JP2004106993A - Vacuum treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum treatment device capable of preventing a substrate carrier in an unload chamber from adsorbing impure gas. <P>SOLUTION: This vacuum treatment device uses substrate carriers 1C, 1D moving between a treatment chamber under vacuum atmosphere and an unload chamber 20 repeating vacuum and atmospheric pressure and carrying a substrate G. An infrared lamp unit 90 heating substrate carriers 1C, 1D is installed in the unload chamber 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vacuum processing apparatus applied to a film forming apparatus such as a plasma CVD apparatus, a sputtering apparatus, and a dry etching apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as a device for forming a film on a base material, a film forming device having a plasma CVD device, a sputtering device, a dry etching device, or the like is known.
As this type of film forming apparatus, there are mainly an in-line type in which a plurality of processing chambers are arranged in series (for example, see Patent Document 1) and a plurality of substrate processing chambers (a film forming chamber) around a central substrate transfer common chamber. ) Are arranged in parallel (for example, see Patent Document 2). In any case, the vacuum processing apparatus is configured to perform a film forming process in a vacuum environment.
[0003]
For example, a cluster-type vacuum processing apparatus uses a trayless substrate transport cart, and transports substrates via a common transport chamber in the order of load chamber → each deposition chamber → unload chamber. In the unloading chamber, a processing chamber under a vacuum environment, that is, a common transfer chamber and a substrate processing chamber (film forming chamber) are separated by an opening / closing means, and the substrate subjected to the film forming process is taken out under atmospheric pressure. You can do it. At this time, in the cooling device provided in the unloading chamber or adjacent to the unloading chamber, the high-temperature substrate is cooled to facilitate handling such as transportation in a later step.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2000-177842 (paragraph numbers 0040 to 0048 and FIG. 5)
[Patent Document 2]
JP 2001-127133 A (paragraph numbers 0014 to 0025 and FIG. 1)
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, as described above, the substrate transfer trolley that moves between the unload chamber under the atmospheric pressure and the processing chamber under the vacuum environment, in the unload chamber under the atmospheric pressure where the sublimation temperature becomes higher than under the vacuum environment, Water vapor and other impurity gases tend to condense or solidify. For this reason, there is a concern that the adsorbed impurity gas may be brought into a processing chamber under a vacuum environment when the substrate transfer cart in a state where the impurity gas is adsorbed (adhered or fixed) moves to a vacuum environment. In particular, in a cluster-type vacuum processing apparatus, when an impurity gas is brought into the common transfer chamber from the unloader chamber, the substrate transferred to each of the film formation chambers always passes through the common transfer chamber. Is inevitable.
[0006]
Thus, the impurity gas brought into the processing chamber under the vacuum environment is in a state where it is likely to be gasified by the heat of substrate heating or the decrease in the sublimation temperature. The presence of such an impure gas causes impurities to be adsorbed particularly on the surface of the film in the middle of the lamination, which is a hindrance in maintaining good film performance and lamination film interface performance. Therefore, in order to reduce the occurrence of defective products as much as possible and to improve the yield, it is desired to prevent the substrate transfer cart from adsorbing the impurity gas in the unloading chamber.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a vacuum processing apparatus capable of preventing a substrate transfer cart from adsorbing an impurity gas in an unload chamber.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1 uses a substrate transport cart that transports a substrate by moving between a processing chamber under a vacuum atmosphere and an unload chamber that repeats vacuum and atmospheric pressure. And a heating means for increasing the temperature of the substrate transfer cart in the unload chamber.
[0009]
According to such a vacuum processing apparatus, since heating can be performed by providing a heating means for the substrate transfer cart in the unload chamber, gas components such as impurity gases condense or solidify in the unload chamber under atmospheric pressure. It is possible to prevent the substrate carrier from being sucked.
[0010]
The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 2 is provided at a center with a common transfer chamber, and is disposed around the common transfer chamber so as to be able to communicate with the common transfer chamber via opening / closing means. A plurality of vacuum processing chambers for processing below, and a load chamber into which an unprocessed substrate is loaded are provided so as to be able to communicate with the common transfer chamber via opening / closing means, and an opening / closing means for the common transfer chamber. An unload chamber provided so as to be able to communicate with the substrate, and a substrate transport cart transporting the substrate between the vacuum processing chamber, the common transport chamber, the load chamber, and the unload chamber. And a heating means for raising the temperature of the substrate transport cart in the unload chamber.
[0011]
According to such a vacuum processing apparatus, since heating can be performed by providing a heating means for the substrate transfer cart in the unload chamber, gas components such as impurity gases condense or solidify in the unload chamber under atmospheric pressure. It is possible to prevent the substrate carrier from being sucked.
[0012]
Further, in the vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, it is preferable that the heating means heats an unloaded substrate transporting trolley which operates after the substrate is unloaded, thereby reducing the operating time of the heating means. Can be minimized.
In the vacuum processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, a substrate is loaded, unloaded, and loaded in the unloading chamber for unloading the processed substrate by using the same function as the load chamber. It is preferable not to completely stop the entire apparatus even in the event of a failure, whereby production can be continued even in the event of an emergency.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, as an embodiment of a vacuum processing apparatus according to the present invention, a cluster type vacuum processing apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the configuration example shown in FIG. 3, the cluster type vacuum processing apparatus includes a common transfer chamber 30 as a bogie rotation chamber in the center, and a load chamber 10, an unload chamber 20, and five film formation chambers surrounding the common transfer chamber 30. (Vacuum processing chamber) 70A to 70E and a preliminary chamber 80 are arranged. Each of these chambers 10, 20, 70A to 70E, 80 communicates with one end of bogie moving connection chambers 40A to 40H via a gate valve mechanism (not shown) provided as opening / closing means. The other ends of -40H communicate with the common transfer chamber 30, respectively.
[0014]
The load chamber 10 has two substrate transport vehicles 1A and 1B, the unload chamber 20 has two substrate transport vehicles 1C and 1D, and the common transport chamber 30 has two substrate transport vehicles 1E and 1F. Are provided, and in the entire system, at least six substrate transport carts 1A to 1F in total are arranged at various places.
[0015]
The carriage moving connection chambers 40A to 40H have a smaller cross-sectional area than the loading chamber 10, the unloading chamber 20, the film forming chambers 70A to 70E, and the preliminary chamber 80. In other words, the internal passages of the trolley moving connection chambers 40A to 40H are formed in a size as small as possible so that the substrate transport trolleys 1A to 1F can pass while holding the substrate G. By providing these carriage moving connection chambers 40A to 40H between each of the film forming chambers 70A to 70E, the preliminary chamber 80, the load chamber 10, and the unload chamber 20, and the common transfer chamber 30, the volume of the common transfer chamber 30 is increased. Can be reduced to near the limit, so that the load on the evacuation device (not shown) is greatly reduced.
Further, it is desirable that the central common transfer chamber 30 be a minimum space within which the mutual interference of the adjacent gate valve mechanisms does not occur and in which the substrate transfer carts 1E and 1F can rotate.
[0016]
Next, the loading chamber 10 and the unloading chamber 20 will be described. The load chamber 10 and the unload chamber 20 are substantially the same, and the roller-type loader 2A and the roller-type unloader 2B installed in the adjacent loader chamber 10A and the unloader chamber 20A are also substantially the same. Therefore, here, one load chamber 10 and the roller type loader 2A will be described.
[0017]
The roller type loader 2A is provided on the front side of the load chamber 10, that is, on the upstream side in the substrate transport direction. The roller-type loader 2A includes a transport unit 4 having rails 3A and 3B at the center thereof on which two substrate transport carts 1A and 1B travel, and a pair of roller tables 5A and 5B on both sides of the transport unit 4. It has. Each of the substrate transport carts 1A and 1B independently holds and transports a substrate G one by one. A pair of rails (not shown) is provided in the load chamber 10 which is an extension of each of the rails 3A and 3B, so that the substrate transport carts 1A and 1B can move from the rails 3A and 3B.
[0018]
The pair of left and right roller tables 5A and 5B are provided so as to sandwich the transport unit 4 therebetween. A plurality of feed rollers 6 are arranged on each of the roller tables 5A and 5B, and a glass substrate G placed horizontally thereon is fed in parallel with the rails 3A and 3B.
[0019]
A pair of right and left loading / unloading ports 11A, 11B are formed on the front surface of the load chamber 10, and the left and right loading / unloading ports 11A, 11B are opened and closed by a gate valve mechanism (not shown) provided with a cylinder mechanism. Similarly, a pair of left and right carry-in / out ports (not shown) are formed on the rear surface of the load chamber 10, and are opened and closed by a gate valve mechanism (opening / closing means) having a cylinder. A heating means such as an infrared lamp (not shown) is provided inside the load chamber 10 so that the substrate G can be preheated by heating it.
[0020]
The loading / unloading ports on the unloading chamber 20 side are indicated by reference numerals 21A and 21B, and the substrate G is transported from the loading / unloading ports 21A and 21B of the unloading chamber 20 toward the roller type unloader 2B. In the unloading chamber 20, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, a cooling device 22 configured to cool the high-temperature substrate G by cooling air in or adjacent to the unloading chamber 20. And the like. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 23 denotes a fan, 24 denotes an air cleaning filter, and 25 denotes a flow dividing plate.
[0021]
Next, the common transfer chamber 30 will be described. A turntable 31 is provided on the floor of the common transfer chamber 30, and the substrate transfer carts 1E and 1F on a pair of movable rails 32A and 32B fixedly installed on the turntable 31 can rotate in a horizontal plane. Has become. As a result, the directions of the substrate transport carts 1E and 1F can be changed to any orientation within a rotation range of 360 °.
[0022]
Each of the film forming chambers 70A to 70E includes a film forming unit (not shown) and a substrate heater for performing film forming of two substrates G per batch.
Then, in the case of a plasma CVD apparatus, a film forming gas including a raw material gas such as silane gas (SiH ₄ ) is fed into each of the film forming chambers in a state where the pressure is reduced, and the substrate G is heated by the substrate heater. The plasma is generated by supplying high frequency power to a ladder electrode (not shown) provided as a non-ground electrode. As a result, the source gas is decomposed, and a silicon-based film is formed on the surface of the substrate G heated by the substrate heater.
[0023]
In addition, the preliminary chamber 80 can be used as a film forming chamber, as well as a standby chamber for temporarily waiting (evacuating) the substrate transport carts 1A to 1F, or the substrate G before the film forming process. Can be used as a preheating chamber or a precooling chamber for preliminarily heating or cooling.
The above-described cluster type vacuum processing apparatus is configured to simultaneously process two substrates G per batch using at least six or more substrate transfer apparatuses 1A to 1F. The present invention is not limited to this, and may be changed as appropriate, such as a configuration in which one substrate G is processed per batch using a substrate transfer device.
[0024]
In the cluster type vacuum processing apparatus configured as described above, a film forming process is performed according to a procedure described below.
In the first step, the untreated substrate G is placed and held on the substrate transport carts 1A and 1B, respectively, in the roller type loader 2A under the atmospheric pressure, the gate valve mechanism is opened, and the loading / unloading ports 11A and 11B are inserted into the load chamber 10. Transport to
The substrate transport carts 1A and 1B transported into the load chamber 10 stand by according to the transport sequence into the common transport chamber 30, and at this time, the substrate G and the substrate transport carts 1A and 1B are heated by a heating means such as an infrared lamp. Is heated. When the interior of the common transfer chamber 30 becomes vacant in a predetermined order, the gate valve mechanism provided on the rear side of the load chamber 10 is opened, and the substrate transfer carts 1A and 1B pass through the cart transfer connection chamber 40F to form a vacuum environment. At the common transfer chamber 30 located at
[0025]
The substrate transport carts 1A and 1B thus transported into the common transport chamber 30 change their directions here, and then are carried into the film forming chamber 70A for performing the first film forming process through the truck moving connection chamber 40A. . Here, after transferring the substrate G to the processing apparatus, the substrate transport carts 1A and 1B exit and return to the roller loader 2A through the common transport chamber 30 and the load chamber 10.
After the film forming process in the film forming chamber 70A is completed, the substrate transfer carts 1E and 1F return to the empty common transfer chamber 30 once the substrates G are received, and after the direction is changed again, the second film forming process is performed. Is transported to the film forming chamber 70 </ b> B where the film formation is performed. In the film forming chamber 70B, the substrate transport carts 1E and 1F deliver the substrate G to the processing apparatus side and then retreat to the common transport chamber 30. After the completion of the second film forming process, the substrate transport carts 1E and 1F enter the film forming chamber 70B to receive the substrate G, return to the common transport chamber 30 again, and change the direction. Thereafter, in the same manner, a film forming chamber 70C for performing the third film forming process, a film forming chamber 70D for performing the fourth film forming process, and a film forming chamber 7E for performing the fifth film forming process are sequentially provided in each order. The transfer is performed while changing the direction in the common transfer chamber 30. In the illustrated apparatus, the film forming process in the film forming chamber 70E is the final process, and the film forming process is completed.
[0026]
After the completion of the film forming process in the film forming chamber 7E, the substrate transport carts 1C and 1D receive the substrate G after the film forming process, return to the common transport chamber 30, change the direction, and then pass through the truck moving connection chamber 40G. It is transported into the unloading chamber 20 with the gate valve mechanism opened.
Then, the wafer is conveyed into the unloading chamber 20 under the vacuum atmosphere and the gate valve mechanism is closed. ), The inside of the unloading chamber 20 is vented to the atmospheric pressure by using an inert gas such as nitrogen. The substrate G that has been vented in this way opens the gate valve mechanisms of the loading / unloading ports 21A, 21B, is carried out to the roller type unloader 2B adjacent to the unloading chamber 20, and is conveyed to the roller type unloader 2B. The cooling process by 22 is performed. This cooling process cools the substrate G, which has been heated in each of the film forming chambers 70A to 70E and has a high temperature. At the same time, the substrate transport carts 1C and 1D that transport the substrate G are also cooled.
[0027]
In the roller type unloader 2B, the substrate G is lowered from the substrate transport carts 1C and 1D and carried out. The substrate transport carts 1C and 1D thus emptied pass through the unloading chamber 20, the cart transport connection chamber 40G, the common transport chamber 30, and the truck transport connection chamber 40E, and are subsequently transferred to the film forming chamber 70E. Go to receive the changed substrate G.
In the above description, the substrate transport vehicles 1A and 1B transport the unprocessed substrate G from the roller type loader 2A to the film forming chamber 70A, and the substrate transport vehicles 1C and 1D transport the unprocessed substrate G from the film forming chamber 70E. The completed substrate G is transported to the roller type unloader 2B, and the substrate transport vehicles 1E and 1F transport the substrate G sequentially from the film forming chamber 70B to the film forming chamber 70E. The transfer range is not limited to this, and can be set as appropriate, for example, such that one substrate transfer cart receives an unprocessed substrate G and unloads a film-formed substrate G.
[0028]
In contrast to the vacuum processing apparatus having the above-described configuration, in the present invention, a heating means for the substrate transport cart is provided in the unload chamber. Hereinafter, the configuration of the heating means will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 1, an infrared lamp unit 90 is installed as a heating means inside the unloading chamber 20. The infrared lamp unit 90 has a configuration in which a large number (11 in the illustrated example) of infrared lamps 91 installed in the vertical direction are arranged at a constant pitch in the transport direction, and a pair of opposed substrate transport carts 1C and 1D. It is installed so as to be located at a substantially intermediate position of.
In FIG. 1, the infrared lamp unit 90 is installed at the center of the unload chamber 20, but may be installed on both sides of the unload chamber 20 on the wall side.
[0029]
Now, the unload chamber 20 and the roller type unloader 2B are under atmospheric pressure, and the impurity gas such as water vapor adsorbed on the substrate transport vehicles 1C and 1D is carried into the processing chamber under the vacuum atmosphere at a high temperature. It is not preferable because it is gasified during the film forming process in the environment and becomes adsorbed on the film surface. In particular, the empty transport carts 1C and 1D, on which the film-formed substrate G has been lowered, are cooled together with the substrate G and have a low temperature, and are in a state where impurity gases are easily condensed or solidified and adsorbed.
[0030]
Therefore, before moving the empty substrate transport carts 1C and 1D to the film forming chamber 70E via the unloading chamber 20 and the common transport chamber 30, specifically, the empty substrate transport carts 1C and 1D after the substrate is unloaded. Before moving into the carriage moving connection chamber 40G, the infrared lamp unit 90 installed in the unloading chamber 20 is energized (ON), turned on, and heated for a predetermined time. Note that the infrared heating unit 90 is turned off and extinguished except when the above-described substrate transport cart is heated, such as when the substrate G is carried out.
[0031]
Here, it is preferable to heat the substrate transport carts 1C and 1D until the temperature reaches approximately 50 ° C. to 120 ° C., whereby the substrate transport carts 1C and 1D are baked and the impurity gas adsorbed under the atmospheric pressure is quickly removed. can do. That is, the impurity gas adhering to the substrate transport vehicles 1C and 1D in a liquid or solid state is gasified and diffused by being heated, so that the impurity gas is prevented from being brought into the processing chamber together with the substrate transport vehicles 1C and 1D. it can.
[0032]
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, an infrared lamp unit 90 having a shape in which a large number of infrared lamps 91 are arranged in a rectangular shape is employed. It is also possible to arrange the infrared lamp 91 according to the shape of the transport vehicles 1C and 1D.
Further, as the heating means, an infrared lamp unit 90 which is brought into a heating state in a short time by controlling ON / OFF of energization is suitable, but is not limited thereto. It is also possible to employ an infrared lamp unit whose temperature is controlled using a representative thermocouple, an ultraviolet lamp unit capable of increasing the active energy, and the like.
[0033]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a cluster type vacuum processing apparatus is described, but it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to an in-line type.
However, since the above-described configuration of the present invention passes through the common transfer chamber 30 many times in the transfer process of the film formation process, when the impurity gas is brought into the common transfer chamber 30 from the unloader chamber 20, each of the film formation chambers 70A to 70A is formed. It is particularly effective when applied to a cluster-type vacuum processing apparatus in which an impurity gas easily enters 70E and causes defective products, because the generation of defective products is reduced and the yield is improved.
[0034]
In addition, since a heating means for the unloading chamber 20 is provided, in the unlikely event that the loading chamber 10 cannot be used due to a trouble, the unprocessed substrate G can be preheated using this heating means. Therefore, the unloading chamber 20 can be temporarily used as a loading chamber. That is, even if the load chamber 10 fails, the production speed can be reduced, but the production can be continued.
[0035]
The configuration of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.
[0036]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the vacuum processing apparatus of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
According to the vacuum processing apparatus of the first aspect, since the heating means for the substrate transfer cart is provided in the unload chamber so that heating can be performed, gas components such as impurity gas condense or solidify in the unload chamber under atmospheric pressure. As a result, it is possible to prevent the substrate carrier from being sucked. For this reason, when the empty substrate transport trolley carrying the processed substrate passes through the processing chamber, it is possible to prevent the adsorbed impurity gas from being brought into the processing chamber, and therefore, the impurity gas gasified by heating is deposited on the film surface. The yield can be improved by reducing defective products generated due to adhesion.
[0037]
According to the vacuum processing apparatus according to the second aspect, in the cluster type vacuum processing apparatus, the heating means for the substrate transfer cart is provided in the unload chamber so that heating can be performed. It is possible to prevent the gas components such as from being condensed or solidified and adsorbed on the substrate transfer cart. Therefore, when the empty substrate transport trolley carrying the processed substrate passes through the processing chamber, it is possible to prevent the adsorbed impurity gas from being brought into the processing chamber, and therefore, the impurity gas gasified by heating is deposited on the film surface. The yield can be improved by reducing defective products generated due to adhesion.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a view showing one embodiment of the present invention, and is a schematic perspective view of an unload chamber constituting a vacuum processing apparatus.
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a configuration example in which an unload chamber included in a vacuum processing apparatus includes an adjacent cooling device.
FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a cluster type vacuum processing apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
1A to 1F Transport cart 2A Roller type loader 2B Roller type unloader 5A, 5B Roller table 10 Load chamber 10A Loader chambers 11A, 11B, 21A, 21B Loading / unloading port 20 Unload chamber 20A Unloader chamber 22 Cooling device 30 Common transport chamber 31 Turntable 40A-40H Cart transfer connection chamber 70A-70E Film forming chamber (vacuum processing chamber)
80 Preparatory room 90 Infrared lamp unit (heating means)
91 Infrared lamp G Glass substrate (substrate)

Claims (4)

A vacuum processing apparatus in which a substrate transport trolley that transports a substrate by moving between a processing chamber under a vacuum atmosphere and an unload chamber that repeats vacuum and atmospheric pressure is used,
A vacuum processing apparatus, further comprising: a heating unit for increasing the temperature of the substrate transport trolley in the unload chamber. A common transfer chamber located at the center, and a plurality of vacuum processing chambers disposed around the common transfer chamber and provided so as to be able to communicate with the common transfer chamber via opening / closing means, respectively, and processing the substrate in a vacuum atmosphere. And a load chamber into which an unprocessed substrate is loaded, which is communicably provided to the common transfer chamber via an opening / closing means, and which is communicablely provided to the common transfer chamber via an opening / closing means. Cluster-type vacuum comprising: an unload chamber from which a substrate is unloaded, and a substrate transfer cart that transfers a substrate between the vacuum processing chamber, the common transfer chamber, the load chamber, and the unload chamber. A processing device,
A vacuum processing apparatus, further comprising: a heating unit for increasing the temperature of the substrate transport trolley in the unload chamber. 3. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating unit operates after the substrate is unloaded to heat the unloaded substrate transport cart. 4. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a substrate is loaded and unloaded in the unloading chamber for unloading the processed substrate, using the same function as the loading chamber, and the entire apparatus is not completely stopped even when the loading chamber fails. 3. The vacuum processing apparatus according to any one of 3.

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