JP5190387B2 - Vacuum apparatus and substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum apparatus and a substrate processing apparatus, and more particularly to a seal portion that hermetically seals the inside of the vacuum apparatus.

  In the manufacturing process of a flat panel display (FPD) typified by a liquid crystal display (LCD), a predetermined process such as etching or film formation is performed on the FPD substrate. As a substrate processing apparatus for performing such processing, a multi-chamber type substrate processing apparatus having a plurality of processing chambers is known (for example, Patent Document 1).

  A multi-chamber type substrate processing apparatus has a transfer chamber provided with a transfer device for transferring an FPD substrate (substrate to be processed), and a processing chamber and an unprocessed substrate are processed around the transfer chamber. A load lock chamber (substrate exchange chamber) for exchanging the substrate is provided. The transfer chamber, the processing chamber, and the load lock chamber are vacuum devices, and these vacuum devices are evacuated using an exhaust mechanism so that the inside is brought into a predetermined reduced pressure state.

  The vacuum apparatus includes an airtight container main body, and the container main body is provided with an opening for taking in and out the substrate to be processed. The opening is opened and closed using a gate valve. When the opening is closed by the gate valve, the inside of the container body is hermetically sealed, and the pressure inside the container body is reduced to a predetermined pressure or converted between the atmospheric state and the reduced pressure state. Is possible. An example of the structure of the gate valve is described in Patent Document 1 described above.

  As described in Patent Document 1, the gate valve includes a valve body, and the periphery of the opening is sealed by the valve body being in close contact with the periphery of the opening of the container body. An O-ring is used as the seal member. The O-ring is fitted in an O-ring groove formed around the opening of the container body.

JP-A-5-196150

  The valve body contacts the periphery of the opening of the container body every time the gate valve is opened and closed.

  Further, every time the pressure inside the container body is converted between the atmospheric state and the decompressed state, the valve body is repeatedly subjected to some deformation because stress due to atmospheric pressure is repeatedly applied. For this reason, the surroundings of the opening may rub against the valve body every time the atmospheric state and the vacuum state are repeated, and the surroundings of the opening and the valve body may be damaged.

  If scratches occur around the opening, the container body itself needs to be replaced. For this reason, there exists a situation that the maintenance maintenance cost of the substrate processing apparatus using a vacuum apparatus tends to increase. In addition, the occurrence of scratches can be a cause of generation of particles.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum apparatus capable of suppressing an increase in maintenance and maintenance costs and a substrate processing apparatus using the same.

A vacuum apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is an airtight container body capable of placing a substrate to be processed in a vacuum state, and the substrate to be processed provided in the container body. And a valve body that opens and closes the opening, and is formed in a frame shape so as to surround the opening, and has a frame shape on both the container body side surface and the valve body side surface opposite to the container body side surface. A seal plate provided with a seal member, which is detachably attached around the opening, and a center of a frame-like seal member provided on the container body side surface of the seal plate, and the valve body side surface The center of the frame-shaped seal member provided in the valve body is arranged in a straight line parallel to the pressing direction of the valve body, and the frame-shaped seal member provided on the valve body-side surface of the valve body-side surface. The inner surface is more than this frame-shaped seal member It is lower than the surface of the side.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus capable of placing a substrate to be processed in a vacuum state, a processing chamber for processing the substrate to be processed, the substrate to be processed in an atmospheric state, and a vacuum. A load-lock chamber for exchanging pre-processed and processed substrates to be processed, and the load-lock chamber and the processing capable of placing the target substrates in a vacuum state. A substrate processing apparatus for transferring the substrate to be processed between the processing chamber, at least one of the processing chamber, the load lock chamber, and the transfer chamber. It is comprised using the vacuum apparatus which concerns on an aspect.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vacuum apparatus capable of suppressing an increase in maintenance and maintenance costs and a substrate processing apparatus using the same.

1 is a plan view schematically showing an example of a substrate processing apparatus using a vacuum apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Schematic cross-sectional view along line 2-2 in FIG. Sectional view showing the gate valve opened Perspective view of seal plate Sectional drawing which shows the state which removed the sealing plate Sectional drawing which shows the modification of the sealing plate with which the vacuum apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment is equipped The figure which shows the shape deformation | transformation of the valve body 61 Sectional drawing which shows an example of the sealing plate which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention Diagram showing contact between valve body and seal plate Sectional drawing which shows the modification of the sealing plate which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows the modification of the sealing plate which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows schematically the vacuum apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention Sectional drawing which shows schematically the vacuum apparatus which can accommodate several to-be-processed substrates simultaneously

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Throughout the drawings to be referred to, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  In this description, an FPD substrate is taken as an example of a substrate to be processed, and a processing apparatus that performs predetermined processing such as etching or film formation on the FPD substrate will be described as an example.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a processing apparatus in which a vacuum apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention is used.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the processing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment includes a processing chamber for processing a substrate to be processed G, in this example, a plurality of processing chambers 10a and 10b, and a processing target before and after processing. A load lock chamber 20 for exchanging the processing substrate G, a load lock chamber 20, the processing chamber 10a or 10b, a transfer chamber 30 for transferring the substrate to be processed G between the processing chamber 10a and the processing chamber 10b, and a transfer chamber 30 And a transfer device 40 for transferring the substrate G to be processed.

  In this example, the processing chambers 10a and 10b, the load lock chamber 20, and the transfer chamber 30 are vacuum devices, and each is an airtight container capable of placing the substrate to be processed G under a predetermined reduced pressure state. A main body 50 is provided. The container body 50 is provided with an opening 51 for taking in and out the substrate G to be processed.

  The opening 51 provided in the container main body 50 of the processing chambers 10 a and 10 b is connected to the opening 51 provided in the container main body 50 of the transfer chamber 30 through the gate valve chamber 60. Similarly, the opening 51 provided in the container main body 50 of the load lock chamber 20 is connected to the opening 51 provided in the container main body 50 of the transfer chamber 30 via the gate valve chamber 60. A gate valve valve body 61 is accommodated in the gate valve chamber 60, and the opening 51 is opened and closed by the valve body 61. In this example, the valve body 61 is configured to be in close contact with the container main body 50 of the processing chambers 10 a and 10 b and the container main body 50 of the load lock chamber 20. The container body 50 is hermetically sealed by closely contacting the periphery.

  The load lock chamber 20 has an opening 51 that is opened to the atmosphere side, that is, to the outside of the substrate processing apparatus 1. The opening 51 opened to the outside is used for carrying in the unprocessed substrate G before processing and unloading the processed substrate G to the outside by the valve body 61 opened in an atmospheric state. Opened and closed.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 in FIG. FIG. 2 shows a cross section of the load lock chamber 20 and a partial cross section of the transfer chamber 30. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view in a state in which the gate valve is closed, and FIG. 3 shows a cross-section in a state in which the gate valve is opened.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the valve body 61 in this example is in close contact with an opening 51 provided in the container body 50 of the load lock chamber 20. 2 and 3, for the sake of convenience, reference numeral 51a is attached to the opening 51 on the atmosphere side provided in the container body 50 of the load lock chamber 20, and the opening 51 on the decompression side (conveying chamber 30 side) is referred to. The code | symbol 51b is attached | subjected.

  The opening 51 a on the atmosphere side is open to the atmosphere, but the opening 51 b on the decompression side (the transfer chamber 30 side) communicates with the gate valve chamber 60. The gate valve chamber 60 is connected to the container main body 50 of the load lock chamber 20 via a frame-shaped seal member 62, for example, an O-ring, and the gate valve chamber 60 is airtight to the container main body 50 of the load lock chamber 20. Connected to.

  The gate valve chamber 60 is also communicated with an opening 51 provided in the container body 50 of the transfer chamber 30. The gate valve chamber 60 is connected to the container body 50 of the transfer chamber 30 via a frame-shaped seal member 63, for example, an O-ring. Thereby, the gate valve chamber 60 is hermetically connected to the container body 50 of the transfer chamber 30.

  Furthermore, in the first embodiment, a seal plate 70 formed in a frame shape so as to surround the openings 51 a and 51 b of the container body 50 is provided around the opening 51. A perspective view of the frame-shaped seal plate 70 is shown in FIG.

  The seal plate 70 has frame-shaped seal members 72a and 72b on both the container main body side surface 71a and the valve body side surface 71b opposite to the container main body side surface 71a. The frame-shaped seal members 72a and 72b are fitted into seal member grooves 73a and 73b formed in the container main body side surface 71a and the valve body side surface 71b, respectively. The seal plate 70 is connected to the container main body 50 in an airtight manner by being connected to the container main body 50 via the frame-shaped seal member 72a. The valve body 61 is brought into contact with the valve body-side surface 71 b of the seal plate 70 without contacting the container body 50. The valve body 61 seals the container main body 50 in an airtight manner by closely contacting the seal plate 70 via the frame-shaped seal member 72b. An example of the frame-shaped seal member 72b is a fluorine rubber O-ring such as Viton (registered trademark) or Fluoroplus.

  The seal plate 70 is detachably attached around the opening 51 provided in the container body 50. For this reason, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the seal plate 70 can be removed from the container body 50.

  The seal plate 70 contacts the valve body 61 every time the gate valve is opened and closed. Further, the valve body 61 is deformed each time the pressure inside the container body 50 is changed from the atmospheric state to the reduced pressure state and from the reduced pressure state to the atmospheric state. For this reason, the seal plate 70 rubs against the valve body 61.

  Thus, since the seal plate 70 contacts and rubs against the valve body 61, there is a possibility that scratches may occur. If the seal plate 70 is damaged, it must be replaced. However, since the seal plate 70 can be removed from the container body 50, the replacement is easy.

  Moreover, in the case where the valve body is in direct contact with the container body, the entire container body must be replaced if a flaw occurs around the opening.

  In this regard, in the first embodiment, since only the seal plate 70 needs to be replaced, the container body 50 does not need to be replaced. The container body 50 is expensive, but the seal plate 70 is much cheaper than the container body 50.

  Therefore, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to suppress an increase in maintenance and maintenance costs of vacuum devices represented by a processing chamber, a load lock chamber, a transfer chamber, and the like. In addition, a substrate processing apparatus using a vacuum apparatus that can suppress an increase in maintenance cost can be obtained.

  Further, in the first embodiment, when it is desired to further suppress the possibility that the seal plate 70 is damaged or the generation of particles accompanying the generation of the damage, the following device may be applied.

  The surface of the seal plate 70, at least the valve body side surface 71b that rubs against the valve body 61 and the container body 50, and the container body side surface 71a are subjected to hard anodizing, or surface treatment such as fluororesin impregnation is performed on the hard anodized. To do. Thereby, compared with the case where the surface of the seal plate 70 is exposed as it is, the surface of the material constituting the seal plate 70, for example, the surface of aluminum, the surface of the seal plate 70 can be made more slippery. The possibility of scratches occurring on the plate 70 can be suppressed.

  Further, in the first embodiment, when it is desired to improve the sealing performance by the seal plate 70, the following device may be applied.

  For example, the seal member 72a provided on the container body side surface 71a of the seal plate 70 and the seal member 72b provided on the valve body side surface 71b are arranged in a straight line in parallel with the pressing direction A of the valve body 61. . Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the center 74 a of the frame-shaped seal member 72 a and the center 74 b of the frame-shaped seal member 72 b are arranged on a straight line parallel to the pressing direction A of the valve body 61. Thereby, compared with the case where the frame-shaped seal member 72a and the frame-shaped seal member 72b are shifted from each other, the seal plate 70 can be sandwiched more strongly between the valve body 61 and the container body 50, The sealing performance by the seal plate 70 can be improved.

(Second Embodiment)
The second embodiment relates to an example in which the friction between the valve body 61 and the seal plate 70 is further reduced.

  The valve body 61 receives a pressure difference between the internal pressure of the container body 50 and the external pressure when the inside of the container body 50 is in a reduced pressure state. The most prominent case is when the container body 50 is in a depressurized state and the valve body 61 is under atmospheric pressure as shown in FIG. Such a situation can be seen in a valve body that hermetically seals the atmosphere-side opening 51a of the load lock chamber 20.

  If there is a large pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the valve body 61, the valve body 61 is deformed. For example, when the outside of the valve body 61 is in an atmospheric state and the inside is in a decompressed state, the valve body 61 is deformed so as to be concave toward the seal plate 70 side as shown in FIG.

  Although FIG. 7 shows the deformation in the vertical cross section of the valve body, the opening 51a of the load lock chamber 20 is a wide opening in the horizontal direction, so that the deformation of the valve body is also greater in the horizontal cross section.

  In order to suppress such deformation, for example, a contrivance such as attaching a reinforcing member such as a rib to the outer surface (atmosphere side) of the valve body is performed, but the deformation cannot be completely suppressed. Therefore, the inner surface (shown in a dotted circle 75 in the drawing) of the valve body side surface 71b of the seal plate 70 rubs strongly with the valve body 61. For this reason, scratches are likely to occur in the portion indicated by the dotted circle 75.

  FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a seal plate according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, in the seal plate 70A according to the second embodiment, the inner surface of the valve body side surface 71b with respect to the seal member 72b provided on the valve body side surface 71b is the seal plate. Lower than the outer surface of the member 72b. Thereby, even if the valve body 61 is deformed so as to be concave toward the seal plate 70 side, the surface inside the seal member 72b of the valve body side surface 71b does not contact or hardly contacts the valve body 61. It can be configured.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, the inner surface of the seal member 72b can be configured not to contact or hardly contact the valve body 61. Therefore, the friction between the valve body 61 and the seal plate 70 can be further reduced. Can be reduced.

  Further, as a result of the reduction of rubbing, scratches can be prevented from occurring or less likely to occur, and the generation of particles accompanying the occurrence of scratches can also be suppressed. If the generation of particles is suppressed, the substrate G to be processed can be processed in a cleaner environment, which is advantageous for producing a high-quality FPD or the like.

  In the second embodiment, the device described in the first embodiment, that is, the surface of the seal plate 70, at least the valve body side surface 71b that rubs against the valve body 61 and the container body 50, and the container body side 71a are hard. Combined with a device that applies alumite or surface treatment on hard alumite, and a device that arranges the seal member 72a and the seal member 72b in a straight line parallel to the pressing direction A of the valve body 61 can do.

  The configuration of the second embodiment, that is, the configuration in which the inner surface of the seal member 72b is lower than the outer surface of the seal member 72b, the seal member around the opening 51 of the container main body 50. The present invention can also be applied to a vacuum apparatus provided with a working groove.

  Furthermore, in the second embodiment, when it is desired to further suppress the generation of particles, the following device may be used.

  When the valve body 61 is in close contact with the seal plate 70, the valve body 61 contacts the valve body-side surface 71 b of the seal plate 70. As shown in FIG. 9, even in the case of the seal plate 70 according to the second embodiment, of the valve body side surface 71b of the seal plate 70, the surface outside the seal member 72b (inside the dotted line circle 76 in the figure). Is in contact with the valve body 61. When both the valve body 61 and the seal plate 70 are made of metal, there is a possibility that the contact damages and particles are generated.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, a wear-resistant member 77 is provided on the outer surface of the valve body side surface 71b from the seal member 72b. An example of the wear resistant member 77 is a resin material. Examples of the resin material include polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and polyacetal (POM).

  In this way, when the valve body 61 comes into close contact with the seal plate 70, on the surface where the valve body 61 and the seal plate 70 come into contact, in this example, on the surface outside the seal member 72b of the valve body side surface 71b. By providing the wear-resistant member 77, even when both the valve body 61 and the seal plate 70 are made of metal, contact between metals can be prevented, and generation of particles can be further suppressed. .

  Furthermore, when it is desired to reduce the contact area between the valve body 61 and the wear-resistant member 77, as shown in FIG. 11, the wire diameter db of the seal member 72b provided on the valve body side surface 71b is changed to a container body. It may be larger than the wire diameter da of the sealing member 72a provided on the side surface 71a.

  Thus, by making the wire diameter db of the seal member 72b larger than the wire diameter da of the seal member 72a, the area of the surface outside the seal member 72b of the valve body side surface 71b can be reduced. The area of the wear resistant member 77 can be reduced. By reducing the area of the wear-resistant member 77, the contact area between the valve body 61 and the wear-resistant member 77 can be further reduced. If the contact area between the valve body 61 and the wear-resistant member 77 is reduced, for example, the generation of particles caused by the valve body 61 itself, which is generated when the valve body 61 is damaged, is further suppressed. Is possible.

  Even when the wire diameter db of the seal member 72b is larger than the wire diameter da of the seal member 72a, the center 74b of the seal member 72b and the center 74b of the seal member 72a are It is good to arrange in parallel on a straight line. By doing in this way, the sealing performance by the seal plate 70 can be improved.

(Third embodiment)
The third embodiment relates to an example of downsizing a vacuum device.

  As described in the first and second embodiments, the seal plates 70 and 70A are newly provided in the embodiment of the present invention. For this reason, a vacuum apparatus will become large by the part of the sealing plates 70 and 70A.

  FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing an example of a vacuum apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, in the third embodiment, an embedding portion 80 for embedding the seal plate 70 (or 70A) is provided around the opening 51 of the container body 50.

  Thus, according to the third embodiment, since the seal plate 70 (or 70A) is embedded in the embedded portion 80 provided around the opening 51, the seal member 70 (or 70A) is It can be prevented from projecting from the container body 50, or the projecting amount can be reduced, and the miniaturization of the vacuum apparatus including the seal plate 70 (or 70A) can be promoted.

  The third embodiment can be implemented in combination with the device described in the first embodiment, the device described in the second embodiment, or the second embodiment.

  12 shows an example in which the embedding part 80 is provided around the opening 51a on the atmosphere side, but conversely, it may be provided around the opening 51b on the decompression side (the transfer chamber 30 side). Alternatively, it may be provided in both the openings 51a and 51b.

  Although the present invention has been described according to the first to third embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the first to third embodiments, and various modifications can be made.

  For example, in the first to third embodiments, the vacuum apparatus that accommodates one substrate to be processed in the container main body has been exemplified. However, for example, as shown in FIG. The present invention can also be applied to a vacuum apparatus that can accommodate a plurality of substrates G at the same time.

  In addition, a container main body that can accommodate a plurality of substrates to be processed is usually larger and more expensive than a container main body that accommodates a single substrate to be processed. Therefore, the present invention can be more effectively applied to a container body that can simultaneously store a plurality of substrates to be processed in a vacuum apparatus.

  Further, in the first to third embodiments, the FPD substrate is shown as the substrate to be processed. However, the substrate to be processed is not limited to the FPD substrate, and may be another substrate such as a solar cell substrate or a semiconductor wafer. There may be.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Substrate processing apparatus, 10a, 10b ... Processing part, 20 ... Load lock chamber, 30 ... Transfer chamber, 50 ... Container main body, 51 ... Opening part, 60 ... Gate valve chamber, 61 ... Valve body, 70 ... Seal plate, 71a ... container side surface, 71b ... valve body side surface, 72a, 72b ... frame-shaped sealing member, 80 ... embedding part.

Claims (7)

An airtight container body capable of placing the substrate to be processed under vacuum; and
An opening provided in the container body for taking in and out the substrate to be processed;
A valve body for opening and closing the opening;
It is formed in a frame shape so as to surround the opening, and is provided with a frame-shaped sealing member on both the container body side surface and the valve body side surface opposite to the container body side surface, and is detachable around the opening. With a sealing plate attached,
Equipped with,
The center of the frame-shaped seal member provided on the surface of the container body of the seal plate and the center of the frame-shaped seal member provided on the surface of the valve body are in a straight line parallel to the pressing direction of the valve body. Placed in
A vacuum device characterized in that, of the valve body side surfaces, a surface inside a frame-shaped seal member provided on the valve body-side surface is lower than a surface outside the frame-shaped seal member . The vacuum apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a wear-resistant member on a surface outside the frame-like seal member provided on the valve-body-side surface of the valve-body-side surface. The vacuum according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein a width of the frame-shaped seal member provided on the valve body side surface is larger than a width of the frame-shaped seal member provided on the container body side surface. apparatus. The vacuum apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein an embedded portion in which the seal plate is embedded is provided around an opening of the container main body. The vacuum apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the container main body can accommodate a plurality of the substrates to be processed at the same time. The sealing plate side surface and the opposite surface of said valve body, claim 1, wherein a reinforcing member for preventing deformation of the valve body is attached to one of the claims 5 The vacuum apparatus described. A processing chamber for processing the substrate to be processed, which is capable of placing the substrate to be processed in a vacuum state;
A load lock chamber for exchanging the substrate to be processed before and after processing, wherein the substrate to be processed can be placed in both an atmospheric state and a vacuum state;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a transfer chamber for transferring the substrate to be processed between the load lock chamber and the processing chamber, wherein the substrate to be processed can be placed in a vacuum state;
At least one of the processing chamber, the load lock chamber, and the transfer chamber is configured using the vacuum apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6. Substrate processing equipment.

Images