JP2012134370A - Chamber, vacuum processing apparatus, substrate transfer method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a load chamber in which throughput can be enhanced while reducing the cost.SOLUTION: A load chamber LL1 having a sub-chamber 42 can form an airtight space at the top in the sub-chamber 42 by using a substrate cassette base 47 as a partition when the substrate cassette base 47, moving vertically in the sub-chamber 42 and mounting a substrate cassette 5L, is at a raised position, and can transfer a substrate from the substrate cassette 5L to a carrier device when the substrate cassette base 47 is at a lowered position. Since a GV for discharging a substrate supplemented in the sub-chamber 42 to the carrier device side is not required, the number of components can be reduced. Furthermore, since a space requiring exhaustion and ventilation when a substrate 13 is supplemented to the substrate cassette 5L is limited, the throughput can be enhanced.

Description

  The present invention relates to a chamber, a vacuum processing apparatus, and a substrate transfer method, and more particularly to a chamber, a vacuum processing apparatus, and a substrate transfer method for loading or unloading a substrate into a container evacuated from the atmospheric pressure side.

  A load chamber for feeding a substrate before film formation processing supplied from the atmosphere side into a process chamber in a vacuum atmosphere, or a substrate after a predetermined vacuum processing is discharged to a pass line (substrate transfer line) on the atmosphere side. A vacuum processing apparatus having an unload chamber is known. In a high-throughput load chamber or unload chamber, a vacuum processing apparatus is known in which the internal structure is divided into a transfer chamber on the process chamber side and a sub-chamber on the substrate transfer line side (for example, Patent Document 1). 2).

  The sub-chamber includes a substrate cassette on which a substrate is placed, and has GVs (gate valves) on the substrate input side and the substrate discharge side. In order to adjust the atmospheric pressure and the vacuum atmosphere every time the substrate before the film formation process is loaded from the atmosphere-side substrate storage section or every time the substrate after the predetermined film formation process is carried out from the sub-chamber. Venting and evacuation are frequently performed. By providing a sub-chamber with a smaller internal volume than the load chamber, the time required for evacuation is shortened and the throughput is improved.

JP-A-8-274142 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-210695

However, even in the vacuum processing apparatuses disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, there is a limitation in the time that can be used for evacuating the sub-chamber because of the demand for shortening the tact time on the process chamber side. As a result, a vacuum pump having a large exhaust capacity must be used, which makes it difficult to further reduce the cost.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a chamber, a vacuum processing apparatus, and a substrate transfer method that improve throughput and contribute to cost reduction.

The chamber according to the present invention is a chamber for supplying a substrate toward a processing chamber in which a predetermined vacuum processing is performed on the substrate, or for discharging the substrate after the vacuum processing, and a substrate cassette in which the substrate is loaded is disposed. A movable cassette holding part, a seal part provided along the inner wall of the chamber so as to be in contact with the cassette holding part moved to a predetermined position and to form an airtight first space in the chamber; A gate valve that is provided in the chamber and opens to allow a substrate to be loaded into or discharged from the substrate cassette in the first space, a vacuum exhaust device that can evacuate only the first space, and the first space And a gas introduction device that can introduce gas only into the gas.
Alternatively, the substrate transfer method according to the present invention uses the above-described chamber, moves the cassette holding unit to a predetermined position, opens the gate valve, and loads an unprocessed substrate into the substrate cassette disposed in the cassette holding unit. The substrate loading step, the gate valve is closed with the cassette holding portion positioned at a predetermined position to form the first space, and the first space is evacuated to a vacuum level equivalent to that in the robot chamber. An evacuation step, a cassette holding portion moving step for moving the cassette holding portion from a predetermined position to move the substrate cassette to a space communicating with the robot chamber, and a transfer device for unprocessed substrates disposed in the substrate cassette by the robot And a substrate transfer step of transferring to the substrate.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a chamber, a vacuum processing apparatus, and a substrate transfer method capable of ensuring a necessary exhaust time without reducing the throughput of the vacuum processing apparatus. Further, since a required number of members such as a robot and a gate valve can be reduced without requiring a high output vacuum pump, a chamber and a vacuum processing apparatus can be provided at low cost.

1 is a schematic view of a vacuum processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic view of a carrier according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing (AA sectional drawing) of the load chamber which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the load chamber which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the load chamber which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the members, arrangements, and the like described below are examples embodying the present invention and do not limit the present invention, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made in accordance with the spirit of the present invention. In this specification, the load / unload chamber unit (or simply chamber) is a term indicating either one or both of the load chamber and the unload chamber. In each of the embodiments described below, the substrate cassette bases 47 and 56 are configured to be movable in the vertical direction. However, the movement direction is not limited to a direction parallel to the gravity direction. For example, the substrate cassette bases 47 and 56 may move in a direction having an angle with respect to the direction of gravity. Further, the present invention can be applied to a structure in which the substrate cassette bases 47 and 56 move in the horizontal direction as long as the first space described later is formed.

(First embodiment)
1 to 3 are diagrams for explaining a vacuum processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the vacuum processing apparatus (top view), and FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a carrier (perspective view). 3 is a cross-sectional view of the load chamber (A-A cross-sectional view of FIG. 1). In order to prevent complication of the drawing, the illustration is omitted except for a part.

  The vacuum processing apparatus S shown in FIG. 1 includes an inline type configuration including a plurality of chambers S1 connected endlessly via a gate valve GV, and a load chamber LL1 and an unload chamber UL connected to the chamber S1. It is a membrane device. The substrate 13 is loaded in the load chamber LL1 in a state of being mounted on the substrate cassette 5L, transferred to the carrier 11 described later by the robot 23L (substrate transfer device), and placed in each chamber S1 by the substrate transfer device (transfer device). Be transported. The substrate is subjected to a predetermined vacuum process while being transported in the chamber S1 along the substrate transport path 10 while being mounted on the carrier 11 by the substrate transport device. The chamber S1 includes process chambers, transfer chambers 29 and 31, and other chambers that function as processing chambers. The substrate 13 may be a mechanism for replenishing the substrate cassette 5L fixed in the load chamber LL1.

  FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the carrier 11. The carrier 11 is configured by connecting a holder 14 capable of supporting the substrate 13 on a slider 12 provided with a mechanism unit for obtaining a propulsive force from the substrate conveyance path 10. The substrate transport path 10 is configured with a known magnetic screw mechanism, and the mechanism portion is configured with a permanent magnet that forms a magnetic coupling with a magnet of the magnetic screw mechanism. The holder 14 is provided with three substrate support claws 15 for supporting the substrate 13 in a standing position at a predetermined position. The substrate support claw 15 is constituted by a bent leaf spring. Since the carrier 11 used in this embodiment includes two holders 14, two substrates 13 can be mounted simultaneously.

  The carrier 11 is movable along the substrate transfer path 10 in the chamber S1 such as the transfer chamber 29 in a state where the substrate 13 is mounted. During the transfer operation of the substrate 13 to be described later, predetermined carriers in the transfer chambers 29 and 31 are provided. Stop control is performed at the position (substrate transfer position). The carrier 11 moves so as to circulate in each chamber S1, and since it is not exposed to the atmosphere outside the vacuum processing apparatus S, contamination in the chamber S1 can be suppressed. In addition, the shape of the carrier 11 shall be changeable according to a mechanism part. The shape and quantity of the substrate support claws 15 for supporting the substrate 13 can be changed as appropriate. Instead of the magnetic screw mechanism, a mechanism using a linear motor or a rack and pinion may be employed.

  As the substrate 13 in the present embodiment, a disk-shaped member used for a storage medium such as a magnetic disk or an optical disk is used, and in particular, a disk-shaped member having a circular opening (center hole) at the center is preferably used. . However, by replacing the substrate holder 14 attached to the carrier 11, glass substrates having various shapes, metal substrates such as aluminum or aluminum alloy, silicon substrates, resin substrates, and the like can be used.

  The substrate transfer apparatus in the present embodiment is an example (vacuum processing apparatus S) applied to an inline-type sputtering film forming apparatus, and is described as an apparatus having at least a carrier 11 and a substrate transfer path 10. It is not limited to this. That is, the substrate transfer apparatus means an apparatus capable of transferring a substrate between the load chamber (unload chamber) and the chamber S1 (processing chamber), and a thin film using a cluster type sputtering film forming apparatus, an electron beam, or the like. The present invention can be widely applied to vacuum processing apparatuses having a substrate transfer mechanism inside such as formation, surface modification, and dry etching.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the load chamber. Although FIG. 3 shows the load chamber, it goes without saying that the same configuration can be adopted for the unload chamber. The load chamber LL1 according to this embodiment has a configuration in which a sub chamber 42 and a robot chamber 41 are integrally connected. The robot chamber 41 is connected to the transfer chamber 29 so that the internal space is integrated. . The transfer chamber 29 is a chamber connected to another chamber S1 through a gate valve GV, and a substrate transfer path 10 (substrate transfer device) for transferring the carrier 11 to the other chamber S1 is provided inside.

  The robot chamber 41 is a chamber in which the robot 23L is provided, and is connected to the sub chamber 42 on one side and to the transfer chamber 29 on the other side. A vacuum pump for evacuating to a pressure equivalent to that of the transfer chamber 29 is attached. The robot 23L is a known substrate transfer robot provided with a scalar arm 231L that can be driven and controlled by the drive unit 232L, and a pick (gripping unit) that can hold the substrate so as to place the substrate is attached to the tip of the scalar arm 231L. . In addition, since at least the portion to which the pick is attached is configured to be movable up and down, the substrate 13 can be held and placed by inserting the pick into the opening (center hole) of the substrate 13 and moving it up and down. it can. Since the inside of the sub chamber 42 (sub transport section 42b described later), the robot chamber 41, and the transport chamber 29 are continuous, the substrate 13 loaded in the substrate cassette in the sub chamber 42 is moved into the transport chamber 29 by the robot 23L. The substrate 11 can be transferred (substrate transfer operation).

  The sub-chamber 42 includes a seal portion 45 projecting inward from the inner wall thereof and a substrate cassette base 47 (cassette holding portion) that is movable in the vertical direction (vertical movement). The substrate cassette base 47 is a plate-like member on which the substrate cassette 5L can be placed, and is provided so as to be movable in the sub chamber 42 by the drive mechanism unit 44. The drive mechanism unit 44 is a mechanism for moving the substrate cassette base 47 (cassette holding unit) via the support column 44a by the motor 44c. The drive mechanism unit 44 is configured to keep the seal in the sub-chamber 42 by the bellows 44b. Instead of this, a structure such as a shaft seal using a sealing material such as an O-ring may be employed. Further, a known actuator such as a cylinder may be used instead of the motor 44c.

  The seal portion 45 is a portion that protrudes in a plate shape or a protrusion shape over the entire circumference (endless shape) of the inner circumference of the sub chamber 42, and the tip (inner edge) of the seal portion 45 that protrudes inside the sub chamber 42 is The adjustment is made so as to overlap the outer edge of the substrate cassette base 47. For this reason, when the substrate cassette base 47 rises and the portion along the outer edge of the substrate cassette base 47 reaches a position (predetermined position) where it abuts the seal portion 45, the surface of the substrate cassette base 47 on which the substrate cassette 5L is placed. The endless region along the outer edge of the (upper surface) abuts the endless region along the inner edge of the lower side (lower surface) of the seal portion 45. Since this endless contact surface acts as a sealing surface, the space in the sub-chamber 42 can be divided into an upper part and a lower part using the substrate cassette base 47 as a vacuum partition. As will be described later, since an O-ring 47a as a sealing material is mounted on the upper surface of the substrate cassette base 47 along the outer edge, the sealing surface in this embodiment is the lower surface of the seal portion 45 and the O-ring 47a. It is formed along the contact portion.

  When the substrate cassette base 47 functions as a vacuum partition, the sub chamber 42 is divided into a substrate loading portion 42a and a sub transport portion 42b. A space formed on the upper side in the sub-chamber 42 is a substrate loading portion 42a (first space), and a space formed on the lower side in the sub-chamber 42 at that time is a sub-transport portion 42b. Since the height at which the seal portion 45 is provided is in the vicinity of the height of the top plate 41a of the robot chamber 41, the substrate loading portion 42a and the sub-transport portion 42b are bordered around the height of the top plate 41a.

  The substrate loading chamber 42a is a region (first space) formed on the upper side of the sub chamber 42 when the substrate cassette base 47 is in a predetermined position, and includes a surface on which the substrate cassette 5L of the substrate cassette base 47 is placed. The sub-chamber 42 is surrounded by an upper inner wall. A gate valve (GV) 48 is provided on the side wall (upper wall surface of the sub chamber 42) of the substrate loading portion 42a so that the substrate and the substrate cassette 5L can be taken in and out. By opening the GV 48, the substrate and the substrate cassette are loaded. It can be put into the chamber 42a.

  Further, a pressure adjusting device (not shown) is connected to the substrate loading portion 42a. The pressure adjusting device includes an evacuation device 61 that can evacuate only the substrate loading portion 42a independently, and a vent device (gas introduction device) 62 that can introduce an arbitrary gas only into the substrate loading portion 42a. ing. The sub-transport portion 42b is an area formed below the sub-chamber 42 when the substrate cassette base 47 is in a predetermined position. The sub-transport portion 42b and the back surface of the surface on which the substrate cassette 5L is placed and the sub-chamber 42 are placed. The inner space is always continuous with the robot chamber 41 because it is connected to the robot chamber 41.

  As described above, in the load chamber LL1 according to the present embodiment, only the substrate loading portion 42a (first space) formed in the sub-chamber 42 is repeatedly evacuated and vented when loading and unloading the substrate. That is, the substrate cassette base 47 and the drive mechanism unit 44 limit the volume of repeated evacuation and venting, thereby shortening the time required for evacuation and venting and improving the throughput when taking in and out the substrate. Further, by utilizing the movable substrate cassette base 47 as a vacuum partition, it is not necessary to install a gate valve between the substrate loading unit 42a and the sub-transporting unit, and the number of components can be reduced.

Here, a method of using the load chamber LL1 according to the present embodiment will be described.
First, the substrate 13 (unprocessed substrate) introduced from the outside (outside) of the vacuum processing apparatus S, which is an atmospheric pressure atmosphere, is mounted on the substrate cassette 5L installed in the substrate cassette base 47 through the opened GV48. (Substrate loading process). At this time, the substrate cassette base 47 is moved to a raised position (predetermined position) in contact with the seal portion 45 and the GV 48 is opened. That is, the sealing portion 45 and the substrate cassette base 47 are sealed, and the upper side of the sub-chamber 42 is an atmospheric pressure and the lower side is a vacuum atmosphere. The substrate loading step may be a step of installing the substrate cassette 5L on which the substrate 13 is mounted on the substrate cassette base 47. In this case, the substrate cassette 5L on which the substrate 13 is mounted is transferred to the substrate 13 and emptied. Replace with a new substrate cassette.

  Next, the GV 48 is closed, and the space (first space) above the substrate cassette base 47 is evacuated until a predetermined degree of vacuum is reached (exhaust process). The predetermined degree of vacuum is a vacuum atmosphere equivalent to that in the robot chamber 41. After reaching a predetermined degree of vacuum, the substrate cassette base 47 is lowered (cassette holder moving step). With the substrate cassette base 47 lowered, the transfer of the substrate 13 to the carrier 11 is sequentially performed by the robot 43 (substrate transfer step).

  When the substrate 13 held in the substrate cassette 5L runs out, the substrate cassette base 47 is raised again. The edge portion of the substrate cassette base 47 is in close contact with the seal portion 45 and sealed, and the upper side (first space) of the sub-chamber 42 is vented to the same atmosphere (atmospheric pressure) as outside the system (bent process). At this time, the lower side of the sub-chamber 42 is not exposed to the atmosphere. As the gas introduced into the first space in the venting process, it is desirable to use nitrogen gas in which impurity components such as moisture are controlled by a vent device (gas introduction device). After the venting process, the GV 48 is opened and the above-described substrate loading process is performed.

  The substrate processing apparatus S is continuously replenished with the substrate 13 by repeating the above-described substrate loading step to venting step. Since the load chamber LL1 according to the present embodiment can be used in this way, the region to be evacuated or vented even when the substrate 13 is replenished may be limited to the upper side (first space) of the seal portion 45. it can. That is, the throughput can be improved by shortening the exhaust time and the vent time.

  The unload chamber UL is configured in substantially the same manner as the load chamber LL1. That is, the processed substrate 13 mounted on the carrier 11 in the transfer chamber 31 is stored in the substrate cassette 5U by the operation of the robot 23U. Then, the substrate cassette base of the unload chamber UL is raised, the edge portion of the substrate cassette base is tightly adhered to the seal surface of the seal portion, and the upper side of the sub chamber is vented to atmospheric pressure, and then the unload chamber UL is opened. It is removed from the load chamber UL and is positioned on the pass line. Therefore, the substrate 13 can be replenished and discharged continuously by using the load chamber LL1 and the unload chamber UL (chamber).

(Second Embodiment)
4 and 5 are diagrams for explaining a vacuum processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a load chamber of the vacuum processing apparatus, and FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory view of the load chamber. The same components as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. The cross-sectional view of the load chamber LL2 shown in FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA when the load chamber LL2 is attached instead of the load chamber LL1 of FIG. 4 and 5 show the load chamber side, it is needless to say that the same configuration can be adopted for the unload chamber.

  The load chamber LL2 according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which the sub chamber 52 and the robot chamber 41 are integrally connected, and the robot chamber 41 is connected to the transfer chamber 29 so that the internal space is integrated. . The sub chamber 52 includes a seal portion 55 (55a, 55b) projecting inside the sub chamber 42, a movable (up and down operation) substrate cassette base 56 (cassette holding portion), and a second cassette connected to the substrate cassette base 56. A base 57 (second cassette holder) is provided inside. The substrate cassette base 56 is a plate-like member on which the substrate cassette 5L (substrate cassette) can be installed, and the second cassette base 57 is a plate-like member on which the substrate cassette 6L (second substrate cassette) can be installed. It is provided to be movable in the direction.

Since the second cassette base 57 is fixed to the lower side of the substrate cassette base 56 by a locking member 57a, the second cassette base 57 moves in synchronization with the substrate cassette base 56 by the drive mechanism 54. The locking member 57 a is a rigid rod-like member, and fixes the second cassette base 57 to the substrate cassette base 56.
The sub-chamber 52 has a shape expanded below the sub-chamber 42 of the first embodiment, and is lower than the height of the bottom plate 41b of the robot chamber 41 by moving the second cassette base 57. The substrate cassette 6L can be disposed at the position.

  The substrate cassette base 56 has the same configuration as the substrate cassette base 47 of the first embodiment, except that the locking member 57a is connected, the drive mechanism unit 54 is not connected, and will be described later. As described above, the main difference is that the seal portion 55b can be contacted and sealed. The drive mechanism portion 54 has the same configuration as the drive mechanism portion 44 of the first embodiment, but differs in that it is connected to the second cassette base 57.

  In the sub chamber 52, two seal portions 55 (55a, 55b) are formed. The seal portion 55a has the same configuration as the seal portion 45 of the first embodiment. The seal portion 55b is a portion that projects endlessly along the inner circumference of the sub-chamber 42 in the same manner as the seal portion 55a. The seal portion 55 b is provided in the vicinity of the height of the bottom plate 41 b of the robot chamber 41. The front end (inner edge) of the seal portion 55b is adjusted so as to overlap the outer edge of the substrate cassette base 56, and the substrate cassette base 56 is configured to be movable between the height of the top plate 41a and the bottom plate 41b of the robot chamber 41. Has been. The seal portion formed above the sub-chamber 52 is referred to as a seal portion 55a, and the seal portion formed below is referred to as a second seal portion 55b (second seal portion). With respect to the moving direction of the substrate cassette base 56, the portion of the substrate cassette base 56 with which the second seal portion 55b abuts is located on the opposite side of the portion with which the seal portion 55a abuts.

  On the substrate cassette base 56, sealing materials 59a and 59b (O-rings and the like) are mounted on the upper surface and the lower surface, respectively. The sealing materials 59a and 59b can contact the sealing portions 55a and 55b, respectively, to form a sealing surface. For this reason, when the substrate cassette base 56 rises to a position (predetermined position) in contact with the seal portion 55a, an endless region along the outer edge of the surface (upper surface) of the substrate cassette base 56 on which the substrate cassette 5L is placed is An endless seal surface is formed along the inner edge of the upper surface of the seal portion 55b in contact with the O-ring 59a. At this time, the space in the sub chamber 52 can be divided into an upper part and a lower part by using the substrate cassette base 56 as a vacuum partition.

  On the other hand, when the substrate cassette base 56 is lowered to a position (second predetermined position) in contact with the seal portion 55b, an endless shape along the outer edge of the back surface (lower surface) of the surface on which the substrate cassette 5L of the substrate cassette base 56 is placed. This region contacts the O-ring 59b to form an endless seal surface along the inner edge of the upper surface of the seal portion 55b. At this time, the space in the sub chamber 52 can be divided into an upper part and a lower part by using the substrate cassette base 56 as a vacuum partition.

  The space formed on the upper side in the sub-chamber 52 in a state where the upper surface (O-ring 59a) of the substrate cassette base 56 is in contact with the seal portion 55a is the substrate loading portion 52a (first space), A space formed on the lower side in the sub-chamber 42 in a state where the lower surface (O-ring 59b) of the cassette base 56 is in contact with the seal portion 55b is a second substrate loading portion 52c (second space). A space in the sub chamber 52 located between the height of the top plate 41a and the height of the bottom plate 41b of the robot chamber 41 is defined as a sub transport unit 52b.

  As described above, the substrate loading chamber 52a is airtightly partitioned by being surrounded by the surface of the substrate cassette base 56 on which the substrate cassette 5L is placed and the inner wall of the sub-chamber 52 above the seal portion 55a (the first compartment). Space). A gate valve (GV) 58a through which the substrate and the substrate cassette 5L can be taken in and out is provided on the side wall (the upper wall surface of the sub chamber 52) of the substrate loading portion 52a. Similarly, a gate valve (GV) 58b (second gate valve) through which the substrate and the substrate cassette 6L can be taken in and out is provided on the side wall of the second substrate loading unit 52c (the wall surface below the sub chamber 52).

  By opening the GV 58a, the substrate and the substrate cassette can be loaded into the substrate loading unit 52a, and by opening the GV 58b, the substrate and the substrate cassette can be loaded into the substrate loading chamber 52c. In addition, the pressure regulator includes a vacuum pump (evacuation device) 61 that evacuates only the substrate loading unit 52a independently, and a vent device (gas introduction device) 62 that can introduce an arbitrary gas only into the substrate loading unit 52a. Is connected to the substrate loading part 52a. Similarly, the load chamber LL2 includes a vacuum pump (second evacuation device) 63 capable of independently evacuating only the second substrate loading portion 52c and a vent device (second gas introduction device) 64 capable of introducing gas. A device (second pressure adjusting device) is connected to the second substrate loading unit 52c.

Here, the operation of the load chamber LL2 according to the present embodiment will be described based on FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b). In FIG. 5, the vacuum pumps 61 and 63 and the vent devices 62 and 64 are not shown for simplification.
FIG. 5A shows a state in which the substrate cassette bases 56 and 57 on which the substrate cassettes 5L and 6L are placed are raised by the drive mechanism 54, and the substrate cassette base 56 (O-ring 59a) is attached to the seal portion 55a. The GV 58a on the upper side of the sub chamber 52 is opened. For this reason, the lower side of the robot chamber 41 and the sub chamber 52 (the sub transfer unit 52b and the substrate loading unit 52c) is sealed by the sealing material 59a of the substrate cassette base 56 and maintained at a predetermined degree of vacuum. In this state, while the vacuum of the robot chamber 51 is maintained, venting for introducing gas into the upper side of the sub-chamber 52 (substrate loading part 52a: first space) is performed (venting process).

  After venting of the substrate loading unit 52a is completed, the GV 58a on the upper side of the sub chamber 52 is opened, and the substrate 13 (unprocessed substrate) is loaded into the substrate cassette 5L (substrate loading step). This substrate loading step may be a step of installing the substrate cassette 5L on which the substrate 13 is mounted on the substrate cassette base 56. After completion of the substrate loading process, the GV 58a is closed to form the first space again, and evacuation is performed until the degree of vacuum is the same as that in the robot chamber 41 (evacuation process). After the degree of vacuum is the same as that in the robot chamber, the substrate cassette base 56 (O-ring 59b) moves to a height (second predetermined position) where it abuts against the seal portion 55b, and the substrate cassette 5L is moved to the sub-transport portion. It is located in 52b (a cassette holding part moving process or a 2nd cassette holding part moving process). With the substrate cassette base 56 lowered, the substrate 13 is transferred onto the carrier 11 by the robot 23U (substrate transfer step).

  FIG. 5B shows that the substrate cassette base 56 (O-ring 59b) moves to a position (second predetermined position) where the substrate cassette base 56 (O-ring 59b) contacts the seal portion 55b, and the space below the sub-chamber 52 (substrate input portion 52c: second). After the space is vented (second venting step), the GV 58b is opened. That is, it is a state after the second cassette holding unit moving step (or cassette holding unit moving step) is executed. At this time, the robot chamber 41 and the upper side of the sub chamber 52 (the substrate loading unit 52a and the sub transfer unit 52b) are sealed by the sealing material 59b of the substrate cassette base 56 and maintained at a predetermined degree of vacuum. In this state, the substrate 13 (unprocessed substrate) is loaded into the substrate cassette 6L on the substrate cassette base 57 (second substrate loading step).

  Thereafter, the GV 58b is closed to form a second space, and evacuation is performed until the degree of vacuum is the same as that in the robot chamber (second evacuation step). After the second evacuation step, the substrate cassette base 56 (O-ring 59a) is moved to a position (predetermined position) in contact with the seal portion 55a, and the substrate cassette 6L is moved to a space communicating with the robot chamber (third Cassette holding part moving step), the substrate 13 disposed in the lower substrate cassette 6L is transferred to the carrier 11 (conveying device) by the robot 23L (second substrate transferring step). The substrates 13 on the lower substrate cassette 6L are sequentially transferred to the carrier 50 by the robot 23L. A step of introducing a gas into the upper side of the sub-chamber 52 (substrate loading unit 52a) during execution of the second substrate transfer step, then opening the GV 58a, and loading the substrate 13 (unprocessed substrate) into the substrate cassette 5L ( Substrate loading step) is performed. The substrate loading process performed during the execution of the second substrate transfer process is the state described above with reference to FIG.

  By repeatedly performing the above-described steps (substrate loading step to second substrate transfer step) described based on FIGS. 5A and 5B, one robot is provided in the load chamber LL2. If the GV in the robot chamber 41 is not required, the structure is possible.

  The load chamber LL2 of the present embodiment exhausts the space in which the substrate cassette placed on the second cassette base 57 is located while the transfer operation from the substrate cassette placed on the substrate cassette base 56 is performed. And venting work. For this reason, as compared with the load chamber LL and unload chamber UL of the conventional vacuum processing apparatus having only one sub-chamber, it is possible to sufficiently secure the exhaust time and vent time of the space in which the substrate cassette is arranged. Become.

  That is, by the load chamber LL2 according to this embodiment, the region to be evacuated or vented even when the substrate 13 is replenished can be limited to the upper side of the seal portion 55a or the lower side of the seal portion 55b. That is, the throughput can be improved by shortening the exhaust time and the vent time.

  By using the chamber according to the present invention, it is possible to increase the exhaust time and vent time of the space in which the substrate cassette is placed, so that harmful substances that are applied to the film formation such as water components attached to the substrate at the time of loading are removed. It becomes possible to vent over time when carrying out. Therefore, chemical and physical damage between the substrate and the vent gas can be reduced. The chemical damage is, for example, nitriding of the substrate with a nitrogen gas for venting, and the physical damage is, for example, damaging the substrate by particles rolled up by the gas flow of the vent (evacuation operation).

  By using the chamber according to the present invention, it is not necessary to use a vacuum pump having a large exhaust capacity, so that an increase in cost can be suppressed. In addition, since the substrate cassette base moves in the vertical direction, the substrate cassette can be disposed at a position close to the transfer device side, so that one robot can be disposed in the load chamber. Since there is no need to attach a GV (gate valve) for discharging the substrate to the sub-chamber, the number of parts can be reduced.

  Although the present invention was invented as a film forming apparatus, it can be applied to industries that widely use vacuum and apparatuses that require partition walls such as liquid and gas. In addition, the substrate cassettes 5L, 5U, and 6L can arrange 25 or 50 substrates 13 in two rows. In the present embodiment, loading and unloading of substrates are performed by transferring a predetermined number of substrates to the substrate cassette. However, the substrate cassette itself carrying the substrate to be replaced may be replaced.

  The chamber or sub-chamber according to the present invention can be applied not only to a configuration in which the substrate cassette base moves in the vertical direction but also to a configuration in which the substrate cassette base moves in the horizontal direction. When the substrate cassette base moves in the vertical direction, plate-like seal members may be installed upright on both sides of the surface of the substrate cassette base on which the substrate cassette is placed. In other words, the present invention can be applied to horizontal movement by using this seal member as a vacuum partition.

  Further, by devising the structure of the chamber, it is possible to configure so that the functions of both the load chamber (substrate supply device) and the unload chamber (substrate discharge device) can be executed in one chamber (load chamber). For example, a robot chamber in which one robot is installed can be communicated with chambers on the substrate input side and substrate discharge side so that the substrate can be removed from the carrier and loaded by a single robot. In this case, if the substrate cassette bases attached to the input-side and discharge-side chambers are interlocked, the drive system of the substrate cassette base can be integrated.

S Vacuum processing device S1 Deposition chamber (chamber)
LL1, LL2 Load chamber UL Unload chamber 5, 5L, 5U, 6L Substrate cassette 48, 58a, 58b GV (gate valve)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Substrate conveyance path 11 Carrier 12 Slider 13 Substrate 14 Holder 15 Substrate support claw 23L, 23U Robot 29, 31 Transfer chamber 41 Robot chamber 42, 52 Sub chamber 42a, 52a Substrate input part 42b, 52b Sub transfer part 42c, 52c Second Substrate loading portion 47a, 59a, 59b Sealing member 44, 54 Drive mechanism 44a Strut 44b Bellows 44c Motor 45, 55a, 55b Sealing portion 47, 56 Substrate cassette base 57 Second cassette base 61, 63 Vacuum pump 62, 64 Vent device

Claims (7)

A chamber for supplying a substrate toward a processing chamber in which a predetermined vacuum processing is performed on the substrate, or for discharging the substrate after the vacuum processing;
A movable cassette holder in which a substrate cassette loaded with a substrate is disposed;
A seal portion provided along the inner wall of the chamber so as to contact the cassette holding portion moved to a predetermined position and form an airtight first space in the chamber;
A gate valve that is provided in the chamber and is opened to allow the substrate cassette in the first space to be loaded or unloaded.
An evacuation apparatus capable of evacuating only the first space;
And a gas introduction device capable of introducing gas only into the first space. A second substrate cassette loaded with a substrate, and a second cassette holder that is movable in synchronization with the cassette holder;
The cassette holding portion is provided along the inner wall of the chamber so that the cassette holding portion can be brought into contact with the second predetermined position different from the predetermined position to form an airtight second space in the chamber. A second seal portion;
A second gate valve that is provided in the chamber and can be opened or removed to open or remove the substrate from the second substrate cassette in the second space;
A second evacuation device capable of evacuating only the second space;
A second gas introduction device capable of introducing gas only into the second space;
The portion of the cassette holding portion with which the second seal portion abuts is opposite to the portion of the cassette holding portion with which the seal portion abuts with respect to the moving direction of the cassette holding portion. Item 2. The chamber according to Item 1. A subchamber capable of forming the first space therein;
A robot chamber connected to the sub-chamber and connected to a transfer device that transfers the substrate to and from a processing chamber that performs predetermined vacuum processing on the substrate;
The chamber according to claim 1, further comprising a robot that is disposed in the robot chamber and transfers a substrate between the substrate cassette in the sub-chamber and the transfer device. A subchamber capable of forming the first space and the second space therein;
A robot chamber connected to a transfer device that transfers the substrate to and from a processing chamber that performs predetermined vacuum processing on the substrate; and a robot chamber connected to the sub-chamber;
3. A robot disposed in the robot chamber and transferring a substrate between the substrate cassette or the second substrate cassette in the sub chamber and the transfer device. Chamber. A chamber according to any one of claims 1 to 4;
A processing chamber for performing predetermined vacuum processing on the substrate;
A vacuum processing apparatus comprising: a transfer device that transfers a substrate between the chamber and the processing chamber. A substrate transfer method using the chamber according to claim 3,
A substrate loading step of moving the cassette holding portion to the predetermined position and opening the gate valve to load an unprocessed substrate into the substrate cassette disposed in the cassette holding portion;
The gate valve is closed with the cassette holding portion positioned at the predetermined position to form the first space, and the first space is evacuated to the same degree of vacuum as in the robot chamber. An exhaust process;
A cassette holding unit moving step of moving the cassette holding unit from the predetermined position and moving the substrate cassette to a space communicating with the robot chamber;
A substrate transfer method comprising: a substrate transfer step of transferring the unprocessed substrate disposed in the substrate cassette to the transfer device by the robot. A substrate transfer method using the chamber according to claim 4,
A substrate loading step of loading the unprocessed substrate into the substrate cassette disposed in the cassette holding portion by moving the cassette holding portion to the predetermined position and opening the gate valve;
The gate valve is closed with the cassette holding portion positioned at the predetermined position to form the first space, and the first space is evacuated to the same degree of vacuum as in the robot chamber. An exhaust process;
A second cassette holding unit moving step of moving the cassette holding unit to the second predetermined position and moving the substrate cassette to a space communicating with the robot chamber;
A substrate transfer step of transferring the unprocessed substrate disposed in the substrate cassette to the transfer device by the robot;
A second substrate loading step that is performed simultaneously with the substrate transfer step, opens the second gate valve, and loads an unprocessed substrate into the second substrate cassette disposed in the second cassette holding unit;
A second evacuation step of closing the second gate valve to form the second space and evacuating the second space to a degree of vacuum equivalent to that in the robot chamber;
A third cassette holding unit moving step of moving the cassette holding unit to the predetermined position and moving the second substrate cassette to a space communicating with the robot chamber;
A substrate transfer method comprising: a second substrate transfer step of transferring the unprocessed substrate disposed in the second substrate cassette to the transfer device by the robot.