in a manner of upper and lower layers. 8. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the forward transfer mechanism and the reverse transfer mechanism are arranged in the aforementioned processing chamber in a manner arranged in two rows in the horizontal direction. 9. The vacuum processing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the vacuum processing device is connected to an external chamber, wherein the external chamber is used to supply the aforementioned processed objects to the aforementioned vacuum processing device, and is controlled by the aforementioned The vacuum treatment device recycles the treated objects after the aforementioned treatment.

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