JP4029188B2 - Load / lock chamber mechanism of substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to eliminate particles adhering to the substrate surface by orderly and smoothing the flow state of the vent gas in the load / lock chamber, and the lower end of the upper side wall of the load / lock chamber, The present invention relates to a load / lock chamber mechanism of a substrate processing apparatus for the purpose of facilitating maintenance and cleaning in the load / lock chamber by setting the connection height with the upper end of the chamber to an appropriate height.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, since the gas diffusion filter of the load lock chamber is fixed to the top surface of the rectifying cover by the mounting cylinder, the vent gas diffuses through several holes provided in the mounting cylinder. In the load lock chamber, a flat top plate is abutted and fixed to the upper end of a cylindrical vacuum chamber.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Since the gas diffusion filter of the conventional load lock chamber is fixed by the mounting cylinder, the gas inevitably passes through the hole of the mounting cylinder wall and is diffused into the load lock chamber. It was difficult to achieve uniform gas diffusion into the lock chamber.
[0004]
Since the top plate of the load lock chamber is a flat plate, a flat top plate is fixed to the upper end opening of the load lock chamber, whereby the angle formed between the upper end opening of the load lock chamber and the top plate is increased. It was difficult to make the gas flow smooth due to a right angle or almost a right angle. In addition, a particulate dust source is likely to accumulate at each corner of the load lock chamber at a right angle or almost a right angle, and this causes a problem of being wound up by the uneven gas flow and sticking to the substrate surface. There was also.
[0005]
In addition, when the position of the upper end opening of the vacuum chamber is high, there is a problem in that maintenance cannot be performed sufficiently after the top plate is removed because the hand cannot reach the inside.
[0006]
[Means for solving the problems]
However, the present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems by diffusing gas from the entire lower periphery of the gas diffusion filter and forming the inner wall of the corner of the load lock chamber in a smooth curved surface. It is.
[0007]
Further, when configuring the side wall of the load lock chamber, the workability in the maintenance is improved by making the connecting portion at the upper end of the vacuum chamber relatively low.
[0008]
That the present invention, the top plate and the upper wall integrally formed with the cap-like body the on side wall lower end and the cap of the tubular load lock chamber and the upper portion of the vacuum chamber was constructed abutment fixed to the shaped body inside upper surface facing the top plate of the gas rectification cover which is fixed by interposing a gas flow gap, the lower end of the gas diffusion filter cover said gas rectifying top and the lower end of the gas diffusion filter the mounting cylinder fixed without interposed therebetween, the upper side of the gas diffusion filter through the top plate of the load lock chamber as well as connected to the gas introducing means, the top plate of the cap-shaped body constituting said load lock chamber The load / lock chamber mechanism of the substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that a corner inner wall in which the upper wall and the upper wall are integrally formed has a smooth curved surface. Here, the gas rectifying cover is disposed inside the top plate constituting the cap-like body and inside the upper side wall constituting the cap-like body. -It is a lock chamber mechanism.
[0009]
By adopting the configuration as described above, in the load lock chamber mechanism of the present invention, no mounting cylinder is interposed between the lower end of the gas diffusion filter and the upper surface of the gas rectifying cover. As a result, gas diffusion from the lower end of the gas diffusion filter is performed uniformly over the entire periphery of the load lock chamber. In addition, the inner wall of the corner of the load lock chamber is formed into a smooth curved surface, so that the smooth flow of gas is not disturbed at each corner, and a particulate dust source accumulates at each corner. Can also be prevented.
[0010]
With these configurations, the flow of vent gas at the time of venting can be performed uniformly and smoothly, and there is no turbulent flow of gas when the pressure in the load lock chamber changes from vacuum to atmospheric pressure or vice versa. It is possible to prevent particles from adhering to the substrate surface by winding up the particle generation source of particles in the interior.
[0011]
Further, the workability during maintenance or cleaning can be improved by fixing the lower end portion of the upper side wall of the load / lock chamber to the upper end portion of the vacuum chamber.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the present invention, the lower end of the gas diffusion filter is fixed to the upper surface of the gas rectifying cover that is fixed inside the top plate of the load lock chamber with a gas flow gap interposed therebetween, and the upper end side of the gas diffusion filter is In addition to being connected to the gas introduction means via the top plate of the lock chamber, the corner inner wall of the load lock chamber is formed into a smooth curved surface to facilitate the smooth flow of the vent gas.
[0013]
Further, by appropriately determining the connection height of the upper end of the vacuum chamber on the side wall of the load / lock chamber, workability is improved in maintenance performed by opening.
[0014]
[Example 1]
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 shows a conventional load lock chamber. In explaining the preferred embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, the same operation as that of the conventional example of FIG. 2 is made easy to compare with the conventional example. The part which performs is demonstrated using the same name.
[0015]
The load lock chamber 3 is configured by abutting and fixing the lower end of the side wall of the cap-shaped body 1 integrally formed with the top plate 1a and the upper side wall 1b and the upper end of the cylindrical vacuum chamber 2, and the cap-shaped A filter hole 4 is provided in the central portion of the top plate 1 a of the body 1, a gas diffusion filter 5 is inserted into the filter hole 4 through an annular gap 6, and a lower end thereof is fixed to the rectifying cover 7. The rectifying cover 7 is fixed to the inner wall of the cap 1 through a vent gas flow gap of a predetermined size to the inside of the cap 1. The corners A and B of the cap-like body 1 of the load lock chamber 3 are curved to be relatively large so that the vent gas flows smoothly as indicated by arrows 16 and 17. In the figure, 8 is a vent gas introduction pipe, 9 and 10 are large and small gas introduction valves, 11 is an exhaust pump, 12 is an exhaust valve, 13 is a wafer, 14 is a wafer cassette, and 15 is a cover of a gas diffusion filter.
[0016]
FIG. 2 shows a load lock chamber 23 currently used. The load lock chamber 23 fixes a flat top plate 24 onto a cylindrical vacuum chamber 25, and a gas diffusion filter 26 is inserted into the central portion of the top plate 24. It is fixed to the rectifying cover 28. According to the load lock chamber 23, the vent gas flows as indicated by arrows 29 and 30, and turbulent flow occurs as indicated by arrows 31 and 32, so that dust or wafers 33 collected in the corners a and b are collected. Since particles adhering to the back surface of the wafer are raised and adhered to the surface of the wafer 33, particles are generated. Therefore, in order to eliminate the particles, it is necessary that no turbulent flow occurs when the vent gas flows in. In the figure, 8 is a vent gas introduction pipe, and 22 is an exhaust pump.
[0017]
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the load / lock chamber 3 transfers the wafers in the cassette in the autoloader by the autoloader transfer robot in the atmospheric state. Thereafter, the load / lock chamber is evacuated by an exhaust pump, taken out one by one by a transfer robot in the SEP chamber, and transferred to the processing chamber. Once processing in the processing chamber is complete, all substrates are collected into the load lock chamber. After that, when the load / lock chamber is set to atmospheric pressure and the atmospheric pressure is reached, the substrate in the load / lock chamber is transferred to the cassette by the transfer robot in the autoloader, and the processing is completed.
[0018]
In the above, in order to set the load / lock chamber to atmospheric pressure, the cassette 14 is first raised to the upper limit 21 as indicated by an arrow 19 and then the valve 12 of the exhaust pump 11 is closed. Next, the smaller gas introduction valve 9 is opened to introduce a small amount of gas as indicated by arrow 18, and then after the appropriate time (about 30 to 60 seconds) has elapsed, the larger gas introduction valve 10 is opened to introduce gas. To do.
[0019]
In the above, when the vent gas is rapidly introduced, turbulent flow is generated in the vent gas, and dust attached to the load / lock chamber may rise, so that the gas is introduced slowly.
[0020]
In the present invention, if the gas is not rapidly introduced, the vent gas rectifies as shown by arrows 16 and 17 and flows smoothly, so that there is no possibility that the wafer 13 will become dusty. According to the result of the experiment, it can be sufficiently achieved even under the severe condition that the size is 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm or more and the number of particles is 1 or less. When the inside of the load lock chamber 3 reaches the atmospheric pressure, the cassette 14 is lowered as indicated by an arrow 20.
[0021]
The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described here are intended to limit the scope of the present invention unless otherwise specified. It is not described here but merely as an example. That is, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the technical scope of the invention disclosed in this specification.
[0022]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the gas is diffused from the four sides of the gas diffusion filter, and the corner portion in the load lock chamber forms a relatively large curved surface to prevent the turbulent flow of the vent gas. There are various effects such as that dust in the load / lock chamber does not fly up or adhere to the wafer.
[0023]
Further, since the contact portion between the lower end portion of the upper side wall of the load lock chamber and the upper end portion of the vacuum chamber is made relatively low, there is an effect that maintenance work such as cleaning in the vacuum chamber can be rationalized.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view in which a part of an embodiment of the present invention is omitted.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view in which a part of a conventional load / lock chamber is omitted.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cap-shaped body 2 Vacuum chamber 3 Load lock chamber 4 Filter hole 5 Gas diffusion filter 6 Annular gap 7 Cover for rectification 8 Vent gas introduction pipe 9, 10 Gas introduction valve 11 Exhaust pump 12 Exhaust valve 13 Wafer 14 Wafer cassette 15 Gas diffusion Filter cover

Claims (2)

The on sidewall lower end a cylindrical vacuum chamber upper portion and an abutment fixed to configure the load lock chamber said cap-like body inside the gas of the top plate and the upper side wall and the integrally-formed cap-shaped body the upper surface facing the top plate of the gas rectification cover which is fixed with intervening flow gap, the mounting cylinder of the lower end of the gas diffusion filter between the lower end of the upper surface and the gas diffusion filter cover said gas rectification fixed without interposed, the upper side of the gas diffusion filter through the top plate of the load lock chamber as well as connected to the gas introducing means, and the top plate and the upper wall of the cap-like body constituting said load lock chamber A load / lock chamber mechanism of a substrate processing apparatus, wherein an integrally formed corner inner wall is formed into a smooth curved surface. 2. The load of the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gas rectifying cover is disposed inside a top plate constituting the cap-like body and inside an upper side wall constituting the cap-like body. -Lock chamber mechanism.

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