JP3276382B2 - Vacuum processing device and vacuum processing method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a vacuum processing apparatus and a vacuum processing apparatus.
Regarding the empty processing method .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vacuum processing apparatus for accommodating an object to be processed in a vacuum processing chamber and performing predetermined processing on the object to be processed in a reduced-pressure atmosphere, for example, an etching apparatus, an ashing apparatus, an ion implantation apparatus, a sputtering apparatus, A low-pressure CVD apparatus and the like are known.

In such a vacuum processing apparatus, once the inside of the vacuum processing chamber is returned to normal pressure, the vacuum processing chamber is set to a predetermined degree of vacuum again, and it takes a very long time before the next processing can be started. Takes a long time. For this reason, a preliminary vacuum chamber having a smaller volume than that of the vacuum processing chamber is provided, that is, a so-called load lock chamber, and only the load lock chamber is returned to normal pressure. Many are configured to be carried in and out of a vacuum processing chamber.

FIG. 6 shows a structure of an etching apparatus as an example of such a conventional vacuum processing apparatus. In a vacuum processing chamber 50 whose inside can be hermetically closed, a lower electrode 52 serving as a wafer mounting table on which a semiconductor wafer 51 can be mounted is provided on the upper portion. This lower electrode 5
2 is provided with a wafer clamp mechanism 54 driven by the drive mechanism 53 to press and hold the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer 51. The lower electrode 52 is provided with a cooling mechanism 55 for cooling the semiconductor wafer 51 by circulating a cooling gas, for example, a helium gas.

A disk-shaped upper electrode 56 is provided above the lower electrode 52. A large number of pores (not shown) are provided on the lower surface of the upper electrode 56, and a predetermined etching gas supplied from the processing gas supply pipe 57 is placed on the lower electrode 52 from these pores. It is configured to supply the semiconductor wafer 51 to the semiconductor wafer 51. Between the upper electrode 56 and the lower electrode 52,
It is configured such that a high-frequency voltage can be applied from a high-frequency power supply (not shown).

Further, a vacuum exhaust pipe 58 connected to a vacuum exhaust pump (not shown) is connected to the vacuum processing chamber 50 so that the inside of the vacuum processing chamber 50 can be set to a predetermined degree of vacuum. A loading / unloading port 59 for loading and unloading the semiconductor wafer 51 is provided at a side of the vacuum processing chamber 50. The loading / unloading port 59 is provided with the loading / unloading port 59 in an airtight manner. A gate valve 60 for closing is provided. A load lock chamber (preliminary vacuum chamber) 61 is provided outside the gate valve 60. A vacuum exhaust pipe 62 connected to a vacuum exhaust pump (not shown) and a gas introduction pipe 63 for supplying a predetermined cleaning gas, for example, nitrogen gas, are connected to the load lock chamber 61. It is configured so that it can be set once or returned to atmospheric pressure for release. A transfer arm 64 for transferring the semiconductor wafer 51 is provided in the load lock chamber 61.
The loading / unloading port 6 for loading and unloading the semiconductor wafer 51 is provided at the side of the load lock chamber 61.
5 are provided. The loading / unloading port 65 has a gate valve 66 for airtightly closing the loading / unloading port 65.
Is provided. The outside of the gate valve 66 is set at atmospheric pressure, and for example, an autoloader 67 on which a wafer carrier (not shown) is arranged is arranged.

[0007] First, the load lock chamber 61 is set to atmospheric pressure, the gate valve 66 is opened, and the semiconductor wafer 51 is moved by the transfer arm 64 to the load lock chamber 61.
After that, the gate valve 66 is closed to set the inside of the load lock chamber 61 to a predetermined degree of vacuum. Thereafter, the gate valve 60 is opened to place the semiconductor wafer 51 on the lower electrode of the vacuum processing chamber 50. It is configured to be. By loading the semiconductor wafer 51 through the load lock chamber 61 in this manner, the semiconductor wafer 51 can be loaded without returning the inside of the vacuum processing chamber 50 to atmospheric pressure. When the semiconductor wafer 51 is carried out, a procedure reverse to the above procedure is performed.

In the vacuum processing chamber 50, the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer 51 is pressed and held by the wafer clamp mechanism 54, and while the semiconductor wafer 51 is cooled by the cooling mechanism 55, an etching gas is supplied from the lower surface of the upper electrode 56. This etching gas is activated by a high-frequency voltage or the like applied between the lower electrode 52 and the upper electrode 56, so that the semiconductor wafer 5
1 is subjected to an etching process. At this time, evacuation is performed by the evacuation piping 58, and the inside of the vacuum processing chamber 50 is maintained at a predetermined degree of vacuum.

However, in such a vacuum processing apparatus, for example, a reaction product generated in the vacuum processing chamber 50, dust generated from a mechanical driving unit such as the gate valves 60 and 66, a transfer mechanism of the workpiece, and the like. A large number of so-called particles exist in the load lock chamber 61. Then, when the particles are evacuated from the load lock chamber 61 or when a gas such as nitrogen gas is introduced into the load lock chamber 61 to return to normal pressure and released to the atmosphere, the particles soar due to a sudden gas flow. However, there is a problem that it adheres to the semiconductor wafer 51 and the like. It is estimated that the number of dust soaring into the load lock chamber 61 in this way is, for example, tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands in the number of dust of 0.5 μm or more.
This problem of dust adhesion is a particularly serious problem in the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices using the semiconductor wafer 51 and the like, because it causes defects and lowers the yield.

Therefore, in the conventional vacuum processing apparatus, the vacuum evacuation in the load lock chamber 61 and the load lock chamber 61
The so-called slow exhaust and slow vent, which slowly and gradually introduces gas into the inside, suppresses the soaring of particles in the load lock chamber 61.

[0011]

However, in the above-described conventional vacuum processing apparatus, since the rising of dust in the load lock chamber is suppressed by the slow exhaust and the slow vent, it takes time for the vacuum exhaust and release to the atmosphere, and the throughput is reduced. And the problem of
Since it is difficult to completely prevent dust from rising even when slow exhausting, slow venting, and the like are performed, there is a problem in that dust adheres to a semiconductor wafer or the like, causing a defect, and lowering the yield.

The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional situation, and does not perform slow exhaust and slow vent, and does not cause complication of an apparatus configuration and the like.
Vacuum that can prevent dust that has blown up when performing vacuum evacuation from the load lock chamber and introducing gas into the load lock chamber from adhering to the workpiece, thereby improving throughput and improving yield. Processing equipment and
And a vacuum processing method .

[0013]

Means for Solving the Problems That is, the vacuum processing apparatus of the present invention according to claim 1, a vacuum processing chamber for performing a predetermined process on a target object, the preliminary vacuum chamber configured to be capable of evacuating the interior And a vacuum processing apparatus configured to carry in the object to be processed into the vacuum processing chamber and to carry out the processing object from the vacuum processing chamber via the preliminary vacuum chamber. A vertically movable stage for mounting the workpiece, an exhaust pipe provided at the bottom, a recess formed at the ceiling, a hermetic seal member provided around the recess, and one end The side wall of the recess or
A gas passage that opens to the ceiling and communicates with the recess and a space other than the recess in the vacuum preliminary chamber; and a dust removal filter inserted in the gas passage. When the stage is raised to bring the peripheral portion of the stage into contact with the hermetic seal member, a small space capable of accommodating the object to be processed is formed between the recess and the stage, Is connected to a space other than the small space of the preliminary vacuum chamber through only the gas flow path.

Further, the invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the dust removing filter is provided outside the preliminary vacuum chamber. Further, the invention according to claim 3 provides
A vacuum processing chamber for performing predetermined processing on the processing object, and the inside of the processing chamber is evacuated.
An auxiliary vacuum chamber configured to be capable of
Loading the object to be processed into the vacuum processing chamber through the chamber
And configured to carry out from the vacuum processing chamber.
In the vacuum processing apparatus, the preliminary vacuum chamber, the object to be punished
And vertically movable stage for placing the physical object, the bottom
The exhaust pipe provided, the recess formed in the ceiling, and the front
An airtight seal member provided around the recess and one end
An opening is formed in the side wall or the ceiling of the recess, and the recess and the drain are opened.
A gas flow path for gas pipes and communicating, interposed in the gas passage
Equipped with a dust removal filter for vacuum evacuation
Then, raise the stage to remove the peripheral edge of the stage.
When brought into contact with the hermetic seal member, the recess is
There is a small space between the cottages that can accommodate the workpiece.
The small space is provided with the exhaust distribution only through the gas flow path.
It is characterized by communicating with a pipe. Further, the invention according to claim 4 includes a vacuum processing chamber for performing a predetermined processing on the object to be processed, and a preliminary vacuum chamber configured to be able to evacuate the inside, and the processing target is processed via the preliminary vacuum chamber. A vacuum processing method using a vacuum processing apparatus configured to carry an object into and out of the vacuum processing chamber, wherein the object is placed on a stage in the preliminary vacuum chamber. And elevating the stage to form an airtight small space capable of accommodating an object to be processed by being brought into contact with an airtight seal member provided around a recess formed in a ceiling portion of the preliminary vacuum chamber. A step of exhausting the preliminary vacuum chamber from an exhaust pipe provided at the bottom of the preliminary vacuum chamber, and a step of lowering the stage after the degree of vacuum in the preliminary vacuum chamber increases, In the exhaust process, Serial small spaces space communicating with other than the small spaces of the preliminary vacuum chamber only through the gas flow path side wall or open <br/> dust removing filter the ceiling portion is inserted in one end of said recess It is characterized by doing.

[0015]

In the vacuum processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, a small space capable of accommodating an object to be processed is provided in an upper part of the preliminary vacuum chamber, that is, the load lock chamber. A gas passage is provided through a dust removal filter that communicates the space with the other load lock chamber.

[0016]

Then, when performing vacuum evacuation from the load lock chamber and introduction of gas at the time of release to the atmosphere, the processing object is temporarily evacuated into the small space by raising the processing object, for example. .

Therefore, it is possible to prevent the dust flying in the load lock chamber from adhering to the processing object without performing slow exhaust, slow venting, etc., and to improve the throughput and the yield. it can.
In addition, for example, since a plurality of exhaust systems, gas introduction systems, and the like are not required, the configuration of the apparatus and the like are not complicated.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a vacuum processing apparatus for performing a predetermined process on a semiconductor wafer in a vacuum atmosphere will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vacuum processing apparatus 1 includes:
Vacuum processing chamber 2, load lock chamber 3, autoloader 4
Is provided.

On the autoloader 4, a wafer carrier 6 configured to accommodate a plurality of, for example, 25 semiconductor wafers 5 is placed, and a plurality of carrier elevators 7 for vertically moving the wafer carrier 6 and the semiconductor wafers 5 are transferred. A transfer arm 8 is provided. Then, the semiconductor wafer 5 in the wafer carrier 6 is sequentially set to a predetermined height by moving the wafer carrier 6 up and down by the carrier elevator 7, and the semiconductor wafer 5 set to this predetermined height by the transfer arm 8 is moved. It is configured to be taken out and carried into the load lock chamber 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, the load lock chamber 3
It is formed in a container shape from a material such as aluminum or the like, and has openings 9 and 10 for carrying in and out, respectively, on the vacuum processing chamber 2 side and the load lock chamber 3 side. These openings 9 and 10 are provided with gate valves 11 and 12 configured to be able to close the openings 9 and 10 in an airtight manner, respectively. Further, a wafer stage 13 configured to be vertically movable is provided inside the load lock chamber 3.
The semiconductor wafer 5 loaded by the transfer arm 8 of the autoloader 4 is configured to be mounted on the wafer stage 13.

A circular recess 14 is formed in the ceiling above the wafer stage 13 so as to form a small space for accommodating the semiconductor wafer 5. An air-tight sealing member is provided around the recess 14. For example, an O-ring 15 is provided. Then, by raising the wafer stage 13, the semiconductor wafer 5 is accommodated in the concave portion 14, and the periphery of the wafer stage 13 is brought into contact with the O-ring 15 to hermetically close the space therebetween. I have. Further, a plurality of gas flow paths 16 are provided so as to communicate between the inside of the recess 14 closed in an airtight manner and the other load lock chambers 3 as described above.
, A dust removing filter 17 is interposed.

The dust removing filter 17 is detachably formed in a unit shape so as to be replaceable. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a glass fiber filter 17 is made of a material such as aluminum. Is formed by folding and filling a filter 17b formed into a paper by compressing the filter 17b. The filter container 17a is provided with openings 17c and 17d for gas flow.
On the d side, an O-ring 17e as a hermetic sealing member and a screw hole 17f for attachment are provided. And FIG.
The screw 18 is loosened and the cover 18 of the load lock chamber 3 shown in FIG. 3 is removed, and the dust removing filter 17 is attached to the load lock chamber 3 by a screw (not shown) through the screw hole 17f in this state. ing.

Further, for example, an exhaust pipe 20 connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) is provided at the bottom of the load lock chamber 3.
And a gas supply source (not shown), for example, a gas introduction pipe 21 connected to a nitrogen gas supply mechanism.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the vacuum processing chamber 2, similarly to the transfer arm 22 and the etching apparatus shown in FIG. 6, a wafer mounting table (lower electrode), not shown, and a vacuum processing mechanism are provided. The semiconductor wafer 5 placed on the wafer stage 13 in the load lock chamber 3 is carried into the vacuum processing chamber 2 by the transfer arm 22 and placed on the wafer mounting table under a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere. The semiconductor wafer 5 is configured to perform a predetermined etching process. This process is, for example, an ashing process, an ion implantation process, a sputtering process, a low-pressure CVD process, or the like, in addition to the etching process.

The vacuum processing chamber 2 is provided with a load lock chamber 3 and an autoloader 4 dedicated to unloading, which are not shown. The semiconductor wafer 5 having undergone the above-described processing is carried out and is accommodated in a predetermined wafer carrier 6. Such loading and unloading of the semiconductor wafer 5 can be performed by one load lock chamber 3 and one autoloader 4 as in the etching apparatus shown in FIG. 6, but in this case, the throughput is reduced.

The vacuum processing apparatus of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration is controlled by a control device (not shown) composed of a microprocessor and the like, and processes the semiconductor wafer 5 by the following operation.

That is, first, the gate valve 12 is opened with the load lock chamber 3 at normal pressure, and the transfer arm 8 is opened.
Thereby, one predetermined semiconductor wafer 5 in the wafer carrier 6 is taken out. At this time, the carrier elevator 7
Thereby, the wafer carrier 6 is set to a predetermined height position corresponding to the height of the transfer arm 8.

Next, the semiconductor wafer 5 is transferred by contracting and rotating the transfer arm 8 and is placed on the wafer stage 13 in the load lock chamber 3. And
After retreating the transfer arm 8, the gate valve 12 is closed.

Thereafter, the wafer stage 13 is raised,
As shown in FIG. 2, the semiconductor wafer 5 is housed in the recess 14, and the semiconductor wafer 5 is hermetically sealed in the recess 14 by bringing the wafer stage 13 into contact with the O-ring 15.
Then, the load lock chamber 3 is evacuated through the exhaust pipe 20, and the load lock chamber 3 is evacuated to a predetermined degree of vacuum, for example, 10 ^−5.
Set to ~ 10 ^-6 Torr. At this time, so-called slow exhaust is not performed, but rapid exhaust is performed. As a result, dust in the load lock chamber 3 rises, but the semiconductor wafer 5
The dust is not attached to the semiconductor wafer 5 because it is isolated inside, and the exhaust is performed quickly, so that the exhaust time can be greatly reduced as compared with the case of performing the slow exhaust.

The exhaust gas in the recess 14 is supplied to the gas passage 16
However, since the dust removal filter 17 is inserted in the gas flow path 16, the dust soaring into the load lock chamber 3 does not enter the recess 14.
It does not adhere to the semiconductor wafer 5. On the other hand, the dust soared up due to the rapid evacuation falls to the bottom of the load lock chamber 3 as the degree of vacuum increases.

In this way, when the degree of vacuum in the load lock chamber 3 is increased to some extent and the soaring dust falls to the bottom, the wafer stage 13 is then lowered to a predetermined position. Then, the gate valve 11 is opened, and the semiconductor wafer 5 is carried by the transfer arm 22 into the vacuum processing chamber 2 set to a predetermined degree of vacuum in advance, and is mounted on a wafer mounting table (not shown).

Thereafter, the gate valve 11 is closed, and the above-described predetermined processing is performed on the semiconductor wafer 5 in the vacuum processing chamber 2.

When unloading the semiconductor wafer 5 which has been processed in the vacuum processing chamber 2, the unloading load lock chamber and the autoloader (not shown) configured similarly to the load lock chamber 3 and the autoloader 4 are used. Through,
The semiconductor wafer 5 in the vacuum processing chamber 2 is carried out.

Also in this case, the semiconductor wafer 5 taken out into the load lock chamber for unloading is loaded into the recess 1 as shown in FIG.
4 in an airtight state, and in this state, the gas introduction pipe 2
From step 1, a predetermined purified gas, for example, nitrogen gas, is introduced into the load lock chamber for unloading, and the pressure in the load lock chamber for unloading is returned to normal pressure. At this time, so-called slow venting is not performed. For this reason, dust in the load lock chamber for carrying out rises, but the semiconductor wafer 5 is isolated in the concave portion 14, and the dust in the gas flowing into the concave portion 14 through the gas flow path 16 is filtered by the dust removing filter. 17 removes the dust from the semiconductor wafer 5. Further, the time required for venting can be significantly reduced as compared with the case of performing slow venting.

As described above, in this embodiment, the semiconductor wafer 4 is isolated in the recess 14 provided above the load lock chamber 3 when the load lock chamber 3 is evacuated and gas is introduced. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the dust that has soared into the load lock chamber 3 due to the gas flow from adhering to the semiconductor wafer 5. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of defects due to the adhesion of dust,
The yield can be improved. In addition, since exhaust and gas introduction can be performed rapidly, the time required for these can be shortened, and the throughput can be improved as compared with the related art.

The interior of the recess 14 and the other load lock chambers 3 are communicated by a gas passage 16 in which a dust removing filter 17 is inserted. Since gas is introduced, for example, the concave portion 1
There is no need to provide a separate exhaust system, gas introduction system, and the like for exhaust and gas introduction in the apparatus 4, and the apparatus configuration does not become complicated.

Further, since a small space for isolating the semiconductor wafer 5 is provided in the upper part of the load lock chamber 3, the semiconductor wafer 5 can be isolated only by slightly raising the semiconductor wafer 5, and the semiconductor wafer 5 can be quickly isolated. And the generation of dust can be suppressed by minimizing the mechanical movement.

In the above-described embodiment, the embodiment in which the dust removing filter 17 is accommodated in the load lock chamber 3 has been described. However, as shown in FIG.
0 is provided outside the load lock chamber 3, and the inside of the concave portion 14 and the other load lock
May be configured to communicate with.

As shown in FIG. 5, a pipe 40 connected to the concave portion 14 is led out, a dust removing filter 41 is inserted into the pipe 40, and the pipe 40 is connected to the exhaust pipe 20 connected to the vacuum pump 42. You may make it. In the figure, reference numeral 43 denotes a valve inserted in the exhaust pipe 20. By doing so, the dust removal filter 41 can be arranged at a desired position, and maintenance such as replacement can be easily performed.

Although the above embodiment has been described with respect to an example in which the transfer arms 8 and 22 for transferring the semiconductor wafer 5 are provided in the vacuum processing chamber 2 and the autoloader 4, respectively, Even when a transfer arm for transferring the wafer 5 is provided, the present invention can be similarly applied by moving the transfer arm in the load lock chamber 3 up and down. In addition, the object to be processed is not limited to a semiconductor wafer, and can be similarly applied to, for example, an apparatus for processing a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display or the like. Further, the mechanism for forming the small space for isolating the semiconductor wafer 5 is not limited to the recess 14 and the O-ring 15 described above, and can be appropriately changed.

The vacuum processing apparatus of the present invention accommodates a vacuum processing object and performs a predetermined processing on the processing object under a reduced pressure atmosphere, for example, an etching apparatus, an ashing apparatus, an ion implantation apparatus, a sputtering apparatus, a decompression apparatus, and the like. It can be used for a CVD device or the like.

As described above, the vacuum processing apparatus of the present invention
Further , according to the vacuum processing method , it is possible to prevent dust soared up during vacuum evacuation from the load lock chamber and gas introduction into the load lock chamber from adhering to the processing object.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a vacuum processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a load lock chamber of the vacuum processing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a dust removal filter in the load lock chamber of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a load lock chamber of a vacuum processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a load lock chamber of a vacuum processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional etching apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum processing apparatus 2 Vacuum processing chamber 3 Load lock chamber 4 Autoloader 5 Semiconductor wafer 6 Wafer carrier 7 Carrier elevator 8 Transfer arm 9,10 Opening 11,12 Gate valve 13 Wafer stage 14 Depression 15 O-ring 16 Gas flow path 17 Dust removal Filter 18 lid 19 screw 20 exhaust pipe 21 gas introduction pipe 22 transfer arm

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI H01L 21/205 H01L 21/205 21/3065 21/302 C

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A vacuum processing chamber for performing a predetermined process on an object to be processed, and a preliminary vacuum chamber configured to be able to evacuate the inside thereof, and the vacuum of the object to be processed is provided through the preliminary vacuum chamber. In a vacuum processing apparatus configured to carry in and out of the processing chamber, the preliminary vacuum chamber includes a stage that can move up and down for mounting the object to be processed, and a bottom stage. Exhaust pipe, a recess formed in the ceiling, a hermetic seal member provided around the recess, and one end opened to the side wall or the ceiling of the recess. A gas flow path communicating with a space other than the concave portion; and a dust removal filter interposed in the gas flow path. When evacuating, the stage is raised to remove a peripheral edge of the stage. Abutted against the hermetic seal member A small space capable of accommodating an object to be processed is formed between the concave portion and the stage, and the small space communicates with a space other than the small space of the preliminary vacuum chamber via only the gas flow path. Vacuum processing apparatus characterized by performing. 2. The dust removing filter is provided outside the preliminary vacuum chamber.
The vacuum processing apparatus according to item 1. 3. A vacuum processing chamber for performing a predetermined process on an object to be processed, and a preliminary vacuum chamber configured to be able to evacuate the inside thereof, wherein the vacuum of the object to be processed is provided via the preliminary vacuum chamber. In a vacuum processing apparatus configured to carry in and out of the processing chamber, the preliminary vacuum chamber includes a stage that can move up and down for mounting the object to be processed, and a bottom stage. A recess formed in the ceiling, a hermetic seal member provided around the recess, and one end opened to the side wall or the ceiling of the recess to communicate with the recess and the exhaust pipe. And a dust removal filter inserted in the gas flow path, and when performing vacuum evacuation, raise the stage to abut the peripheral edge of the stage against the airtight seal member. When it is Between stage small space capable of accommodating an object to be processed is formed, the small space is a vacuum processing apparatus characterized by communicating with the exhaust pipe only through the gas passage. 4. A vacuum processing chamber for performing predetermined processing on an object to be processed, and a preliminary vacuum chamber configured to be able to evacuate the inside thereof, wherein the vacuum processing of the object to be processed is performed via the preliminary vacuum chamber. A vacuum processing method using a vacuum processing device configured to carry in and out of the vacuum processing chamber, wherein the process target is placed on a stage in the preliminary vacuum chamber, and Raising a stage to form an airtight small space capable of accommodating an object to be processed by contacting with an airtight seal member provided around a recess formed in a ceiling portion of the preliminary vacuum chamber; An exhausting step of exhausting the preliminary vacuum chamber from an exhaust pipe provided at the bottom of the vacuum chamber; and a step of lowering the stage after the degree of vacuum in the preliminary vacuum chamber is increased. the small space Wherein the end recess
A vacuum processing method characterized by communicating with a space other than the small space of the preliminary vacuum chamber only through a gas flow path which is opened to a side wall or a ceiling and has a dust removal filter interposed therebetween.