JP2009242891A - Vacuum device, method for determining leakage of the same, and computer readable memory medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily determine leakage of a vacuum device provided with double sealing members without using He gas. <P>SOLUTION: The method for determining leakage of a vacuum device is carried out as follows. While a pressure P1 in a connecting groove is set to be higher than an atmospheric pressure and a pressure P2 in a process chamber is set to vacuum, when both of the pressures P1, P2 show no change, both of an inner sealing member and an outer sealing member are determined as free from leakage. When the pressure P1 decreases but the pressure P2 does not change, the outer sealing member is determined as causing leakage. When the pressure P1 decreases and the pressure P2 increases, at least the inner sealing member is determined as causing leakage. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum apparatus that performs processing such as film formation and etching on a target object such as a semiconductor wafer in a vacuum state, a leak determination method thereof, and a computer-readable storage medium used therefor.

  In a vacuum apparatus used for processes such as etching and film formation in the manufacturing process of various semiconductor devices, an exhaust unit including a valve and an exhaust pump is provided, and the pressure inside the vacuum chamber can be reduced to a desired vacuum state. It is configured as follows. In such a vacuum apparatus, in order to further ensure the airtightness of the vacuum chamber, there is known a configuration in which O-rings are arranged in an inner and outer double at a joint portion of members constituting the vacuum chamber (for example, patents). Reference 1).

  Even in the vacuum device with the above configuration, when the O-ring deteriorates due to the influence of corrosive gas or plasma, or when foreign matter is caught in the seal part, the seal becomes incomplete and the air tightness of the vacuum chamber is maintained. May be difficult to do. For this reason, it is necessary to periodically determine whether there is a leak in the vacuum chamber and to check the airtightness of the seal portion. As a method for judging the leak, a gas flow channel facing the joint surface between the members is provided between the double O-rings, and He gas is pressurized and supplied to the exhaust chamber of the vacuum chamber. A method of confirming the mixing of He into the exhaust gas with a He detector is also known (Patent Document 1).

JP 2004-99924 A (FIG. 2 etc.)

  In the case of a leak determination method using He gas as in the method described in Patent Document 1, once He is mixed in the vacuum chamber due to the nature of He, which is a very light gas, it takes time to completely exhaust the gas. There was a problem that it took. In other words, if the airtightness of the seal part is insufficient in one leak judgment and He is mixed in the vacuum chamber, He remains in the vacuum chamber for a long time and the measurement accuracy is lowered. In order to perform this, it is necessary to wait until the He is completely exhausted. Therefore, the method of Patent Document 1 has a problem that the interval between leak determinations becomes long and it is difficult to make a simple and quick determination.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily perform leak determination of a vacuum apparatus provided with double sealing members without using He gas.

In order to solve the above problems, a vacuum apparatus according to the present invention is a vacuum apparatus that performs processing in a vacuum state on an object to be processed,
A processing container for accommodating the object to be processed;
An exhaust device for evacuating the inside of the processing vessel;
An inner seal member and an outer seal member that are disposed in an inner and outer double at a joint portion between members constituting the processing container;
A communication groove provided in the joint portion between the inner seal member and the outer seal member;
A gas introduction mechanism connected to the communication groove to introduce a pressurized gas into the communication groove;
A first pressure measuring device for measuring the pressure in the communication groove;
A second pressure measuring device for measuring the pressure in the processing container;
The first pressure measuring device and the second pressure measuring device in a state in which gas is introduced into the communication groove by the gas introduction mechanism and the pressure in the communication groove is set higher than atmospheric pressure. Then, the presence or absence of leakage in the inner seal member and the outer seal member is determined by measuring changes in the pressure in the communication groove and in the processing container.

The method for determining a leak of a vacuum apparatus according to the present invention includes a processing container that accommodates an object to be processed, an exhaust device that evacuates the inside of the processing container, and a joint portion between members that constitute the processing container. An inner seal member and an outer seal member which are arranged in a heavy manner, a communication groove provided in the joint portion between the inner seal member and the outer seal member, and connected to the communication groove and within the communication groove. A gas introduction mechanism that introduces pressurized gas, a first pressure measurement device that measures the pressure in the communication groove, and a second pressure measurement device that measures the pressure in the processing container. In a vacuum apparatus that performs processing in a vacuum state on a body, a leak determination method for a vacuum apparatus that determines the presence or absence of leakage from the inner seal member and the outer seal member,
In the state where gas is introduced into the communication groove by the gas introduction mechanism and the pressure in the communication groove is set higher than the atmospheric pressure, the communication between the first pressure measurement device and the second pressure measurement device is performed. By measuring changes in pressure in the groove and in the processing container, the presence or absence of leakage in the inner seal member and the outer seal member is determined.

  In the leak determination method for a vacuum apparatus according to the present invention, when there is no change in the pressure in the communication groove, it is determined that neither the inner seal member nor the outer seal member has leak, and the pressure in the communication groove Is lowered and the pressure in the processing vessel is not changed, it is determined that there is a leak from the outer seal member, the pressure in the communication groove is lowered, and the pressure in the processing vessel is increased. In this case, it is preferable to determine that there is at least leakage from the inner seal member.

  Further, in the leak determination method for a vacuum apparatus according to the present invention, when the pressure in the communication groove decreases and the pressure in the processing vessel increases, the pressure decrease rate in the communication groove becomes atmospheric pressure. It is preferable to determine that there is a leak from both the inner seal member and the outer seal member using an inflection point that becomes gentle at the boundary as an index.

  A computer-readable storage medium according to the present invention is a computer-readable storage medium in which a control program that runs on a computer is stored, and the control program stores processing objects inside when executed. A container, an exhaust device for evacuating the inside of the processing container, an inner seal member and an outer seal member disposed in an inner / outer manner at a joint portion between members constituting the processing container, the inner seal member and the outer member A communication groove provided in the joint between the seal member, a gas introduction mechanism that is connected to the communication groove and introduces pressurized gas into the communication groove, and measures a pressure in the communication groove. In a vacuum apparatus comprising: a pressure measurement apparatus 1; and a second pressure measurement apparatus that measures a pressure in the processing container, and performs processing in a vacuum state on an object to be processed. In the state where the gas is introduced into the communication groove by the gas introduction mechanism and the pressure in the communication groove is set higher than the atmospheric pressure, the communication between the first pressure measurement device and the second pressure measurement device is performed. The vacuum device is controlled by a computer so that a leak determination method for determining the presence or absence of leaks in the inner seal member and the outer seal member is performed by measuring changes in pressure in the groove and in the processing container, respectively. Let

  In the computer-readable storage medium according to the present invention, the leak determination method determines that there is no leak in either the inner seal member or the outer seal member when there is no change in the pressure in the communication groove. When the pressure in the communication groove decreases and there is no change in the pressure in the processing container, it is determined that there is a leak from the outer seal member, the pressure in the communication groove decreases, and the processing When the pressure in the container rises, it is preferable to determine that there is at least a leak from the inner seal member.

  In the computer-readable storage medium according to the present invention, the leak determination method may be configured to reduce the pressure in the communication groove when the pressure in the communication groove decreases and the pressure in the processing container increases. It is preferable that it is determined that there is a leak from both the inner seal member and the outer seal member by using an inflection point at which the descending speed becomes gentle with respect to the atmospheric pressure as an index.

  In the vacuum device according to the present invention, the first pressure measuring device and the second pressure measuring device are used to measure either the inner seal member or the outer seal member by simply measuring the pressure in the communication groove and the pressure in the processing container. It is possible to easily and quickly determine whether or not a leak has occurred in both.

  In addition, the leak determination method for a vacuum apparatus according to the present invention is simpler than the conventional method using He gas because the leak determination is possible only by pressure measurement, and the measurement accuracy is reduced due to the remaining He gas. Therefore, even when there are a plurality of joint portions of the processing container, it is possible to quickly determine the leak of another portion.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, the example of schematic structure of the film-forming apparatus 100 which is one Embodiment of a vacuum device was shown. The film forming apparatus 100 includes a substantially cylindrical processing container 1 that is airtight. A susceptor 3 for horizontally supporting a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as “wafer”) W as an object to be processed is disposed in the processing container 1. The susceptor 3 is supported by a cylindrical support member 5. A heater 7 is embedded in the susceptor 3. The heater 7 is heated by a heater power supply (not shown) to heat the wafer W to a predetermined temperature.

  A shower head 11 is provided on the top plate 1 a of the processing container 1. The shower head 11 has a gas diffusion space 11a inside. A number of gas discharge holes 13 communicating with the gas diffusion space 11 a are formed on the lower surface of the shower head 11. A gas supply pipe 15 communicating with the gas diffusion space 11 a is connected to the center of the shower head 11. The gas supply pipe 15 is connected to a film forming gas supply source 19 for supplying a film forming source gas and the like through an MFC (mass flow controller) 17 and a plurality of valves (not shown).

  From the film forming gas supply source 19, in addition to the film forming raw material gas, a cleaning gas for cleaning the inside of the processing container 1, a purge gas for replacing the atmosphere in the processing container 1, and the like are provided via the gas supply pipe 15. It is supplied to the shower head 11.

  A high frequency power supply 23 is connected to the shower head 11 via a matching unit 21. By supplying high frequency power from the high frequency power source 23 to the shower head 11, the raw material gas supplied into the processing container 1 through the shower head 11 can be converted into plasma and formed into a film.

  An exhaust chamber 30 is connected to the bottom wall 1 c of the processing container 1. An exhaust hole 31 is formed in a side portion of the exhaust chamber 30. An exhaust device 35 is connected to the exhaust hole 31 via an exhaust pipe 33. In addition, a valve 37 is provided in the middle of the exhaust pipe 33 so that the interior of the processing container 1 and the exhaust device 35 can be hermetically shut off. And it is comprised so that the inside of the processing container 1 can be pressure-reduced to a predetermined | prescribed vacuum degree by operating the exhaust apparatus 35 in the state which opened the valve | bulb 37. FIG.

  In the film forming apparatus 100 having the above-described configuration, the wafer W is heated by the heater 7 while the wafer W is placed on the susceptor 3 while the inside of the processing container 1 is evacuated, and the wafer W is transferred from the shower head 11 to the wafer W. By supplying the source gas toward the surface, a predetermined thin film such as a Ti film or a TiN film can be formed on the surface of the wafer W by the CVD method. At this time, high-frequency power can be supplied from the high-frequency power source 23 to the shower head 11 for the purpose of increasing the film formation reaction efficiency.

  O-rings as sealing members are doubled at the joint portions of the members constituting the processing container 1 in order to ensure the airtightness of the joint portions. In FIG. 1, for example, an inner O-ring 41 and an outer O-ring 43, which are annularly arranged at a joint portion between the top plate 1 a and the side wall 1 b, and a joint portion between the bottom wall 1 c and the flange portion 30 a of the exhaust chamber 30. An inner O-ring 45 and an outer O-ring 47 that are annularly arranged are typically shown.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a joint portion (A portion in FIG. 1) between the top plate 1a and the side wall 1b. As illustrated, an inner O-ring 41 is provided on the side close to the processing space S inside the processing container 1, and an outer O-ring 43 is disposed so as to surround the inner O-ring 41. The inner O-ring 41 and the outer O-ring 43 are formed of an elastic material such as rubber or fluororesin, for example. The inner O-ring 41 and the outer O-ring 43 are fitted in O-ring disposing grooves 49 provided on the top plate 1a side. The O-ring disposing groove 49 may be formed on the side wall 1b.

  A communication groove 51 is formed between the inner O-ring 41 and the outer O-ring 43 so as to face the joining boundary between the top plate 1a and the side wall 1b. The communication groove 51 is connected to a gas flow path 53 provided on the side wall 1b, and a pressure gauge 55 is connected to the gas flow path 53 from the outside of the processing container 1 so that the pressure in the gas flow path 53 is reduced. It is configured so that it can be measured.

  The communication groove 51 also communicates with a measurement gas supply path 57 provided in the top plate 1a. A pipe 57a is connected to the measurement gas supply path 57 from the outside of the top plate 1a, and is connected to a measurement gas supply source 59 outside the processing container 1 through the pipe 57a. The pipe 57 a is provided with a valve 58 that hermetically blocks between the measurement gas supply path 57 and the measurement gas supply source 59. Then, with the valve 58 opened, a measurement gas supply path 59 is supplied by supplying a leak measurement gas such as nitrogen gas, air, or argon from the measurement gas supply source 59 into the measurement gas supply path 57. 57, the inside of the communication groove 51 and the gas flow path 53 can be uniformly pressurized to a predetermined pressure exceeding the atmospheric pressure. The measurement gas supply path 57, the communication groove 51, and the gas flow path 53 function as a leak check space when determining which of the inner O-ring 41 and the outer O-ring 43 is leaking.

  Reference is again made to FIG. A pressure gauge 63 for measuring the pressure of the processing space S in the processing container 1 is provided on the side wall 1 b of the processing container 1 through the through hole 61.

  Each end device (for example, the MFC 17, the high frequency power source 23, the exhaust device 35, the measurement gas supply source 59, etc.) constituting the film forming apparatus 100 is connected to and controlled by the control unit 70. A configuration example of a control system in the film forming apparatus 100 is shown in FIG. The control unit 70 includes a controller 71 that is a computer including a CPU, a user interface 72 connected to the controller 71, and a storage unit 73. The user interface 72 includes a keyboard on which a process manager manages command input to manage the film forming apparatus 100, a display that visualizes and displays the operating status of the film forming apparatus 100, and the like. The storage unit 73 stores a recipe in which a control program (software) for realizing various processes executed by the film forming apparatus 100 under the control of the controller 71 and processing condition data are recorded. Then, if necessary, an arbitrary control program or recipe is called from the storage unit 73 by an instruction from the user interface 72 and is executed by the controller 71, so that the processing of the film forming apparatus 100 is controlled under the control of the controller 71. A desired process is performed in the container 1.

  The recipes such as the control program and the processing condition data can be used by installing the recipe stored in the computer-readable storage medium 74 in the storage unit 73. As the computer-readable storage medium 74, for example, a CD-ROM, a hard disk, a flexible disk, a flash memory, a DVD, or the like can be used. Further, the recipe can be transmitted from other devices as needed via, for example, a dedicated line and used online.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the controller 71 of the control unit 70 is also connected to a pressure gauge 55 and a pressure gauge 63 as pressure measuring means. The control unit 70 also functions as a leak determination unit that calculates and analyzes the pressure data measured by the pressure gauge 55 and the pressure gauge 63 and performs the leak determination method according to the present embodiment.

  Next, a leak determination method performed in the film forming apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, the case where the presence / absence of leakage of the inner O-ring 41 and the outer O-ring 43 at the joint portion (A portion in FIG. 1) between the top plate 1a and the sidewall 1b of the processing container 1 is inspected will be described as an example. However, the presence or absence of leakage can be determined in the same procedure for the other bonding sites.

  First, the exhaust device 35 is operated to evacuate the pressure P2 in the processing space S inside the processing container 1 to a predetermined degree of vacuum, for example, about 1.33 Pa, and then the valve 37 is closed. On the other hand, nitrogen gas, air or the like is supplied from the measurement gas supply source into the measurement gas supply path 57 as a leak measurement gas. The leak measurement gas supplied into the measurement gas supply path 57 fills the leak check space constituted by the measurement gas supply path 57, the communication groove 51, and the gas flow path 53, and includes the communication groove 51. The pressure P1 in the leak check space is increased to a level exceeding atmospheric pressure, for example, about 0.03 MPa as a gauge pressure. Thereafter, the valve 58 is closed to seal the leak check space.

  Next, the pressure gauge 55 and the pressure gauge 63 measure and monitor the pressure in the leak check space and the processing space S of the processing container 1 over time. When both the inner O-ring 41 and the outer O-ring 43 have sufficient airtightness, the pressure P1 in the leak check space and the pressure P2 in the processing space S are maintained as they are. That is, as shown in FIG. 4A, the pressure P1 in the leak check space is substantially flat at the initial pressure exceeding the atmospheric pressure. Further, as shown in FIG. 4A, the pressure P2 in the processing space S also substantially remains unchanged while maintaining the initial degree of vacuum. Here, it is assumed that a very slight pressure drop caused by an inevitable leak in the design of the processing container 1 is not taken into consideration.

When the inner O-ring 41 is airtight in a normal state and leak occurs only in the outer O-ring 43, as shown in FIG. 4B, the pressure P1 in the leak check space Decreases to atmospheric pressure in a relatively short time, and then becomes flat (that is, a state in which there is no pressure difference from the outside). This indicates that the leak measurement gas in the leak check space escapes to the outside along the joint surface between the top plate 1 a and the side wall 1 b through the seal portion by the outer O-ring 43. In this case, the boundary of when it becomes in equilibrium with the outside pressure (atmospheric pressure), the rate of decrease in pressure P1 is to become zero, the inflection point I ₁ is measured.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4B, the pressure P2 in the processing space S substantially remains unchanged while maintaining the initial degree of vacuum.

  Further, when the outer O-ring 43 is airtight in a normal state and a leak occurs only in the inner O-ring 41, as shown in FIG. The pressure P1 decreases at a substantially constant speed to a value below atmospheric pressure. This is because the leak measurement gas in the leak check space is drawn into the processing space S of the processing container 1 along the joint surface between the top plate 1a and the side wall 1b through the sealing portion by the inner O-ring 41. It shows that. On the other hand, the pressure P2 in the processing space S is caused by the leak measurement gas flowing in the leak check space flowing along the joint surface between the top plate 1a and the side wall 1b via the inner O-ring 41. As shown in 4 (c), it increases linearly little by little.

When leaks are generated in both the inner O-ring 41 and the outer O-ring 43, as shown in FIG. 4D, the pressure P1 in the leak check space is relatively up to atmospheric pressure. It decreases in a short time, and then gradually decreases to a value below atmospheric pressure by slowly changing the rate of decrease. Until the pressure P1 in the leak check space reaches atmospheric pressure, the leak measurement gas in the leak check space passes along the joint surface between the top plate 1a and the side wall 1b through the seal portion by the outer O-ring 43. At the same time, it is drawn into the processing space S of the processing container 1 along the joint surface between the top plate 1a and the side wall 1b through the sealing portion by the inner O-ring 41. For this reason, the descending speed until the pressure P1 becomes atmospheric pressure increases. However, after the pressure P1 in the leak check space has dropped to atmospheric pressure, the leak measurement gas in the leak check space joins the top plate 1a and the side wall 1b through the seal portion by the inner O-ring 41. While being drawn into the processing space S of the processing container 1 along the surface, along the joint surface between the top plate 1a and the side wall 1b through the sealing portion by the outer O-ring 43 in an attempt to compensate for the negative pressure generated thereby. Since the outside air enters little by little, the decreasing speed of the pressure P1 becomes slow. From the above, when a leak occurs in both the inner O-ring 41 and the outer O-ring 43, the rate of decrease of the pressure P1 in the leak check space at the boundary of the atmospheric pressure that is in equilibrium with the external air pressure. is slowly changing, the inflection point I ₂ is measured. In addition, when the degree of vacuum of the processing space S in the processing container 1 is low, the pressure P1 may not be equal to or lower than the atmospheric pressure due to the outside air entering the leak check space through the outer O-ring 43. Even in that case, the inflection point I ₂ is always observed.

  On the other hand, the pressure P2 in the processing space S increases linearly little by little as shown in FIG. 4 (d) as the leak measurement gas in the leak check space flows in via the inner O-ring 41. Will increase.

  As described above with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4D, in the leak determination method of the present embodiment, the pressure in the leak check space including the communication groove 51 using the pressure gauges 55 and 63 is used. By monitoring P1 and the pressure P2 in the processing space S, it is possible to easily and quickly determine whether there is a defect in either the inner O-ring 41 or the outer O-ring 43, or both, and whether a leak has occurred. This method is simpler than the conventional method using He gas because the leak can be determined only by measuring the pressure. In addition, since problems such as a decrease in measurement accuracy due to the remaining He gas do not occur, even when there are a plurality of joint portions of the processing container 1, the next leak determination can be performed quickly by changing the portions.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure in the case where the leak determination in the film forming apparatus 100 is automated under the control of the control unit 70. First, in FIG. 5, in step S <b> 1, the exhaust device 35 is operated, and the pressure P <b> 2 in the processing space S inside the processing container 1 is evacuated to a predetermined vacuum level. Next, in step S2, a leak measurement gas is supplied from the measurement gas supply source into the measurement gas supply path 57, and the pressure P1 in the leak check space is set to a pressure exceeding the atmospheric pressure.

  Next, in step S3, the pressure gauges 55 and 63 are used to measure and monitor the pressure P1 in the leak check space and the pressure P2 in the processing space S over time. Then, after monitoring for a predetermined time, in step S4, it is determined whether or not there is a change in the pressure P1. In this case, if there is no change in the pressure P1 (No), it can be confirmed that no leakage occurs in either the inner O-ring 41 or the outer O-ring 43 as shown in FIG. . Therefore, it is determined in step S5 that no leak has occurred.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S4 that the pressure P1 has changed (Yes), it is next determined in step S6 whether or not the pressure P2 has changed. If the determination in step S6 is no change in the pressure P2 (No), the pressure P1 is changed and the pressure P2 is not changed, as shown in FIG. 4B. It can be confirmed that leakage occurs only in the outer O-ring 43. Accordingly, it is determined in step S7 that a leak has occurred in the outer O-ring 43.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S6 that the pressure P2 has changed (Yes), it is further determined in step S8 whether the pressure P1 has an inflection point. If the determination in step S8 is that the pressure P1 does not have an inflection point (No), since both the pressures P1 and P2 have changed and the pressure P1 has no inflection point, FIG. As shown in (), it can be confirmed that only the inner O-ring 41 has a leak. Accordingly, it is determined in step S9 that a leak has occurred in the inner O-ring 41.

  On the other hand, if the determination in step S8 is that the pressure P1 has an inflection point (Yes), since both the pressures P1 and P2 have changed and the pressure P1 has an inflection point, FIG. As shown in (), it can be confirmed that leakage occurs in both the inner O-ring 41 and the outer O-ring 43. Therefore, it is determined in step S10 that both the inner O-ring 41 and the outer O-ring 43 are leaking.

  By following the procedure of step S1 to step S10 shown in FIG. 5, whether or not a leak has occurred in either or both of the inner O-ring 41 and the outer O-ring 43 in the film forming apparatus 100 is determined only by pressure measurement. Can be determined easily and quickly. Accordingly, since only the defective O-ring needs to be inspected and replaced, the downtime of the film forming apparatus 100 can be minimized. The leak determination procedure shown in FIG. 5 is merely an example, and it goes without saying that various modifications are possible.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the film forming apparatus 100 is described as an example of the vacuum apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to the film forming apparatus, but may be a vacuum apparatus that performs predetermined processing on an object to be processed in a vacuum state such as an etching apparatus. If there is, it is possible to apply the present invention without any particular limitation.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the processing space S in the processing container 1 of the film forming apparatus 100 is reduced in vacuum to make a leak determination. However, if the processing space S is sealed, the initial pressure P2 is set. It is possible to make a leak determination in the same manner even when the pressure is at atmospheric pressure.

It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the film-forming apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is an enlarged view of the A section of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of the film-forming apparatus of FIG. It is drawing which shows the time-dependent change of the pressure P1 and the pressure P2 corresponding to a leak generation pattern. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the leak determination method which concerns on one embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Processing container, 1a ... Top plate, 1b ... Side wall, 1c ... Bottom wall, 3 ... Susceptor, 11 ... Shower head, 19 ... Deposition gas supply source, 30 ... Exhaust chamber, 35 ... Exhaust device, 41 ... Inside O Ring, 43 ... outer O-ring, 55 ... pressure gauge, 59 ... gas supply source for measurement, 63 ... pressure gauge, 70 ... control unit, 100 ... film forming apparatus, W ... semiconductor wafer (substrate)

Claims (7)

A vacuum apparatus that performs processing in a vacuum state on an object to be processed,
A processing container for accommodating the object to be processed;
An exhaust device for evacuating the inside of the processing vessel;
An inner seal member and an outer seal member that are disposed in an inner and outer double at a joint portion between members constituting the processing container;
A communication groove provided in the joint portion between the inner seal member and the outer seal member;
A gas introduction mechanism connected to the communication groove to introduce a pressurized gas into the communication groove;
A first pressure measuring device for measuring the pressure in the communication groove;
A second pressure measuring device for measuring the pressure in the processing container;
The first pressure measuring device and the second pressure measuring device in a state in which gas is introduced into the communication groove by the gas introduction mechanism and the pressure in the communication groove is set higher than atmospheric pressure. The vacuum apparatus is configured to determine whether or not there is a leak in the inner seal member and the outer seal member by measuring changes in pressure in the communication groove and in the processing container. A processing container that accommodates an object to be processed, an exhaust device that evacuates the inside of the processing container, and an inner seal member and an outer seal member that are disposed in an inner and outer double manner at a joint portion between the members that constitute the processing container. A communication groove provided in the joint portion between the inner seal member and the outer seal member, a gas introduction mechanism that is connected to the communication groove and introduces pressurized gas into the communication groove, A vacuum apparatus that includes a first pressure measuring device that measures the pressure in the communication groove and a second pressure measuring device that measures the pressure in the processing container, and performs processing on the workpiece in a vacuum state. In the leak determination method of the vacuum device for determining the presence or absence of leak from the inner seal member and the outer seal member,
In the state where gas is introduced into the communication groove by the gas introduction mechanism and the pressure in the communication groove is set higher than the atmospheric pressure, the communication between the first pressure measurement device and the second pressure measurement device is performed. A method for determining a leak in a vacuum apparatus, wherein the presence or absence of a leak in the inner seal member and the outer seal member is determined by measuring changes in pressure in the groove and in the processing container, respectively.   When there is no change in the pressure in the communication groove, it is determined that neither the inner seal member nor the outer seal member is leaked, the pressure in the communication groove decreases, and the pressure in the processing container When there is no change, it is determined that there is a leak from the outer seal member, and when the pressure in the communication groove decreases and the pressure in the processing container increases, at least the leak from the inner seal member The method for determining a leak of a vacuum apparatus according to claim 2, wherein it is determined that there is.   When the pressure in the communication groove decreases and the pressure in the processing vessel increases, the pressure decrease speed in the communication groove has an inflection point that becomes gentle with respect to the atmospheric pressure. 4. The method of determining a leak in a vacuum apparatus according to claim 3, wherein it is determined that there is a leak from both of the inner seal member and the outer seal member using as an index. A computer-readable storage medium storing a control program that runs on a computer, the control program being
A processing container that accommodates an object to be processed, an exhaust device that evacuates the inside of the processing container, and an inner seal member and an outer seal member that are disposed in an inner and outer double manner at a joint portion between the members that constitute the processing container. A communication groove provided in the joint portion between the inner seal member and the outer seal member, a gas introduction mechanism that is connected to the communication groove and introduces pressurized gas into the communication groove, A vacuum apparatus that includes a first pressure measuring device that measures the pressure in the communication groove and a second pressure measuring device that measures the pressure in the processing container, and performs processing on the workpiece in a vacuum state. In the state where the gas introduction mechanism introduces gas into the communication groove and the pressure in the communication groove is set higher than the atmospheric pressure, the first pressure measurement device and the second pressure measurement device In the communication groove and the processing volume Measuring a change in the internal pressure, and causing the computer to control the vacuum device so that a leak determination method for determining whether or not there is a leak in the inner seal member and the outer seal member is performed. A computer-readable storage medium.   The leak determination method determines that there is no leak in either the inner seal member or the outer seal member when there is no change in the pressure in the communication groove, the pressure in the communication groove decreases, and When there is no change in the pressure in the processing container, it is determined that there is a leak from the outer seal member, and when the pressure in the communication groove decreases and the pressure in the processing container increases, at least the 6. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 5, wherein it is determined that there is a leak from the inner seal member.   In the leak determination method, when the pressure in the communication groove decreases and the pressure in the processing vessel increases, the inflection point at which the pressure decrease rate in the communication groove becomes gentle with respect to the atmospheric pressure. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 6, wherein it is determined that there is a leak from both of the inner seal member and the outer seal member using as an index.

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