JPH0615365B2 - Transfer device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a transfer device in a vacuum processing chamber for forming a thin film, etching, and the like.

(Prior Art) As shown in FIG. 5, a vacuum processing apparatus 1 for forming a thin film on a surface of a wafer, etching, and the like continuously connects a load lock chamber 2, a buffer chamber 3, a cleaning chamber 4 and a vacuum processing chamber 5. Is generally provided.

A gate valve 7 is provided in the load lock chamber 22 so that a wafer can be loaded from the autoloader 15. The chambers 2 to 5 are communicated with each other via gate valves 8 to 10 so that exhaust can be performed independently, and further, the load lock chamber 2 and the buffer chamber 3
There are provided cassettes 11 to 13 on which the wafer A is placed.

The cleaning chamber 4 is provided with an etching stage 4a for sputter cleaning the wafer A and a cooling stage 4b for cooling the vacuum-processed wafer B.

The vacuum processing chamber 5 is provided with a rotary transfer device 5a for rotating and transferring the wafer transferred horizontally in a vertical state,
Further, a heater 5b for heating the wafer A transferred vertically is provided, and a magnetron cathode 5c for ejecting sputtered atoms to process the heated wafer A with a film.

From the cassette 17 of the autoloader 15 to the load lock chamber 2
→ buffer chamber 3 → cleaning chamber 4 → vacuum processing chamber 5 or transfer devices 18, 19 for sequentially transferring the wafer A from the vacuum processing chamber 5 in the opposite direction to the above.

As shown in FIG. 6, the transfer device 19 has a drive shaft.
A drive pulley 23 and a driven pulley 24 are attached to both ends of the driven shaft 22 and the driven shaft 22, and the transfer belt 2 is attached to the pulleys 23 and 24.
5, the wafer A is transferred by the movement of the transfer belt 25.

The drive shaft 21 is connected to a rotary introducer 32 via a connector 31.
Although connected to the input shaft 33 (see FIG. 7), the positional relationship of the rotation introducing machine 32 in each chamber is as shown in FIG.

Further, in the rotation introducing machine 32 in each chamber, as shown in FIG. 7, the rotor 34 that is integrally rotating with the input shaft 33 and the driving rotor 35 are magnetically coupled through the seal member 36, When the drive rotating body 35 rotates, the magnetically coupled rotor 34 rotates, causing the input shaft 33 to rotate. A motor (not shown) is connected to the drive rotor 35.

Therefore, the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the input shaft 33 via the drive rotor 33 and the rotor 34, and the drive shaft 21 is rotated.

(Problems to be Solved by the Present Invention) In the conventional transfer device thus configured, the transfer belt 25 wound around the pulleys 23 and 24 is rotationally moved to transfer the wafer. There was a problem that dust was generated due to friction with 23 and 24, which adversely affected vacuum processing.

Further, in order to drive the drive shaft 21 smoothly, it is desirable that the drive shaft 21 and the input shaft 33 of the rotation introducing machine 32 be aligned on the same axis.

However, since the rotation introducing machine 32 mounted in each of the chambers 2 to 5 is mounted in the hole 41 (see FIG. 7) provided in the wall of the chamber, the mounting position is determined by the position of the hole 41. Therefore, there is no degree of freedom in the mounting position of the rotary introducer 32, and
It was difficult to align 21 and the input shaft 33. Moreover, since a plurality of rotation introducing machines 32 are usually provided in each of the chambers 2 to 5, there is a problem in that the axes must be aligned for each rotation introducing machine.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a transfer device that solves the above problems.

(Means for Solving the Problem) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention hermetically seals a stator in a transfer device for transferring a flat object such as a wafer in a vacuum processing apparatus. A permanent magnet rotor is provided with a plurality of transfer units each having a roller provided on a rotating shaft of an electric motor at a predetermined interval in a transfer direction, and the rotating shaft is provided with the permanent magnets along the shaft. A rotor is fixed, and the stator is composed of a middle cylinder for rotatably instructing the rotating shaft and an electromagnetic coil, and a terminal for applying a pulse voltage is connected to the electromagnetic coil, and the electromagnetic coil of the electric motor is connected. The rotary shaft is rotated by the coil and the permanent magnet rotor.

(Operation of the present invention) The rotating shaft is rotated by the permanent magnet rotor and the electromagnetic coil provided along the shaft of the rotating shaft, and the rotation of the rotating shaft causes the roller to rotate and transfers the object on the flat plate. To do.

(Effect of the present invention) According to the transfer device of the present invention, since the transfer belt is not used, dust is not generated due to the friction between the transfer belt and the pulley unlike the conventional case. Further, since the rotation introducing machine is not used to rotate the rotary shaft, it is not necessary to perform the complicated alignment as in the conventional case.

Further, since the rotary shaft is directly rotated by the electric motor, a transmission mechanism such as a gear is not required, and the rotary mechanism of the rotary shaft is simplified accordingly.

Since the stator is hermetically sealed, it is possible to eliminate the influence of the gas emitted from the stator when forming a thin film in the vacuum processing chamber.

Further, since the permanent magnet rotor is provided on the rotary shaft and the rotary shaft can be directly rotated by the electromagnetic coil, the transmission mechanism of the gear cylinder is not required and the rotary mechanism of the rotary shaft can be simplified.

(Embodiment of the present invention) FIG. 1 shows a transfer device 60.
It consists of 61.

The transfer unit 61 is configured such that the case C is fixed to a holding member 82 provided on a base 83.
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the outer cylinder 70 is fixed to the holding member 82, and the middle cylinder 62 is housed in the outer cylinder 70.

A large diameter portion 62a is formed at both ends of the middle cylinder 62, and the large diameter portion 6a
2a is closely attached to the inner circumference of the outer cylinder, and a rotating shaft 63 made of a non-magnetic material is passed through these middle cylinders 62 along the axis of the middle cylinder 62, and at the bearing 64 provided in the large diameter portion 62a. , Supports the rotating shaft 63.

A pair of bar magnets 65, 66 (see FIG. 3) having a fan-shaped cross section are fixed to the rotating shaft 63 in parallel with the shaft and symmetrically with respect to the shaft. As shown in the drawing, non-magnetic spacers 67 and 68 are fixed between the bar magnets 65 and 66. The bar magnets 65 and 66 are preferably made of rare earth magnets in order to obtain a strong magnetic flux density.

Three electromagnetic coils 73 to 75 are arranged in the space 71. The electromagnetic coils 73 to 75 are connected to terminal terminals 77 to 79 provided on the outer cylinder 70 so as to be connected to an external power source. I have to. The electromagnetic coils 73 to 75 form a stator, the magnets 65 and 66 form a rotor, and the stator and the rotor form an electric motor that directly rotates the rotary shaft 63.

The middle cylinder 62 and the electromagnetic coils 73 to 75 constitute a stator of the electric motor.

The bearing 64 is fixed by a retaining ring 72 mounted on the inner peripheral surface of the large diameter portion 62a of the middle cylinder 62, and by removing the retaining ring 72, the rotating shaft
The 63 etc. can be removed from the case c.

On the other hand, rollers 80 which rotate integrally with the rotary shaft 63 are attached to both ends of the rotary shaft 63, and a Viton O-ring 81 is fitted around the outer periphery of the roller 80 to prevent friction with the wafer A (see FIG. 1). It is made large to facilitate the linear transfer of the wafer A.

When the flat object A such as a wafer is transferred using this transfer device, the roller 80 of the transfer unit 61 is used.
The object A is placed in between, and the electric motor is driven to rotate the roller 80. When the roller 80 rotates, the target object A placed on the roller 80 moves in the direction of the arrow 90, and is transferred to the target position while being sequentially fed to the transfer unit 61 arranged next.

When the diameter of the roller 80 is set to about 30 mm and a pulse voltage of about 5 cycles / second is applied to the terminal terminals 77 to 79, rotation of about 300 rpm is obtained, and the transfer speed of the target object A is increased. It can be about 150 mm / s. However, it goes without saying that the transfer speed may be adjusted according to the purpose.

Further, when the target object A is transferred in the direction opposite to the transfer direction, the direction of the pulse voltage may be reversed.

As described above, since the wafer can be transferred without using the transfer belt, dust is not generated due to the friction between the transfer belt and the pulley unlike the conventional case.
Further, since the rotary shaft 63 is directly rotated by the electric motor without using the rotation introducing machine, it is not necessary to perform axis alignment as in the conventional case.

Since the transfer device 60 is composed of the transfer unit 61, the rotary shaft 63
In the case of poor rotation or the like, it is only necessary to replace the transfer unit itself, so repair is easy.

Further, since the rotating shaft 63 is provided with the bar magnets 65 and 66 and the rotating shaft 63 is directly rotated by the electromagnetic coil, a transmission mechanism such as a gear is not required and the rotating mechanism of the rotating shaft 63 is simplified.

Since the electromagnetic coils 73 to 75 are installed in the sealed space 71,
When forming a thin film in the vacuum processing chamber 5, the electromagnetic coils 73 to 75
It is possible to eliminate the influence of the gas released from the.

In addition, in the transfer device of the above embodiment, the transfer unit 61 is provided with an electric motor in all, but the size of the wafer,
Depending on the arrangement of the transfer unit, for example, every other electric motor may be provided and the other may be an idler.

In addition, in this embodiment, the transfer device of the sputtering device has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that it can be used for a CVD device, a dry etching device, an autoloader, or the like.

The electric motor is composed of two magnets and three electromagnetic coils, but the number of magnetic poles is not limited. Further, a plurality of rotors may be provided only on one side of the electric motor.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a transfer device of the embodiment, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a transfer unit of the embodiment, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 2, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view in which an electromagnetic coil is attached, FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view of a vacuum processing apparatus, FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a conventional transfer apparatus, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of a rotation introducing machine. 1 ... Vacuum processing device, 2 ... Load lock chamber, 5 ... Vacuum processing chamber, 60 ... Transfer device, 61 ... Transfer unit, 63 ...
… Rotation axis, 65, 66 …… Bar magnet, 80 …… Roller

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A transfer apparatus for transferring a flat object such as a wafer in a vacuum processing apparatus, wherein a plurality of rollers are provided on a rotary shaft of a permanent magnet rotor electric motor in which a stator is hermetically sealed. Transport unit is provided at a predetermined interval in the transport direction, the permanent magnet rotor is fixed to the rotary shaft along the shaft, and the stator rotates the rotary shaft. It is composed of a middle cylinder for instructing and an electromagnetic coil, a terminal for applying a pulse voltage is connected to the electromagnetic coil, and the rotating shaft is rotated by the electromagnetic coil of the electric motor and the permanent magnet rotor. Transfer device.