JP2008159787A - Cleaning method in vacuum device, control device in the vacuum device, and memory medium having control program stored therein - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively remove a material deposited on driving parts in a vacuum device. <P>SOLUTION: A vacuum device such as a PM (process module) 400 or an LMM (load lock module) 500 has a chamber for wafer processing or transportation, a plurality of driving parts provided in the chamber, a high voltage power supply 485 for applying a high voltage HV to the chamber, a gas supply 445 for supplying a gas into the chamber, and a discharging mechanism 490 for discharging a purge gas within the chamber. The vacuum device is cleaned by executing at least one of: controlling the pressure of the purge gas at a predetermined or higher level at least when the purge gas is discharged from the chamber by the discharging mechanism 490 while the purge gas is supplied from the gas supply 445 into the chamber, when the operations of the driving parts are repeated, during the repetitive operations of the driving parts, after or before the repetitive operation; or interruptedly outputting the high voltage HV from the high voltage power supply 485 at least after or before the repetitive operations of the driving parts. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum device cleaning method, a control device for controlling cleaning of the vacuum device, and a storage medium storing the control program. In particular, the present invention relates to a vacuum apparatus and a method for cleaning a drive unit provided in the vacuum apparatus.

  In a vacuum apparatus, when a desired process is performed on an object to be processed using a processing gas, a reaction product generated from the processing gas adheres to the room and gradually accumulates on the wall surface of the room. This deposit is heated, for example, when the object to be processed is formed, and cooled when the object to be processed is carried in / out of the vacuum apparatus. When heating and cooling are repeated in this manner, a distortion occurs between the deposit and the member due to a difference in thermal expansion coefficient between the deposit in the vacuum apparatus and the member to which the deposit adheres (for example, the inner wall of the chamber). Occurs. As a result, the deposit peels off from the attached member when it reaches a certain thickness.

  In particular, if a reaction product adheres to a driving unit provided in a vacuum apparatus, it causes particles for the following reason. For example, deposits deposited on the gate valve for loading / unloading peel off the object to be processed in response to opening / closing of the gate valve that operates in accordance with loading / unloading, thereby becoming dust causing particles in the room. There are cases where it is brought in. In addition, for example, deposits deposited on the valve body of an automatic pressure controller (APC) are peeled off according to the opening and closing of the valve body that operates in accordance with the adjustment of the exhaust amount of gas. As a result, there is a case where the air is returned to the room without being exhausted. These particles fall on the object to be processed as particles, deteriorate the characteristics of the device formed on the object to be processed, and cause a decrease in product yield.

  Therefore, in order to remove particles generated in this way, a method of cleaning the vacuum device and a method of measuring the degree of purification in the vacuum device after cleaning have been conventionally devised. (For example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2.) In Patent Document 1, a cleaning gas pipe is installed for each drive unit separately from the main gas line, and a vacuum gas is generated by blowing cleaning gas supplied from each cleaning gas pipe to each drive unit. A cleaning method is disclosed. Patent Document 2 discloses a method for monitoring the particles and evaluating the cleanliness of the vacuum apparatus.

Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-168679 Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-317900

  However, in Patent Document 1, the plurality of cleaning gas pipes have a complicated configuration in which the gas ejection ports are arranged in the vacuum device so as to face each drive unit. There is a possibility that more particles are generated inside.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, since the particles are monitored while the deposits hidden in the storage portion of the drive unit that is difficult to clean are left in the operation stop state at the time of cleaning, it is possible to correctly evaluate the cleanliness of the vacuum apparatus. As a result, there is a possibility that proper cleaning cannot be performed.

  Therefore, the present invention stores a vacuum device and a vacuum device cleaning method that effectively removes deposits attached to a drive unit provided in the vacuum device, a control device that controls cleaning of the vacuum device, and a control program thereof. A storage medium is provided.

  That is, in order to solve the above problems, according to an aspect of the present invention, a chamber for processing or transporting an object to be processed, a plurality of driving units provided in the chamber, and energy are input to the chamber. There is provided a method of cleaning a vacuum apparatus comprising: a power source for supplying gas; a gas supply unit for supplying gas to the chamber; and an exhaust mechanism for exhausting gas in the chamber.

  The vacuum device cleaning method supplies purge gas from the gas supply unit, exhausts the supplied purge gas from the exhaust mechanism, repeats the operation of each drive unit, and adheres to the vacuum device and each drive unit. In order to peel off the accumulated deposit, the pressure of the purge gas is controlled to be equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure while repeating the operation of each driving unit, or at least before or after that, or At least one of intermittently outputting energy from the power source is executed before repeating the operation of the driving unit or at least at any timing after repeating the operation of each driving unit.

  According to this, the deposit (reaction product) adhering to the drive unit can be positively peeled by repeatedly driving the plurality of drive units while introducing the purge gas into the vacuum apparatus. In addition, according to this, while repeating the operation of each drive unit, or at least at any timing before and after the operation, the pressure of the purge gas is controlled to be equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure, or each of the drive units The energy is intermittently output from the power supply at least at any timing before repeating the above operation or after repeating the operation of each driving unit.

  In this way, the purge gas flows into and out of the vacuum apparatus while controlling the purge gas to a predetermined pressure or higher, or the energy from the power supply is intermittently discharged while the purge gas flows into and out of the vacuum apparatus. In the following, the operation to be put in is also called NPPC (Non Plasma Particle Cleaning).

  According to this, by causing a purge gas having a pressure equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure to flow rapidly into the chamber of the vacuum device, a shock wave is generated by the purge gas in the chamber of the vacuum device, and vacuum is generated by physical vibration caused by the shock wave. The deposit adhered to the inside of the apparatus and the deposit adhered to the drive unit can be effectively peeled off.

  Similarly, by intermittently outputting energy from the power source, a potential gradient is instantaneously formed on the stage on which the wall surface of the vacuum apparatus and the object to be processed are placed, thereby generating electromagnetic stress. As a result, the deposit adhered to the vacuum apparatus and the deposit adhered to the drive unit due to the generated electromagnetic stress can be effectively peeled off. However, if energy is input from the power supply while the operation of each drive unit is repeated, the electric field concentrates on the drive part, and abnormal discharge is likely to occur. Therefore, the energy output from the power source is not performed while the operation of each driving unit is repeated, but is performed at least before or after the operation. On the other hand, the timing for controlling the pressure of the purge gas to be equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure may be any time before the operation of each drive unit is repeated, during the operation of each drive unit, or after the operation of each drive unit is repeated.

  In order to more effectively peel off the deposits adhering to the vacuum device and each driving unit, the pressure of the purge gas is controlled to a predetermined pressure or higher, or the valve body of the pressure adjusting device is fully opened. It is preferable to intermittently output energy from the power supply after executing at least one of intermittent output of energy from the power supply.

According to this, in the execution of NPPC, while the inside of the vacuum device is low pressure (the degree of vacuum is high), the pressure of the purge gas is controlled to a predetermined pressure or higher, or the valve body of the pressure regulator is fully opened. At least one of intermittent output of energy from the power source is executed, and then energy is intermittently output from the power source while roughing and controlling the inside of the vacuum device to a high pressure (low vacuum). Is output. Accordingly, the deposit can be peeled off very effectively by utilizing the fact that the deposit is easily peeled off at high pressure because the resistance in the vacuum apparatus is larger than that at low pressure. The purge gas may be an inert gas such as N ₂ gas.

  As an example of the operation of the plurality of driving units provided in the vacuum apparatus, opening and closing of a gate valve for carrying in and out the object to be processed, raising and lowering of the stage on which the object to be processed is mounted, and mounting on the stage For example, vertical movement of a lift pin that supports an object to be processed and opening / closing of a valve body of an automatic pressure regulator.

  These parts are normally housed and difficult to clean when the operation is stopped. However, according to such a configuration, the NPPC is executed in a state where the purge gas is introduced and each driving unit is repeatedly operated as described above or before and after each driving unit is repeatedly operated. As a result, the deposits (reaction products) in the storage part of the drive unit, which are difficult to be cleaned only by cleaning performed using only the existing apparatus without using a new apparatus, are actively peeled off and removed. The reaction product can be effectively discharged to the outside by the purge gas. As a result, the yield of the product can be improved by further increasing the cleanliness in the vacuum apparatus and minimizing the frequency with which the particles fall on the object to be processed.

  Note that the pressure of the purge gas is controlled to be higher than the pressure in the vacuum apparatus. However, in order to effectively generate the shock wave of the purge gas, the pressure of the purge gas is controlled to more than twice the pressure in the vacuum apparatus. preferable.

  In addition, energy is intermittently input into the room from the power source, and as a method for supplying the energy, there is a method of intermittently outputting a constant voltage by repeatedly turning on and off the power source. More preferably, a voltage having a positive value and a negative value is alternately output from the power source. The energy may be a DC voltage (HV) output from a high voltage power supply or an AC voltage (RF) output from a high frequency power supply.

  While performing the cleaning method of the vacuum device, the degree of dust generation from the chamber is monitored by a particle monitor, and when the degree of dust generation from the chamber falls below a predetermined threshold, the plurality of driving units are repeatedly operated. May be terminated.

  According to this, when the degree of dust generation from the chamber that defines the space of the vacuum apparatus becomes equal to or less than the predetermined threshold value, the repetitive operation of each driving unit is completed. Thereby, the inside of the vacuum device can be sufficiently cleaned to a predetermined extent.

  When the vacuum device was cleaned before the previous time, the drive time from the start to the end of the repeated operation of the plurality of drive units is counted, and during the cleaning of the vacuum device this time, the repeated operation time of the plurality of drive units When the value exceeds a predetermined value determined according to the counted driving time, the repetition of the plurality of driving units is terminated regardless of the degree of dust generation from the plurality of driving units monitored by the particle monitor. You may make it do.

  Instead of this, or in addition to this, when the vacuum device was cleaned before the previous time, the number of driving times from the start to the end of the repeated operation of each drive unit was counted. When the number of repeated operations of each driving unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined value determined according to the counted number of driving times of each driving unit, the degree of dust generation from the plurality of driving units monitored by the particle monitor Regardless, you may make it complete | finish the repeating operation | movement of each said drive part.

  According to this, even if the degree of dust generation from each drive unit does not fall below a predetermined threshold due to an abnormality occurring in any of the drive units, the number of repeated operations of each drive unit before the previous time or before the previous time The repeated operation time of each drive unit can be limited by the repeated operation time of each drive unit. As a result, for example, even in the event of an abnormality such as any of the drive units generating dust due to mechanical wear or the like, it is possible to avoid operating each drive unit more than necessary from previous experience values. it can. The number of repeated operations of each drive unit before the previous time or the repeated operation time of each drive unit before the previous time may be obtained based on the previous cleaning only, or the number of operations or operations based on a predetermined number of cleanings before the previous time. You may obtain | require by calculating the average value of time.

  The vacuum device cleaning method is executed before repeating the operation of each drive unit, and then the purge gas is supplied from the gas supply unit and the purge gas supplied from the exhaust mechanism is exhausted. It is also possible to execute the repetitive operation of each unit one by one for each of the drive units, and monitor the degree of dust generation from each of the drive units by the repetitive operation of each of the drive units using a particle monitor.

  According to this, the degree of dust generation from each drive unit is monitored by the particle monitor. Thereby, the drive part whose dust generation degree is more than predetermined value can be specified as a generation source of particles. In addition, by notifying the operator of the drive unit specified as the particle generation source in this way, the operator can be prompted to replace or clean the drive unit.

  The cleaning method for the vacuum device may be executed after cleaning gas is supplied from the gas supply unit to clean the vacuum device. According to this, the degree of dust generation from each drive unit is monitored by the particle monitor in a state where the inside of the vacuum apparatus is previously cleaned with the cleaning gas. Thereby, the generation source of particles can be specified more accurately.

  The cleaning method of the vacuum device is preferably executed at the time of auto setup for adjusting the condition of the room after cleaning the vacuum device with the cleaning gas. According to this, the procedure of the cleaning method of the vacuum device is described in the recipe for auto setup used at the time of auto setup, and even when the cleaning method of the vacuum device is changed, only the recipe for auto setup is changed. Therefore, it is possible to easily and accurately manage the cleaning method of the vacuum device. However, the cleaning method of the vacuum device may be when the operator operates the “NPPC” button.

  The vacuum apparatus may be a semiconductor processing apparatus. According to this, by performing an etching process or a film forming process (CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition): chemical vapor deposition thin film forming method) using a processing gas, the semiconductor gas is gradually deposited on the inner wall and driving unit of the semiconductor processing apparatus. The deposit can be cleaned more effectively.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a chamber for processing or transporting an object to be processed, a plurality of drive units provided in the chamber, a power source for supplying energy to the chamber, and a gas There is provided a control device for controlling the cleaning of a vacuum device comprising a gas supply unit for supplying the chamber and an exhaust mechanism for exhausting the gas in the chamber.

  The control device controls to supply the purge gas from the gas supply unit, and controls the pressure control unit to control to exhaust the supplied purge gas from the exhaust mechanism, and the drive unit of each drive unit. A drive control unit that controls repetitive operations, and at least one of before or after the operation of each of the drive units is repeated in order to peel off the deposits attached to the vacuum device and the drive units. The pressure of the purge gas is controlled to be equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure at the timing of, or the energy from the power source is at least before the operation of each driving unit is repeated or after the operation of each driving unit is repeated. Cleaning that cleans the vacuum device by causing at least one of intermittent output or execution And a line part.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a chamber for processing or transporting an object to be processed, a plurality of drive units provided in the chamber, a power source for supplying energy to the chamber, and a gas There is provided a storage medium storing a control program that causes a computer to execute cleaning of a vacuum apparatus including a gas supply unit that supplies a chamber and an exhaust mechanism that exhausts the gas in the chamber.

  The control program controls the supply of purge gas from the gas supply unit, controls the exhaust mechanism to exhaust the supplied purge gas, and repeats the operation of each drive unit of each drive unit In order to peel off deposits adhering to the vacuum device and each drive unit, and at least one of the timings before or after the operation of each drive unit is repeated. Is controlled to a predetermined pressure or higher, or energy is intermittently output from the power supply at least at any timing before the operation of each driving unit is repeated or after the operation of each driving unit is repeated. A process of cleaning the vacuum device by executing at least one of To be executed in.

  According to these, NPPC can be executed in a state where the purge gas is introduced and each drive unit is operated repeatedly or before and after each drive unit is operated repeatedly. Accordingly, the peeled reaction product can be discharged to the outside by the purge gas while positively peeling the deposit (reaction product) in the storage portion of the drive unit without requiring a new device. . As a result, the yield of the product can be improved by further increasing the cleanliness in the vacuum apparatus and minimizing the frequency with which the particles fall on the object to be processed.

  As described above, according to one embodiment of the present invention, deposits attached to a vacuum device and a driving unit provided in the vacuum device can be effectively removed.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description and the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the constituent elements having the same configuration and function, and redundant description is omitted. In the present specification, 1 mTorr is 133.322 × 10 ⁻³ (= 101325/760 × 10 ⁻³ ) Pa, and 1 atm is 101325 Pa.

(First embodiment)
First, the outline | summary is demonstrated, referring FIG. 1 about the substrate processing system concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. In the present embodiment, a method of cleaning deposits attached to the room and the drive unit by etching a silicon wafer (hereinafter referred to as wafer W) using the substrate processing system will be described.

(Substrate processing system)
The substrate processing system 10 includes a host computer 100, an apparatus controller EC (Equipment Controller) 200, three machine controllers MC (Machine Controller) 300a to 300c, two process modules PM (Process Module) 400a, 400b, and one load lock module. An LLM (Load Lock Module) 500 and a management server 600 are included.

  The EC 200 and the host computer 100 and the EC 200 and the management server 600 are connected by customer side LANs (Local Area Networks) 700a and 700b, respectively. Further, the management server 600 is connected to an information processing device such as a PC (Personal Computer) 800. The operator sends a command to the substrate processing system 10 by operating the PC 800.

  EC200, MC300a-300c, PM400a, 400b, and LLM500 are provided in area Q in the factory, and are connected to each other by factory LAN 700c.

  The host computer 100 manages the entire substrate processing system 10 such as data management. The EC 200 holds a system recipe used for etching the wafer W, transmits a control signal to each MC 300 to operate the PMs 400a, 400b, and LLM 500 according to the system recipe, and manages history of data after the operation. I do.

  The MCs 300a to 300c drive the PMs 400a and 400b and the LLM 500, respectively, based on the control signal transmitted from the EC 200, whereby the wafer W is etched. PMs 400a and 400b are vacuum processing chambers for performing a predetermined process such as an etching process on the wafer W, for example. The LLM 500 is a vacuum transfer chamber in which the inside is kept in a reduced pressure state in order to transfer the wafer transferred from the atmospheric system to the PMs 400a and 400b in a high vacuum state. PM400a, 400b and LLM500 are all examples of a vacuum apparatus. The management server 600 sets operating conditions and the like of each device based on data transmitted from the PC 800 by an operator's operation.

(EC, MC hardware configuration)
Next, the hardware configuration of the EC 200 will be described with reference to FIG. Since the hardware configuration of the MC 300 is the same as that of the EC 200, the description thereof is omitted here.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the EC 200 includes a ROM 205, a RAM 210, a CPU 215, a bus 220, an internal interface (internal I / F) 225, and an external interface (external I / F) 230.

  The ROM 205 stores a basic program executed by the EC 200, a program that starts when an abnormality occurs, various recipes, and the like. The RAM 210 stores various programs and data. The ROM 205 and the RAM 210 are examples of a storage device, and may be a storage device such as an EEPROM, an optical disk, or a magneto-optical disk.

  The CPU 215 controls the etching process of the wafer W according to various recipes, and also controls the cleaning process of the PM 400 and the LLM 500 at a predetermined cycle. The bus 220 is a path for exchanging data among the devices such as the ROM 205, the RAM 210, the CPU 215, the internal interface 225, and the external interface 230.

  The internal interface 225 inputs data and outputs necessary data to a monitor, a speaker, etc. (not shown). The external interface 230 transmits and receives data to and from devices connected via a network such as a LAN.

(Hardware configuration of substrate processing equipment)
Next, the hardware configuration of the substrate processing apparatus including the PM 400 and the LLM 500 will be described with reference to FIG. The substrate processing apparatus includes process modules PM400a and 400b, cassette chambers (C / C) 400c1 and 400c2, pre-alignment (P / A) 400c3, and a load lock module LLM500.

  In the cassette chambers 400c1 and 400c2, a pre-processed product wafer and a processed product wafer are stored, and for example, three dummy wafers for dummy processing are stored in the lowermost stage of the cassette. The pre-alignment 400c3 positions the wafer W.

  The LLM 500 is provided with an articulated transfer arm Arm that can bend and stretch and turn. The transfer arm Arm holds the wafer W on the fork Fk provided at the tip thereof, and transfers the wafer W between the cassette chambers 400c1, 400c2, the pre-alignment 400c3, and the PMs 400a, 400b while appropriately bending and stretching. It has become. As described above, the LLM 500 supplies a purge gas from a gas supply unit (not shown) to transfer the wafers stored in the cassette chambers 400c1 and 400c2 in the atmospheric pressure state to the PMs 400a and 400b in the high vacuum pressure state. At the same time, the purge gas in the LLM chamber is exhausted from an exhaust mechanism (not shown), thereby maintaining the interior in a desired reduced pressure state. The exhaust mechanism and the transfer arm Arm are examples of a drive unit provided in the LLM 500.

(Internal structure of PM)
Next, the internal configuration of the PM 400 will be described with reference to a longitudinal sectional view of the PM 400 schematically shown in FIG. The PM 400 has a rectangular tube-shaped processing container C in which substantially the center part of the ceiling part and the bottom part is opened. A lid body 405 that is opened at a substantially central portion of the ceiling portion is attached to the ceiling portion of the processing container C. O-rings 410 are provided on the contact surfaces of the upper side wall of the processing container C and the lower side wall of the lid 405, so that the airtightness in the processing chamber is maintained. The processing container C and the lid 405 define a PM 400 chamber.

  Inside the processing container C, an upper electrode 415 is provided above the processing container C. The upper electrode 415 is electrically separated from the processing container C by an insulating material 420 provided at the periphery of the upper opening of the processing container C. A high frequency power supply 430 is connected to the upper electrode 415 via a matching circuit 425. The matching circuit 425 is provided with a matching box 435 around the center of the ceiling portion, and serves as a grounding housing for the matching circuit 425 and seals the ceiling portion.

  A gas supply unit 445 is also connected to the upper electrode 415 via a gas line 440, and a desired gas supplied from the gas supply unit 445 is injected into the processing container C from the plurality of gas injection holes A. . In this way, the upper electrode 415 functions as a gas shower head.

  Inside the processing container C, a lower electrode 450 is provided below the processing container C. The lower electrode 450 also functions as a stage on which the wafer W is placed. The lower electrode 450 is supported by a support body 460 provided via an insulating material 455. Accordingly, the lower electrode 450 is electrically separated from the processing container C. The lower electrode 450 is provided with lift pins 450a that support the wafer W, and the wafer W placed on the stage is placed on the stage or transferred from the stage by the vertical movement of the lift pins 450a. Yes.

  One end of a bellows 465 is attached in the vicinity of the outer periphery of the opening provided on the bottom surface of the processing container C. A lifting plate 470 is fixed to the other end of the bellows 465. With this configuration, the opening on the bottom surface of the processing container C is sealed by the bellows 465 and the lifting plate 470. Further, the lower electrode 450 moves up and down integrally with the bellows 465 and the lifting plate 470 in order to adjust the position where the wafer W is placed to a height corresponding to the processing process.

  The lower electrode 450 is connected to the elevating plate 470 via the conductive path 475 and the impedance adjusting unit 480. The lower electrode 450 is also connected to a high voltage power supply 485 through a conductive path 475, and electrostatically attracts the wafer W to the stage by the high voltage HV applied from the high voltage power supply 485.

  The processing container C is provided with an exhaust mechanism 490 connected to the roughing line L1 and the vacuuming line L2. The roughing line L1 includes a DP (DRY PUMP: dry pump) 490a for roughing the gas in the processing container C, a valve V1, a valve V2 for regulating the flow rate of the gas exhausted by the DP 490a, and a valve V1, V2. Is connected to a particle monitor Mr that monitors the amount of particles.

  The evacuation line L2 includes an automatic pressure regulator APC490b that adjusts the internal pressure of the processing vessel C by adjusting the opening of the valve body, and a TMP (Turbo Molecular PUMP: turbo) that evacuates the gas in the chamber of the processing vessel C. Molecular pump) 490c.

  The exhaust mechanism 490 exhausts the gas in the processing container C from the roughing line L1 by driving the DP 490a with the valves V1 and V2 opened. After the pressure in the processing container C is reduced to a predetermined pressure, the exhaust mechanism 490 closes the valves V1 and V2, and drives the TMP 490c while adjusting the pressure in the processing container with the APC 490b. Thereby, the gas in the processing container C is exhausted from the evacuation line L2 until the pressure in the processing container becomes a desired pressure (degree of vacuum).

  The vacuum gauge 495 is attached so as to penetrate the side wall of the processing container C with its outer periphery fixed by the lid 495a. The pressure in the processing container is detected at any time by the vacuum gauge 495 and sent to the MC 300. In accordance with the drive signal sent from the MC 300 based on the detected pressure, the flow rate of the gas flowing into the processing container is controlled by controlling an MFC (Mass Flow Controller) (not shown) and the valve body of the APC 490b is opened. By controlling the flow rate, the flow rate of the gas exhausted from the exhaust mechanism 490 is controlled, so that the pressure in the processing container is maintained at a desired pressure.

  The particle monitor Mr is installed so as to wrap the outer periphery of the roughing line L1, guides laser light emitted from a laser light source (not shown) into the roughing line L1 in the particle monitor Mr, and passes through the roughing line L1. The laser beam scattered by the particles to be received is received and sent to the MC 300 as a detection signal, so that the amount of particles passing through the roughing line L1 is notified to the MC 300 in real time.

  The wafer W is transferred into the processing container C while keeping the airtightness in the processing container by opening and closing a gate valve 498 provided on the side wall of the processing container C. With this configuration, the processing gas supplied from the gas supply unit 445 is converted into plasma by the high frequency power output from the high frequency power source 430, and the wafer W is etched by the action of the plasma.

  In addition, when the deposit deposited on the inner wall of the processing container has a predetermined thickness, the cleaning gas supplied from the gas supply unit 445 is turned into plasma by the high-frequency power output from the high-frequency power source 430, and the plasma Due to the action, the inside of the processing container is periodically cleaned.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, after the cleaning process, the NPPC is performed before and after the arbitrary driving unit attached to the processing container is repeatedly operated, thereby effectively cleaning the inside of the processing container and the driving unit. Details will be described later. As an example of the repetitive operation of the plurality of driving units, the gate valve 498 for loading and unloading the wafer W is opened and closed, the stage on which the wafer W is placed is lifted, and the wafer W placed on the stage is supported. The lift pin 450a is moved up and down, the APC 490b is opened and closed, and the valves V1 and V2 are opened and closed.

(Functional structure of EC)
Next, the functional configuration of the EC will be described with reference to FIG. 5 showing each function of the EC 200 in blocks. The EC 200 has functions indicated by blocks of a storage unit 250, a pressure control unit 255, a process execution unit 260, a communication unit 265, a drive control unit 270, and a cleaning execution unit 275.

  In the storage unit 250, various recipes (recipes a to n) showing a processing procedure for performing desired processing on the wafer W in each PM 400 are stored as a recipe group 250a. In addition, the storage unit 250 stores, as a counter value 250b, the number of repeated operations of each drive unit and the drive time counted when the previous PM400 or LLM 500 was cleaned.

  The pressure control unit 255 controls the internal pressure of the processing container C by controlling the flow rate of the purge gas supplied from the gas supply unit 445 into the processing container and controlling the flow rate of the gas exhausted from the exhaust mechanism 490. To do. The process execution unit 260 selects a recipe designated by the operator from the storage unit 250 and performs etching performed on the wafer W transferred into the PM 400 in the PM 400 based on the procedure indicated in the selected recipe. Control processing.

  The communication unit 265 mainly transmits / receives information to / from the MC 300. For example, the communication unit 265 sends an instruction (control signal) of the etching process from the process execution unit 260 to the MC 300, thereby instructing the MC 300 to execute a desired etching process in the PM 400. The drive control unit 270 controls the repetitive operation of each drive unit included in each drive unit attached to the PM 400 or the LLM 500.

  The cleaning execution unit 275 controls the pressure of the purge gas to be equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure while repeating the operation of each drive unit or at least before or after that, or performs the operation of each drive unit. At least one of energy output from the power supply is intermittently executed before the repetition or at least at any timing after the operation of each driving unit is repeated.

  An operation of flowing and exhausting the purge gas into the vacuum device (for example, PM400 or LLM500) while controlling the purge gas to a predetermined pressure or higher, or a high voltage from the high voltage power supply 485 while flowing and exhausting the purge gas into the vacuum device. The operation of intermittently putting HV into the vacuum apparatus is called NPPC (Non Plasma Particle Cleaning) as described above. In this way, by repeating the operation of each drive unit or by executing NPPC before and after the operation, deposits that cause particles are actively collected from PM400, LLM500 and a plurality of drive units attached to these. Can be peeled off.

  The functions of each part of the EC 200 described above are actually from a storage medium such as the ROM 205 and the RAM 210 in which programs (including recipes) in which the CPU 215 in FIG. 2 describes processing procedures for realizing these functions are stored. This is accomplished by reading a program, interpreting and executing the program. For example, in the present embodiment, each function of the pressure control unit 255, the process execution unit 260, the drive control unit 270, and the cleaning execution unit 275 is actually a program in which the CPU 215 describes processing procedures for realizing these functions. This is achieved by executing.

(EC operation)
Next, the cleaning process executed by the EC 200 will be described with reference mainly to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. FIG. 6 is a main routine showing the particle removal process, and FIG. 8 is a subroutine showing an auto setup process (including a cleaning process) called during the particle removal process.

(Cleaning process)
When the operator designates the recipe and the lot number and turns on the lot start button, the corresponding lot is inserted, and 25 wafers included in the lot are sequentially transferred to the PM 400 via the LLM 500 and designated. Etching is performed on the basis of the recipe, and is again stored in the cassette via the LLM 500. When such an operation is repeated, reaction products generated from the processing gas accumulate on the inner wall of the container and the like in the PM 400 and the LLM 500. Therefore, it is necessary to clean the PM400 and the LLM 500 to remove the deposit from the inside. Therefore, the inside of PM400 and LLM500 is cleaned by the action of plasma generated by supplying cleaning gas into PM400 and LLM500 and converting it into plasma.

(Particle removal process)
When the particle removal process is started from step 600 in FIG. 6 after the cleaning, the cleaning execution unit 275 determines in step 605 whether the cleaning of the container is completed. If it is determined that the cleaning of the container has not been completed, the process immediately proceeds to step 695 and the process is terminated. On the other hand, if it is determined that the cleaning of the container has ended, the process proceeds to step 610, and the cleaning execution unit 275 determines whether or not to execute auto setup.

  The auto setup is a process of automatically cleaning the PM 400 according to the recipe for auto setup and automatically executing the setup such as the operation verification of the PM 400, and the condition inside the PM 400 is adjusted by this process.

  Whether or not to execute the auto setup is determined by an instruction from the operator using an auto setup QC (Quality Check) check execution confirmation screen shown in FIG. That is, when the operator selects a recipe for QC check and presses the “execute” key, the cleaning execution unit 275 determines that auto setup is to be executed, and the process proceeds to step 615. The cleaning execution unit 275 calls the auto setup process of FIG. 8 at step 615, and after the auto setup process ends, the process ends at step 695. On the other hand, when the operator presses the “CANCEL” key on the screen of FIG. 7, at this point, it is determined not to execute the auto setup, and the process immediately proceeds to step 695 and the process is terminated.

(Auto setup process)
When the auto setup process is started from step 800 of FIG. 8, the processes of steps 805 to 820 are executed based on the recipe for auto setup. That is, in step 805, the cleaning execution unit 275 loads a dummy wafer (prototype wafer) into the PM 400, proceeds to step 810, and executes NPPC.

In the execution of NPPC, specifically, the pressure control unit 255 controls the pressure of the purge gas made of an inert gas such as N ₂ gas to be twice or more the pressure in the processing container, or the high voltage power source. The high voltage HV is intermittently output from 485 and / or executed.

  For example, while the pressure in the processing container is controlled to 100 mTorr to 200 mTorr, the pressure control unit 255 may control the pressure of the purge gas to about 3 atmospheres (atm), for example. In this case, the pressure of the purge gas has a value that is four orders of magnitude greater than the pressure in the processing vessel. In this way, by causing a purge gas having a high pressure to rapidly flow into the processing vessel C, a shock wave due to the purge gas is generated in the chamber of the processing vessel C, and the physical vibration caused by the shock wave causes the inside of the processing vessel. The adhered deposit and the deposit adhered to the drive unit can be effectively peeled off.

  Alternatively, a high voltage HV of about ± 1 kV may be alternately output from the high voltage power supply 485. In this way, a DC (Direct Current) discharge is generated by applying a direct current voltage several times alternately inside the processing chamber C, and the lower electrode on which the wall surface of the processing chamber C and the wafer W are placed. A potential gradient is instantaneously formed on the 450 stage. As a result, electromagnetic stress can be effectively generated, and the deposit adhered to the processing container and the deposit adhered to the drive unit can be effectively peeled off due to the generated electromagnetic stress.

  Next, the process proceeds to step 815, and the drive control unit 270 repeatedly operates each drive unit. Specifically, the drive control unit 270 repeatedly opens and closes the gate valve 498 for loading and unloading the wafer W, repeatedly raises and lowers the stage of the lower electrode 450 on which the wafer W is placed, and is placed on the stage. The lift pins 450a supporting the wafer W are repeatedly moved up and down to repeatedly open and close the valve body of the APC 490b.

  Next, it progresses to step 820, and after stopping operation | movement of each drive part, NPPC is performed again. That is, the pressure control unit 255 controls the pressure of the purge gas to the pressure described above, and the cleaning execution unit 275 intermittently outputs the high voltage HV from the high voltage power supply 485 with the valve body of the APC 490b fully opened. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 895 to end the present process.

  According to this, NPPC is executed after the purge gas is introduced and exhausted and each drive unit is operated. As a result, it is possible to more effectively peel off deposits adhering to the drive portion that is difficult to clean in the housed state, and exhaust the deposit to the outside of the processing container.

  In particular, during execution of NPPC, while the inside of the processing vessel is low pressure (high vacuum), the pressure of the purge gas is controlled to more than twice the pressure inside the processing vessel, and the valve body of the APC 490b is fully opened. The high voltage HV is intermittently output from the power supply 485, and then the high voltage HV is intermittently output from the high voltage power supply 485 while roughly pulsing with the DP 490a to control the inside of the processing vessel to a high pressure (low vacuum). In this case, the deposit can be peeled off very effectively by utilizing the fact that the deposit is easily peeled off at high pressure because the resistance in the processing container is larger than that at low pressure.

  As described above, according to the cleaning method according to the present embodiment, the purge gas is introduced and exhausted, and the drive unit that is normally housed and difficult to clean is repeatedly operated, and then the NPPC is performed, The reaction product that causes particles can be effectively removed from the processing vessel C and the drive unit attached to the processing vessel C using only the above-described device (without requiring a new device). As a result, it is possible to dramatically improve the yield of products by further increasing the cleanliness in the processing container and minimizing the frequency with which particles fall on the wafer W.

  In the above description, the cleaning in the PM 400 has been mainly described. However, the LLM 500 can be cleaned by a similar method. However, the NPPC executed in the LLM 500 means that the drive unit (for example, the transfer arm Arm in FIG. 3 or an exhaust mechanism (not shown)) attached to the LLM 500 is repeatedly driven to a pressure more than twice the internal pressure of the LLM 500. This refers to exhausting the gas in the LLM 500 from the exhaust mechanism while introducing the controlled purge gas into the LLM 500.

  The cleaning method according to the present embodiment is preferably executed at the time of auto setup for adjusting the indoor conditions after the PM 400 and the LLM 500 are cleaned. According to this, the procedure of the cleaning method of PM400 and LLM500 is described in the recipe for auto setup shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, and the recipe for auto setup is changed even when the cleaning method of PM400 or LLM500 is changed. Just do it. For example, in the auto setup recipe of FIG. 10, by adding Step 2 and Steps 4 to 7 to the recipe of FIG. 9, it is possible to add the repeated operation of the lift pins 450a to the cleaning operation of this embodiment. . Thereby, the cleaning method of each container can be managed easily and accurately. However, the cleaning method according to the present embodiment may be forcibly started when the operator operates the “NPPC” button.

  In this embodiment, after the NPPC is executed, the driving of the driving unit is repeated, and then the driving of the driving unit is stopped and the NPPC is executed again. However, the operation of each driving unit is not limited to this. Control the purge gas pressure to be equal to or higher than the predetermined pressure during the repetition, at least before or after that, or before repeating the operation of each drive unit or after repeating the operation of each drive unit At least one of the following may be performed: energy is intermittently output from the high voltage power supply 485.

  However, if energy is input from the high-voltage power supply 485 while repeating the operation of each drive unit, the electric field concentrates on the drive part, and there is a high possibility that abnormal discharge will occur. Therefore, the energy output from the high voltage power supply 485 is not performed while the operation of each driving unit is repeated, but is performed at least before or after that. On the other hand, the timing for controlling the pressure of the purge gas to be equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure may be any time before the operation of each drive unit is repeated, during the operation of each drive unit, or after the operation of each drive unit is repeated.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a cleaning method according to the second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, the amount of dust that has been peeled off is detected using the particle monitor Mr, and cleaning is terminated when the detected amount falls below a predetermined threshold, and cleaning is terminated according to the recipe instructions. This is different from the first embodiment. Therefore, the cleaning method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the second embodiment, the auto setup process of FIG. 11 is called at step 615 of FIG. In step 805 and step 810 following step 1100, the cleaning execution unit 275 carries in the dummy wafer and executes NPPC in the same manner as in the first embodiment, proceeds to step 1105, and sets a timer (not shown) to “0”. After setting, the drive unit is repeatedly operated in step 815, and NPPC is executed again in step 820.

  Next, proceeding to step 1110, the cleaning execution unit 275 compares the amount of dust passing through the roughing line L1 with a predetermined threshold value based on the value detected by the particle monitor Mr, and the inside of the processing container. It is determined whether or not the amount of dust emitted from the air has become smaller than a predetermined threshold value. When the dust generation amount becomes smaller than the threshold value, the cleaning execution unit 275 proceeds to step 1195 and ends this process. On the other hand, when the dust generation amount is equal to or greater than the threshold, the cleaning execution unit 275 proceeds to step 1115 and determines whether or not a predetermined time predetermined by the timer has elapsed. If the predetermined time has elapsed, the cleaning execution unit 275 determines that the cleaning should be forcibly ended even if the dust generation amount is equal to or greater than the threshold, and proceeds to step 1195 to end the present process. On the other hand, if the predetermined time has not elapsed, the cleaning execution unit 275 determines that the cleaning is necessary because the dust generation amount is equal to or greater than the threshold, returns to step 815, and further performs steps 815 and 820. The processes of 1110 and 1115 are repeated, and when either the dust generation amount becomes smaller than the threshold value or the predetermined time elapses, the routine proceeds to step 1195 to end the present process.

  As described above, according to the cleaning method of the present embodiment, the degree of dust generation from each drive unit provided in PM400 or LMM500 while repeatedly driving the drive unit of PM400 or LMM500 and executing NPPC. Is monitored by the particle monitor Mr. When the degree of dust generation from each drive unit becomes a predetermined threshold value or less, the repetitive operation of each drive unit ends.

  As a result, the room can be cleaned until the degree of dust generation from the drive unit becomes a predetermined value or less. As a result, it is possible to sufficiently clean the storage portion of the drive unit that is difficult to clean by normal cleaning. In addition to this, by setting in advance the time for which cleaning should be forcibly terminated, the cleaning can be terminated after a predetermined time has elapsed.

  This processing time is, for example, the time when it is determined in step 1110 that the dust generation amount has become smaller than a predetermined threshold during the auto setup process executed before the previous time (that is, the repetition operation of the drive unit is started). (The driving time from the start to the end) may be held in the storage unit 250 as a counter value 250b and determined based on the counter value 250b.

  That is, when the PM400 or the LLM 500 is cleaned before the previous time, the driving time from the start to the end of the repeated operation of the plurality of drive units is counted, and in the current cleaning of the PM 400 or the LLM 500, the multiple drive units are repeated. When the operation exceeds a predetermined value determined according to the counted drive time, the repeated operation of the plurality of drive units may be terminated.

  Instead of this, or in addition to this, when the PM 400 or LLM 500 was cleaned before the previous time, the number of driving times from the start to the end of the repetition of each drive unit is counted, and this time the PM 400 or LLM 500 is cleaned When the repetitive operation of each driving unit becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value determined according to the counted number of times of driving each driving unit, the repetitive operation of the plurality of driving units may be terminated.

  According to this, even if the degree of dust generation from each drive unit does not fall below a predetermined threshold due to the occurrence of an abnormality in any of the drive units, the number of times of drive of each drive unit before the previous time or before the previous time Based on the experience value corresponding to the drive time of each drive unit, the current repetitive operation of each drive unit can be limited and the cleaning process can be forcibly terminated. As a result, for example, even when any one of the drive units generates dust due to mechanical wear or the like, further dust generation by operating each drive unit more than necessary is suppressed. be able to. The number of repeated operations of each drive unit before the previous time or the repeated operation time of each drive unit before the previous time may be obtained based on the previous cleaning only, or the number of operations or operations based on a predetermined number of cleanings before the previous time. You may obtain | require by calculating the average value of time.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a cleaning method according to the third embodiment will be described. In the third embodiment, the amount of dust that has been peeled off is detected using the particle monitor Mr. After cleaning is terminated when the detected amount is less than a predetermined threshold, each drive unit is driven separately. This is different from the second embodiment in which the particle generation source is not specified in that the particle generation source is specified. Therefore, the cleaning method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the third embodiment, the auto setup process of FIG. 12 is called at step 615 of FIG. As in the second embodiment, the cleaning execution unit 275 executes steps 1200, 805, 810, and 1105, and repeatedly executes steps 815, 820, 1110, and 1115 to determine whether the dust generation amount is smaller than the threshold value. Or the cleaning process is continued until a predetermined time elapses.

  When the dust generation amount is smaller than the threshold value in step 1110 or when a predetermined time has elapsed in step 1115, the process proceeds to step 1205, where the drive control unit 270 repeatedly drives each drive unit one by one in order, Proceeding to 1210, the cleaning execution unit 275 determines whether or not dust of a predetermined amount or more predetermined for each drive unit is generated by the drive of the drive unit. The cleaning execution unit 275 determines whether or not the amount of dust generated by the particle monitor Mr described above and passing through the roughing line L1 is greater than or equal to a predetermined value.

  If the dust generation amount is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step 1215, and the cleaning execution unit 275 identifies the drive unit that is currently driven as a particle generation source, and proceeds to step 1220 to drive all the drive units. It is determined whether or not it has been made. On the other hand, if the dust generation is less than the predetermined value, the cleaning execution unit 275 proceeds to step 1220 without specifying the drive unit that is currently driven as a particle generation source, and has driven all the drive units. Determine whether or not.

  The cleaning execution unit 275 repeats the processing of steps 1205 to 1220 until it is determined in step 1220 that all the driving units have been driven. Proceeding to 1295, this process ends.

  As described above, according to the cleaning method according to the present embodiment, the driving unit of PM400 or LMM500 is repeated and the PM400 or LMM500 is cleaned while performing NPPC, and then each driving unit is driven one by one. By doing so, the degree of dust generation from the drive unit is monitored by the particle monitor Mr. When the degree of dust generation from the drive unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, the drive unit is identified as a particle generation source. Accordingly, it is possible to prompt the operator to replace the specified drive unit or perform further cleaning of only the specified drive unit.

  Further, the cleaning method according to the present embodiment is executed after cleaning gas is supplied from the gas supply unit 445 and the processing container C is cleaned. According to this, in a state where the inside of the processing container C is cleaned, the degree of dust generation from each driving unit can be monitored by the particle monitor. Thereby, the generation source of particles can be specified more accurately.

  Furthermore, the cleaning method according to the present embodiment is executed after the PM 400 or the LMM 500 is cleaned by repeatedly driving the drive unit of the PM 400 or the LMM 500 and executing the NPPC. Thereby, before executing the cleaning method according to the present embodiment, the inside of the PM 400 or the LMM 500 can be brought into a very cleaned state, and as a result, the generation source of the particles can be specified more accurately. .

  As described above, according to each embodiment of the present invention, deposits attached to a driving unit provided in a vacuum apparatus such as PM400 or LLM500 can be effectively removed.

  Note that the application of the DC voltage (HV) by the high voltage power supply 485 may be about 1 to 10 times. Alternatively, an alternating voltage (RF) may be intermittently and instantaneously applied from the high frequency power supply 430 using the high frequency power supply 430 instead of the high voltage power supply 485.

  The cleaning method disclosed in each embodiment can also be applied to a vacuum processing apparatus other than a semiconductor processing apparatus such as PM400 and a transport apparatus such as LLM500. When the vacuum apparatus is a semiconductor processing apparatus, plasma processing such as an etching apparatus, a CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) apparatus, an ashing apparatus, or a sputtering apparatus is performed in a chamber of the processing container C such as a wafer. It is applied to the treatment body. These vacuum apparatuses are not limited to the parallel plate type (capacitive coupling type) plasma processing apparatus shown in FIG. 4, but may be a microwave plasma processing apparatus or an inductively coupled plasma processing apparatus.

  In the vacuum device cleaning method, the cleaning execution unit 275 may execute NPPC while repeating the operation of each driving unit, or at least before or after that. When NPPC is executed before the operation of each drive unit is repeated, the degree of dust generation from each drive unit can be monitored by the particle monitor while the inside of the processing container C is further cleaned. Can be identified with higher accuracy. In addition, when NPPC is executed during or after each driving unit is repeatedly operated, the deposits attached to the driving unit are effectively peeled off by the repeated operation of each driving unit, and are attached to the inner wall of the vacuum apparatus. The deposit and the deposit adhering to the drive unit can be removed very effectively.

  In the embodiments described above, the operations of the respective units are related to each other, and can be replaced as a series of operations in consideration of the relationship with each other. It may be an embodiment of a control device that controls the cleaning of the vacuum device. Further, by replacing the operation of each part with the process of each part, the embodiment of the vacuum device cleaning method can be made the embodiment of the control program for controlling the cleaning of the vacuum device. Further, an embodiment of the control program for controlling the cleaning of the vacuum apparatus by storing the control program in a computer-readable recording medium is an embodiment of a computer-readable recording medium in which the control program is recorded. Can do.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to the example which concerns. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

  For example, the object to be processed used in the present invention is not limited to a wafer (silicon wafer), and may be a glass substrate used for, for example, an organic EL display, a plasma display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), or the like. .

1 is a conceptual diagram of a substrate processing system 10 according to first to third embodiments of the present invention. It is a hardware block diagram of EC concerning 1st-3rd embodiment. It is a block diagram of the substrate processing apparatus concerning 1st-3rd embodiment. It is a schematic diagram of the longitudinal cross-section of PM concerning 1st-3rd embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of EC concerning 1st-3rd embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the particle removal process routine (main routine) performed in 1st-3rd embodiment. It is the figure which showed the auto setup QC check execution confirmation screen. It is the flowchart which showed the auto setup processing routine (subroutine) performed in 1st Embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example of the recipe for auto setup. It is the figure which showed another example of the recipe for auto setup. It is the flowchart which showed the auto setup process routine performed in 2nd Embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the auto setup process routine performed in 3rd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10 Substrate processing system 100 Host computer 200 EC
250 Storage unit 250a Recipe group 250b Counter value 255 Pressure control unit 260 Process execution unit 265 Communication unit 270 Drive control unit 275 Cleaning execution unit 300, 300a, 300b, 300c MC
400, 400a, 400b PM
430 High frequency power supply 445 Gas supply unit 415 Upper electrode 450 Lower electrode 450a Lift pin 485 High voltage power supply 490 Exhaust mechanism 490a DP
490b APC
490c TMP
498 Gate valve 500 LLM

Claims (16)

A chamber for processing or transporting the object to be processed, a plurality of drive units provided in the chamber, a power source for supplying energy to the chamber, a gas supply unit for supplying gas to the chamber, A method of cleaning a vacuum device comprising an exhaust mechanism for exhausting gas,
Supplying purge gas from the gas supply unit and exhausting the indoor purge gas from the exhaust mechanism;
Repeat the operation of each drive unit,
In order to peel off deposits adhering to the vacuum device and each driving unit, the pressure of the purge gas is set to a predetermined pressure while repeating the operation of each driving unit, or at least before or after that. At least one of the above-described control or intermittent output of energy from the power supply at least at any timing before the operation of each driving unit is repeated or after the operation of each driving unit is repeated A method of cleaning a vacuum device that performs the above.   The method for cleaning a vacuum apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressure of the purge gas is controlled to be twice or more the pressure in the chamber.   The vacuum apparatus cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein the power supply alternately outputs a voltage having a positive value and a negative value.   In order to peel off deposits adhering to the vacuum device and each drive unit, the pressure of the purge gas is controlled to a predetermined pressure or higher, or energy is supplied from the power source with the valve body of the pressure adjusting device fully opened. The method for cleaning a vacuum apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein energy is intermittently output from the power supply after at least one of intermittent output and execution.   While performing the cleaning method of the vacuum device, the degree of dust generation from the chamber is monitored by a particle monitor, and when the degree of dust generation from the chamber falls below a predetermined threshold, the plurality of driving units are repeatedly operated. The method for cleaning a vacuum apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the process is terminated.   When the vacuum device was cleaned before the previous time, the drive time from the start to the end of the repeated operation of the plurality of drive units is counted, and during the cleaning of the vacuum device this time, the repeated operation time of the plurality of drive units When the value exceeds a predetermined value determined according to the counted driving time, the repetition of the plurality of driving units is terminated regardless of the degree of dust generation from the plurality of driving units monitored by the particle monitor. The method for cleaning a vacuum apparatus according to claim 5.   When the vacuum device is cleaned before the previous time, the number of driving times from the start to the end of the repeated operation of each driving unit is counted, and the number of repeated operations of the respective driving units is determined when the vacuum device is cleaned this time. When a predetermined value or more determined according to the counted number of driving times of each driving unit, the repeated operation of each driving unit regardless of the degree of dust generation from the plurality of driving units monitored by the particle monitor The method for cleaning a vacuum apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the method is terminated.   The vacuum device cleaning method is executed before repeating the operation of each drive unit, and then the purge gas is supplied from the gas supply unit and the purge gas supplied from the exhaust mechanism is exhausted. The repetition operation | movement of a part is performed one by one for every said drive part, and the dust generation degree from each said drive part by the repetition operation | movement of each said drive part is monitored with a particle monitor. Cleaning method for a vacuum apparatus.   The vacuum device cleaning method according to claim 8, wherein a generation source of particles is specified based on a degree of dust generation from each of the driving units monitored by the particle monitor.   The vacuum device cleaning method according to claim 9, wherein an operator is notified of the drive unit specified as the particle generation source.   The operations of the plurality of driving units include opening and closing of a gate valve for loading and unloading the object to be processed, raising and lowering of the stage on which the object to be processed is mounted, and lift pins for supporting the object to be processed mounted on the stage The method for cleaning a vacuum device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of up / down movement and opening / closing of a valve body of an automatic pressure regulator is included.   The vacuum device cleaning method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the vacuum device cleaning method is executed after cleaning gas is supplied from the gas supply unit to clean the vacuum device.   The vacuum device cleaning method according to claim 12, wherein the vacuum device cleaning method is executed at the time of auto-setup for adjusting the condition in the room after the vacuum device is cleaned with the cleaning gas.   The vacuum apparatus cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein the vacuum apparatus is a semiconductor processing apparatus. A chamber for processing or transporting the object to be processed, a plurality of drive units provided in the chamber, a power source for supplying energy to the chamber, a gas supply unit for supplying gas to the chamber, A control device for controlling cleaning of a vacuum device comprising an exhaust mechanism for exhausting gas,
A pressure control unit that controls to supply the purge gas from the gas supply unit, and controls to exhaust the purge gas in the room from the exhaust mechanism;
A drive control unit that controls the repetitive operation of each drive unit included in each drive unit;
In order to peel off deposits adhering to the vacuum device and each driving unit, the pressure of the purge gas is set to a predetermined pressure while repeating the operation of each driving unit, or at least before or after that. At least one of the above-described control or intermittent output of energy from the power supply at least at any timing before the operation of each driving unit is repeated or after the operation of each driving unit is repeated A control device for a vacuum device, comprising: a cleaning execution unit that cleans the vacuum device by executing the above. A chamber for processing or transporting the object to be processed, a plurality of drive units provided in the chamber, a power source for supplying energy to the chamber, a gas supply unit for supplying gas to the chamber, A storage medium storing a control program for causing a computer to perform cleaning of a vacuum device including an exhaust mechanism for exhausting gas,
A process of controlling to supply the purge gas from the gas supply unit, and controlling to exhaust the purge gas in the room from the exhaust mechanism;
A process for controlling the repetitive operation of each drive unit included in each drive unit;
In order to peel off deposits adhering to the vacuum device and each driving unit, the pressure of the purge gas is set to a predetermined pressure while repeating the operation of each driving unit, or at least before or after that. At least one of the above-described control or intermittent output of energy from the power supply at least at any timing before the operation of each driving unit is repeated or after the operation of each driving unit is repeated A storage medium storing a control program that causes a computer to execute a process of cleaning the vacuum device by executing the above.

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