JP2008078325A - Vacuum equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transport a substrate between transportation chambers in a state that the substrate is accurately oriented, and to correct dislocation by moving the substrate in a lateral direction without sliding the substrate. <P>SOLUTION: This vacuum equipment (delivery chamber) 30 comprises a vacuum tank 31. After a substrate 7 is placed at the upper end of a lifting pin 40, it is rotated so that the center A of the substrate is aligned in a direction parallel to a rotational center O and a horizontal movement direction H. With the lifting pin 40 oriented in the vertical direction, a bellows 35 that can expand or contract vertically is moved in the lateral direction and the lifting pin 40 is moved in the horizontal direction, so that the substrate 7 moves in the horizontal movement direction H for alignment. When the substrate 7 has a notch 8, the substrate 7 is rotated to orient the notch 8. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum apparatus that delivers a substrate in a vacuum state.

Reference numeral 101 in FIG. 8 indicates a so-called single-core vacuum processing apparatus. In the single-core vacuum processing apparatus 101, a plurality of processing chambers 112 to 117 are connected to a single transfer chamber 111, and a substrate is transferred into the transfer chamber 111 by a substrate transfer robot 119 disposed in the transfer chamber 111. Is configured to be able to carry in and out.
In the dual-core vacuum processing apparatus 120 as shown in FIG. 9, a delivery chamber 130 that connects the transfer chambers 121 and 131 is provided, and a substrate is provided between the transfer chambers 121 and 131 through the delivery chamber 130. Is transported.

In recent years, in particular, from the viewpoint of expansion of the effective area, alignment accuracy has been required to be more accurate. For example, in a substrate having a diameter of 200 mm, a range of 5 mm from the outer periphery is recognized as an ineffective region. However, in the case of a substrate having a diameter of 300 mm, it is required that an area inside 3 mm from the outer periphery be an effective area.
JP 10-270533 A JP-A-8-46013

Positioning accuracy at the time of temporary placement is important in a process where the number of times of conveyance is large or a process where the allowable range of positions during processing is narrow.
If there is an error in the substrate transfer by the substrate transfer robots 119, 129, and 139, the substrate carried into the transfer chambers 111, 121, and 131 will be displaced, but the single-core vacuum processing apparatus 101 has an error. Although there are few cases where they are stacked or amplified, (1) the number of times of substrate delivery increases in the dual-core vacuum processing apparatus 120. (2) The number of arms of the substrate transfer robots 129 and 139 increases, resulting in variations due to individual differences. (3) Depending on the positional relationship between the delivery position and the plurality of substrate transfer robots 129 and 139, the substrate faces in various directions. There is a problem.

  In particular, when a notch (notch) is formed in a part of the substrate and it is necessary to process the notch in a certain direction, the orientation of the substrate is important. As shown in FIG. When there are a plurality of temporary placement locations 133, the direction of the notch differs when transported from one transport chamber 121 to the other transport chamber 131 depending on which position is temporarily placed, and the effective area is expanded. It is a cause that cannot be done.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a vacuum chamber, a bellows that is stretchable and deformable on the atmosphere side of the bottom surface of the vacuum chamber, and is formed on the bottom surface. An enclosed hole; a support plate provided at a lower portion of the bellows; and a lift pin vertically provided on the support plate. The bellows and the support plate are hermetically attached to the vacuum chamber. A vacuum device configured to prevent air from entering the interior, the rotating device rotating the lifting pin about a vertical rotation axis, and the lifting device moving the upper part of the lifting pin up and down in the vacuum chamber And a moving device that horizontally deforms the bellows and moves the lifting pin in a horizontal direction while maintaining the lifting pin in a vertical state.
This invention is a vacuum device, Comprising: The direction which the said moving device moves the said raising / lowering pin is a vacuum device comprised so that the horizontal direction deformation | transformation of the said bellows might apply to the same direction.
The present invention is a vacuum apparatus, wherein a plurality of carry-in / out entrances are formed in a side wall of the vacuum chamber, and a hand of a different substrate transfer robot is inserted from each carry-in / out entrance.

  The substrate can be transferred between the transfer chambers in a state in which the orientation of the substrate is accurately adjusted. Since the substrate can be moved in the lateral direction without sliding, the misalignment can be corrected without generating dust.

Reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 denotes a vacuum processing apparatus, which includes first and second processing units 10 and 20 and a vacuum apparatus 30.
The first and second processing units 10 and 20 have transfer chambers 11 and 21, respectively, and a plurality of processing chambers 12 to 16 and 22 to 26 are connected to the transfer chambers 11 and 21. .

  The vacuum apparatus 30 of the present invention is used as a delivery chamber in the vacuum processing apparatus 1, and the first and second processing units 10 and 20 are connected by the delivery chamber 30, and the first and second treatment units are connected to each other. The substrate processed in one of the processing units 10 and 20 is configured to be carried into the other processing unit through the delivery chamber 30.

  First and second carry-in / out ports 38 and 39 are provided on the wall surface of the vacuum chamber 31 of the delivery chamber 30, and the delivery chamber 30 is first and second by the first and second carry-in / out ports 38 and 39. The hands of the substrate transfer robots 19 and 29 connected to the transfer chambers 11 and 21 of the second processing units 10 and 20 and disposed in the transfer chambers 11 and 21 are delivered from the first and second transfer ports 38 and 39. The substrate is inserted into the chamber 30 and the substrate is carried in and out.

  An evacuation system 9 is connected to each of the transfer chambers 11 and 21 and the delivery chamber 30, and when transferring the substrate, each of the transfer chambers 11 and 21 and the delivery chamber 30 has a vacuum atmosphere. Alternatively, it is placed in an inert gas atmosphere such as nitrogen gas or argon gas.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the inside of the delivery chamber 30. The delivery chamber 30 is provided with one or a plurality of temporary placement portions 33 on the bottom wall of the vacuum chamber 31 for delivering the substrate. Here, three temporary placement portions 33 are provided. The temporary placement portion 33 can be composed of a plate whose surface is horizontally disposed, three or more pins having the same upper end height, and a ring-shaped protrusion.

An upper end of a cylindrical bellows 35 is airtightly attached to the outside of the bottom wall of the vacuum chamber 31.
The bellows 35 is located directly below the temporary placement portion 33, and a hole 36 is formed in the temporary placement portion 33 and the portion where the bellows 35 is attached to the bottom wall of the vacuum chamber 31.

The periphery of the opening of the hole 36 in the bottom wall of the vacuum chamber 31 is surrounded by the wall surface of the bellows 35, and the inside of the bellows 35 and the inside of the vacuum chamber 31 are connected via the hole 36 in the bottom wall of the vacuum chamber 31. .
A support plate 37 is attached to the lower end of the bellows 35. Inside the bellows 35, an elevating pin 40 is disposed.

  The elevating pin 40 has a rod-like leg portion 41 and an arm portion 45 that supports the substrate. A through hole is formed in the support plate 37, the leg portion 41 is inserted through the through hole, and the lower end is led out below the support plate 37.

  A rotating device 51 is disposed below the support plate 37, and the lower end of the leg portion 41 is attached to the rotating device 51. The leg part 41 is arranged vertically, and the central axis of the leg part 41 is vertical. The elevating pin 40 is configured to rotate around the central axis of the leg portion 41 by the rotating device 51. In this rotation, no force is applied to the bellows 35.

  The arm portion 45 is attached to the upper end of the leg portion 41. The upper end of the arm portion 45 is located in the same horizontal plane, and is configured so that the substrate can be placed thereon. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the substrate 7 is arranged at the upper end of the arm portion 45, and the substrate 7 on the arm portion 45 rotates in a horizontal plane by the rotation of the elevating pins 40.

  The upper end of the bellows 35 is airtightly fixed to the bottom wall of the vacuum chamber 31, and the space between the leg 41 of the elevating pin 40 and the through hole of the support plate 37 is also airtight. The vacuum chamber 31 is configured so that the atmosphere does not enter.

In addition, for example, a magnetic fluid is provided between the through hole of the support plate 37 and the leg portion 41 so that the elevating pin 40 can rotate without allowing air to enter the bellows 35.
The leg portion 41 and the arm portion 45 are smaller than the inner diameter of the bellows 35, and the elevating pin 40 can move inside the bellows 35 both vertically and horizontally.

  A moving device 52 and a lifting device 53 are connected to the support plate 37. The elevating device 53 is configured to move the rotating device 51, the support plate 37, and the elevating pins 40 up and down together. When the support plate 37 moves up and down by the elevating device 53, the arm 53 When the upper end of the part 45 moves above the surface of the temporary placement part 33 and moves downward, the upper end of the arm part 45 is configured to move below the surface of the temporary placement part 33.

The moving device 52, the lifting device 53, and the rotating device 51 are connected to the control device 5, and the operation of moving, lifting, and rotating the support plate 37 is controlled by the control device 5.
The bellows 35 is configured to be stretchable and deformable in the cylindrical central axis direction, that is, the vertical direction. The bellows 35 contracts when the support plate 37 moves upward, and extends when it moves downward.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the bellows 35 is deformed laterally from a state in which the center axis Xa of the upper end opening and the center axis Xb of the lower end opening coincide with each other, as shown in FIG. The central axes Xa and Xb can be made inconsistent while maintaining the state in which the upper end opening and the lower end opening are parallel to each other. At this time, the upper end of the bellows 35 is attached to the bottom surface and fixed.

  The moving device 52 is attached to the support plate 37 via a shaft 54. When the moving device 52 applies a horizontal pressing force to the support plate 37, the bellows 35 is laterally deformed, and the support plate 37 is in a horizontal plane. As a result, the elevating pin 40 moves in the horizontal direction while maintaining the vertical state. Therefore, when the substrate 7 is horizontally disposed on the arm portion 45, the substrate 7 is moved in the horizontal plane by the moving device 52.

  From this state, when the moving device 52 pulls the support plate 37 in the position direction before pressing, the support plate 37 is configured to move horizontally to the original position while the lateral deformation of the bellows 35 is eliminated.

A procedure for eliminating the positional deviation of the substrate 7 by the delivery chamber 30 will be described.
First and second carry-in / out ports 38 and 39 are provided on both sides of the temporary placement portion 33 on the side wall of the vacuum chamber 31 of the delivery chamber 30.
The first loading / unloading port 38 is opened, and the substrate 7 is loaded into the vacuum chamber 31 from the first loading / unloading port 38 with the substrate 7 being placed on the hand of the substrate transfer robot 19 in the transfer chamber 11.

  After the substrate 7 on the hand is stationary at a position vertically above the temporary placement portion 33, when the lift pins 40 are lifted, the upper portions of the lift pins 40 come into contact with the back surface of the substrate 7 through the gap between the hands, and when the lift pins 40 are further lifted, the substrate 7 Is transferred to the lifting pin 40 from above the hand. After the transfer, when the hand is removed from between the substrate 7 and the temporary placement portion 33, the substrate 7 is placed on the lift pins 40.

  The symbol O in FIGS. 4A and 6A indicates the center of rotation that is the intersection of the horizontal plane where the upper end of the arm 45 is located and the axis of rotation of the elevating pin 40 when the bellows 35 is not laterally deformed. Is shown. When the substrate 7 is transferred from the hand of the substrate transport robot 19 onto the lifting pins 40, the bellows 35 is not deformed in the lateral direction, and the central axis of the lifting pins 40 is the rotation center O. When the elevating pins 40 are rotated, the substrate 7 disposed on the elevating pins 40 rotates around the rotation center O.

  The symbol A indicates the substrate center on the surface of the substrate 7, and when there is no deviation from the ideal position, the substrate center A is located vertically above the rotation center O. It is assumed that there is a conveyance error and the substrate center A and the rotation center O do not coincide with each other due to a positional shift.

A camera 6 connected to the control device 5 is disposed in the vacuum chamber 31, and the camera 6 and the control device 5 detect the shift amount and the shift direction of the substrate 7 on the lift pins 40 from the ideal position. The
The lift pins 40 may be lifted from the temporary placement portion 33 after the lift pins 40 are lowered and the positional deviation is detected in a state where the substrate 7 is temporarily placed on the temporary placement portion 33.

In any case, with the substrate 7 placed on the lift pins 40, the lift pins 40 are rotated around the rotation center O, the substrate 7 is rotated in a horizontal plane, and the line connecting the substrate center A and the rotation center O is connected. Minutes in parallel with the horizontal movement direction of the substrate 7 (FIGS. 4B and 6B).
6B indicates the horizontal movement direction in which the substrate 7 on the arm portion 45 moves in the horizontal plane when the support plate 37 moves horizontally.

  The bellows 35 is formed of metal. Generally, when the metal is repeatedly deformed, the deformation in the same direction and the return to the original state are repeated, with the center in a state without deformation, When the deformation and return in one direction, such as the left and right direction, are repeated and the deformation and return in the opposite direction are repeated, the accumulation of fatigue is larger and it is easier to break.

  In the present invention, when the bellows 35 moves and returns while repeatedly deforming in the lateral direction, the movement direction when the deviation increases is the same, and therefore, the direction of the lateral deformation of the bellows 35 is determined as one direction. The bellows 35 is prevented from being broken.

When the line segment connecting the substrate center A and the rotation center O is parallel to the horizontal movement direction H of the substrate 7, the substrate center A is disposed upstream of the rotation center O in the horizontal movement direction H, and the moving device When the support plate 37 is moved by deforming the bellows 35 in the lateral direction by 52, the substrate center A approaches a position vertically above the rotation center O.
When the substrate center A is located on the vertical line C passing through the rotation center O, the movement is stopped (FIGS. 4C and 6C). Here, the vertical line C coincides with the central axis Xa of the upper end opening of the bellows 35.

  Next, when the elevating pins 40 are lowered vertically in this state, the substrate 7 is placed on the temporary placement portion 33 in a state where the substrate center A is positioned vertically above the rotation center O. FIGS. 4D and 6D show a state where the substrate 7 is disposed on the temporary placement portion 33. As shown in FIGS. 6D and 6C, the temporary placement portion 33 is shown. The planar positional relationship does not change before and after the arrangement.

  After the substrate 7 is transferred from the up and down pins 40 to the temporary placement portion 33, when the moving device 52 is operated to return the support plate 37 to the original position, the bellows 35 returns to a state without lateral deformation. The rotation axis of the elevating pin 40 returns to a position passing through the rotation center O (FIGS. 5 (e) and 7 (e)).

  When the notch 8 is formed on the substrate 7, the direction of the notch 8 is also determined, and the controller 5 determines the angle between the line segment connecting the notch 8 and the rotation center O and the reference straight line S passing through the rotation center O. In the state where the bellows 35 is not deformed in the lateral direction, the lifting pins 40 are raised, the substrate 7 is placed on the lifting pins 40 (FIG. 5 (f)), and the lifting pins 40 are rotated so as to be notched. Turn 8 in the set direction. The angle between the line segment connecting the notch 8 and the rotation center O and the reference straight line S is a set angle (FIG. 7F). Here, the set angle is zero, and the notch 8 is located on the reference straight line S.

  In this state, the second loading / unloading port 39 is opened, and the hand of the substrate transfer robot 29 in the transfer chamber 21 on the side opposite to the transfer chamber 11 into which the substrate 7 is loaded is transferred from the second loading / unloading port 39 into the vacuum chamber 31. When the elevating pins 40 are lowered while being positioned below the substrate 7, the substrate 7 is transferred onto the hand without any displacement.

In the above embodiment, the substrate 7 is temporarily placed on the temporary placement portion 33 with the substrate center A positioned on the vertical axis of the rotation center O, and the lateral deformation of the bellows 35 is eliminated. If the substrate center A is positioned on the vertical axis of the rotation center O, the lifting pins 40 can be rotated and the notch 8 can be directed in a predetermined direction while the bellows 35 is deformed in the lateral direction.
In the state where the bellows 35 is deformed in the lateral direction, the hand of the substrate transport robot 29 can be stopped under the substrate 7 and the lifting pins 40 can be lowered to transfer the substrate 7 from the lifting pins 40 onto the hand.

  In the said Example, although the vacuum apparatus 30 of this invention was a delivery chamber, a target can be arrange | positioned in the vacuum chamber 31 and it can also be used as a sputtering device. In addition, a source gas introduction system can be connected to form a CVD apparatus, or a plasma generation apparatus can be provided to form an etching apparatus. In short, the present invention includes a vacuum apparatus that can deform the bellows 35 laterally to move the elevating pins 40 horizontally and align the substrate center A with the rotation center O.

Schematic plan view for explaining an example of a vacuum processing apparatus Schematic for explaining the inside of an example of the vacuum apparatus of the present invention (A), (b): Sectional drawing for demonstrating the movement of a raising / lowering pin (A)-(d): Sectional drawing for demonstrating the first half of the positioning process of a board | substrate (E), (f): Cross-sectional view for explaining the latter half of the substrate alignment step (A)-(d): The top view for demonstrating the first half of the positioning process of a board | substrate (E), (f): Plan views for explaining the latter half of the substrate alignment step Plan view for explaining an example of a conventional vacuum processing apparatus The top view for demonstrating the other example of the vacuum processing apparatus of a prior art

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vacuum processing apparatus 30 ... Vacuum apparatus (delivery chamber) 31 ... Vacuum tank 33 ... Temporary placing part 35 ... Bellows 40 ... Lifting pin 52 ... Moving apparatus 38, 39 ... Unloading port 19, 29 …… Board transfer robot

Claims (3)

A vacuum chamber;
A bellows capable of stretching and deforming with an upper part attached to the atmosphere side of the bottom of the vacuum chamber,
A hole formed in the bottom surface and surrounded by the wall surface of the bellows,
A support plate provided at the bottom of the bellows;
Elevating pins erected vertically on the support plate,
The bellows and the support plate are airtightly attached, and are configured to prevent the atmosphere from entering the vacuum chamber,
A rotating device for rotating the elevating pin around a vertical rotation axis;
A lifting device that moves the upper and lower pins up and down in the vacuum chamber;
A moving device that horizontally deforms the bellows while maintaining the vertical position of the lift pins, and moves the lift pins in the horizontal direction;
Having a vacuum apparatus.   The vacuum apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving device moves the elevating pin so that lateral deformation of the bellows is applied in the same direction.   3. The vacuum apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of carry-in / out entrances are formed in a side wall of the vacuum chamber, and a hand of a different substrate transfer robot is inserted from each carry-in / out entrance. .

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