JP2011060454A - Plasma treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily perform inspection of power supplied to each processing head in a plasma processing apparatus including a plurality of processing heads.
A probe mounting terminal is provided on a power supply line from a power supply of a plasma processing apparatus to each electrode unit. The connection terminal 41 of the high voltage probe 40 for the voltage detection means 50 is detachably connected to the probe mounting terminal 30. The connection terminal 41 is elastically pressed and held by the elastic holding portion 31 of the probe mounting terminal 30.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for plasma processing an object to be processed.

An apparatus that plasma-processes the surface of a processing object by converting the processing gas into plasma by applying an electric field and bringing it into contact with the processing object is known.
The plasma processing apparatus of Patent Document 1 is provided with a plurality of processing heads. Each processing head contains an electrode unit composed of a pair of electrodes. One electrode of the electrode unit is connected to a power source via a power supply line. The other electrode is electrically grounded. An electric field is applied between these electrodes by supplying power from the power source, and the processing gas is turned into plasma. Thereby, the surface of the workpiece can be plasma-treated for each processing head.
The supply voltage to the electrode is 10,000 volts or more.

  In a plasma processing apparatus, a high voltage probe may be provided for each of a plurality of power supply lines, and an oscilloscope may be connected to each high voltage probe to inspect supply power for each power supply line (see Patent Document 2).

JP-A-2005-116900 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-058296 (FIG. 6)

  The high-voltage probe has almost no opportunity to use it except for inspection of supply power. Providing such a high-voltage probe in each of the plurality of power supply lines is uneconomical and leads to an increase in device cost. Therefore, at the time of inspection, if one high voltage probe is sequentially connected to a plurality of power supply lines and a plurality of processing heads are sequentially inspected one by one, it is not necessary to install a plurality of high voltage probes. Equipment cost can be reduced. However, in that case, every time the processing head is inspected, it is necessary to remove the high voltage probe from the previous power supply line and attach it to the next power supply line. Conventionally, a screw is used to connect the high-voltage probe and the probe mounting terminal of the power supply line. Therefore, it is necessary to turn the screw to replace the high-voltage probe. Therefore, not only is it time consuming, but there are cases where the work cannot be performed without touching a portion to which a high voltage of 10,000 volts or more can be applied, and even if the power is turned off, the burden on the operator is great.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is a plasma processing apparatus for converting a processing gas into plasma and bringing it into contact with an object to be processed.
A plurality of electrode units each including an electrode for plasmatization;
A plurality of power supply lines connecting the electrode units to a power source;
A probe mounting terminal provided on each of the power supply lines, and connected so that a connection terminal of a high voltage probe for voltage detection means such as an oscilloscope can be inserted and removed
The probe mounting terminal includes an elastic holding portion that elastically holds and holds the connection terminal in a direction crossing the insertion / removal direction.

  According to the above feature, electrical characteristics such as electric power supplied to each electrode unit can be inspected by using one high voltage probe. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a high voltage probe for each electrode unit, and the apparatus cost can be reduced. A high-voltage probe can be easily connected with a single touch by simply inserting it into the probe mounting terminal. Since the elastic holding portion elastically presses and holds the connection terminal of the high voltage probe, the high voltage probe and the probe mounting terminal can be reliably connected and electrically connected electrically. After the inspection is completed, the connection can be easily released by simply pulling out the high voltage probe from the probe mounting terminal. Furthermore, the replacement work of the high voltage probe can be performed simply by inserting the high voltage probe into another probe mounting terminal. There is no need to perform complicated work such as turning the screw to attach / detach the high voltage probe to / from the probe mounting terminal or to replace it with another probe mounting terminal, and it is not necessary to touch the part where high voltage can be applied. . Therefore, the burden on the operator can be reduced.

  The elastic holding portion includes a plurality of leaf spring-like holding pieces arranged in an annular shape so as to form a receiving recess for receiving the connection terminal therebetween, and the holding pieces are elastic to expand and contract the receiving recess. It is preferable to be deformable. Set the cross-sectional area of the receiving recess in its natural state according to the thickness of the connection terminal so that when the connecting terminal is inserted into the receiving recess, each holding piece around the connecting terminal is pushed outward and the receiving recess expands To do. Accordingly, the plurality of holding pieces elastically press the connection terminals from different directions. Therefore, the connection terminal can be firmly held, and the high voltage probe and the probe mounting terminal can be electrically connected reliably.

  It is preferable that the connection terminal has a spherical shape, and the holding piece is formed with a circular holding hole into which a part of the outer surface of the connection terminal is fitted. Thereby, the peripheral part of the holding hole of the holding piece is pressed against the outer surface of the connection terminal with elasticity. Therefore, the connection terminal can be held more firmly, and the high-voltage probe and the probe mounting terminal can be electrically connected reliably.

  According to the present invention, electrical characteristics such as electric power supplied to each electrode unit can be inspected by using one high voltage probe. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a high voltage probe for each electrode unit, and the apparatus cost can be reduced. A high-voltage probe can be easily connected by simply inserting it into the probe mounting terminal, and can be easily replaced by simply pulling out the probe mounting terminal and inserting it into another probe mounting terminal. There is no need to perform complicated work such as turning the screw to attach / detach the high voltage probe to / from the probe mounting terminal or to replace it with another probe mounting terminal, and it is not necessary to touch the part where high voltage can be applied. . Therefore, the burden on the operator can be reduced.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the basic composition of the plasma processing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the specific aspect of the probe attachment terminal of the said plasma processing apparatus. It is front sectional drawing which shows the state which connected the high voltage probe to the said probe attachment terminal. It is a top view of the housing which accommodated the said probe attachment terminal. It is front sectional drawing which shows the modification of the connection structure of the said probe attachment terminal and a high voltage probe. It is front sectional drawing which shows the other modification of the connection structure of the said probe attachment terminal and a high voltage probe. It is front sectional drawing which shows the other modification of the connection structure of the said probe attachment terminal and a high voltage probe.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an apparatus 1 for plasma processing an object 9 to be processed. The workpiece 9 is not particularly limited, and may be a glass substrate, a continuous film, or a semiconductor wafer. The plasma processing apparatus 1 includes a power source 10 and a plurality (three in the figure) of processing heads 20.

  The power supply 10 includes a DC rectifying unit 11, an inverter 12 (pulse unit), and a high voltage transformer 13. The DC rectifying unit 11 rectifies the commercial AC voltage to DC. The inverter 12 switches the rectified direct current to convert it into a pulsed alternating voltage. The high voltage transformer 13 boosts the output voltage of the inverter 12. The voltage after boosting is 10,000 volts or more, for example, 15000-17000V. A plurality (three in the figure) of power supply lines 14 extend from the high-voltage transformer 13 to the corresponding processing heads 20.

Each processing head 20 accommodates an electrode unit 23 composed of a set of an electric field applying electrode 21 and a ground electrode 22. A corresponding power supply line 14 is connected to each processing head 20 and thus to the electric field applying electrode 21 of each electrode unit 23. The ground electrode 22 is electrically grounded. A solid dielectric layer (not shown) is provided on the opposing surface of at least one of the electrodes 21 and 22. Electric power is supplied from the power supply 10 to the electric field applying electrode 21 through the power supply line 14, and an electric field is applied between the electrodes 21 and 22. Thereby, the space between the electrodes 21 and 22 becomes a discharge space 24 near atmospheric pressure.
Here, the vicinity of the atmospheric pressure refers to a range of 1.013 × 10 ^{4 to} 50.663 × 10 ⁴ Pa, and considering the ease of pressure adjustment and the simplification of the apparatus configuration, 1.333 × 10 ⁴ to 10.664 × 10 ⁴ Pa is preferable, and 9.331 × 10 ^{4 to} 10.9797 × 10 ⁴ Pa is more preferable.

Although not shown, a processing gas supply system is connected to the space 24 between the electrodes 21 and 22. The processing gas supply system supplies a processing gas corresponding to the processing purpose to the interelectrode space 24. For example, when performing the hydrophilic treatment of the article 9 to be processed, the processing gas contains O ₂ , N _{2, and the} like. When water repellent treatment or etching treatment is performed on the workpiece 9, the treatment gas contains a fluorine-based component such as CF ₄ . This processing gas is converted into plasma between the electrodes 21 and 22 and comes into contact with the workpiece 9. Thereby, the to-be-processed object 9 can be plasma-surface-treated for every process head 20. FIG.

  Each power supply line 14 is provided with a probe attachment terminal 30. A terminal connection line 15 is branched from each power supply line 14, and a probe mounting terminal 30 is connected to the terminal connection line 15. A plurality (three in the figure) of probe mounting terminals 30 have the same structure. The power supply line 14, the terminal connection line 15, and the probe attachment terminal 30 are a high voltage system of 10,000 volts or more (for example, 15000 to 17000 V). The connection terminal 41 of the high voltage probe 40 is connected to the probe mounting terminal 30 so as to be removable in the insertion / removal direction indicated by the arrow a in FIG. An oscilloscope 50 (electric detection means) is connected to the high voltage probe 40 via a cable 51. The high voltage probe 40 drops the voltage of the probe mounting terminal 30 to about 1/1000 and inputs it to the oscilloscope 50. The oscilloscope 50 can inspect electrical characteristics such as the magnitude and waveform of the power supplied to the corresponding processing head 20 (including supply voltage and supply current).

  The probe attachment terminal 30 includes an elastic holding portion 31. The elastic holding portion 31 elastically presses the connection terminal 41. The pressing direction of the connection terminal 41 intersects with the insertion / removal direction a, and is preferably orthogonal.

  FIG. 2 shows a specific structure of the probe mounting terminal 30. The probe attachment terminal 30 includes a holder 32 and a terminal main body 33. The holder 32 is made of resin and has a box shape with an upper surface opened. The terminal body 33 is made of a metal plate and is horizontally accommodated inside the holder 32. An end of the terminal connection line 15 is connected to the terminal body 33.

  An elastic holding portion 31 is provided on the upper surface of the terminal body 33. The elastic holding portion 31 has four (plural) holding members 34. Each holding member 34 is configured by a metal plate bent in an L shape. A horizontal base piece 35 of the holding member 34 is fixed to the terminal body 33 by fixing means such as screws. A vertical holding piece 36 of the holding member 34 protrudes upward from the terminal body 33. The holding member 34 generates an elastic restoring force to return to the original angle when the angle between the base piece 35 and the holding piece 36 is slightly changed. Therefore, the holding piece 36 is a leaf spring that exerts an urging force in a direction orthogonal to the surface of the holding piece 36. A circular holding hole 37 is formed at the center of each holding piece 36.

  The holding pieces 36 of the four holding members 34 are arranged so as to face each other in the front-rear and left-right directions so as to form a square ring shape in plan view. The base pieces 35 of the four holding members 34 are directed outward from each other.

  A receiving recess 38 is defined between the four holding pieces 36. The receiving recess 38 is a rectangular space in plan view. Each of the four holding pieces 36 is elastically deformed in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the holding piece 36, so that the receiving recess 38 can be expanded and contracted.

  The connection terminal 41 at the tip of the high voltage probe 40 is received in the receiving recess 38 in such a manner that it can be pulled out vertically (in the direction corresponding to the arrow a in FIG. 1). The connection terminal 41 is spherical. Specifically, the connection terminal 41 has an oval shape with the major axis directed in the axial direction (up and down in FIG. 2) of the high voltage probe 40. The short diameter of the connection terminal 41 is slightly larger than the distance in the natural state between the two holding pieces 36 facing front and rear or left and right. As shown in FIG. 3, in the state where the connection terminal 41 is fitted in the receiving recess 38, the axial center portion (a part of the outer surface) of the connection terminal 41 slightly enters the holding hole 37 of each holding piece 36. Yes. The peripheral portion of the holding hole 37 of the holding piece 36 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the connection terminal 41 with elasticity. The front end (lower end) of the connection terminal 41 is in contact with the upper surface of the terminal body 33.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality (three in the figure) of probe mounting terminals 30 are housed side by side inside the housing 60. A plurality (three in the figure) of probe insertion holes 62 corresponding to the number of probe mounting terminals 30 are formed in the upper plate 61 of the housing 60. Each probe insertion hole 62 is disposed directly above the elastic holding portion 31 of the corresponding probe attachment terminal 30. As shown in FIG. 3, in the state where the connection terminal 41 is fitted in the receiving recess 38, the tip (lower end) of the main body 42 of the high voltage probe 40 is supported by the periphery of the probe insertion hole 62. Yes.

  In the plasma processing apparatus 1 having the above configuration, the surface treatment of the workpiece 9 can be performed in a state where the high voltage probe 40 is not attached to any of the probe attachment terminals 30. Only one high voltage probe 40 may be provided in the entire plasma processing apparatus 1. The surface treatment of the workpiece 9 may be performed in a state where the one high voltage probe 40 is connected to any one of the probe mounting terminals 30.

  Prior to plasma surface treatment or during maintenance, etc., when inspecting electrical characteristics such as the magnitude and waveform of power (including voltage and current) supplied from the power source 10 to the electric field applying electrode 21 of each processing head 20, the power source 10 is stopped, one of the plurality of processing heads 20 is selected, and the one high voltage probe 40 is connected to the probe mounting terminal 30 corresponding to the processing head 20. That is, the connection terminal 41 of the high voltage probe 40 is inserted into the housing 60 from the probe insertion hole 62 directly above the corresponding probe mounting terminal 30. Further, the connection terminal 41 is inserted into the receiving recess 38 of the corresponding probe mounting terminal 30. Then, the connection terminal 41 enters the receiving recess 38 while pushing the holding pieces 36 outward to widen the receiving recess 38. Eventually, the central portion of the high voltage probe 40 in the axial direction slightly enters the holding hole 37 of each holding piece 36. At this time, each holding piece 36 slightly returns in the direction of shrinking the receiving recess 38. Then, the peripheral portion of the holding hole 37 of each holding piece 36 is elastically pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the connection terminal 41. Accordingly, the four holding pieces 36 elastically press the connection terminal 41 from four directions. Thereby, the connection terminal 41 can be firmly held by the elastic holding portion 31. Further, the lower end of the high voltage probe main body 41 can be supported by the periphery of the probe insertion hole 62. In this way, the high voltage probe 40 can be easily and reliably connected to the corresponding probe mounting terminal 30.

  Thereafter, the power supply 10 is driven, and high voltage power from the power supply 10 is supplied to each processing head 20 via the power supply line 14. At this time, a high voltage of, for example, about 15000 to 17000 V from the power supply 10 is also applied to the terminal main body 33 of each probe mounting terminal 30 from each power supply line 14 via the terminal connection line 15. Further, in the corresponding probe mounting terminal 30, the high voltage is applied to the connection terminal 41 via the elastic holding portion 31. Since the elastic holding part 31 composed of the four holding pieces 36 is elastically pressed against the connection terminal 41, the elastic holding part 31 and the connection terminal 41 can be electrically and reliably connected to each other, and the voltage is applied to the elastic holding part 31. Via the connection terminal 41. This voltage is lowered to about 1/1000 by the high voltage probe 40 and supplied to the oscilloscope 50. As a result, the oscilloscope 50 can inspect electrical characteristics such as the power supplied to the selected processing head 20.

  After the inspection of the one processing head 20 is finished, the power supply 10 is stopped and the high voltage probe 40 is pulled up. Then, the connection terminal 41 is detached from the holding hole 37 while elastically deforming the holding piece 36 and is further released upward from the elastic holding portion 31. Thereby, the connection terminal 41 can be easily removed from the corresponding probe mounting terminal 30. Further, the connection terminal 41 is pulled out from the probe insertion hole 62 and taken out of the housing 60.

  Next, a processing head 20 other than the inspected processing head 20 is newly selected, and the high voltage probe 40 is attached to the probe mounting terminal 30 corresponding to the newly selected processing head 20 in the same manner as described above. Connecting. Then, the oscilloscope 50 inspects electrical characteristics such as power supplied to the newly selected processing head 20. After the inspection is completed, the high voltage probe 40 is pulled out. In this way, the electrical characteristics of all the processing heads 20 can be inspected by sequentially connecting one high voltage probe 40 to the plurality of probe mounting terminals 30. Therefore, only one high-voltage probe 40 needs to be prepared, and it is not necessary to provide a high-voltage probe 40 for each probe mounting terminal 30, thereby reducing the apparatus cost.

  The high voltage probe 40 can be easily connected by simply inserting it into the probe mounting terminal 30, and can be easily replaced by simply pulling out the probe mounting terminal 30 and inserting it into the elastic holding portion 31 of another probe mounting terminal 30. . In order to attach / detach the high voltage probe 40 to / from the probe mounting terminal 30 or to replace it with another probe mounting terminal 30, complicated work such as turning a screw is unnecessary. Furthermore, it is not necessary to touch a portion to which a high voltage such as the terminal main body 33 and the connection terminal 41 can be applied. Therefore, the burden on the operator can be reduced.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following embodiments, the same reference numerals are given to the drawings for the same configurations as those already described, and the description thereof is omitted.
FIG. 5 shows a modification of the connection structure between the connection terminal 41 of the high voltage probe 40 and the probe mounting terminal 30. An indented recess 39 is formed at the center of the portion surrounded by the four holding pieces 37 on the upper surface of the probe mounting terminal body 33. The indented recess 39 has a partial spherical shape. The distal end portion of the probe connection terminal 41 is fitted into the indented recess 39 and is in surface contact. Thereby, the contact area between the probe attachment terminal main body 33 and the probe connection terminal 41 can be increased, and the high-voltage probe 40 and the probe attachment terminal 30 can be more reliably conducted.

  FIG. 6 shows another modification of the connection structure between the connection terminal 41 of the high voltage probe 40 and the probe mounting terminal 30. A central portion in the vertical direction of the holding piece 36 of the elastic holding portion 31 is curved outward in an arc shape. The holding piece 36 is not provided with a holding hole 37. The arc-shaped inner surface of the holding piece 36 is in elastic contact with the outer peripheral surface of the probe connection terminal 41. Thereby, the contact area between the probe attachment terminal main body 33 and the probe connection terminal 41 can be increased, and the high-voltage probe 40 and the probe attachment terminal 30 can be more reliably conducted.

  Further, an indentation hole 33 h is formed at the center of the portion surrounded by the four holding pieces 37 on the upper surface of the probe attachment terminal body 33. The tip of the probe connection terminal 41 enters the indentation hole 33h and is in contact with the upper peripheral edge of the indentation hole 33h.

  FIG. 7 shows another modification of the connection structure between the connection terminal 41 of the high voltage probe 40 and the probe mounting terminal 30. In this modification, the tip end surface (lower end surface) of the probe connection terminal 41 is flat. The distal end surface of the flat probe connection terminal 41 is in surface contact with the upper surface of the probe mounting terminal body 33. Thereby, the contact area between the probe attachment terminal main body 33 and the probe connection terminal 41 can be increased, and the high-voltage probe 40 and the probe attachment terminal 30 can be more reliably conducted.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, the number of processing heads 20, power supply lines 14, and probe attachment terminals 30 is not limited to three, and may be two, or four or more.
The number of leaf spring-like holding pieces 36 of the elastic holding portion 31 is not limited to four, but may be two or three, may be five or more, or may be only one.
The electrode unit 23 shown in FIG. 1 is configured by the parallel plate electrodes 21 and 22, but is not limited thereto, and may be configured by a pair of roll electrodes, and is configured by a roll electrode and a plate electrode. It may be configured by a roll electrode and an electrode having a cylindrical concave surface.
In the plasma processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, an object to be processed 9 is disposed outside the interelectrode space 24 of each processing head 20, and a processing gas that has been converted into plasma in the interelectrode space 24 is ejected from the interelectrode space 24. Although the so-called remote type plasma processing apparatus is sprayed on the workpiece 9, in the present invention, the workpiece 9 is disposed in the interelectrode space 24 of each processing head 20, and the plasma is applied to the workpiece 9. The present invention can also be applied to a so-called direct type plasma processing apparatus that is directly irradiated.
Some constituent elements of the embodiments may be combined with each other. For example, in the modification shown in FIG. 6, the probe mounting terminal main body 33 may be formed with an indented recess 39 of the modification shown in FIG. 5 instead of the hole 33h. In the modification shown in FIG. 6, instead of forming the hole 33h in the probe mounting terminal main body 33, the top surface of the probe mounting terminal main body 33 is flattened as shown in FIG. The surface may be contacted.
The voltage detection means is not limited to the oscilloscope 50 as long as it can detect electrical characteristics, and may be a voltage measuring instrument or a current measuring instrument.
The present invention is not limited to plasma processing under atmospheric pressure, but can be applied to plasma processing under reduced pressure.
The present invention can be applied to various surface treatments such as cleaning, surface modification (hydrophilization, water repellency, etc.), film formation, etching, ashing and the like.

  The present invention can be applied to, for example, the production of a polarizing film for a liquid crystal display device and the production of a semiconductor device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Plasma processing apparatus 9 To-be-processed object 10 Power supply 11 DC rectification part 12 Inverter 13 High voltage transformer 14 Power supply line 15 Terminal connection line 20 Processing head 21 Electric field application electrode 22 Ground electrode 23 Electrode unit 24 Interelectrode space 30 Probe attachment terminal 31 Elasticity Holding portion 32 Holder 33 Terminal body 33a Indentation hole 34 Holding member 35 Base piece 36 Holding piece 37 Holding hole 38 Receiving recess 39 Indentation recess 40 High voltage probe 41 Connection terminal 42 Probe body portion 50 Oscilloscope (electric detection means)
51 Cable 60 Housing 61 Upper plate 62 Probe insertion hole

Claims (3)

A plasma processing apparatus for converting a processing gas into plasma and bringing it into contact with an object to be processed to perform plasma processing,
A plurality of electrode units each including an electrode for plasmatization;
A plurality of power supply lines connecting the electrode units to a power source;
A probe mounting terminal provided in each of the power supply lines, to which a connection terminal of a high-voltage probe for voltage detection means is connected in a removable manner;
And the probe mounting terminal includes an elastic holding portion that elastically holds and holds the connection terminal in a direction crossing the insertion / removal direction.   The elastic holding portion includes a plurality of leaf spring-like holding pieces arranged in an annular shape so as to form a receiving recess for receiving the connection terminal therebetween, and the holding pieces are elastic to expand and contract the receiving recess. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plasma processing apparatus is deformable. The connection terminal has a spherical shape;
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the holding piece is formed with a circular holding hole into which a part of the outer surface of the connection terminal is fitted.

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