JP2002153832A - Plasma cleaning apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a plasma cleaning apparatus for effectively removing stains stuck onto the inside of a chamber. SOLUTION: This plasma cleaning apparatus is constituted so that the subject to be cleaned, which is disposed between a pair of electrodes 28, 29 arranged in an airtightly sealable chamber 2, is cleaned by plasma generated by impressing high frequency voltage between the electrodes 28, 29 while the chamber 2 is filled with a plasma-reactive gas. The apparatus is provide with a cleaning means for cleaning the inside of the chamber 2 by filling the chamber 2 with the plasma-reactive gas and impressing the high frequency voltage between the electrodes 28, 29 in such a state that the subject to be cleaned is not housed in the chamber 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plasma cleaning apparatus for cleaning an object to be cleaned such as a circuit board with plasma generated.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a plasma cleaning apparatus of this type, a chamber which can be hermetically sealed is filled with a plasma reaction gas and a high frequency voltage is applied between a pair of electrodes provided in the chamber to generate plasma. The object to be cleaned disposed between the pair of electrodes is cleaned by the plasma.

In a plasma cleaning apparatus, when cleaning an object to be cleaned, an adhesive adhered to the object to be cleaned or debris of the object to be cleaned adhere to the inner wall of the chamber or a tray supporting the object to be cleaned. It is necessary to periodically clean the inside of the chamber. Conventionally, dirt in the chamber is often wiped off with a cloth impregnated with a cleaning liquid such as alcohol.

[0004]

However, according to the above-mentioned conventional method, it is difficult to remove dirt at a small portion where cloth cannot easily enter. Further, when the adhesive is a transparent adhesive, it cannot be easily removed because the adhesive is hardly visible, and has a high viscosity and is difficult to wipe off with a cloth.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a plasma cleaning apparatus capable of effectively removing dirt adhered to a chamber.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention fills a chamber which can be hermetically sealed with a plasma reactant gas and further comprises a pair of electrodes provided in the chamber. In a plasma cleaning apparatus configured to generate a plasma by applying a high-frequency voltage and to clean an object to be cleaned disposed between the pair of electrodes, the object to be cleaned is not contained in the chamber. A cleaning means for filling the chamber with a plasma reaction gas in a state and applying a high-frequency voltage between the pair of electrodes to clean the inside of the chamber is provided.

[0007] According to such a configuration, the dirt adhering to the inside of the chamber is scraped off by the etching action of the plasma, so that the dirt adhering to a fine portion where the cloth hardly enters can be removed. Further, when the adhesive is a transparent adhesive, the adhesive is chemically changed by plasma and deposited as powdery fixation, so that the adhesive becomes visible, is easily wiped off, and can be easily removed.

When the cleaning means performs the cleaning periodically, the inside of the chamber is kept in a state of little contamination, so that the defective rate of the product is reduced. In addition, since the amount of dirt to be wiped off when cleaning the inside of the chamber manually is reduced, the labor is reduced.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 are perspective views showing the entire structure of the plasma cleaning apparatus of the present embodiment, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a chamber of the plasma cleaning apparatus of the present embodiment, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a substrate processing method by the plasma cleaning apparatus of the present embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a plasma cleaning apparatus 1 includes a pair of chambers 2 for generating a plasma therein and cleaning an introduced substrate (object to be cleaned) A, and a pair of chambers 2. A power supply unit 3 for alternately applying a high-frequency voltage;
A gas supply device 4 for alternately supplying argon gas as a plasma reaction gas and a nitrogen gas for leakage to a pair of chambers 2, a pair of vacuum suction devices 5 for evacuating each chamber 2, and a pair of chambers A loading / unloading mechanism 6 for alternately loading / unloading the substrate A from / to the substrate 2, a magazine supply unit 8 for supplying an unprocessed substrate Aa to the loading / unloading mechanism 6 via a supply-side magazine 7a, and a loading / unloading mechanism 6 And a magazine discharge unit 9 for discharging the processing substrate Ab received from the apparatus through the discharge side magazine 7b to the outside of the apparatus.

Each chamber 2 has a box-shaped chamber main body 21 which is a vacuum vessel, and a flange-shaped lid 22 provided on the front surface of the chamber main body 21. The lid 22 is
It is configured to be able to advance and retreat with respect to the chamber body 21 by lid guides 23 provided on both sides, and is connected to a piston rod 25 of a chamber opening / closing cylinder (air cylinder) 24 provided on a side surface of the chamber body 21 by a connection plate 26. .

Also, two substrates A are provided inside the lid 22.
Is mounted. Tray 2
Reference numeral 7 is made of a conductive material, and moves forward and backward together with the lid 22.
When the chamber opening / closing cylinder 24 is driven to move the lid 22 forward, the chamber body 21 is opened, the tray 27 on which the substrate A is placed is pulled out, and when the lid 22 is retracted, the tray 27 is pushed in and the chamber The main body 21 is closed.

The chamber opening / closing cylinder 24 is mounted on the left side of the chamber 2 on the left side in the figure, and is mounted on the right side of the chamber 2 on the right side. Although not shown, a sealing member such as an O-ring is interposed between the chamber main body 21 and the lid 22 to maintain the airtightness of the chamber 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, a rectangular plate-like lower electrode 28 disposed below and a rectangular plate-like upper electrode 29 disposed above the lower electrode 28 are provided in each chamber 2. ing. The lower electrode 28 is arranged so as to be located below the tray 27, is attached to the lower inner surface of the chamber main body 21 via a rectangular plate-shaped rectifying member 158, and is fixed to the lower surface of the chamber main body 21. Terminal 15
Conducted with 0. The rectifying member 158 is made of an insulating material, and is formed so as to be located immediately below the lower electrode 28 and to be substantially aligned with the lower electrode 28. On the other hand, the upper electrode 29 is provided on the upper inner surface of the chamber body 21.
The connection terminal 1 attached via a rectangular plate-shaped holder 151 and fixed to the upper surface of the chamber body 21
Conduction with 52.

When the tray 27 enters and exits the chamber main body 21, it moves horizontally with a gap between the tray 27 and the lower electrode 28, and moves in the horizontal direction immediately before being completely housed in the chamber main body 27. It moves down and comes into contact with the lower electrode 28.

As shown in FIG. 4, a gas introduction hole 153 is formed in the top wall of each chamber main body 21, and this gas introduction hole 153 penetrates through the holder 151 to form the upper electrode 2
9, the diameter increases at the lower part of the upper electrode 29 and opens at the lower surface of the upper electrode 19. A plate 154 is fitted into the lower end of the gas introduction hole 153, and a plurality of gas ejection holes 155 penetrating in the thickness direction are formed in the plate 154. Further, a gas introduction pipe 43 to be described later is connected to the upper end of the gas introduction hole 153.

A gas discharge hole 159 is formed in the bottom wall of each chamber body 21 so as to face the center of the lower electrode 28, and the bottom surface of the rectifying member 158 communicates with the gas discharge hole 159. A groove-shaped gas passage 160 is formed. This gas passage 160 is formed in a lattice shape,
Openings are provided on four sides of the rectifying member 158. Rectifying member 15
A concave portion 161 communicating with the gas passage 160 is formed at the center of 8, and the concave portion 161 is aligned with the gas discharge hole 159.

The power supply section 3 has a high-frequency power supply 31, an automatic matching device 32, and a vacuum relay 33. The vacuum relay 33 is connected to a control device (PC) (not shown),
The high frequency power supply 31 is alternately switched to the pair of chambers 2 according to the switching command of the control device. The vacuum relay 33 is connected to a connection terminal 150 on the lower surface of the chamber 2 via a vacuum relay 156, and is connected to a connection terminal 152 on the upper surface of the chamber 2 via a vacuum relay 157.

The vacuum relays 156 and 157 are connected to the above-mentioned control device. According to a switching command from the control device, one of the upper electrode 29 and the lower electrode 28 is connected to the high-frequency power supply 31 and the lower electrode 28 or the upper electrode 29 is connected to the ground potential.

The automatic matching device 32 prevents interference due to a high-frequency reflected wave applied to the chamber 2. In this case, one automatic matching device 3 is provided for a pair of chambers 2.
2 for each chamber 2
The automatic matching units 32 may correspond to each other. In such a case, the high-frequency power supply 31, the vacuum relay 33, and the automatic matching unit 32 are connected in this order.

The gas supply device 4 includes an argon gas supply pipe 41 connected to an argon gas cylinder (not shown), a nitrogen gas supply pipe 42 connected to a nitrogen gas cylinder (not shown),
And a gas switching pipe 44 that connects the argon gas supply pipe 41 and the nitrogen gas supply pipe 42 to the pair of gas introduction pipes 43. The argon gas supply pipe 41 and the nitrogen gas supply pipe 42 are provided with an argon gas supply valve 45 and a nitrogen gas supply valve 46 which are manually operated, respectively. A mass flow controller 47 is provided in the argon gas supply pipe 41, and a purge flow meter 4 is provided in the nitrogen gas supply pipe 42.
8 are provided to control the gas flow rate.

The gas switching pipe 44 is connected to the argon gas supply pipe 4.
1 and two nitrogen-side branch pipes 44b connected to the nitrogen gas supply pipe 42. Each argon-side branch pipe 44a and each nitrogen-side branch pipe 44b
Are connected to the gas introduction pipes 43 described above. Argon side switching valves 49 each composed of an electromagnetic valve are interposed in both argon side branch pipes 44a, and nitrogen side switching valves 50 each composed of an electromagnetic valve are arranged in both nitrogen side branch pipes 44b. It is interposed. The pair of argon-side switching valves 49 and the pair of nitrogen-side switching valves 50 are connected to a control device, and are opened and closed by a switching command of the control device. In this case, in order to accurately control the amount of argon gas, the mass flow controller 47 is used.
Is feedback-controlled based on the control signal.

The argon gas supply valve 45 and the nitrogen gas supply valve 46 are always "open".
When the argon gas is alternately introduced into the pair of chambers 2, both nitrogen-side switching valves 50 are “closed”, one of both argon-side switching valves 49 is “open”, and the other is “closed”. Also, when nitrogen gas is introduced due to a leak described later, both argon-side switching valves 49 are "closed", one of both nitrogen-side switching valves 50 is "open", and the other is "closed". Reference numeral 51 in the figure denotes an opening / closing solenoid valve which is opened / closed when an oxygen gas can be introduced as a plasma reaction gas in addition to an argon gas (shown by a virtual line).

Each vacuum suction device 5 includes a vacuum pump 61,
Vacuum piping 62 connecting the vacuum pump 61 and each chamber 2
And A vacuum gauge 63, a pressure adjustment valve 64, and a main valve 65 are provided from the chamber 2 side to the vacuum pipe 62.
Is interposed. The main valve 65 is formed of an electromagnetic valve. When the main valve 65 is in the “open” state, the vacuum pipe 62 and the vacuum pump 61 communicate with each other through the flexible pipe 67 to evacuate the chamber 2.

The loading / unloading mechanism 6 connects the substrate A between the two chambers 2 and the magazine supply unit 8 and the magazine discharge unit 9.
And a chamber-side transfer mechanism 13 for transferring the substrate A between the substrate transfer mechanism 12 and the two chambers 2, a substrate transfer mechanism 12, and a supply side.
And a magazine-side transfer mechanism 14 for transferring the substrate A between the discharge-side magazines 7a and 7b.

The unprocessed substrate Aa accommodated in the supply magazine 7a is transferred to the substrate transfer mechanism 12 by the magazine transfer mechanism 14, and is moved from the lower position to the upper position near the chamber 2 by the substrate transfer mechanism 12. It is carried in until. Here, the chamber-side transfer mechanism 13 is driven, and the unprocessed substrate A
a is transferred from the substrate transfer mechanism 12 to the tray 27 of the chamber 2. On the other hand, the processing substrate Ab is mounted on the chamber-side transfer mechanism 1.
3, the wafer is transferred from the tray 27 to the substrate transport mechanism 12,
The substrate is transported from the upper movement position to the lower movement position near both the supply and discharge magazines 7a and 7b by the substrate transfer mechanism 12. Here, the magazine-side transfer mechanism 14 is driven, and the processing substrate Ab is processed.
From the substrate transport mechanism 12 to the discharge-side magazine 7b.

The substrate transport mechanism 12 includes a substrate elevating device 71 mounted on a machine stand (not shown), a substrate Y moving device 72 mounted on the substrate elevating device 71, and a substrate Y moving device 72. And a moving substrate mounting stage 73.

The substrate mounting stage 73 is configured such that two substrates A can be mounted on the base plate 75 in the form of a shelf plate by using three protruding ridges 76 arranged in parallel with each other on the upper and lower stages. Has become. That is, three ridges 76
Are formed with upper and lower inward receiving portions (not shown) so that a pair of first mounting portions 77 before and after the two unprocessed substrates Aa are mounted on the upper stage by the receiving portions. A pair of second mounting portions 78 before and after the two processing substrates Ab are mounted on the lower stage. That is, the supply side magazine 7
The unprocessed substrate Aa transferred from a is mounted on the first mounting portion 77, and the processed substrate Ab transferred from the tray 27 of each chamber 2 is mounted on the second mounting portion 78.

The substrate Y moving device 72 is attached to an elevating block 85 of the substrate elevating device 71 described later, and has a substrate Y moving motor 80 with a speed reducer and a ball screw 81 rotated by the substrate Y moving motor 80. ing. Although not shown in the figure, the substrate mounting stage 73 is configured (guided) so as to be able to advance and retreat in the front-rear direction between the substrate mounting stage 73 and an elevating block 85 of the substrate elevating device 71. The substrate mounting stage 73 moves forward and backward with respect to the elevating block 85 as the ball screw 81 to be screwed rotates forward and reverse by the substrate Y moving motor 80.

The substrate lifting / lowering device 71 includes a substrate lifting / lowering motor 83 having a speed reducer, a ball screw 84 rotated by the substrate lifting / lowering motor 83, and a lifting / lowering block 85 formed with a female screw (not shown) screwed to the ball screw 84. And As described above, the substrate mounting stage 73 and the substrate Y
The moving device 72 is supported by an elevating block 85, and the elevating block 85 is moved up and down by a ball screw 84 that rotates forward and backward through a substrate elevating motor 83. The substrate elevating device 71 is attached to the substrate Y moving device 72, the substrate mounting stage 73 is moved up and down by the substrate elevating device 71, and the substrate elevating device 71 and the substrate mounting stage 73 are moved back and forth by the substrate Y moving device 72. It may be.

When receiving the unprocessed substrate Aa from the supply side magazine 7a, the first mounting portion 77 of the substrate mounting stage 73 is aligned with the position of the corresponding unprocessed substrate Aa in the supply side magazine 7a. , Substrate lifting device 71 and substrate Y
The driving device 72 is driven. Specifically, the substrate mounting stage 73 is retracted and raised from the home position, first, one of the first mounting portions 77 is aligned with the corresponding unprocessed substrate Aa, and further, the substrate mounting stage 73 is retracted (forward). ), The other unprocessed substrate A corresponding to the first mounting portion 77
Align to a. Although the details will be described later, the supply-side magazine 7a moves up and down, and the transfer height position (level) of the unprocessed substrate Aa is set to a specific position.

Further, the processing substrate Ab is transferred to the discharge side magazine 7b.
Similarly, the two processing substrates Ab of the second mounting portion 78 are aligned with the corresponding storage positions of the discharge-side magazine 7b. Also in this case, the discharge-side magazine 7b moves up and down, and the transfer height position of the processing substrate Ab (although different from the above-described transfer height position) is set to a specific position. The substrate mounting stage 7
3 is a supply-side magazine 7a and a discharge-side magazine 7b
Are disposed close to each other on both left and right sides (although they are separated in the drawing), it is not necessary to move the substrate mounting stage 73 in the left and right direction when transferring the substrate A.

On the other hand, when the unprocessed substrate Aa and the processed substrate Ab are exchanged with the chamber 2, first, the substrate elevating device 71 and the substrate Y moving device 72 are driven to
7 and the second mounting portion 78 are aligned,
The two processing substrates Ab are simultaneously received by the second mounting portion 78 (details will be described later). Next, the substrate mounting stage 73 is slightly lowered, the unprocessed substrate Aa of the first mounting portion 77 is aligned with (the upper surface of) the tray 27, and the two unprocessed substrates Aa are placed on the tray 27. Hand over. In this case,
The two chambers 2 are disposed close to the left and right sides of the substrate mounting stage 73 (although they are separated in the drawing), so that the substrate mounting stage 73 moves in the left and right direction when the substrate A is transferred. You don't have to.

The magazine-side transfer mechanism 14 is provided with an unprocessed substrate A
A supply-side cylinder 91 for sending a from the supply-side magazine 7a to the substrate transfer mechanism 12, and a discharge-side cylinder 92 for sending the processing substrate Ab from the substrate transfer mechanism 12 to the discharge-side magazine 7b. The supply-side cylinder 91 is attached to a machine stand (not shown), and the piston rod 94 pushes the end of the corresponding unprocessed substrate Aa and sends it out from the supply-side magazine 7a to the substrate transfer mechanism 12.

The discharge cylinder 92 is attached to a machine stand (not shown), and extends between the magazine supply section 8 and the magazine discharge section 9.
And a feed claw device 96 that moves in the left-right direction. The feed claw device 96 accommodates an actuator such as a motor in a housing, and has a feed claw 97 that moves up and down by the actuator. The feed claw 97 is moved to a predetermined downward movement position by an actuator, and the feed claw device 96 is moved leftward in the figure by the cylinder body 95, so that the feed claw 97 pushes the end of the processing substrate Ab,
This is sent from the substrate transport mechanism 12 to the discharge side magazine 7b.

The piston rod 94 of the supply side cylinder 91
The height position of the feed claw 97 of the discharge side cylinder 92 is set to the above-mentioned transfer height position, and the transfer height position of the piston rod 94 and the transfer height of the feed claw 97 are set. The height position has a step difference between the first mounting portion 77 and the second mounting portion 78 of the substrate mounting stage 73. For this reason, the first mounting portion 77 and the second mounting portion 78 of the substrate mounting stage 73 are respectively aligned at both transfer height positions, and the discharge side cylinder 92 is driven first, whereby The processing substrate Ab is sent from the second mounting portion 78 to the discharge side magazine 7b, and then, when the supply side cylinder 91 is driven, the unprocessed substrate Aa is sent out from the supply side magazine 7a to the first mounting portion 77.

Although the details will be described later, any one unprocessed substrate Aa to be sent out from the supply side magazine 7a
And the selection of any one of the storage positions (the number of stages) of the discharge magazine 7b to which the processing substrate Ab is to be sent is to raise and lower the supply magazine 7a in the magazine supply unit 8, and to select the magazine discharge unit. This is performed by raising and lowering the discharge side magazine 7b at 9.

The chamber-side transfer mechanism 13 includes a guide case 1 extending between the pair of chambers 2 and 2 in the left-right direction.
01, an X motion motor 102 with a speed reducer attached to one end of the guide case 101, and an X motion motor 102
A ball screw 103 rotated by the
And a transfer claw device 104 that moves in the left-right direction. The transfer claw device 104 accommodates an actuator such as a motor in a housing and has a transfer claw 105 that moves up and down by the actuator.

The tip of the transfer claw 105 is bifurcated so that two substrates A can be transferred between the tray 27 and the substrate transfer mechanism 12 at the same time. Transfer claw device 1
Reference numeral 04 denotes a housing part, which is guided in the left and right direction by a guide case 101.
The ball screw 103 rotates forward and reverse through
The transfer claw device 104 moves right and left along the guide case 101. In addition, the transfer claw 105 moves up and down by the forward / reverse drive of the actuator.

When the substrate transport mechanism 12 places the unprocessed substrate Aa on the first mounting portion 77 and faces the chamber 2, the X-motion motor 102 is driven to move the transfer claw device 104 to the end position of the tray 27. Then, the transfer claw device 104 is driven to move the transfer claw 105 down to the upper surface position of the tray 27.
Next, the X-motion motor 102 is driven and the transfer claw device 104
Is moved to the substrate transport mechanism 12 side. As a result, the transfer claw 105 pushes and moves the two processing substrates Ab on the tray 27, and transfers the processing substrates Ab to the second mounting portion 78 of the substrate transport mechanism 12. Next, after the transfer claw 105 is slightly moved upward in accordance with the unprocessed substrate Aa, the transfer claw 105 is moved to the tray 27 side so that the transfer claw 105 is From the first mounting portion 77 onto the tray 27.

The magazine supply unit 8 includes a supply-side magazine mounting table 111 on which a plurality of supply-side magazines 7a can be mounted,
A supply-side lifting / lowering device 112 for raising / lowering the supply-side magazine 7a supplied from the supply-side magazine mounting table 111, and a supply-side magazine cylinder 11 for feeding the supply-side magazine 7a from the supply-side magazine mounting table 111 to the supply-side lifting / lowering device 112.
And 3. On the other hand, the supply-side magazine 7a has a plurality of receiving portions formed on both side walls so that the substrate A can be stored in a shelf shape in a plurality of stages. The supply-side magazine 7a configured as described above is disposed with the front surface facing the substrate transport mechanism 12 in a state where the unprocessed substrate Aa is accommodated. The discharge-side magazine 7b is exactly the same as the supply-side magazine 7a.

When the supply-side magazine 7a of the supply-side lifting / lowering device 112 becomes empty, the supply-side magazine cylinder 113 uses the piston rod 115 to supply a plurality of supply magazines mounted on the supply-side magazine mounting table 111. The side magazines 7a are sequentially fed, and the supply side magazine 7a is newly supplied to the supply side lifting / lowering device 112. In addition, the supply-side magazine 7a newly input to the supply-side magazine mounting table 111
Is supplied to the supply-side magazine mounting table 111 on the piston rod 115 side with the piston rod 115 retracted.

The supply-side lifting / lowering device 112 includes a magazine lifting / lowering motor 116 having a speed reducer, and a magazine lifting / lowering motor 116.
Ball screw 117 rotated by the
And an elevating block 118 in which a female screw portion (not shown) is screwed. The supply-side magazine 7a for sending out the unprocessed substrate Aa is supported by an elevating block 118, and the elevating block 118 includes a magazine elevating motor 1
It is moved up and down by a ball screw 117 that rotates forward and backward through 16.

The supply-side magazine 7a sent to the supply-side lifting / lowering device 112 is appropriately moved up and down. At this time, the supply-side cylinder 91 sends out the unprocessed substrates Aa accommodated in the supply-side magazine 7a one by one. In this case, the unprocessed substrates Aa are sequentially sent out from the lowest stage of the supply side magazine 7a. That is, first, the lowermost unprocessed substrate A
a is positioned at the transfer height position and sent out, and then the second-stage unprocessed substrate Aa from the bottom is positioned (down) at the transfer height position and sent out. In this way,
When the uppermost unprocessed substrate Aa is sent out, the supply-side magazine 7a becomes empty. Therefore, the supply-side magazine 7a is further lowered to be delivered to the magazine transfer unit 10.

Similarly to the magazine supply section 8, the magazine discharge section 9 includes a discharge magazine mounting table 121 on which a plurality of discharge magazines 7b can be mounted, a discharge side elevating device 122 for raising and lowering the discharge side magazine 7b, And a discharge-side magazine cylinder 123 for feeding the discharge-side magazine 7b filled with the processing substrate Ab from the discharge-side lifting / lowering device 122 to the discharge-side magazine mounting table 121. The discharge side magazine cylinder 123 sequentially feeds the full discharge side magazine 7b to the discharge side magazine mounting table 121 by its piston rod 125.

The discharge-side lifting / lowering device 122 has a magazine lifting / lowering motor 126, a ball screw 127, and a lifting / lowering block 128, like the supply-side lifting / lowering device 112. The discharge-side magazine 7b into which the processing substrate Ab is fed is supported by the elevating block 128.
Is moved up and down by a ball screw 127 that rotates forward and backward via a magazine elevating motor 126. In this case, the empty discharge-side magazine 7b is supplied from the supply-side lifting / lowering device 112 via the magazine transfer unit 10.

Also in this case, the discharge side elevating device 12
2 is appropriately moved up and down, and at this time, the above-mentioned discharge-side cylinder 92 moves the processing substrate A to the discharge-side magazine 7b.
b is sent one by one. In this case, it is preferable that the processing substrates Ab be accommodated sequentially from the top while the discharge magazine 7b is intermittently raised. In each of the lifting blocks 118 and 128 of the supply-side lifting device 112 and the discharge-side lifting device 122, the center of the plate portions 118a and 128a on which the magazines 7a and 7b are placed is cut out in a wide U-shape. The chuck device 131 described later can pass through in the vertical direction.

The magazine transfer unit 10 includes a chuck device 131 for receiving and holding an empty magazine (empty supply-side magazine 7a) 7c, a rotating arm 132 supporting the chuck device 131 at the tip, and a rotating arm 132. And a rotation motor 133 with a speed reducer that rotates around the base end. The rotation motor 133 is fixed to a machine stand (not shown), and reciprocally rotates (rotates) the rotation arm 132 at an angle of 180 degrees in a horizontal plane, and the chuck device 131
The empty magazine 7c grasped in the above is transferred from the magazine supply section 8 to the magazine discharge section 9. The chuck device 131 includes a housing 135 on which an empty magazine 7c is placed on an upper surface, a cylinder (not shown) housed in the housing 135,
It has a pair of chucks 136 projecting from the upper surface of the housing 135 and mutually moving in a separating direction by a cylinder.

When the pair of chucks 136 are opened in the separating direction to face the supply-side elevating device 112, and in this state, the empty magazine 7c placed on the supply-side elevating device 112 is lowered, When the plate portion 118a of the block 118 passes through the chuck 136 from the upper side to the lower side, the empty magazine 7c is placed on the upper surface of the housing 135. As a result, the empty magazine 7c is transferred from the supply-side elevating device 112 to the magazine transfer unit 10. Here, the empty magazine 7c is gripped by closing the pair of chucks 136. Empty magazine 7c is chuck device 1
When the magazine 31 is firmly gripped by the rotating arm 132, the rotating arm 132 is rotated so that the empty magazine 7 c faces the discharge side elevating device 122.

At this time, there is no discharge-side magazine 7b in the lifting block 128 of the discharge-side lifting device 122, and the lifting block 128 is at the lowered position. When the empty magazine 7c faces the discharge side elevating device 122, the chuck device 131
Is released, and the lifting block 128 is raised. When the lifting block 128 rises and the plate portion 128a passes through the chuck 136 from the lower side to the upper side, the lifting block 128 automatically receives the empty magazine 7c and rises as it is. The magazine transfer unit 10
As a result, the empty magazine 7c transferred from the magazine supply unit 8 to the magazine discharge unit 9 is used as the discharge-side magazine 7b in the magazine discharge unit 9, but the empty magazine 7c is rotated and transferred to the front part of the magazine. Is delivered to the magazine discharge unit 9 in a posture facing the loading / unloading mechanism 6 side. Therefore, it is not necessary to change the attitude of the empty magazine 7c by another device before and after the transfer.

The actuators such as motors and cylinders in the loading / unloading mechanism 6, the magazine supply section 8, the magazine discharge section 9, and the magazine transfer section 10 are connected to a control device, and are generally controlled by the control device. Here, the operation of each unit will be described step by step with reference to FIG.

In the figure, it is assumed that the left chamber 2a is in the process of cleaning the substrate A, and the right chamber 2b is in the process of loading and unloading the substrate A. The loading / unloading mechanism 6 receives the unprocessed substrate Aa from the magazine supply unit 8 in accordance with the movement of the substrate (processed substrate Ab) A that has been cleaned in the right chamber 2b to the outside, and receives the unprocessed substrate Aa from the magazine supply unit 8. Transport to a nearby location. Here, the loading / unloading mechanism 6
Receives the processing substrate Ab from the right chamber 2b,
Subsequently, the unprocessed substrate Aa is delivered to the right chamber 2b.

Upon receiving the unprocessed substrate Aa, the right chamber 2b brings it into the chamber. At the same time, the loading / unloading mechanism 6 transports the processing substrate Ab to the magazine discharging unit 9.
Hand over to When the right chamber 2b brings the unprocessed substrate Aa into the inside, the vacuum relay 33 moves to the right chamber 2b.
And the right chamber 2b shifts to the cleaning step. At the same time, the chamber 2a on the left side shifts to the loading / unloading process via a leak due to nitrogen gas.

Then, the loading / unloading mechanism 6 receives the unprocessed substrate Aa from the magazine supply unit 8 and carries it into the left chamber 2a in accordance with the movement of the processing substrate Ab being pulled out in the left chamber 2a. . Then, the vacuum relay 33 is switched to the left chamber 2a, and the left chamber 2a shifts to the cleaning process. On the other hand, the right chamber 2b shifts to the loading / unloading process through a leak due to nitrogen gas.

That is, the left and right chambers 2a and 2b alternately repeat the loading / unloading step and the cleaning step, and accordingly, the loading / unloading mechanism 6 moves the unprocessed substrate Aa and the processing chamber to the left and right chambers 2a and 2b. The substrate Ab is alternately loaded.
Take it out.

The cleaning step will be described in detail. When performing the RIE processing on the substrate A, the RIE method is designated by the operation input unit of the control device. Then, vacuum relay 1
56 is switched to the high frequency power supply 31 side, and the vacuum relay 1
57 is switched to the ground potential side. When the substrate A is carried into the chamber 2, the vacuum suction device 5 is driven to evacuate the chamber 2, and the plasma reaction gas is supplied into the gas introduction hole 153 via the gas introduction pipe 43.

The plasma reaction gas supplied to the gas introduction hole 153 is ejected into the chamber 2 through the gas ejection hole 155 of the plate 154. Then, the high-frequency power supply 31 is driven, and high-frequency power is supplied to the lower electrode 28. As a result, plasma is generated in the chamber 2, and positive ions in the plasma are mainly attracted to the negatively charged lower electrode 28, so that the positive ions collide with the surface of the substrate A to remove impurities on the surface of the substrate A.

On the other hand, when performing the processing of the PE method on the substrate A, the PE method is designated by the operation input unit of the control device. Then, the vacuum relay 156 is switched to the ground potential side, and the vacuum relay 157 is switched to the high frequency power supply 31 side. When the substrate A is carried into the chamber 2, the vacuum suction device 5 is driven to evacuate the chamber 2, and the plasma reaction gas is supplied into the gas introduction hole 153 via the gas introduction pipe 43.

The plasma reaction gas supplied to the gas introduction hole 153 is ejected into the chamber 2 through the gas ejection hole 155 of the plate 154. Then, the high-frequency power supply 31 is driven, and high-frequency power is supplied to the upper electrode 29. As a result, plasma is generated in the chamber 2, and positive ions in the plasma are mainly attracted to the negatively charged upper electrode 29, and the positive ions hardly collide with the surface of the substrate A on the tray 27, and radicals are mainly generated. Collide,
The surface of the substrate A is modified.

The plasma reactant gas ejected into the chamber 2 strikes the surface of each substrate A and then diffuses in the entire circumferential direction of each substrate A, and moves downward along each side of the tray 27 and the lower electrode 28. The flow, as shown by the arrow in FIG.
58 flows into a passage 160 opened on each side of the
1. The gas flows into the vacuum pipe 62 through the gas discharge hole 159.

The plasma cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment
A cleaning unit for periodically cleaning the inside of the chamber 2 is provided, and the cleaning unit is configured by a program stored in a memory of the control device. The cleaning means fills the chamber 2 with a plasma reaction gas in a state where the substrate A is not housed in the chamber 2 and applies a high-frequency voltage between the electrodes 28 and 29 to perform an empty discharge. The inside of the chamber 2 is cleaned by the etching action by the plasma.

When the cleaning means performs cleaning every time one cleaning process is completed, it performs cleaning every time the cleaning process of all unprocessed substrates Aa stored in one supply side magazine 7a is completed. In this case, the operator can select one of cleaning and non-cleaning each time the cleaning process for a predetermined number of unprocessed substrates Aa is completed. That is, prior to the start of the automatic operation of the plasma cleaning apparatus, the operator selects and inputs a desired one of the above menus displayed on the screen of the display device (not shown).

First, a case where cleaning is performed each time one cleaning process is completed will be described with reference to FIG. When the automatic operation of the plasma cleaning device starts,
The chamber 2 is closed, the chamber 2 is filled with a plasma reaction gas, and an empty discharge is performed to clean the inside of the chamber 2 (Step # 10). Next, the unprocessed substrate Aa is transported from the supply side magazine 7a into the chamber 2 (Step # 20), and the substrate A is cleaned by performing the plasma processing (Step # 30).
Is taken out of the substrate (Step # 40).

Then, the processing of steps # 10 to # 40 is repeated until the unprocessed substrate Aa in the supply side magazine 7a is exhausted. That is, the inside of the chamber 2 is cleaned every time one cleaning step is completed. When the unprocessed substrates Aa in the supply side magazine 7a are exhausted, the empty supply side magazine 7a is removed from the magazine supply unit 8, and
The supply side magazine 7a containing the unprocessed substrate Aa is supplied to the magazine supply unit 8 (Steps # 50 to # 70).
When the processing of all the supply side magazines 7a is completed, the automatic operation of the plasma cleaning apparatus stops.

Next, a case where cleaning is performed every time the cleaning process of all unprocessed substrates Aa stored in one supply side magazine 7a is completed will be described with reference to FIG. When the automatic operation of the plasma cleaning apparatus is started, the chamber 2 is closed, the chamber 2 is filled with the plasma reaction gas, and the chamber 2 is subjected to an empty discharge to clean the inside of the chamber 2 (Step # 110). Next, the unprocessed substrate Aa is transported into the chamber 2 from the supply side magazine 7a (Step # 120), and after the plasma processing is performed to clean the substrate A (Step # 13)
0), the processing substrate Ab is taken out of the chamber 2 (Step # 140).

Then, the processing of steps # 120 to # 140 is repeated until there is no more unprocessed substrate Aa in the supply side magazine 7a. When the unprocessed substrate Aa in the supply side magazine 7a is exhausted, the empty supply side magazine 7a is removed from the magazine supply unit 8, and the supply side magazine 7a containing the unprocessed substrate Aa is supplied to the magazine supply unit 8 (step (# 150- # 170), and return to step # 110.
The above operation is repeated until the processing of all the supply side magazines 7a is completed. That is, the inside of the chamber 2 is cleaned each time the processing of one supply side magazine 7a is completed. When the processing of all the supply side magazines 7a is completed, the automatic operation of the plasma cleaning apparatus stops.

Next, a case where cleaning is performed each time the cleaning process of a predetermined number of unprocessed substrates Aa is completed will be described with reference to FIG. When the automatic operation of the plasma cleaning apparatus is started, the chamber 2 is closed, the chamber 2 is filled with the plasma reaction gas, and the chamber 2 is subjected to idle discharge to clean the inside of the chamber 2 (step # 210). Next, the supply side magazine 7
The unprocessed substrate Aa is transported into the chamber 2 from a (step # 220), plasma processing is performed to clean the substrate Aa, and the number of processed substrates is counted (step # 230). When the cleaning is completed, the processing substrate Ab is taken out of the chamber 2 (Step # 240).

Step # 2 is performed until the total number of processed substrates Aa reaches the preset number.
The processes from 20 to # 240 are repeated. When the total number of processed sheets reaches the set number, the counted number of processed sheets is reset and returns to step # 210 (steps # 250 to # 250).
270), the inside of the chamber 2 is cleaned. Then, the operations from steps # 220 to # 240 are repeated until the total number of processed sheets reaches the set number again. That is, the inside of the chamber 2 is cleaned each time the processing of a predetermined number of unprocessed substrates Aa is completed.

When the unprocessed substrate Aa in the supply side magazine 7a is exhausted, the empty supply side magazine 7a is removed from the magazine supply section 8, and the supply side magazine 7a containing the unprocessed substrate Aa is supplied to the magazine supply section 8. (Step #
250, # 280, # 290). Then, the process returns to step # 260. Then, when the processing of all the supply side magazines 7a is completed, the automatic operation of the plasma cleaning apparatus is stopped.

As described above, in the plasma cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment, the inside of the chamber 2 is automatically cleaned by the periodic empty discharge. Depending on the type of the object to be cleaned, this may not be enough to remove the dirt. Therefore,
In the present embodiment, the chamber 2 is automatically opened and the tray 27 is manually cleaned by the display device every time the cleaning process of all the substrates Aa accommodated in one supply side magazine 7a is completed. It is also possible to set a mode in which a display requested by the operator is displayed.

Further, in this case, if the object to be cleaned generates liquid stains such as a transparent adhesive or the like, an empty discharge is performed in the chamber 2 prior to displaying on the display device. You can also set to. In this case, when a transparent adhesive is adhered to the tray 27, it is solidified and precipitated in a powder form, so that dirt can be visually recognized and dirt can be easily wiped off.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show the operation of the plasma cleaning apparatus in such a case.
The process at 50 is the same as the process at steps # 110 to # 150 in FIG. Then, when the unprocessed substrate Aa in the supply side magazine 7a is exhausted, if the setting of the liquid stain is performed, the plasma reaction gas is filled in the chamber 2 and the empty discharge is performed (step S1). # 360,
# 370). As a result, the liquid stain adhered to the tray 27 is solidified into a powder and deposited.

Then, the tray 27 automatically protrudes from the chamber 2 (step # 380), a message requesting cleaning of the tray 27 is displayed on the screen of the display device, a buzzer (not shown) sounds, and a signal tower (not shown) Lights up (step # 390). When the operator cleans the tray 27 with the cloth soaked with alcohol (Step # 400), and selects and inputs the cleaning completion button displayed on the display device (Step # 400).
410), the tray 27 is pulled into the chamber 2 (Step # 420).

Then, the empty supply-side magazine 7a is removed from the magazine supply unit 8, and the supply-side magazine 7a containing the unprocessed substrate Aa is supplied to the magazine supply unit 8 (steps # 430 and # 440). And step #
Returning to 310, the empty discharge is performed in the chamber 2 to remove unwiped dirt and alcohol components on the tray 27.
If liquid dirt is not set in step # 360, the process proceeds to step # 380 without performing idle discharge in the chamber 2 in step # 370. The above operation is repeated until the processing of all the supply side magazines 7a is completed, and when the processing of all the supply side magazines 7a is completed, the automatic operation of the plasma cleaning apparatus is stopped.

In the above embodiment, the tray 27
Is configured so that it can be cleaned manually.
The inner wall of the chamber 2 may be configured to be manually cleaned. Further, in the above-described embodiment, a display requesting manual cleaning of the tray 27 is performed every time the cleaning processing of all the substrates Aa stored in one supply-side magazine 7a is completed. The same display may be performed in another cycle (for example, each time one cleaning process is completed or each time a preset number of objects to be cleaned are completed). At this time, not only the tray 27 but also other parts in the chamber 2 may be requested to be cleaned.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made to the above-described embodiment without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0077]

According to the plasma cleaning apparatus of the present invention, the chamber is filled with a plasma reaction gas in a state where the object to be cleaned is not contained in the chamber, and a high frequency voltage is applied between a pair of electrodes to clean the inside of the chamber. By providing the cleaning means for cleaning, dirt attached to the chamber is removed by the etching action of the plasma, so that dirt attached to fine places where the cloth does not easily enter can be removed. Further, when the adhesive is a transparent adhesive, the adhesive is chemically changed by plasma and deposited as powdery fixation, so that the adhesive becomes visible, is easily wiped off, and can be easily removed. Therefore, the dirt attached to the chamber can be effectively removed.

In the plasma cleaning apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the cleaning means periodically performs cleaning, the inside of the chamber is kept in a less contaminated state, thereby reducing the product defect rate. In addition, since the amount of dirt to be wiped off when cleaning the inside of the chamber manually is reduced, the labor is reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall structure of a plasma cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the overall structure of the plasma cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a chamber of the plasma cleaning apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a substrate processing method by the plasma cleaning apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the plasma cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment, and illustrates a case where cleaning is performed each time one cleaning process is completed.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the plasma cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment, and illustrates a case where cleaning is performed each time cleaning processing of all unprocessed substrates stored in one supply-side magazine is completed.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the plasma cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment, and illustrates a case where cleaning is performed each time cleaning processing of a preset number of unprocessed substrates is completed.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the plasma cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment, in which cleaning is manually performed every time cleaning processing of all unprocessed substrates stored in one supply-side magazine is completed. FIG.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the plasma cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment, in which cleaning is manually performed every time cleaning processing of all unprocessed substrates stored in one supply-side magazine is completed. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Plasma cleaning apparatus 2 Chamber 28 Lower electrode 29 Upper electrode

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A plasma reaction gas is filled in a chamber that can be hermetically sealed and a high-frequency voltage is applied between a pair of electrodes provided in the chamber to generate plasma. A plasma cleaning apparatus configured to clean an object to be cleaned disposed between the electrodes, wherein the chamber is filled with a plasma reaction gas in a state where the object to be cleaned is not accommodated in the chamber and the pair of electrodes A plasma cleaning apparatus, further comprising cleaning means for applying a high-frequency voltage therebetween to clean the inside of the chamber. 2. The plasma cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cleaning means performs cleaning periodically.