JP2012164531A - Excimer lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an excimer lamp equipped with a specific end structure which is suited to requirements for size reduction and length reduction.SOLUTION: An excimer lamp comprises: a flat discharge vessel; a pair of electrodes provided on an outer wall surface of the discharge vessel; and tabular sealing members provided on respective ends of the discharge vessel. The excimer lamp generates excimer discharge inside a discharge space in the discharge vessel. On at least one of the ends of the discharge vessel, the excimer lamp has: a recess which is formed by reducing the diameter of the discharge vessel at a portion where one of the sealing members is located; a linear member which is wound around the recess; and a base member into which the discharge vessel is press-fitted and fixed via the linear member.

Description

  The present invention relates to an excimer lamp used in an optical cleaning process in the manufacture of semiconductors, liquid crystal displays and the like, and more particularly to an excimer lamp characterized by a base fixing portion.

At present, an excimer lamp is used in a substrate cleaning process in manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit or a liquid crystal display. Recently, a lamp having a rectangular cross section has been used because of demands such as proximity irradiation and uniform and wide-range irradiation on an object to be processed.
A base member is installed at the end of the discharge vessel of the excimer lamp, and the base member mainly has three functions. The first function is to secure the connection between the external electrode and the lead provided on the outer wall of the discharge vessel and protect the power feeding structure, the second function is fixed to the discharge vessel, and the third function is electrical insulation. And preventing dielectric breakdown between the external electrode and the base member.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-252626 of Patent Document 1 describes a base member 54 composed of a lead holding part 541 having electrical insulation and a flat support part 542 made of a thin metal plate as shown in FIG. It is described that the end of the lamp is held between the lead holding portion 541 and the flat support portion 542, thereby having the above-described base member function.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-076296 of Patent Document 2 discloses a method of welding a sealing member to a discharge vessel as a method of manufacturing an excimer lamp, and a schematic diagram of the discharge vessel of the publication is shown in FIG.
According to this, the sealing member 3 having the gas introduction part 31 and the flange part 32 is inserted into the discharge vessel 1, and the outer peripheral edge 321 of the flange part 32 is welded to the inner wall of the discharge vessel 1. In addition, it is described that a gap is not generated between the sealing member 3 and the discharge vessel 1, and a concave portion is formed in the welded portion W when the sealing member 3 and the discharge vessel 1 are welded. ing.
The lamp described in Patent Document 1 also usually has the end structure of the discharge vessel described in Patent Document 2. A cross-sectional view of the end structure is shown in FIG.

JP 2009-252662 A JP 2009-076296 A

  In recent years, there has been a demand for downsizing of an optical cleaning device in optical cleaning in the manufacture of semiconductor chips and biochips, and excimer lamps that are downsized and shortened are required. However, the base member 54 including the lead holding portion 541 and the flat support portion 542 described in Patent Document 1 is not suitable for a miniaturized and shortened excimer lamp. This is because as the excimer lamp becomes smaller and shorter, the region of the discharge vessel end that can support the base member becomes narrower, which makes it difficult to fix the base member. Further, the portion of the discharge vessel near the welded portion W is easily deformed in size and shape by heat and strain generated during processing, and as the excimer lamp 5 is shortened, the distortion at the end of the discharge vessel appears remarkably, and the base member 54 Making it difficult to fix. Therefore, it is difficult to use the excimer lamp in which the base member of Patent Document 1 is shortened. Further, the base member is inclined and fixed easily, so that the tube axis of the discharge vessel and the central axis of the base member do not coincide with each other, and there is a problem that uniform light irradiation cannot be performed on the object to be processed.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an excimer lamp provided with an end structure suitable for the demand for miniaturization and shortening.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an invention according to claim 1 is provided with a flat discharge vessel, a pair of electrodes are provided on the outer wall surface of the discharge vessel, and a plate-like seal is formed at the end of the discharge vessel. An excimer lamp that is provided with a stop member and generates excimer discharge in the discharge space of the discharge vessel, wherein at least one end of the discharge vessel, the portion of the discharge vessel where the sealing member is located is shrunk. It has a concave portion having a diameter, a linear member wound around the concave portion, and a base member into which the discharge vessel is press-fitted and fixed through the linear member. Is.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the linear member is an insulating material whose main component is ceramic.

According to the excimer lamp of the present invention, the linear member is wound around the concave portion formed by reducing the diameter of the discharge vessel at the welded portion of the discharge vessel and the sealing member, and the discharge vessel is wound around the base member via the linear member. Since it is press-fitted and fixed, even if the end shape of the excimer lamp is distorted by downsizing and shortening, the base member can be fixed to the end of the discharge vessel without being affected by the shape. Further, the concave portion on the outer wall surface of the discharge vessel is a fixing position of the base member, the concave portion is the best fixing position for reducing the size and length of the lamp, and the linear member is irradiated with ultraviolet light from the excimer lamp. Without obstructing, a linear member can be wound around the recess to provide a uniform thickness.
In addition, by using an insulating material whose main component is ceramic for the linear member, it has electrical insulation, and an unnecessary discharge phenomenon between the linear member and the lead, or between the linear member and the external electrode. There is an effect that does not occur.

In the excimer lamp according to the present invention, an external view of (a) a case where the bases at both ends are press-fitted and fixed, and (b) a case where the base at one end is press-fitted and fixed is shown. FIG. 3 shows an end cross-sectional view of an excimer lamp according to the present invention. The end part sectional drawing of the conventional excimer lamp is shown. The perspective view of the structure of the sealing member provided with the gas introduction part is shown. Sectional drawing of each process of the manufacturing method of the excimer lamp of this invention is shown. The perspective view of the structure of the conventional excimer lamp is shown. A sectional view of a conventional excimer lamp is shown.

  FIG. 1 shows an external view of an excimer lamp according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the excimer lamp as viewed from a cut surface along the longitudinal direction. The excimer lamp shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a shorter length in the longitudinal direction than the conventional excimer lamp shown in FIG. A base member 61 is installed at the end of the discharge vessel 1 to secure the connection between the external electrode 2 and the lead 55 and protect the power feeding structure. During the manufacturing process of the lamp, a concave portion W is formed at the end of the discharge vessel 1, and the linear member 7 is wound around the concave portion W, and the discharge vessel 1 is press-fitted and fixed to the base member 61 via the linear member 7. Has been. Therefore, the base member 61 is installed in the discharge vessel 1, and the connection between the external electrode 2 and the lead 55 is fixed and maintained.

  The discharge vessel 1 has a flat shape made of synthetic quartz glass, and an upper side wall surface located on the upper side in the drawing surface and a lower side wall surface (not shown) located on the lower side in the drawing surface have a predetermined shape. In addition to extending in parallel with a gap, external electrodes 2 are provided on the upper and lower side wall surfaces, and are located on the left side wall surface located on the left side on the paper surface and on the right side on the paper surface. The right side wall surface has a configuration extending in parallel with a predetermined interval.

In the excimer lamp, the sealing member 3 is welded to the inner wall surfaces in the vicinity of both ends of the flat discharge vessel 1, whereby an airtight space S is formed inside the discharge vessel 1, and excimer discharge is generated inside the airtight space S. And a pair of external electrodes 2 for generating excimer discharge in the discharge vessel 1 are arranged so as to face each other with the airtight space S in the discharge vessel 1 interposed therebetween. .
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the sealing member. The inner wall surface in the vicinity of both ends of the discharge vessel 1 is provided with a plate-shaped sealing member or a sealing member 3 in which a gas introduction portion 31 and a flange portion 32 for introducing a discharge gas are connected. The airtight space is formed in the discharge vessel.

  The hermetic space S of the discharge vessel 1 is filled with, for example, a rare gas such as xenon gas or a mixture of a rare gas and a halogen gas such as chlorine gas as a discharge gas, and excimer light having different wavelengths depending on the type of gas. Can emit light. The discharge gas is usually filled at a pressure of about 10 to 100 KPa.

The excimer lamp of the present invention shown in FIG. 2 has an effect of generating an elastic force at the winding location by winding the linear member 7 around the recess. This is because when the linear member 7 is wound with a certain tension, the linear member 7 acts like a string and stretches, and the bundle of the linear members 7 wound around the recess W This is an effect due to the fact that a number of gaps are generated. Due to this effect, the discharge vessel 1 can be pressed into the base member 61 and fixed.
Further, by winding the linear member 7 around the concave portion W of the discharge vessel 1, a uniform thickness can be provided around the discharge vessel 1. Therefore, when the discharge vessel 1 in which the linear member 7 is sufficiently wound around the concave portion W is press-fitted and fixed to the base member, the gap 72 between the discharge vessel 1 and the base member 61 is kept uniform so that the discharge vessel 1 and the base member 61 are fixed. The tube axis of the discharge vessel 1 and the central axis of the base member 61 are not inclined and fixed.
In addition, the number of windings of the linear member 7 can be appropriately changed depending on the material, dimensions, shape, weight, and the like of the discharge vessel 1 and the base member 61, and appropriate fixing can be performed according to the product.

  The lead 55 connected to the external electrode 2 is wound around and fixed to the linear member 7 similarly to the concave portion W, or is fixed between the linear member 7 and the base member 61, and the lead 55 is provided on the base member 61. It is wired to an external power supply through a lead introduction hole. Thereby, when the discharge vessel 1 is press-fitted and fixed to the base member 61, the lead 55 is held by the linear member 7 or the base member 61, and the connection between the external electrode 2 and the lead is secured to protect the power feeding structure. it can.

As the material used for the linear member 7, a ceramic yarn that is excellent in electrical insulation and heat resistance, mainly composed of ceramic, is suitable. An example is Nichibi Alf (registered trademark) of Nichibi Corporation. This is composed of 72% Al ₂ O _{3 and} 28% SiO ₂ , bundled with fibers having a fiber diameter of several μm. A linear member in which fibers having a minute fiber diameter are bundled is rich in elasticity in addition to strength and heat insulation.
Moreover, a metal and a conductor can also be used as a material used for the linear member 7. In this case, by applying a sufficient insulating film to the lead 55, the discharge breakdown and the discharge phenomenon between the lead 55 and the linear member can be suppressed.

In the manufacture of the excimer lamp of the present invention, welding of the flange portion 32 of the sealing member 3 and the inner wall surface of the discharge vessel 1 and introduction of the discharge gas into the discharge vessel 1 are performed based on the procedure shown in FIG. .
(A) Inside the discharge vessel component 1 ′ to be the discharge vessel 1, the tip of the gas introduction part 31 of the sealing member 3 exceeds the outer end surfaces of the discharge vessel component 1 ′ and the discharge vessel component 1 ′ The sealing member 3 is arranged so that it extends outward and the central axis of the gas introduction part 31 coincides with the tube axis of the discharge vessel component 1 ′.
(B) Each outer wall surface area of the discharge vessel constituting member 1 ′ corresponding to the outer peripheral edge 321 of the flange portion 32 of the sealing member 3 is heated by a heating means such as a burner, and the inner wall surface of the discharge vessel constituting member 1 ′ is The welded portion W is formed by welding the outer peripheral edge 321 of each flange portion 32.
(C) The xenon gas is introduced into the discharge vessel constituting member 1 ′ from the opening 34 on the distal end side of the gas introducing portion 31 of the sealing member 3.
(D) The closed portion 35 is formed by closing the opening on the distal end side of each gas introducing portion 31 by heating and melting the distal end portion of the gas introducing portion 31 of the sealing member 3 with a heating means such as a burner.

  According to the manufacturing process of FIG. 5, no gap is formed between the inner wall surface of the discharge vessel 1 and the flange portion 32 of the sealing member 3 and the flame of the heating means is generated during the operation (b). There is no possibility of deforming the outer peripheral edge 321 of the flange portion 32. Further, by heating from the outer wall surface of the discharge vessel 1, the heated portion of the discharge vessel 1 is reduced in diameter, and the inner wall surface of the discharge vessel 1 and the outer peripheral edge 321 of the flange portion 32 are welded. A recess W is formed in the heated portion of the wall surface. At this time, the diameter of the discharge vessel 1 and the welding of the flange portion 32 are such that the outer peripheral edge 321 of the flange portion 32 becomes a partition wall, and the discharge vessel 1 is reduced in diameter according to the outer peripheral edge 321 of the flange portion 32 and welded. Therefore, the effect that the uniform recessed part W is formed in a heating part is produced. Further, the concave portion W is easily affected by stress concentration, and there is a concern that the strength is weakened. However, the flange portion 32 embedded in the inner surface of the concave portion W serves as a screen, and the mechanical strength of the concave portion W is enhanced.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the concave portion W formed during the excimer lamp manufacturing process and the position of the flange portion 32 embedded in the tube of the discharge vessel 1 coincide with each other. Further, the flange portion 32 becomes a boundary between the discharge space side S1 and the outer space side S2.

In order to reduce the size and length of the excimer lamp, it is desirable that the region of the discharge vessel end 62 of the discharge vessel 1 on the outer space side S2 is further narrowed.
However, if the discharge vessel end 62 is shortened, the region where the base member 61 holds the discharge vessel is narrowed. In addition, the shape generated by the heat generated during the processing of the recess W strongly affects the discharge vessel end 62. It is easy to deform, and it becomes difficult to fix the conventional base member as shown in FIG. However, the excimer lamp of the present invention shown in FIG. 2 winds the linear member 7 around the recess W, presses and fixes the discharge vessel 1 to the base member 61 via the linear member 7, and The base member 61 can be fixed without being affected by the shape of the portion 62, and the obstacles associated with the shortening of the excimer lamp as described above can be avoided.

The linear member 7 is not limited to the concave portion W, but can be wound anywhere. However, the present invention specifies the concave portion W inevitably formed in the excimer lamp manufacturing process, winds the linear member 7, and the base member A special effect has been found to fix 61.
First, a flange portion 32 is embedded in the recess W, and the flange portion 32 serves as a partition for the recess W to increase the mechanical strength against compressive stress from around the recess W. Therefore, when the linear member 7 is wound around the recess W and the base member 61 is press-fitted and fixed, the compressive stress generated in the recess W can be resisted, and the recess W is hardly broken.
Further, when the discharge vessel 1 and the flange portion 32 are welded, the outer peripheral edge 321 of the flange portion 32 becomes a partition wall, and the discharge vessel 1 is uniformly reduced in diameter and welded, so that a uniform recess W is formed. Therefore, when the linear member 7 is wound around the recess W and the discharge vessel 1 is press-fitted and fixed to the base member 61 via the linear member, the gap 72 between the discharge vessel 1 and the base member 61 is kept uniform. The base member 61 can be fixed while resting.
Further, even when the shape of the discharge vessel end 62 is deformed, the tube axis of the discharge vessel 1 and the central axis of the base member 61 can be aligned and fixed, so that uniform light irradiation can be performed from the excimer lamp to the object to be processed. , Has the effect.
Further, by winding the linear member around the recess W, the position of the linear member is difficult to shift and the linear member can be easily installed at a predetermined position.

When the linear member 7 is wound around the region S1 on the discharge space side from the concave portion W, the linear member 7 partially blocks the ultraviolet irradiation of the excimer lamp, and the illuminance distribution is reduced or nonuniform. The linear member 7 is easily deteriorated or deteriorated by ultraviolet rays and heat, and the distance between the linear member 7 and the external electrode 2 provided on the outer wall surface of the discharge vessel 1 is narrowed, and the linear member 7 and the external electrode 2 In the worst case, a discharge is easily generated, and a printed electrode such as the external electrode 2 is burned, and in the worst case, it is disconnected.
Further, when the linear member 7 is wound around the region S2 on the outer space side of the recess W, that is, the discharge vessel end 62, the shape of the discharge vessel end 62 is easily deformed when the recess W is processed, and the base member 61 is fixed. Is difficult, and the base member may be tilted and fixed. Moreover, the structure which winds the linear member 7 to area | region S2 of the outer space side from the recessed part W is not an appropriate structure with respect to the request | requirement of shortening of the lamp | ramp which is a subject of this invention.

  For the above reasons, the configuration of the present invention in which the linear member 7 is wound around the recess W formed during the excimer lamp manufacturing process, and the discharge vessel is press-fitted and fixed to the base member 61 via the linear member 7 is, There is an excellent effect in that the base member 61 can be accurately fixed without obstructing the light irradiation of the excimer lamp, and the excimer lamp can be shortened.

  The fixing of the base member 61 according to the present invention has the effects of the present invention at both ends of the excimer lamp or at one side of the excimer lamp. For example, an excimer lamp having a configuration in which the left end portion is a conventional base fixing and the right end portion is a base fixing according to the present invention as shown in FIG.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Discharge container 2 External electrode 3 Sealing member 31 Gas introduction part 32 Flange part 321 Outer peripheral edge 4 Ultraviolet reflective film 5 Excimer lamp 52 External electrode 54 Base member 541 Lead holding part 542 Flat support part 55 Lead 57 End wall surface part 61 Base member 62 Discharge vessel end portion 7 Linear member 71 Press fit fixing portion 72 Gap W Welded portion, concave portion S Discharge space, airtight space S1 Discharge space side region S2 Outer space side region

Claims (2)

A flat discharge vessel is provided, a pair of electrodes is provided on the outer wall surface of the discharge vessel, a plate-shaped sealing member is provided at an end of the discharge vessel, and excimer discharge is provided in the discharge space of the discharge vessel. An excimer lamp that generates
At least one end of the discharge vessel,
A recess formed by reducing the diameter of the portion of the discharge vessel where the sealing member is located;
A linear member wound around the recess;
A base member to which the discharge vessel is press-fitted and fixed via the linear member;
Excimer lamp characterized by having.   The excimer lamp according to claim 1, wherein the linear member is an insulating material mainly composed of ceramic.

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