JP5233082B2 - Plasma processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a plasma processing apparatus for applying a thin film to an object to be processed by CVD, and in particular, includes a holding means for holding a mouth of the object to be processed installed in a chamber, and a vacuum seal member (for example, the holding means has, for example) The present invention relates to a plasma processing apparatus suitable for improving the durability of an O-ring and the like to stabilize production.

  Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a technology for depositing reaction products in the form of a film on the surface of an object to be processed by vapor phase growth in a high-temperature atmosphere using a processing gas that does not react at room temperature. It is widely used in the manufacture of metal and surface modification of metals and ceramics. Recently, CVD is also being applied to surface modification of plastic containers, in particular, improvement of gas barrier properties, as low-pressure plasma CVD.

Plasma CVD is a method for growing thin films using plasma. Basically, it is generated by dissociating and combining gases containing a processing gas under a reduced pressure with electric energy of a high electric field. This is a method of depositing the processed material on the processing object by chemical reaction in the gas phase or on the processing object.
The plasma state is realized by glow discharge, corona discharge, and arc discharge. Among these, the glow discharge method includes a method using a direct current glow discharge, a method using a high frequency glow discharge, and a microwave discharge. The method to use is known.

Among these, plasma CVD using microwave discharge (see, for example, Patent Document 1) does not require the arrangement of external electrodes and internal electrodes, and can greatly simplify the configuration of the apparatus. In addition, the degree of decompression in the apparatus should be such that microwave discharge is generated only in the plastic container, so there is no need to maintain the entire apparatus in a high vacuum, and the ease of operation and productivity. Is excellent in terms of.
Moreover, the microwave discharge plasma is a plasma excellent in the generation efficiency of high-energy electrons, and is useful for plasma CVD as a high-density, high-reactive plasma.

By the way, when a thin film is formed on the inner surface of a bottle which is an object to be processed by plasma CVD, first, the bottle is placed in an inverted state in the chamber. The mouth of the installed bottle is held by holding means arranged on the bottom surface of the chamber.
Here, as shown in FIG. 7, the holding means has an annular recess 110 formed so as to correspond to the outer shape of the mouth part 210 so that the mouth part 210 of the bottle 200 can be fitted. . An O-ring (vacuum seal member) 130 is fitted to the bottom 120 of the recess 110.
Thereby, when the mouth part 210 of the bottle 200 is fitted into the recess 110, the top surface 220 of the mouth part 210 presses the vacuum seal member 130, so that the vacuum state in the chamber can be maintained.

In the “plastic container inner surface treatment apparatus” disclosed in Patent Document 2, the top surface seal 21 functions as a vacuum seal member.
In addition, an O-ring is used in the apparatus, but this is for supporting a spherical resin molded body or a belt-shaped resin molded body, and does not have a function as a vacuum seal member.
Special table 2001-518685 gazette JP 2003-261146 A

However, in the conventional plasma processing apparatus, as shown in FIG. 8, a part of the vacuum seal member 130 is between the top surface 220 of the mouth portion 210 and the upper end portion of the exhaust pipe member 140 of the holding means 100. It was exposed (shaded area in the figure), and when the thin film was formed, that part was exposed to plasma. For this reason, the exposed part gradually hardens, causing a number of cracks in the vertical direction, resulting in a problem that the sealing performance deteriorates due to deterioration.
Furthermore, the part exposed to the plasma was also a source of particles. For this reason, there also existed a problem of causing trouble in forming a high performance thin film.

Here, as a technique for solving these problems, for example, it is conceivable to use a special vacuum seal member excellent in plasma resistance. If this is used, the time for which one vacuum seal member maintains the sealing performance can be made longer than the conventional one.
However, even with such a special vacuum seal member, the seal resistance is inevitably lowered as long as it is used under severe conditions exposed to plasma. In other words, the special vacuum seal member has only a gradual decrease in sealing performance due to plasma irradiation compared to the conventional one, and does not mean that it does not decrease semipermanently. For this reason, even if a special vacuum seal member is used, it does not change that it becomes a cause of the occurrence of defective vacuuming. Therefore, even if a special vacuum seal member is used, the above problem cannot be solved completely.

Furthermore, when the vacuum seal member is an O-ring, for example, a groove for fitting the O-ring is formed in the holding means.
Since the new O-ring has sufficient elasticity, it can be easily fitted into the groove and can be easily taken out.
However, since the deteriorated O-ring is hardened, it is not easy to take out the fitted O-ring. For this reason, it took considerable time to replace the deteriorated O-ring.

  The present invention has been considered in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to eliminate the generation of cracks and particles due to plasma exposure and to maintain the sealing performance of the vacuum seal member for a long period of time, thereby eliminating the possibility of poor vacuuming. And it aims at provision of the plasma processing apparatus which can replace | exchange a vacuum seal member easily.

In order to achieve this object, a plasma processing apparatus of the present invention includes a holding unit that holds a mouth of a bottle that is a processing target installed in a chamber, and forms a plasma state inside the bottle. a is, the holding means has a contact surface which the top surface of the mouth of the bottle abuts the top surface and / or the vacuum sealing member in contact with the vicinity of the mouth of the bottle, the outer side than the contact surface It is the configuration arranged in.

When the plasma processing apparatus has such a configuration, the holding means has a contact surface that comes into contact with the top surface of the mouth of the object to be processed, and includes a vacuum seal member outside the contact surface. At the time of depositing an object, the vacuum seal member is not exposed to plasma by being blocked and protected by the contact surface and the mouth of the object to be processed. Thereby, the hardening and deterioration of the vacuum seal member can be prevented to suppress generation of cracks and particles, and the deterioration of the sealing performance of the vacuum seal member can be reduced to eliminate the possibility of defective vacuuming. .
Furthermore, since the sealing performance of the vacuum seal member can be maintained for a long period of time, the replacement frequency can be reduced to reduce the labor for replacement, and the cost required for the vacuum seal member can be reduced.

In addition, since there is no fear of being exposed to plasma during the film forming process, it is not necessary to dare to use an expensive vacuum seal member with excellent plasma resistance, and a conventional inexpensive one can be used sufficiently. This can also reduce the cost.
In addition, since the sealing is performed at the two portions of the vacuum seal member and the contact surface, a double structure of the seal can be obtained. Thereby, sealing performance can be strengthened.

The plasma processing apparatus of the present invention has a configuration in which the contact surface is in contact with the radially inner side of the top surface of the bottle mouth, and the vacuum seal member is in contact with the radially outer side of the top surface. You can also
Even when the plasma processing apparatus has such a configuration, since the vacuum seal member is disposed outside the contact surface, the contact surface of the holding unit and the top surface of the processing object serve as a barrier during film formation. Thus, the vacuum seal member is not exposed to plasma. For this reason, generation | occurrence | production of the crack in a vacuum seal member and a particle | grain can be suppressed, and sealing performance can be maintained for a long period of time.

Further, the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention may be configured such that the contact surface is in contact with a part or all of the top surface and the vacuum seal member is in contact with the side surface near the top surface of the mouth. .
Even when the plasma processing apparatus has such a configuration, the vacuum seal member is not exposed to plasma, so that a decrease in sealing performance can be suppressed.

Further, the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention has a configuration in which the mouth portion of the bottle has a convex portion formed along the outer peripheral surface of the mouth portion, and the vacuum seal member is in contact with the lower surface of the convex portion. It can also be.
If the plasma processing apparatus has such a configuration, the vacuum seal member is in contact with the lower surface of the annular convex portion, so that the annular convex portion is pressed from above to improve the sealing performance.

Moreover, the plasma processing apparatus of this invention can also be set as the structure which the lower surface of the convex part was formed in the taper surface, and the vacuum seal member has been arrange | positioned so that a taper surface may be touched.
When the plasma processing apparatus has such a configuration, the vacuum seal member is sufficiently pressed down on the tapered surface, so that the sealing performance of the vacuum seal member can be enhanced.

In the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention, the holding means has a fitting groove into which the vacuum seal member is fitted, and the fitting groove is formed of two or more annular members that can be divided. You can also.
If the plasma processing apparatus has such a configuration, by removing two or more members constituting the fitting groove one by one in order, the fitting groove is largely opened, and the vacuum seal member can be easily taken out. it can. In particular, a vacuum seal member that has been hardened over a long period of time can be easily removed and replaced.
Furthermore, since each member is divided | segmented, the cleaning of each of those components can also be performed easily.

In the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention, an O-ring and / or packing can be used as the vacuum seal member.
When the plasma processing apparatus has such a configuration, the sealing performance of the O-ring or packing can be maintained.

Further, in the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention, the holding means has a through-hole drilled in the central portion longitudinal direction of the holding means, and a substantially cylindrical exhaust pipe member fitted into the through-hole, The exhaust pipe member has an extending portion in which a part of the outer peripheral end of the upper opening extends further upward, and this extending portion is formed by the microwave waveguide of the plasma processing apparatus in the outer periphery of the upper opening. Only the attached side is extended, and it can be set as the structure extended only the length substantially the same as the length of the opening part of a bottle .
If the plasma processing apparatus has such a configuration, it is possible to prevent thermal deformation and perforation around the mouth of the bottle while maintaining a stable plasma generation state.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the vacuum seal member from being exposed to plasma during thin film formation. Thereby, the fall of the sealing performance of the vacuum seal member can be prevented, and generation of cracks and particles can be suppressed.
Therefore, the lifetime of the vacuum seal member can be extended and the cost can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a plasma processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[First embodiment]
(Plasma processing equipment)
First, an embodiment of the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This figure is a front sectional view showing the structure of the plasma processing apparatus of the present embodiment.

As shown in the figure, the plasma processing apparatus 1 includes a hollow chamber 11 mounted on a base 10, a detachable canopy 12 positioned above the chamber 11, and a bottle 20 that is a processing object. Holding means 30a, a microwave sealing member 13 provided so as to cover the exhaust port 14, and an exhaust port 14 for decompressing the inside of the bottle 20.
The plasma processing apparatus 1 forms a so-called microwave semi-coaxial cylindrical resonance system. In other words, a plasma processing chamber is formed by the cylindrical chamber 11, and a conductive processing gas supply member 15 is provided on the shaft so that the end portion does not reach the canopy 12.

  The bottle 20 is set almost at the center of the holding means 30a in an inverted state, and the nozzle chuck 40 engages with a convex portion (neck ring) on the outer periphery of the mouth portion 21 from a plurality of directions, thereby being fixed. At this time, the bottle 20 is held on the axis of the cylindrical chamber 11, and the processing gas supply member 15 is inserted into the bottle 20. In this state, the inside and outside of the bottle 20 are evacuated by a vacuum pump (not shown), the processing gas is supplied from the processing gas supply member 15 inserted in the center of the bottle 20, and the side surface of the plasma processing apparatus 1. When microwaves are supplied from the microwave waveguide 16 connected to the plasma, plasma is generated inside the bottle 20 and a thin film is formed on the inner surface thereof.

(Holding means)
Next, the configuration of the holding means will be described with reference to FIGS.
2 is a side view (partial cross-sectional view) of the holding means, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion A in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the holding means 30 a is placed at substantially the center of the upper surface of the base 10 and holds the mouth portion 21 of the inverted bottle 20.
As shown in FIG. 2, the holding means 30a includes a holding means main body 31a, an exhaust pipe member 32a, a contact member 33a, a first O-ring 34a, an O-ring holding member 35a, and a locking member 36a. And a bolt 37a and a second O-ring 38a.

Here, the holding means main body 31a is a base body of the holding means 30a, and a through hole 31a-1 having a circular radial cross section is formed in the longitudinal direction of the center. An exhaust pipe member 32a is fitted in the through hole 31a-1.
From the middle part to the upper part of the through hole 31a-1, the locking part 31a-2 that the outer peripheral convex part 32a-1 of the exhaust pipe member 32a locks and the O-ring fitting part 31a that fits the second O-ring 38a. -3 and the contact member fitting portion 31a-4 to which the contact member 33a is fitted are formed stepwise and continuously.

The exhaust pipe member 32a is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape and is fitted into the through hole 31a-1 of the holding means main body 31a.
An outer peripheral convex portion 32a-1 is formed on the outer periphery of the exhaust pipe member 32a, and the outer peripheral convex portion 32a-1 is engaged with the engaging portion 31a-2 of the holding means main body 31a.

  The exhaust pipe member 32a has a shape in which a part of the outer periphery of the upper opening extends further upward. The extended portion 32 a-2 is extended by substantially the same length as the length of the mouth portion 21. Further, the extending portion 32a-2 extends only on the outer periphery of the upper opening, to which the microwave waveguide 16 of the plasma processing apparatus 1 is attached.

The extension part 32a-2 is provided for the following reason.
Since the mouth portion 21 of the bottle 20 is thinner than the body portion 23, the flow of the reaction gas becomes dense, so that the plasma becomes dense. In addition, when a metal member covers the outer periphery of the mouth portion 21, the electric field around the mouth portion 21 becomes stronger. If it does so, the mouth part 21 will be easy to raise | generate a thermal deformation, and also perforation will be easy to produce.
Therefore, by providing a cylindrical member having an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the mouth portion 21 on the inner side of the mouth portion 21, it becomes difficult for the processing gas in the plasma state to approach the mouth portion 21, thereby causing thermal deformation and the like. Can be suppressed.

However, when a simple cylindrical member (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-053119) is inserted into the mouth portion 21, a new problem that the plasma generation state becomes unstable occurs.
If microwaves are shielded to prevent thermal deformation or perforation in the vicinity of the mouth 21 of the bottle 20, a part of the electric field energy that causes plasma discharge is lost. If it is inserted deeply into 21, it is considered that energy loss becomes too large and the plasma generation state becomes unstable.
The electric field energy is highest on the microwave incident side. Therefore, by providing the extended portion 32a-2 for shielding only the direction where the microwave is incident, a stable plasma emission state can be obtained while preventing thermal deformation or perforation in the vicinity of the bottle mouth portion 21. .
In addition, a thin film is not vapor-deposited in the part to which extension part 32a-2 is approaching among the inner surfaces of the opening part 21. FIG.

The abutting member 33a is formed in an annular shape and is fitted into the abutting member fitting portion 31a-4 of the holding means main body 31a, and the inner circumferential lower surface thereof is the outer circumferential convex portion 32a-1 of the exhaust pipe member 32a. Abuts the top surface of As a result, the exhaust pipe member 32a is fixed in the through hole 31a-1 because the outer peripheral convex portion 32a-1 is locked to the locking portion 31a-2 and pressed by the contact member 33a. .
Further, a part of the lower surface of the abutting member 33a abuts on the second O-ring 38a fitted in the O-ring fitting portion 31a-3.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a contact surface 33a-1 that contacts the top surface 22 of the mouth portion 21 of the bottle 20 is formed on the upper surface of the contact member 33a. In this way, the contact member 33a is in contact with the top surface 22 of the bottle 20 and thereby plays a role for maintaining a vacuum.

Further, the contact member 33a has a step 33a-2 at the outer peripheral side edge portion with respect to the contact surface 33a-1 on the upper surface and a flange portion 33a-3 at the lower portion.
The first O-ring 34a is fitted to the step 33a-2, and the lower portion of the O-ring holding member 35a is engaged with the upper surface of the flange portion 33a-3.

The first O-ring (vacuum seal member) 34a is an elastic body formed in an annular shape, and is fitted to the step 33a-2 of the abutting member 33a and is held by the O-ring fitted into the abutting member 33a. It is held by the member 35a.
However, the surface of the first O-ring 34a is not entirely covered by the contact member 33a and the O-ring holding member 35a, but is partially open (from the upper end to the inner peripheral edge). . When the top surface 22 of the bottle 20 comes into contact with and is pressed against this open portion, the first O-ring 34a is slightly crushed, and the top surface 22 of the bottle 20 and the step 33a-2 of the contact member 33a and the O-ring holding The vacuum is sealed by being in close contact with the flanges of the members 35a.

Note that the top surface 22 of the mouth portion 21 of the bottle 20 is preferably in contact with the apex of the first O-ring 34a.
The first O-ring 34a can be formed using, for example, nitrile rubber, silicone rubber, fluoro rubber, or the like.

The locking member 36a for fixing the O-ring holding member 35a has a substantially L-shaped cross section, and has a flange portion that presses the outer peripheral edge of the O-ring holding member 35a in the vertical portion. It has a base part to which a bolt 37a for fixing the locking member 36a to the holding means main body 31a is attached.
The locking member 36a may be an annular shape that presses the outer peripheral edge of the O-ring holding member 35a, or may have a frame shape that presses several locations on the outer peripheral edge of the O-ring holding member 35a at equal intervals. .
In the present embodiment, the piece-like locking members 36a are provided at four positions at equal intervals. However, the locking members 36a are not limited to four places, and can be provided at two places, three places, or five places or more.

  According to the holding means having such a configuration, when the bolt 37a is screwed into the bolt hole formed in the holding means main body 31a through the bolt hole of the bolt base portion of the locking member 36a, the locking member 36a is held in the holding means main body. It is attached to 31a. Thereby, the locking member 36a presses the O-ring holding member 35a, and the O-ring holding member 35a holds the first O-ring 34a.

  Here, when the bottle 20 is set in the holding means 30a, the top surface 22 of the mouth portion 21 of the bottle 20 contacts the contact surface 33a-1 of the contact member 33a while pressing the first O-ring 34a. Since the first O-ring 34a is disposed outside the contact surface 33a-1, the first O-ring 34a is guarded by the mouth portion 21 and the contact member 33a during the film formation and is generated by plasma. There is no exposure. Thereby, generation | occurrence | production of the crack in the 1st O-ring 34a reduces, and generation | occurrence | production of a particle can also be prevented. Moreover, the first O-ring 34a can maintain the sealing performance for a long period of time, can reduce the replacement frequency, and can reduce the cost.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, metal sealing is performed not only by the first O-ring 34a but also by the contact member 33a. Thus, in the holding means 30a of the present embodiment, a double seal is made, and a sufficient sealing effect is obtained.

In addition, as described above, the holding unit 30a includes two or more members that can be divided, specifically, the holding unit main body 31a, the exhaust pipe member 32a, the contact member 33a, the O-ring holding member 35a, and the locking member 36a. It is configured so that it can be divided.
As described above, when the holding means has a structure that can be divided, the first O-ring can be easily replaced.
That is, as shown in FIG. 7 , the conventional holding means is formed integrally with the exception of the exhaust pipe member 140. For this reason, the fitting groove 150 into which the first O-ring 130 is fitted is also formed as a part of the integral structure. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8 , a bottom portion 151 that forms the fitting groove 150, an outer peripheral portion 152, and an upper portion (saddle portion) 153 are integrally formed, and the inner periphery is closed by the exhaust pipe member 140. It was done. However, the space between the upper portion (saddle portion) 153 and the upper end of the exhaust pipe member 140 is open, and the first O-ring 130 fitted in the fitting groove 150 is exposed at the opened portion.

The replacement of the first O-ring 130 is performed with the exhaust pipe member 140 removed in the conventional integrated structure. When the first O-ring 130 is new, it has sufficient elasticity and can be easily fitted into the fitting groove 150.
However, the elasticity of the first O-ring 130 in which the exposed portion continues to be exposed to plasma is reduced. The fitting groove 150 has a bottom portion 151, an outer peripheral portion 152, and an upper portion 153 that are integrated. For this reason, the first O-ring 130 can only be pulled out from the exposed portion, but its elasticity has been reduced, making it difficult to take it out.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the fitting groove 39a is formed of two or more annular members that can be divided. Specifically, the contact member 33a and the O-ring holding member 35a are formed.
With such a structure, the upper part of the fitting groove 39a is removed by removing the O-ring holding member 35a. As a result, the first O-ring 34a can be easily taken out without being deformed by simply pulling it up as it is. Therefore, even an O-ring that has been used for a long time and hardened can be easily replaced.

Further, when the holding means 30a is configured to be split, each part can be easily cleaned.
The plasma processing apparatus 1 is an apparatus that forms a thin film on the inner surface of the bottle 20 that is the object to be processed. However, the thin film is applied not only to the inner surface of the bottle 20 but also to the inner surface of the exhaust pipe member 32a through which the processing gas passes. It is formed. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the formed thin film.

Here, as shown in FIG. 6, the conventional holding means has a structure in which the exhaust pipe member 140 is inserted into the through hole 170 of the holding means main body 160 from below and is stopped by a screw 180. For this reason, in order to remove the exhaust pipe member 140, the entire holding means 100 has to be removed from the base 10, which is troublesome.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, the holding means 30a has a split structure, and the O-ring holding member 35a and the contact member 33a can be detached upward. Thereby, it can be set as the structure which removes upward also about the exhaust pipe member 32a. Then, after cleaning, the exhaust pipe member 32a may be inserted into the through hole 31a-1 from above. As described above, since the exhaust pipe member 32a can be removed and inserted (fitted) from above the holding means body 160, the entire holding means 100 does not have to be removed from the base 10 and the labor is reduced. it can.

Furthermore, the holding means 30a has a nozzle chuck 40 as shown in FIG.
The nozzle chuck 40 is movably disposed so that the neck 20 of the bottle 20 can be gripped when the bottle 20 is set in the holding means 30a and the bottle 20 can be taken out after the processing is completed.
The nozzle chuck 40 is pin-coupled to the main body at a position slightly shifted laterally from the claw that grips the bottle 20, and is rotationally movable about the pin (rotation fulcrum 41).
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be configured such that it is installed on a rail and moves linearly.

  In FIG. 4, only one nozzle chuck 40 is shown, but the number is not limited to one, and a plurality of nozzle chucks 40 (for example, three or four) are arranged in the circumferential direction of the mouth portion 21 of the bottle 20. Can be provided.

(Bottle film forming method)
Next, a bottle film forming method using the plasma processing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described.
The bottle 20 is set in the holding means 30 a in an inverted state, and the nozzle chuck 40 is engaged with and held by the outer peripheral convex portion of the mouth portion 21 of the bottle 20. At this time, the canopy 12 is removed from the chamber 11, and the holding means 30 a is positioned in the upper part of the chamber 11 by being elevated in the chamber 11 by a rod (not shown).
In this state, the mouth portion 21 of the bottle 20 is held by the holding means 30a, the rod is lowered, and the holding means 30a is arranged at a predetermined position. Thereafter, the canopy 12 is closed and the inside of the chamber 11 is sealed to obtain the state shown in FIG.

Subsequently, a vacuum pump (not shown) is driven to bring the inside of the bottle 20 into a reduced pressure state. At this time, in order to prevent the bottle 20 from being deformed by an external pressure, the outside of the bottle 20 inside the chamber 11 can be decompressed by a vacuum pump.
After reaching the reduced pressure state, the processing gas is supplied into the bottle 20 by the processing gas supply member 15.

Subsequently, a microwave is introduced into the chamber 11 through the microwave waveguide 16. The microwave to be introduced is not particularly limited as long as it can act on the processing gas and cause glow discharge.
The microwave introduced into the chamber 11 brings the processing gas into a high energy state and forms a plasma state. The plasma processing gas acts on the inner surface of the bottle 20 and deposits to form a coating film.

After the plasma processing is finished, the supply of the processing gas and the introduction of the microwave are stopped, and air is gradually introduced through the exhaust pipe 16 to return the inside and outside of the bottle 20 to normal pressure.
Thereafter, the canopy 12 is removed, the holding means 30 a is raised, and the plasma-treated bottle 20 is taken out from the plasma processing apparatus 1.

  As described above, in the plasma processing apparatus of the present embodiment, since the vacuum seal member of the holding unit is arranged outside the contact portion of the contact member, it is exposed to plasma during film formation. Disappear. For this reason, generation | occurrence | production of the crack and particle | grains in a vacuum seal member can be suppressed, and sealing performance can be maintained for a long period of time, and the possibility of poor vacuuming can be eliminated.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This figure is a cross-sectional view showing a partial configuration of a holding means provided in the plasma processing apparatus of the present embodiment.
In the present embodiment, the arrangement position of the first O-ring is different from that in the first embodiment. That is, in the first embodiment, the first O-ring is disposed at a position in contact with the radially outer side of the top surface, whereas in the present embodiment, the first O-ring is disposed on the side surface of the mouth near the top surface. It is arranged at the position where it touches. Other components are the same as those in the first embodiment.
Therefore, in FIG. 5, the same components as those in FIG. 1 and the like are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The holding means 30b of the plasma processing apparatus 1b of the present embodiment includes a holding means main body 31b, an exhaust pipe member 32b, an abutting member 33b, a first O-ring 34b, an O-ring holding member 35b, and a locking member 36b. And a bolt 37b.

On the upper surface of the contact member 33b, as shown in FIG. 5, a contact surface 33b-1 that contacts the top surface 22 of the mouth portion 21 of the bottle 20, and a fitting groove forming surface that becomes the bottom surface of the fitting groove 39b. 33b-2 is formed. The contact surface 33b-1 and the fitting groove forming surface 33b-2 are formed on the same plane.
In FIG. 5, the contact surface 33b-1 and the fitting groove forming surface 33b-2 are formed on the same plane, but the configuration is not limited to this. For example, when the convex taper surface 24 on the outer periphery of the mouth of the bottle 20 is higher (lower) than the position shown in the figure, or when the first O-ring 34 is thinner (thicker) than the diameter shown in the figure, It can be set as the shape which provided the level | step difference which the fitting groove formation surface 33b-2 becomes higher (lower) than the contact surface 33b-1.

  Further, the contact member 33b has a step 33b-3 at the outer peripheral side edge portion from the upper surface. The lower portion of the O-ring holding member 35b is engaged with the step 33b-3.

  The O-ring holding member 35b is formed in a bowl shape such that the cross section is a letter Γ, the inner peripheral edge of the vertical portion forms the outer peripheral surface of the fitting groove 39b, and the lower surface of the horizontal hook portion is the fitting groove 39b. The upper surface is formed. And the lower part of the vertical part 35b-1 engages with the level | step difference 33b-3 of the contact member 33b.

According to such a configuration, the first O-ring 34b is positioned outside the contact surface 33b-1 of the contact member 33b, and therefore is not exposed to plasma during film formation.
For this reason, generation | occurrence | production of the crack and particle | grains in a 1st O-ring can be eliminated, seal tolerance can be maintained for a long period of time, and the possibility of a vacuuming defect can be eliminated.
In addition, since a general O-ring can be used instead of a special O-ring compatible with plasma, the cost can be reduced in combination with a reduction in replacement frequency.

[Third embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This figure is a cross-sectional view showing a partial configuration of a holding means provided in the plasma processing apparatus of the present embodiment.
In the present embodiment, the arrangement position of the first O-ring is different from that in the first embodiment. That is, in the first embodiment, the first O-ring is disposed at a position in contact with the radially outer side of the top surface, whereas in the present embodiment, the first O-ring is a taper on the lower surface of the convex portion on the mouth side surface. It is arranged at a position that touches the surface. Other components are the same as those in the first embodiment.
Therefore, in FIG. 6, the same components as those in FIG. 1 and the like are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The holding means 30c of the plasma processing apparatus 1c of this embodiment includes a holding means main body 31c, an exhaust pipe member 32c, an abutting member 33c, a first O-ring 34c, an O-ring holding member 35c, and a locking member 36c. And a bolt 37c.

Here, on the upper surface of the contact member 33c, as shown in FIG. 6, the contact surface 33c-1 that contacts the top surface 22 of the mouth portion 21 of the bottle 20 and the bottom surface of the fitting groove 39c are fitted. A groove forming surface 33c-2 is formed. There is a step (contact surface step) 33c-4 between the contact surface 33c-1 and the fitting groove forming surface 33c-2, and the fitting groove forming surface 33c-2 is higher. As a result, the first O-ring 34 c can come into contact with the tapered surface 24 of the convex portion 23 formed on the outer periphery of the mouth portion of the bottle 20.
In FIG. 6, the step 33 c-4 is provided so that the fitting groove forming surface 33 c-2 is higher than the contact surface 33 c-1, but the shape is not limited thereto. For example, when the convex taper surface 24 on the outer periphery of the mouth of the bottle 20 is lower than the position shown in the figure, or when the first O-ring 34 is thicker than the diameter shown in the figure, the contact surface 33c-1 And the fitting groove forming surface 33c-2 can be formed on the same plane, or a shape provided with a step so that the fitting groove forming surface 33c-2 is lower than the contact surface 33c-1. can do.

  Further, the contact member 33c has a step (outer peripheral step) 33c-3 at the outer peripheral side edge portion from the upper surface. The lower portion of the O-ring holding member 35c is engaged with the step 33c-3.

  The O-ring holding member 35c is formed in the same shape as the O-ring holding member 35b in the second embodiment. However, the flange portion 35c-2 is formed at a height that can face the tapered surface 24 of the convex portion 23 on the outer periphery of the mouth so that the first O-ring 34c can be fitted in the fitting groove 39c.

According to such a configuration, the first O-ring 34c is positioned outside the contact surface 33c-1 of the contact member 33c, and therefore is not exposed to plasma during film formation.
And generation | occurrence | production of the crack and particle | grains in a 1st O-ring can be eliminated, seal tolerance can be maintained for a long period of time, and the possibility of a vacuuming defect can be eliminated.
In addition, since a general O-ring can be used instead of a special O-ring compatible with plasma, the cost can be reduced in combination with a reduction in replacement frequency.

Although the preferred embodiments of the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention have been described above, the plasma processing apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. Needless to say.
For example, in the embodiment described above, the holding means has a structure that can be divided into five members (holding means main body, exhaust pipe member, abutting member, O-ring holding member, locking member), but the number is limited to five. Instead, it may be two, three, four, or more than six.

In the above-described embodiment, the O-ring has been described as an example of the vacuum seal member. However, the vacuum seal member is not limited to the O-ring, and for example, packing can be used.
Further, the O-ring is not limited to the O-ring having a circular cross section, and an O-ring having a rectangular cross section can be used.
Moreover, although the bottle was mentioned as an example of a process target object, a process target object is not restricted to a bottle, Various plastic containers can be included.

  Since the present invention relates to a holding unit that is placed on a base of a plasma processing apparatus and holds a mouth portion of an object to be processed, the present invention can be used for an apparatus or an apparatus having a holding unit.

It is front sectional drawing which shows the structure of the plasma processing apparatus of this invention. It is a front view which shows the structure of a holding means. It is the elements on larger scale of the holding means in the state which mounted the bottle in the holding means shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows the shape of a nozzle chuck. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the other example of a holding means. It is a fragmentary sectional view showing other examples of a holding means. It is a front view which shows the structure of the conventional holding means. It is the elements on larger scale of the holding means in the state which mounted the bottle in the holding means shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Plasma processing equipment 20 Bottle (object to be processed)
21 mouth part 22 top surface 23 outer peripheral convex part 24 taper part 30a, 30b, 30c holding means 31a, 31b, 31c holding means main body 32a, 32b, 32c exhaust pipe member 32-1a outer peripheral convex part 33a, 33b, 33c contact member 33-1a, 33b-1, 33c-1 Contact surface 34a, 34b, 34c First O-ring 35a, 35b, 35c O-ring holding member 36a, 36b, 36c Locking member 37a, 37b, 37c Bolt 40 Nozzle chuck

Claims (8)

A plasma processing apparatus for forming a plasma state inside a bottle which is a processing object installed in a chamber,
Comprising holding means for holding the mouth of the bottle;
The holding means has a contact surface with which the top surface of the mouth of the bottle contacts;
A plasma processing apparatus, wherein a vacuum seal member in contact with the top surface of the mouth portion of the bottle and / or the vicinity thereof is disposed outside the contact surface. The contact surface is in contact with the inner side in the radial direction of the top surface of the mouth of the bottle ,
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vacuum seal member is disposed so as to contact a radially outer side of the top surface. The contact surface is in contact with a part or all of the top surface;
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vacuum seal member is disposed so as to contact a side surface near the top surface of the mouth portion. The mouth portion of the bottle has a convex portion formed along the outer peripheral surface of the mouth portion,
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vacuum seal member is disposed so as to contact a lower surface of the convex portion. The lower surface of the convex portion is formed into a tapered surface,
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the vacuum seal member is disposed in contact with the tapered surface. The holding means has a fitting groove into which the vacuum seal member is fitted,
The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fitting groove is formed of two or more annular members that can be divided. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vacuum seal member includes an O-ring and / or packing. The holding means is
A through hole drilled in the longitudinal direction of the central portion of the holding means;
A substantially tubular exhaust pipe member fitted into the through hole,
This exhaust pipe member has an extending portion in which a part of the outer peripheral end of the upper opening extends further upward,
The extending portion extends only on the outer periphery of the upper opening on the side where the microwave waveguide of the plasma processing apparatus is attached, and extends by the same length as the length of the mouth of the bottle. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a plasma processing apparatus.

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