JP4936730B2 - Vacuum container and vacuum processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a decompression container and a decompression processing apparatus, and in particular, dry etching, film formation, transportation under reduced pressure on a glass substrate for a flat panel display (FPD) such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a plasma display, The present invention relates to a technique applied to a decompression container and a decompression processing apparatus used when performing decompression processing such as alignment.

  For example, in an LCD manufacturing process, a reduced pressure process such as dry etching, sputtering, and CVD (chemical vapor deposition) is frequently used for an LCD glass substrate as a substrate to be processed.

  In a decompression processing apparatus that performs such decompression processing, a vacuum preparatory chamber is provided adjacent to a vacuum processing chamber in which the processing is performed in a decompressed state, for example, held in a vacuum, and a vacuum is provided when a substrate to be processed is carried in and out. It has a structure that minimizes atmospheric fluctuations in the processing chamber.

  Specifically, for example, a load lock chamber having a role of an interface between the atmosphere side and the vacuum side is provided as a vacuum preparatory chamber between a cassette disposed in the atmosphere and a vacuum processing chamber for performing an etching process or the like. It has been. In this load lock chamber, every time the substrate to be processed is passed, the release of the atmosphere and the exhaust to a high vacuum equivalent to the vacuum processing chamber are repeated. In a decompression container used for a load lock chamber, a connecting portion of constituent members, for example, a joint portion between a container main body and a lid body is sealed with a sealing member such as an O-ring in order to ensure hermeticity. Yes.

  By the way, recently, there is a strong demand for large-size LCD glass substrates, and large substrates with a side exceeding 2 m have been used. In order to accommodate and process such huge substrates, the decompression vessel is also large. Is progressing. When the decompression container is increased in size, the amount of bending of a member constituting the decompression container, for example, a lid, is increased due to a pressure difference between the inside and outside of the decompression container during vacuum. When the angle of the joint surface between the lid and the container main body changes due to this bending, the container main body and the lid are in direct contact with each other, and particles due to the metal material constituting both members are generated. In particular, when the vacuum state and the atmosphere open state are repeated as in the vacuum preparatory chamber, the lid body and the container main body are repeatedly brought into sliding contact with each other due to the bending of the lid body and the recovery thereof, and a part of them. The particles are more likely to be generated, for example, by peeling off or being scraped off.

For the purpose of preventing the generation of particles due to the above reasons, the amount of bending in a decompressed state is taken into consideration at the inner part of the sealing material at the joint surface of the two container constituent members (for example, the container main body and the lid). A decompression vessel having a gap has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-7-273095

  The proposal in Patent Document 1 is an excellent technique in terms of particle suppression, but in order to provide a gap in the joint surface between the two container constituent members, either one of the end surfaces is cut by cutting or the like, Therefore, there are restrictions on processing such as an increase in the number of man-hours for manufacturing a decompression container and difficulty in processing with accuracy as the container becomes larger.

  Further, in the case of the decompression container of Patent Document 1, since the two container constituent materials are in direct contact with each other outside the sealing material, the outer portion is in sliding contact with each other during repeated decompression and release to the atmosphere. There is also concern about the generation.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a decompression container and a decompression processing apparatus capable of reliably preventing generation of particles due to deformation of the container. .

In order to solve the above problems, a first aspect of the present invention is a decompression container configured to be capable of decompressing the interior of the container,
While providing a groove on at least one side of the connection surface between one member and the other member constituting the decompression container, and maintaining the airtightness of the connection portion by disposing a seal member in the groove,
A spacer is inserted between the one member and the other member outside the groove while being partly inserted into the groove to be in close contact with the seal member, and viewed from the inside of the decompression vessel. A decompression container is provided, which is disposed outside a seal member .

A second aspect of the present invention is a decompression container configured to be capable of decompressing the interior of the container,
A plurality of members constituting the decompression vessel;
A groove formed on at least one side of a connection surface between one member of the plurality of members and another member connected to the member;
A seal member disposed in the groove;
A spacer that is inserted into the groove and in close contact with the seal member, and is interposed between the one member and the other member outside the groove;
The decompression container is provided , wherein the spacer is disposed outside the seal member when viewed from the inside of the decompression container.

In the first aspect or the second aspect, the cross section of the prior SL spacers are preferably has a substantially L-shaped. The seal member is preferably an O-ring having a substantially triangular cross section. Moreover, it is preferable to form unevenness on the contact surfaces of the spacer and the seal member.

  The spacer is preferably formed of a material harder than the seal member. In this case, the hardness of the spacer (JIS K6253 Shore hardness D) is preferably 50 to 70, and the hardness of the O-ring (JIS K6253 Shore hardness A) is preferably 70 to 90. The one member and the other member are preferably a decompression container body and a lid, or a decompression container body and a bottom plate.

A third aspect of the present invention is a decompression processing apparatus that performs decompression processing on an object to be processed,
Provided is a decompression processing apparatus comprising the decompression container according to the first aspect or the second aspect.

According to the present invention, a seal member and a spacer interposed between both members while being in close contact with the seal member are disposed between the connecting surfaces of the two members constituting the decompression vessel, thereby maintaining airtightness. The two members can be separated at an arbitrary interval.
Therefore, even when the container constituent member is bent while the inside of the decompression container is decompressed to a vacuum state, contact between the container constituent members is avoided. Therefore, for example, even if the pressure in the decompression container is repeated between vacuum and release to the atmosphere, particles caused by friction at the joint portion of the container constituent member are suppressed.
In addition, by using the spacer, it is possible to separate the two container constituent members without requiring high-precision cutting or the like, so that the processing of the decompression container is easy, and the number of processing steps can be increased. Absent.

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a vacuum processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the vacuum processing apparatus of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section of a vacuum preliminary chamber in the vacuum processing apparatus. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration example of a substrate transfer mechanism of a substrate transfer apparatus provided in a vacuum preliminary chamber.

  The vacuum processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a vacuum processing chamber 10 that performs a desired vacuum processing such as plasma etching processing and thin film formation processing on a substrate G such as an LCD glass substrate in a vacuum atmosphere, and the vacuum processing chamber 10. A load lock chamber 20 that is provided in series and functions as a vacuum preparatory chamber, a gate valve 30 provided between the vacuum processing chamber 10 and the load lock chamber 20, the load lock chamber 20, and an external atmosphere-side transfer mechanism 50 There is a gate valve 40 separating the two.

  A vacuum pump 60 is connected to the vacuum processing chamber 10 via an exhaust control valve 61, and vacuum exhausting to a degree of vacuum necessary for a predetermined vacuum processing of the substrate G is possible. Further, a processing gas supply unit 12 is connected to the vacuum processing chamber 10 via a gas control valve 11 so that a processing gas atmosphere of a predetermined pressure can be formed inside the vacuum processing chamber 10. Yes. A processing stage 13 is provided inside the vacuum processing chamber 10, and a substrate G to be processed is placed thereon.

  A vacuum pump 60 is connected to the load lock chamber 20 via an exhaust control valve 62, and vacuum exhaust is possible to a degree of vacuum equivalent to that of the vacuum processing chamber 10.

  The gate valve 30 communicates with the vacuum processing chamber 10 and the load lock chamber 20, and has an opening 31 having a size through which a substrate G supported by a substrate transfer mechanism 70 described later can pass, and opening / closing of the opening 31. A valve body 32 that performs the operation is provided.

  The gate valve 40 communicates with the load-lock chamber 20 and the outside atmosphere side, and an opening 41 having a size through which the substrate G supported by the atmosphere-side transport mechanism 50 can pass, and opening / closing of the opening 41 A valve element 42 for performing the operation is provided.

  The load lock chamber 20 is made of a material such as aluminum, and has a rectangular container body 21 that surrounds the inner space of the load lock chamber 20 in plan view, and a top plate 22 and a bottom plate 23 that are joined to the container body 21 from above and below. And is constituted by. Seal portions 24 and 25 are provided on the joint surface between the upper end surface of the container main body 21 and the top plate 22 and the joint surface between the lower end surface of the container main body 21 and the bottom plate 23 to ensure the airtightness of the connecting portion. ing. The configuration of the seal portions 24 and 25 will be described in detail later.

  Inside the load lock chamber 20, a direct acting substrate transfer mechanism 70 is provided. The substrate transport mechanism 70 includes a base plate 71 fixed to the bottom of the load lock chamber 20, a first slide plate 72, a second slide plate 73 and a substrate support that are stacked on the base plate 71 in multiple stages. A third slide plate 74 is also provided. The base plate 71 and the first to third slide plates 74 constitute a substrate transport mechanism main body. The base plate 71 supports a first slide plate 72 directly above and a pair of slide rails 71a that are slidably guided in a horizontal direction, and a reciprocating motion on the slide rail 71a by applying a horizontal thrust to the slide plate 72. A slide drive mechanism 71b is provided. The first slide plate 72 includes a pair of slide rails 72a that support the second slide plate 73 directly above and guide the slide plate 73 so as to be slidable in the horizontal direction. A slide drive mechanism 72b that reciprocates up is provided. The second slide plate 73 includes a pair of slide rails 73a that support the third slide plate 74 directly above and guide the second slide plate 73 so as to be slidable in the horizontal direction. The slide rails 73a are provided with a thrust in the horizontal direction. A slide drive mechanism 73b that reciprocates up is provided. The uppermost third slide plate 74 is provided with a substantially U-shaped slide pick 74a that functions as a substrate support portion that supports the lower surface of the substrate G to be placed.

  A substrate delivery mechanism 80 is provided inside the load lock chamber 20. The substrate transfer mechanism 80 is provided in the center of the bottom of the base plate 71, buffer plates 81 and 82 provided at positions sandwiching the substrate transport mechanism 70, buffer lifting mechanisms 83 and 84 for raising and lowering the buffer plates 81 and 82, and the base plate 71. A support pin 85 and a pin elevating mechanism 86 that elevates and lowers the support pin 85 are provided. The buffer plates 81 and 82 and the buffer lifting mechanisms 83 and 84 constitute a first support portion, and the support pins 85 and the pin lifting mechanism 86 constitute a second support portion.

  The substrate delivery mechanism 80 supports the peripheral portion of the substrate G supported by the slide pick 74a on the third slide plate 74 of the substrate transport mechanism 70 from below by the buffer plates 81 and 82, and from the slide pick 74a. Substrate delivery operations such as the operation of floating the substrate G and the operation of lowering the substrate G received from the atmosphere-side transport mechanism 50 onto the slide pick 74a are performed. At this time, the center of the substrate G is supported by the support pins 85.

  A pin through hole 71c, a pin through hole 72c, and a pin through hole through which the support pin 85 can pass are provided at the center of the base plate 71 and the first to third slide plates 72 to 74 constituting the substrate transport mechanism 70 described above. 73c and a pin through hole 74c are provided. In the stacked state (degenerated state) in which the first to third slide plates 72 to 74 are drawn into the load lock chamber 20, the pin through holes 71 c and the pin through holes 72 c to 74 c are in a communication state in the vertical direction. By passing through the pin through-holes 71c, 72c to 74c, the support pin 85 protrudes on the uppermost slide plate 74 and is located at the bottom center of the substrate G placed on the slide plate 74 (this embodiment). In this case, as an example, an operation of abutting and supporting the substantially center of gravity position of the substrate G is possible. That is, the support pin 85 is moved up and down in synchronization with the buffer plates 81 and 82 in the above-described substrate transfer operation in the load lock chamber 20, and the central portion of the substrate G supported by the buffer plates 81 and 82 is positioned at the periphery. It works to support horizontally so that it does not bend downward due to its own weight.

  The atmosphere-side transport mechanism 50 includes a transport arm 51 that can be swung and expanded and contracted. A single unprocessed substrate G is taken out from a substrate rack 55 in which a plurality of substrates G are stored, and the gate valve 40 is used. The operation of transferring to the substrate transfer mechanism 70 in the load lock chamber 20 and the processed substrate G are received from the substrate transfer mechanism 70 in the load lock chamber 20 and taken out to the atmosphere side through the gate valve 40, and are transferred to the substrate rack 55. The storing operation is performed. The transfer arm 51 is provided with a notch 52 so as not to interfere with the support pin 85 when the substrate G is transferred in the load lock chamber 20.

Next, the substrate processing operation in the vacuum processing apparatus 100 will be described.
First, the substrate transfer mechanism 70 is in a retracted state in the load lock chamber 20, the valve body 32 of the gate valve 30 is closed, and the inside of the vacuum processing chamber 10 is evacuated to a required degree of vacuum by the vacuum pump 60. .

  The atmosphere-side transport mechanism 50 takes out the unprocessed substrate G from the substrate rack 55 by the transport arm 51 and carries it into the load lock chamber 20 through the opening 41 of the gate valve 40. It is positioned directly above the slide plate 74.

  Next, the buffer plates 81 and 82 are lifted to lift the peripheral portion of the substrate G from both sides, and the support pins 85 are lifted by passing through the pin through holes 71 c to 74 c and pass through the notch 52 of the transfer arm 51. As shown in FIG. 3, the substrate G is lifted from the transfer arm 51 in a substantially horizontal posture without being bent.

  Thereafter, the transfer arm 51 is pulled out to the atmosphere side and retracted to the outside of the load lock chamber 20, and then the buffer plates 81 and 82 and the support pins 85 are moved down, so that the substrate G is moved to the third position in the substrate transfer mechanism 70. The slide plate 74 is placed on the slide pick 74a.

  Then, the valve body 42 of the gate valve 40 is closed to make the load lock chamber 20 hermetically sealed, the exhaust control valve 62 is opened to exhaust the vacuum to the same degree as the vacuum processing chamber 10, and then the valve body 32 of the gate valve 30. open. At this time, since the load lock chamber 20 is evacuated, the degree of vacuum and the atmosphere of the vacuum processing chamber 10 are not impaired. Then, the first to third slide plates 72 to 74 of the substrate transport mechanism 70 are extended in multiple stages toward the inside of the vacuum processing chamber 10 through the opening 31 of the gate valve 30, so that the substrate G is stored in the vacuum processing chamber 10. It is carried directly above the processing stage 13 and placed on the processing stage 13 via a push-up pin (not shown) provided on the processing stage 13. Thereafter, the first to third slide plates 72 to 74 are retracted and retracted into the load lock chamber 20, the valve body 32 of the gate valve 30 is closed, and the vacuum processing chamber 10 is sealed.

  Thereafter, necessary gas is introduced from the processing gas supply unit 12 into the sealed vacuum processing chamber 10 to form a processing gas atmosphere, and the substrate G is subjected to necessary processing.

  After a predetermined time has elapsed, the introduction of the processing gas is stopped, the valve body 32 of the gate valve 30 is opened, and the first to third slide plates 72 to 74 of the substrate transfer mechanism 70 in the load lock chamber 20 are placed in the vacuum processing chamber. 10 is extended in multiple stages, and the processed substrate G in the vacuum processing chamber 10 is transferred from the processing stage 13 to the slide pick 74a of the third slide plate 74 in the reverse order of the above-described loading operation. After the first to third slide plates 72 to 74 are degenerated and carried out into the load lock chamber 20, the valve body 32 of the gate valve 30 is closed, and the vacuum processing chamber 10 is sealed.

Thereafter, the exhaust of the load lock chamber 20 is stopped and N ₂ gas or the like is introduced to make the pressure close to the atmospheric pressure, and the buffer plates 81 and 82 and the support pins 85 are raised so that the peripheral portion and the central portion of the substrate G are raised. And the valve body 42 of the gate valve 40 is opened, and the transfer arm 51 of the atmosphere-side transfer mechanism 50 is inserted below the floating substrate G. In this state, the buffer The substrate G is moved to the transfer arm 51 by lowering the plates 81 and 82 and the support pins 85.

  Then, by pulling the transfer arm 51 to the atmosphere side, the processed substrate G is carried out from the load lock chamber 20 to the atmosphere side and stored in the substrate rack 55.

  Next, a sealing structure of a joint portion between the container main body 21 and the top plate 22 in the load lock chamber 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an outline of a state in which the top plate 22 of the load lock chamber 20 is removed, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the principal part taken along the line VI-VI, and FIG. It is a principal part enlarged view which shows the connection part of the state which joined. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 92 denotes a connector (bolt) used for joining the container body 21 and the top plate 22.

  A groove 26 is formed in the upper end surface 21 a of the container main body 21 surrounding the internal space of the load lock chamber 20, and an O-ring 90 as a seal member is inserted into the groove 26. Further, a spacer 91 is disposed outside the O-ring 90 with respect to the interior of the load lock chamber 20 with a part thereof being inserted into the groove 26. As the O-ring 90 and the spacer 91, one annular member may be used, or two or more divided members may be continuously arranged in the groove 26 without a gap.

  The O-ring 90 is a deformed O-ring having a substantially triangular cross-sectional shape with an upper portion at the top and an enlarged bottom portion. The shape of the O-ring 90 is a shape having an enlarged bottom so as to maintain compatibility with the inner surface shape of the groove 26 and adhesion with the spacer 91 inserted into the groove 26. As a result, it is difficult to come out of the groove 26 and a sufficient sealing performance can be exhibited.

  The O-ring 90 is arranged so that the top thereof is higher than the upper end surface 21a of the container body 21 by a predetermined amount, for example, about 1.5 to 2.0 mm, with the bottom thereof being inserted into the groove 26. Thus, when the container body 21 and the top plate 22 are joined, the O-ring 90 is crushed by the top plate 22 as shown in FIG. As a material of the O-ring 90, for example, a material having a hardness (JIS K 6253 Shore hardness A) of 70 to 90 can be suitably used. More specifically, for example, fluorine rubber [for example, Viton, Kalrez (both trade names; manufactured by DuPont), silicone] having the above hardness can be used.

  The spacer 91 has a substantially L-shaped cross-sectional shape. By making the cross-section of the spacer 91 L-shaped, one end side (insertion portion) of the spacer 91 is inserted into the groove 26, and the inner angle side surface bent into the L-shape is extended from the inner wall surface of the groove 26 to the container body 21. It can be deployed in a state of being in close contact with the upper end surface 21 a and has a shape that is difficult to be removed from the groove 26.

A portion (intervening portion) opposite to the portion inserted into the groove 26 of the spacer 91 extends to the upper end surface 21a of the container main body 21 so as to surround the outer side (outer peripheral side) of the O-ring 90, and the container 91 its thickness of interposed between the body 21 and the top plate 22 (shown by reference numeral _{D 1} in FIG. 7), and functions to space the two members, for example, intervals of 0.5 to 1.0 mm. Then, the container main body 21 and the top plate 22 are separated from each other by the spacer 91 arranged outside the O-ring 90, and the inside of the load lock chamber 20 is decompressed to a high vacuum state. Even if the top plate 22 is bent as shown in FIG. 8, contact between the corner portion 21b on the inner peripheral side of the container body 21 and the top plate 22 is avoided. Therefore, in the load lock chamber 20 where the vacuum state and the air release state are repeated, particles such as aluminum powder generated by rubbing the inner peripheral corner portion 21b of the container body 21 and the top plate 22 can be prevented.

As the material of the spacer 91, a material harder than the O-ring 90, for example, (JIS K6253 Shore hardness D) of 50 to 70 can be suitably used. In addition, as another physical property of the material used for the spacer 91, when considering the force applied to the spacer 91 from the vacuum differential pressure when the inside of the load lock chamber 20 is evacuated, the compressive strength (JIS K6251) It is preferable to select a material having a thickness of 11 MPa or more. The spacer 91 should be made of a material having an elongation (JIS K6251) of 300% or more from the viewpoint of ensuring sufficient flexibility at the time of mounting on the corner portion (indicated by symbol R in FIG. 5) of the groove 26. preferable.
Specific examples of the material having the above physical properties include polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and high molecular weight polyethylene (PE).

  FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of an O-ring and a spacer that are arranged in the seal portion 24. In the present embodiment, uneven surfaces 93a and 94a are formed at portions where the O-ring 93 and the spacer 94 come into contact with each other. The uneven surfaces 93a and 94a increase the frictional resistance of the O-ring 93 and the spacer 94, and act to prevent both members from slipping and shifting in the groove 26 or falling off the groove 26. That is, the concave and convex surfaces 93 a and 94 a function as a misalignment preventing action portion that prevents misalignment between the O-ring 93 and the spacer 94.

FIG. 9 relates to another embodiment of the decompression container of the present invention, and a step is provided on the upper end surface of the container body 21. That is, the upper end surface 21d on the inner side (inner peripheral side) than the groove 26 provided with the O-ring 90 is cut and formed lower than the upper end surface 21c on the outer side (outer peripheral side) of the groove 26. In this way, by providing a step on the upper end surface of the container body 21 while providing the spacer 91, even if the amount of bending of the top plate 22 of the load lock chamber 20 increases, since the distance D ₂ between the upper end surface 21d and the top plate 22 may take a sufficient contact between the corners 21b and the top plate 22 is avoided. Further, for the same amount of deflection, to reduce the thickness D ₁ of the relatively spacer 91, or because the inner peripheral side of the can be reduced amount of cutting of the upper end surface 21d, ensuring airtightness by O-ring 90 Can be made more reliable.

  The structure of the seal portion 24 at the joint portion between the container main body 21 and the top plate 22 has been described above. However, the structure of the seal portion 25 at the joint portion between the container main body 21 and the bottom plate 23 is the same, and the description thereof is omitted. .

  The sealing structure of the present invention is not limited to the one provided with the substrate transfer mechanism 70 like the load lock chamber 20 in the vacuum processing apparatus 100 of FIG. Furthermore, the sealing structure of the present invention is not limited to a load lock chamber that repeatedly repeats vacuum and release to the atmosphere, but includes a substrate transfer mechanism, and is mainly provided in a substrate transfer chamber or a vacuum processing chamber that transfers a substrate to a vacuum processing chamber in a vacuum state. Is also applicable. As the substrate transfer chamber and the load lock chamber to which the sealing structure of the present invention can be applied, for example, the transfer chamber 220 and the load lock chamber 230 in the multi-chamber type vacuum processing apparatus 200 whose horizontal sectional view is shown in FIG. It can be illustrated. In this vacuum processing apparatus 200, a transfer chamber 220 and a load lock chamber 230 are connected in the center. Around the transfer chamber 220, three process chambers 210a, 210b, and 210c are arranged. Between the transfer chamber 220 and the load lock chamber 230, between the transfer chamber 220 and each of the process chambers 210a, 210b, and 210c, and in the opening that communicates the load lock chamber 230 with the outside air atmosphere, there is a space between them. The gate valves 222 are hermetically sealed and configured to be openable and closable.

  Two cassette indexers 241 are provided outside the load lock chamber 230, and cassettes 240 for accommodating the substrates G are placed thereon. One of these cassettes 240 can accommodate, for example, an unprocessed substrate, and the other can store a processed substrate. These cassettes 240 can be moved up and down by a lifting mechanism (not shown).

  Between these two cassettes 240, a transport mechanism 243 is provided on a support base 244. The transport mechanism 243 includes picks 245 and 246 provided in two upper and lower stages, and these are moved forward and backward integrally. A base 247 that rotatably supports is provided.

  The process chambers 210a, 210b, and 210c, which are vacuum processing chambers, can have their internal spaces held in a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere, and plasma processing such as etching processing or ashing processing is performed therein. Since it has three process chambers in this way, for example, two of the process chambers are configured as an etching process chamber, and the remaining one process chamber is configured as an ashing process chamber. It can be configured as an etching chamber or an ashing chamber that performs the same processing. The number of process chambers is not limited to three and may be four or more.

  Similarly to the process chambers 210a, 210b, 210, the transfer chamber 220 can be maintained in a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere, and a transfer device 250 is disposed therein. The transfer device 250 transfers the substrate G between the load lock chamber 230 and the three process chambers 210a, 210b, and 210c.

  The load lock chamber 230 can be maintained in a predetermined reduced-pressure atmosphere like each process chamber 210 and the transfer chamber 220. The load lock chamber 230 is for transferring the substrate G between the cassette 240 in the atmospheric atmosphere and the process chambers 210a, 210b, 210c in the reduced pressure atmosphere, and the relationship between the atmospheric atmosphere and the reduced pressure atmosphere is repeated. In addition, the internal volume is made as small as possible.

  In the load lock chamber 230, the substrate accommodating portions 231 are provided in two upper and lower stages (only the upper stage is illustrated), and each substrate accommodating portion 231 is provided with a plurality of buffers 232 that support the substrate G, and between these buffers 232. Is formed with a relief groove 232a of the transfer arm. Further, in the load lock chamber 230, a positioner 233 that performs alignment in the vicinity of the corners of the rectangular substrate G facing each other is provided.

  Although the description is omitted, also in the transfer chamber 220 and the load lock chamber 230 having the above-described configuration, for example, a sealing structure similar to that shown in FIGS. 5 to 9 is applied to the joint portion between the top plate or the bottom plate and the container body. can do. And generation | occurrence | production of the particle by the friction of the container structural members which comprise the conveyance chamber 220 and the load lock chamber 230 can be prevented.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the idea of the present invention. For example, the substrate is not limited to the LCD substrate, but can be applied to other FPD substrates and semiconductor wafers. Here, as another FPD substrate, for example, a light emitting diode (LED) display, an electroluminescence (EL) display, a fluorescent display (VFD), a plasma display panel (PDP), or the like is used. A substrate is illustrated.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for a decompression container that accommodates a substrate for manufacturing an FPD or the like and a decompression processing apparatus that processes the substrate.

The perspective view which shows the external appearance of the vacuum processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. The horizontal sectional view of the vacuum processing apparatus of FIG. The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the load lock chamber in the vacuum processing apparatus of FIG. The perspective view which shows the structural example of a board | substrate conveyance mechanism. The top view of the load lock room of the state which removed the top plate. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the main part taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 5. Sectional drawing which shows the principal part which shows the connection part of the main body of a load lock chamber, and a top plate. The figure for demonstrating another embodiment of a seal | sticker part. The principal part sectional drawing which shows the connection site | part of the main body and top plate of the load-lock chamber which concern on another embodiment. The horizontal sectional view of the vacuum processing apparatus concerning a 2nd embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Vacuum processing chamber 20 ... Load lock chamber 21 ... Main body 22 ... Top plate 23 ... Bottom plate 30 ... Gate valve 40 ... Gate valve 50 ... Air | atmosphere side transfer mechanism 51 ... Transfer arm 52 ... Notch part 55 ... Substrate rack 60 ... Vacuum pump DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 70 ... Board | substrate conveyance mechanism 70a ... Slide motor 71 ... Base plate 71c ... Pin through-hole 72-74 ... 1st-3rd slide plate 72c-74c ... Pin through-hole 80 ... Substrate delivery mechanism 81, 82 ... Buffer plate 83, 84 ... Buffer lifting mechanism 85 ... Support pin 86 ... Pin lifting mechanism 90, 93 ... O-ring 91, 94 ... Spacer 100, 200 ... Vacuum processing device

Claims (10)

A decompression container configured to be capable of decompressing the inside of the container,
While providing a groove on at least one side of the connection surface between one member and the other member constituting the decompression container, and maintaining the airtightness of the connection portion by disposing a seal member in the groove,
A spacer is inserted between the one member and the other member outside the groove while being partly inserted into the groove to be in close contact with the seal member, and viewed from the inside of the decompression vessel. A decompression container, wherein the decompression container is disposed outside a seal member . A decompression container configured to be capable of decompressing the inside of the container,
A plurality of members constituting the decompression vessel;
A groove formed on at least one side of a connection surface between one member of the plurality of members and another member connected to the member;
A seal member disposed in the groove;
A spacer that is inserted into the groove and in close contact with the seal member, and is interposed between the one member and the other member outside the groove;
Equipped with a,
The decompression container, wherein the spacer is disposed outside the seal member as viewed from the inside of the decompression container. The decompression container according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein a cross section of the spacer is substantially L-shaped. The decompression container according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the seal member is an O-ring having a substantially triangular cross section. The decompression container according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein irregularities are formed on the contact surfaces of the spacer and the seal member. The decompression container according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the spacer is formed of a material harder than the seal member. The vacuum container according to claim 6 , wherein the spacer has a hardness (JIS K6253 Shore hardness D) of 50 to 70. The vacuum container according to claim 6 or 7 , wherein the O-ring has a hardness (JIS K6253 Shore hardness A) of 70 to 90. 9. The decompression container according to claim 1, wherein the one member and the other member are a decompression container body and a lid, or a decompression container body and a bottom plate. A depressurizing apparatus for depressurizing a workpiece,
A decompression apparatus comprising the decompression container according to any one of claims 1 to 9 .

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