JP2003129235A - Sputtering method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique of continuously performing sputtering. SOLUTION: During a film is formed on the surface of a substrate 5a held by a holding plate 12 by keeping the holding plate 12 inside a treatment chamber in an erected position and sputtering a target 26, an untreated substrate 5b is mounted on the hand 43 of a substrate conveying robot in a conveying chamber, the pressure in the conveying chamber is adjusted to a value substantially equal to the pressure in the treatment chamber, and the substrate 5b is conveyed into the treatment chamber and is mounted on the holding plate 12 kept in a horizontal position. The conveying time does not add any additional time because the untreated substrate can be conveyed into the treatment chamber during sputtering.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the technical field of vacuum processing, and more particularly to a technology for continuously performing vacuum processing on a plurality of substrates.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a mass production apparatus for forming a thin film on the surface of a substrate, a multi-chamber type vacuum processing apparatus in which a plurality of processing chambers are connected around a single transfer chamber has been used.

Reference numeral 102 in FIG. 19 shows the vacuum processing apparatus. A plurality of processing chambers are connected around the transfer chamber 150 (here, two processing chambers 151 and 153 are provided).
It is shown. ).

The internal structure will be described taking one processing chamber 153 as an example. Among the wall surfaces of this processing chamber 153, a passage port 124 is provided on the wall surface connected to the transfer chamber 150. The passage port 124 is provided with a gate valve (not shown), and the passage valve 12 is provided by the gate valve.
When 4 is closed, the internal atmosphere of the transfer chamber 150 becomes
When the gate valve is opened, the internal atmosphere of the transfer chamber 150 is connected to the internal atmosphere of the processing chamber 153.

On the wall surface of the processing chamber 153, the passage port 124
The target holder 123 is arranged on the wall surface opposite to the wall surface on which is formed.

The substrate holding device 1 is provided on the bottom wall of the processing chamber 153.
Ten are arranged. The substrate holding device 110 has a rotating shaft 114, a holding plate 111, and an elevating plate 113, and the rotating shaft 114 is horizontally arranged near the target holder 123.

The holding plate 111 is attached to the rotary shaft 114, and when the rotary shaft 114 is rotated, the holding plate 111 can be in a horizontal posture or a vertical posture. FIG. 20 shows the holding plate 111 in a horizontal posture.

The substrate transfer robot 14 is installed in the transfer chamber 150.
0 is placed. The substrate transfer robot 140 includes a rotating shaft and an arm 14 having a root portion attached to the rotating shaft.
1 and a hand 14 attached to the tip of the arm 141
3 and is configured so that the hand 143 can be moved in a horizontal plane by rotating the rotary shaft and expanding and contracting the arm 141.

When performing the film forming operation with the above vacuum processing apparatus 102, the substrate 105 is placed on the hand 143, the gate valve is opened, the hand 143 is inserted into the processing chamber 153, and the holding plate 111 in the horizontal position is placed. To stop.

The elevating plate 113 is a holding plate 111 in a horizontal posture.
A plurality of pins 117 are provided upright on the surface of the elevating plate 113. The holding plate 111 is provided with a plurality of holes 118, and when the elevating plate 113 is moved upward, the pins 117 move horizontally to the holding plate 11.
One hole 118 is inserted. And then pin 117
Is raised, the upper end portion of the pin 117 is held by the hand 143.
The board 105 is placed on the upper end portion of the pin 117 as a result of being projected upward from the space. FIG. 20 shows the state.

Next, when the hand 143 is returned to the transfer chamber 150 and the elevating plate 113 is lowered, the substrate 105 is placed on the holding plate 111. FIG. 21 shows this state.

When the substrate 105 is held on the holding plate 111 by a holding mechanism (not shown) provided on the holding plate 111, and the rotary shaft 114 is rotated to erect the holding plate 111, the substrate 105 is raised as shown in FIG. 105 stands up together with the holding plate 111. A target (not shown) is vertically arranged in the target holder 123, and when the substrate 105 is in an upright posture, the surface of the substrate 105 faces the target in parallel.

In this state, the gate valve is closed and the processing chamber 1
The inside of 53 is shut off from the transfer chamber 150, a sputtering gas is introduced into the processing chamber 153, a voltage is applied to the target to perform sputtering, and a thin film is formed on the surface of the substrate 105.

After the thin film is formed to a predetermined thickness, the processing chamber 1
The sputtering gas is exhausted from the inside of 53, and the processing chamber 1
After the pressure inside 53 is reduced to the same level as the pressure inside the transfer chamber 150, the gate valve between the processing chamber 153 and the transfer chamber 150 is opened, and the internal atmosphere of the processing chamber 153 and the transfer chamber 150.
Connected to the internal atmosphere of the substrate transfer robot 140, the hand 143 of the substrate transfer robot 140 is inserted into the processing chamber 153, the substrate 105 on which the thin film is formed is placed on the hand 143, and the substrate 105 is unloaded from the inside of the processing chamber 153. Bring it inside the processing room.

After the substrate 105 on which the thin film has been formed is removed from the hand 143, the hand 143 is inserted into the processing chamber or the carry-in chamber of the previous process, and the unprocessed substrate is placed on the carrier chamber 15.
0 is carried into the processing chamber 153 through the inside of the chamber 0 and the sputtering operation is performed.

As described above, in the conventional sputtering method, after removing the substrate on which the thin film is formed from the inside of the processing chamber 153, the unprocessed substrate is placed on the hand 143 and carried into the processing chamber 153. It is necessary to start the sputtering operation on the substrate. Since the film forming operation inside the processing chamber 153 cannot be performed while the processed substrate is replaced with the unprocessed substrate, the time required for the replacement is wasted.

[0017]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention was created to solve the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art, and its object is to hold a substrate capable of performing vacuum processing while the substrate is being exchanged. An object is to provide an apparatus and a vacuum processing apparatus using the substrate holding apparatus.

[0018]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is to provide a substrate in a processing chamber in which a target is provided vertically so that the substrate faces the target and stands still, and the substrate is placed in the processing chamber. A sputtering method of introducing a sputtering gas to sputter the target to form a film on the surface of the substrate, wherein during the sputtering of the substrate, the transfer chamber connected to the processing chamber is changed from the transfer chamber to the processing chamber. It is a sputtering method of loading a substrate to be filmed. The invention according to claim 2 introduces an auxiliary gas into the transfer chamber to bring the internal pressure of the transfer chamber substantially equal to the internal pressure of the processing chamber when the substrate to be film-formed next is loaded. The sputtering method according to claim 1, wherein the inside of the processing chamber and the inside of the transfer chamber are connected in a closed state.

The present invention is configured as described above, and when the substrate is vertically erected in the processing chamber while performing sputtering, the substrate to be subjected to the next sputtering process is carried into the processing chamber. After the sputtering process is completed, the processing time can be shortened as compared with the case of exchanging the substrate.

In this case, since the transfer chamber is connected to the processing chamber during sputtering, if the pressure in the transfer chamber is made to substantially match the pressure in the processing chamber, the pressure in the processing chamber will not fluctuate during connection. Therefore, the sputtering can be stably performed.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference numeral 2 in FIG. 1 shows an example of a vacuum processing apparatus in which the sputtering method of the present invention can be used.

The vacuum processing apparatus 2 has a transfer chamber 50, a loading / unloading chamber 51, and processing chambers 52 to 56. The carry-in / out chamber 51 and the processing chambers 52 to 56 are provided with gate valves 71 to
Each of them is connected to the side surface of the transfer chamber 50 via 76.

The transfer chamber 50, the loading / unloading chamber 51, and the processing chamber 5
2 to 56, a vacuum exhaust system 60 to 66 and a gas introduction system 8
0 to 86 are connected to each other, and when the gate valves 71 to 76 are closed and the vacuum exhaust systems 60 to 66 are operated, the insides of the carry-in / out chamber 51, the transfer chamber 50, and the processing chambers 52 to 56 are individually separated. It is configured to be evacuated.

The gas introducing systems 82 to 86 connected to the processing chambers 52 to 56 are connected to gas cylinders corresponding to the processing performed inside the processing chambers 52 to 56. For example, an argon gas is used for the sputtering process, a raw material gas and a carrier gas for the thin film are used for the CVD process, and an etching gas such as an organic fluorine gas is used for the etching process.

On the other hand, the gas introducing system 80 connected to the transfer chamber 50 is connected to a gas cylinder filled with an inert auxiliary gas such as nitrogen gas or argon gas.

A substrate transfer robot 40 is arranged in the transfer chamber 50. The substrate transfer robot 40 has a rotating shaft 44, an arm 42, and a hand 43.
The rotary shaft 44 is arranged vertically, and one end of the arm 42 is attached to the rotary shaft 44. The hand 43 is attached to the other end of the arm 42, and is configured such that the arm 42 expands and contracts by the rotation of the rotary shaft 44, and the hand 43 moves in the horizontal plane accordingly. The end of the hand 43 is divided and has a fork shape, and a pin 17 described later is inserted into the hand 43.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vacuum processing apparatus 2 in which the processing chambers 52, 54 to 56 are omitted for explaining the present invention. The transfer chamber 50, the loading / unloading chamber 51, and one processing chamber. 5
3 is shown.

The substrate holding device 10 is arranged in the transfer chamber 53. The substrate holding device 10 includes an upper substrate holder 11, a lower substrate holder 12, an upper rotating shaft 14,
It has a lower rotary shaft 15 and a lift plate 13.

The upper rotary shaft 14 is horizontally arranged in the processing chamber 53, and the lower rotary shaft 15 is horizontally separated from the upper rotary shaft 14 and is at the lower position, so that the upper rotary shaft 14 is rotated. It is arranged parallel to the axis 14. Reference numeral 22 indicates the rotation axis of the upper rotation shaft 14, and reference numeral 25 indicates the rotation axis of the lower rotation shaft 15. Upper rotary shaft 14
A motor (not shown) is attached to the lower rotary shaft 15 and the upper rotary shaft 14 and the lower rotary shaft 15 are configured to be rotatable about rotary shaft lines 22 and 25, respectively.

Upper substrate holder 11 and lower substrate holder 12
Is a rectangular plate, and one side thereof is attached to the upper rotary shaft 14 and the lower rotary shaft 15 along the axial direction.

FIG. 2 shows a case where the upper substrate holder 11 and the lower substrate holder 12 are both in a horizontal state in which they are stationary in a horizontal state, and both the upper substrate holder 11 and the lower substrate holder 12 are horizontal. When in the posture, they are layered on top of each other with a gap.

The lift plate 13 is horizontally arranged vertically below the lower substrate holder 12 in a horizontal posture. A plurality of pins 17 are provided upright on the surface of the lift plate 13. The elevating plate 13 is configured to be vertically movable relative to the upper substrate holder 11 and the lower substrate holder 12, and the pins 17 are vertically moved as the elevating plate 13 is vertically moved. .

Upper substrate holder 11 in horizontal position
Holes 18 and 19 are provided at positions vertically above each pin 17 of the lower substrate holder 12. Therefore,
When the upper substrate holder 11 and the lower substrate holder 12 are placed in a horizontal posture and the elevating plate 13 is moved upward, each pin 17 is set in the hole 1
8 and 19 are inserted.

By the way, FIG. 2 shows a substrate transfer robot 40.
Shows the state immediately before the substrate 5 to be processed is taken out from the loading / unloading chamber 51 and loaded into the processing chamber 53.

Further, in FIG. 2, the transfer chamber 50 and the processing chamber 53 are shown.
The gate valve 73 between the transfer chamber 50 and the processing chamber 53 is open, and the inside of the transfer chamber 50 and the processing chamber 53 is connected by the passage port 24.

The processing chamber 53 is a sputtering chamber, and the target holder 23 is disposed on one wall surface of the processing chamber 53 that faces the wall surface on which the passage port 24 is formed.

Upper substrate holder 11 and lower substrate holder 12
The lift plate 13 and the lift plate 13 are configured to rotate together in a horizontal plane. In FIG. 2, the upper rotary shaft 14 has the passage opening 24.
And the lower rotary shaft 15 is stationary with the lower rotary shaft 15 positioned on the target holder 23 side.

From this state, when it is rotated by 180 ° in the horizontal plane, as shown in FIG.
And the upper rotation shaft 14 is located on the target holder 23 side.

FIG. 4 shows that the upper rotary shaft 14 is 9
The figure shows a state in which the upper substrate holder 11 that has been in a horizontal posture is rotated to 0 ° and is in a vertical standing posture. The upper substrate holder 11 in the standing posture faces the target in the target holder 23 in parallel.

In contrast to FIG. 4, in FIG. 5, the lower rotary shaft 15 is located on the target holder 23 side, the upper rotary shaft 14 is located on the passage port 24 side, and the lower substrate holder 12 is erected. The upper substrate holder 11 is in the posture and the upper substrate holder 11 is in the horizontal posture. The lower substrate holder 12 in the standing posture faces the target in the target holder 23 in parallel.

When the upper rotary shaft 14 and the lower rotary shaft 15 are constructed so as to be movable in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG. 7, when the upper substrate holder 11 is in the upright posture (FIG. 7).
The left side of FIG. 7) and the lower substrate holder 12 in the standing posture (right side of FIG. 7) can be made to have the same height.

FIG. 6 shows the upper substrate holder 11 as shown in FIG.
Is in a horizontal posture, and the lower substrate holder 12 is in a standing posture, the elevator plate 13 is moved upward, and the tip of the pin 17 is projected from the hole 17 of the upper substrate holder 11. .

Next, a procedure for carrying out the sputtering method of the present invention in the processing chamber 53 using the substrate holding apparatus 10 will be described.

Referring to FIG. 8, first, the lower substrate holder 12
Is in an upright posture, the upper substrate holder 11 is in a horizontal posture, and the lower substrate holder 12 is in a state of vertically holding the substrate 5a in the process of forming a thin film by the sputtering method.

Reference numeral 26 in FIG. 8 and FIGS.
Shows a target vertically arranged in the target holder 23, the state of FIG. 8 is in the process of forming a thin film by sputtering, and the substrate 5 a faces the target 26.

In this state, the gate valve 73 between the processing chamber 53 and the transfer chamber 50 is closed, and the flow rate of sputtering gas such as argon gas is controlled by the mass flow controller (MFC) in the processing chamber 53. It is introduced and the inside is kept at a pressure of about 10 ⁻¹ Pa to 10 ⁺¹ Pa.

On the other hand, the inside of the transfer chamber 50 has a vacuum exhaust system 60.
The pressure is lower than that in the processing chamber 53.

In this state, the substrate transfer robot 40 is operated to take out the substrates from the carry-in / out chamber 51 and the other processing chambers 52, 54 to 56, and between the transfer chamber 50 and the carry-in / out chamber 51, and between the transfer chamber 50 and the processing chamber 52. Gate valve 71 between ~ 56
To 76 are closed, and the internal atmosphere of the transfer chamber 50 is shut off from the internal atmosphere of the carry-in / out chamber 51 and the processing chambers 51 to 56.

Next, the gas introduction system 80 connected to the transfer chamber 50 introduces an auxiliary gas into the transfer chamber 50 while controlling the flow rate with a mass flow controller or the like, and the pressure of the internal atmosphere of the transfer chamber 50 is changed during sputtering. The pressure is raised to the same pressure as the internal atmosphere of the processing chamber 53.

The auxiliary gas introduced into the transfer chamber 50 is an inert gas that does not affect vacuum processing such as sputtering performed in the processing chamber 53 even if it enters the processing chamber 53, and is, for example, N 2. ₂ Gas or an inert gas such as argon gas is used. Here, as the auxiliary gas, the same argon gas as the sputtering gas being introduced into the processing chamber 53 was introduced.

After the pressure difference between the transfer chamber 50 and the processing chamber 53 is eliminated, the gate valve 73 between them is opened to connect the internal atmosphere of the transfer chamber 50 and the internal atmosphere of the processing chamber 53 during sputtering. Next, the substrate on which the thin film is formed by sputtering is placed on the hand 43, and the passage opening 24
The hand 43 is inserted into the processing chamber 53 through the. Figure 9
Shows that state, and the hand 43 is located above the upper substrate holder 11 in the horizontal posture. Code 5b
Shows the substrate on which the thin film is formed next when placed on the hand 43.

Then, as shown in FIG.
Is moved upward, the tip of the pin 17 is projected beyond the surface height of the upper substrate holder 11, and when further raised,
It does not contact the hand 43 but contacts the back surface of the substrate 5b.
As a result, the substrate 5b is transferred from above the hand 43 to above the upper end of the pin 17.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 11, the hand 43 is returned to the inside of the transfer chamber 50, and the elevating plate 13 is lowered as shown in FIG.
b is placed on the upper substrate holder 43 in a horizontal posture. Next, the holding mechanism (not shown) is operated to hold the substrate 5b in close contact with the upper substrate holder 11.

After the hand 43 is returned to the transfer chamber 50, the gate valve 73 between the transfer chamber 50 and the processing chamber 53 is provided.
Is closed, and the internal atmosphere of the transfer chamber 50 is separated from the internal atmosphere of the processing chamber 53 during sputtering.

In this state, the introduction of the auxiliary gas into the transfer chamber 50 is stopped, the pressure inside the transfer chamber 50 is lowered, and the substrate is carried in and out from the other processing chambers 52, 54 to 56 and the carrying in / out chamber 51. I do.

In the processing chamber 53, sputtering is continued even after the gate valve 73 is closed to form a thin film having a predetermined film thickness on the substrate 5a, and then voltage is applied to the target 26 and the inside of the processing chamber 53 is processed. The introduction of the sputtering gas is stopped and the sputtering is completed.

After the sputtering is completed, the upper substrate holder 11 and the lower substrate holder 12 are rotated to position the lower substrate holder 12 on the passage port 24 side as shown in FIG.
The upper substrate holder 11 is positioned on the target 26 side, and then, as shown in FIG. 14, the upper substrate holder 11 is erected and a sputtering gas is introduced into the processing chamber 53.
A thin film forming operation on the surface of the substrate 5b by sputtering the target 26 is started.

Next, as shown in FIG. 15, after the lower substrate holder 12 is placed in a horizontal posture, the elevating plate 13 is lifted, and the substrate 5a on which the thin film has been formed is placed on the pins 17 as shown in FIG. Put on.

At this time, no substrate is placed on the hand 43 of the substrate transfer robot 40, and the transfer chamber 50
The gate valves 71 to 76 between the loading / unloading chamber 51 and the processing chambers 52 to 56 are closed, and the auxiliary gas is introduced into the transfer chamber 50, and the pressure thereof is almost the same as the pressure inside the processing chamber 53. It is boosted.

In this state, the gate valve 73 is opened to connect the internal atmosphere of the processing chamber 53 during sputtering to the internal atmosphere of the transfer chamber 50, and as shown in FIG. 5a and the lower substrate holder 12 are inserted.

Then, the elevating plate 13 is lowered and, as shown in FIG. 18, the substrate 5a on which the thin film is formed is placed on the hand 43, and then the hand 43 is retracted into the transfer chamber 50. 10 is the same as that shown in FIG.
A thin film is being formed on the surfaces of the substrates.

In this state, since the processed substrate 5a is removed from the lower substrate holder 12,
When the substrate on which the thin film is to be formed is placed in the processing chamber 53 by the substrate transfer robot 40, it becomes possible to successively form the thin film on the substrate surface.

[0063]

As compared with the case where the substrate is replaced after the completion of the sputtering process, the processing time can be shortened.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an example of a vacuum processing apparatus which can use the method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a substrate holding device used in the vacuum processing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the substrate holding device.
(1)

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining the operation of the substrate holding device.
(2)

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining the operation of the substrate holding device.
(3)

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the substrate holding device.
(4)

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a case where the heights of the upper substrate holder and the lower substrate holder in the standing posture are matched.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the procedure of the method of the present invention (1)

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining the procedure of the method of the present invention (2)

FIG. 10 is a diagram (3) for explaining the procedure of the method of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a view for explaining the procedure of the method of the present invention (4)

FIG. 12 is a view for explaining the procedure of the method of the present invention (5)

FIG. 13 is a view for explaining the procedure of the method of the present invention (6)

FIG. 14 is a diagram (7) for explaining the procedure of the method of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a view for explaining the procedure of the method of the present invention (8)

FIG. 16 is a view for explaining the procedure of the method of the present invention (9)

FIG. 17 is a diagram (10) for explaining the procedure of the method of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a diagram (11) for explaining the procedure of the method of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining a vacuum processing apparatus in which a conventional sputtering method is used.

FIG. 20 is a diagram (1) for explaining the procedure of a conventional sputtering method.

FIG. 21 is a diagram (2) for explaining the procedure of the conventional sputtering method.

FIG. 22 is a diagram (3) for explaining the procedure of the conventional sputtering method.

[Explanation of symbols]

5, 5a, 5b ... substrate 26 ... target 5
0 …… Transfer room 53 …… Processing room

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Hiroki Ozora             2500 Hagien, Chigasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture Co., Ltd.             In ULVAC F-term (reference) 4K029 CA05 KA01                 5F031 CA02 CA05 CA07 CA11 FA01                       FA02 FA07 GA05 GA47 GA48                       HA33 HA45 HA59 LA07 MA04                       MA28 MA29 MA32 NA04 NA05                       NA09 PA03 PA30

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A sputtering method in which a substrate is made to stand still in a processing chamber in which a target is vertically provided so as to face the target and a sputtering gas is introduced into the processing chamber to sputter the target to form a film on the surface of the substrate. A sputtering method, wherein during the sputtering of the substrate, a substrate to be subsequently film-formed is carried into the processing chamber from the transfer chamber connected to the processing chamber. 2. When carrying in a substrate to be subsequently deposited, an auxiliary gas is introduced into the transfer chamber so that the internal pressure of the transfer chamber is substantially equal to the internal pressure of the processing chamber. ,
2. The inside of the processing chamber and the inside of the transfer chamber are connected.
The described sputtering method.