JP6957576B2 - A load lock chamber, a vacuum processing system having a load lock chamber, and a method of exhausting the load lock chamber. - Google Patents

Description

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to a load lock chamber, a vacuum processing system having a load lock chamber, and a method of exhausting the load lock chamber. Embodiments of the present invention particularly relate to a load lock chamber having a vacuum suction outlet, a vacuum processing system for substrate processing, and a method of evacuating the load lock chamber to create a vacuum.

Substrates are often coated under high vacuum conditions with pressures in the range ^{of 5 × 10 -4} hPa to 0.5 hPa, for example in vacuum processing systems or vacuum coating equipment. High vacuum areas, load locks and unload locks (or inlet and outlet chambers) are specifically applied to the substrates to increase equipment productivity and avoid the situation where the entire equipment must be exhausted to each substrate. used.

Separate load-lock and unload-lock chambers are used to improve material flow rates and increase productivity in current in-line coating plants. A so-called three-chamber coating unit with a simple structure allows the substrate to have a suitable transient pressure (eg, p = 1 * 10 ^-3 hPa to p = 1. It consists of a load lock that is pumped to (between 0 hPa) and an unload lock that adjusts the substrate to atmospheric pressure level again by ventilation. In some systems, load locks and unload locks are provided by the same load lock chamber.

The role of the load lock chamber and the unload lock chamber is to exhaust as quickly and sufficiently as possible until the treatment range reaches a sufficiently low transient pressure, and as quickly as possible until the pressure returns to atmospheric pressure again. To ventilate. After the substrate is unloaded from the load lock chamber, the load lock chamber is evacuated again.

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for reducing pollution at the same time during vacuum processing. For example, when producing displays, the tolerance for particle contamination is low, and quality standards and customer expectations are rising. Contamination is, for example, if the processing system chamber is not properly evacuated and evacuated, if the transport system or components of the processing system generate particles during the process, the substrate to be processed is evacuated. It can occur when bringing particles into the system, etc. Thus, in an operating deposition system, there may be multiple potential sources of contaminated particles that affect product quality. Cleaning and replacement of components, as well as continuous vacuum pumping within the processing system, is one way to reduce the risk of product contamination. However, as mentioned above, this process must be done as quickly and in the most efficient way as possible. The cleaning and replacement procedures cannot be devoted to production time due to the time required for maintenance.

In view of the above, the objectives of the embodiments described herein are load lock chambers, vacuum processing systems, and load lock chambers that overcome at least some of the challenges of the art. Is to provide a method of exhausting.

In light of the above, a load lock chamber, a vacuum processing system, and a method of exhausting the load lock chamber according to an independent claim are provided. Further aspects, advantages and features are apparent from the dependent claims, the specification and the accompanying drawings.

According to one embodiment, a load lock chamber for a vacuum processing system is provided. The load lock chamber includes a load lock wall that surrounds the space of the load lock chamber. The road lock wall includes a first road lock wall and a second road lock wall, and the second road lock wall is arranged so as to face the first road lock wall. The load lock chamber further includes at least one of a first vacuum suction outlet and a second vacuum suction outlet for exhausting the load lock chamber. At least one first vacuum suction outlet is located on the first load lock wall and at least one second vacuum suction outlet is located on the second load lock wall.

According to one embodiment, a load lock chamber for a vacuum processing system is provided. The load lock chamber includes a carrier for carrying the substrate, which includes the front surface of the carrier facing the same direction as the front surface of the substrate of the substrate. The front surface of the substrate is the surface handled by the vacuum processing of the vacuum processing system. The carrier further includes the back surface of the carrier on the back surface side of the substrate. The load lock chamber further includes two vacuum suction outlets, a load lock front wall facing the carrier carrier front, a load lock rear wall facing the carrier carrier back, and a load lock rear wall. ..

According to a further embodiment, a vacuum processing system for processing the substrate is provided. The vacuum processing system includes a vacuum processing chamber adapted to process the substrate and a load lock chamber according to the embodiments described herein, which is configured to transport the substrate from atmospheric conditions to vacuum conditions. ..

According to a further embodiment, a vacuum processing system for processing the substrate is provided. The vacuum processing system includes a vacuum processing chamber adapted for processing the substrate. The vacuum processing chamber has a processing tool facing the processing area, which is on the first surface of the vacuum processing system. The vacuum processing system further includes a load lock chamber configured to transport the substrate from atmospheric conditions to the vacuum processing system. The load lock chamber faces the load lock front wall on the first surface of the vacuum processing system and the second surface of the vacuum processing system arranged to face the first surface of the vacuum processing system. Including the back wall. The load lock chamber further includes a first vacuum suction outlet and a second vacuum suction outlet on the load lock rear wall.

According to a further embodiment, a method of exhausting the load lock chamber for a vacuum processing system is provided. The method involves opening a first vacuum seal valve for inserting a substrate into the load lock chamber, inserting at least one substrate into the load lock chamber, closing the first vacuum seal valve, and Suction from at least two load lock walls of the load lock chambers arranged to face each other, or from two vacuum suction outlets on the rear wall of the load lock, to bring the load lock chamber from 0.05 mbar to 1 mbar. Includes evacuating to a pressure between.

The embodiments also cover devices for performing the disclosed methods, including device portions for performing the features of each of the described methods. The features of these methods can be implemented by any combination of the two, or by any other method, using hardware components and a computer programmed with the appropriate software. Further, the embodiment also covers a method of operating the described device. This includes features of the method for performing all the functions of the device.

By referring to embodiments, a more specific description of the present disclosure briefly outlined above can be obtained so that the above features of the present disclosure can be understood in detail. The accompanying drawings relate to embodiments and are described in the following description.

The load lock chamber and the vacuum processing chamber according to the embodiment described in this document are shown. A schematic perspective view of a load lock chamber having a load lock wall according to the embodiments described in this document is shown. A horizontal schematic view of the load lock chamber according to the embodiments described in this document is shown. A horizontal schematic view of the load lock chamber according to the embodiments described in this document is shown. A horizontal schematic view of the load lock chamber according to the embodiments described in this document is shown. A horizontal schematic view of the load lock chamber according to the embodiments described in this document is shown. A horizontal schematic view of the load lock chamber according to the embodiments described in this document is shown. A horizontal schematic view of the load lock chamber according to the embodiments described in this document is shown. A schematic cross-sectional view of the load lock chamber from the vertical direction according to the embodiment described in this document is shown. A schematic cross-sectional view of the load lock chamber from the vertical direction according to the embodiment described in this document is shown. A front perspective view of a carrier carrying a substrate according to an embodiment described in this document is shown. A rear perspective view of a carrier carrying a substrate according to an embodiment described in this document is shown. A vacuum processing system having a load lock chamber according to an embodiment described in this document is shown. It is a flow chart of the method of exhausting a load lock chamber according to the embodiment described in this document.

From this, various embodiments are referred to in detail and one or more examples thereof are shown in the figure. In the following description of the drawings, the same reference numbers represent the same components. In general, only differences are described for individual embodiments. Each example is presented as an explanation only and does not imply any limitation. Furthermore, the features illustrated and described as part of one embodiment may be used in other embodiments or in combination with other embodiments. This creates yet another embodiment. This description is intended to include such modifications and modifications.

Further, in the following description, the load lock chamber can be understood as a chamber for a vacuum processing system. According to the embodiments described herein, the load lock chamber may be provided with a transition chamber from atmospheric conditions to low pressure or vacuum. For example, a load lock chamber according to an embodiment described herein has a substrate inlet for receiving a substrate supplied in atmospheric conditions and a substrate outlet adapted to be connected to a vacuum chamber such as a processing chamber. Can have. The load lock chamber according to the embodiments described herein may be evacuated to vacuum and may include equipment such as a vacuum suction outlet, a vacuum pumping outlet or a vacuum port, which can be connected to a vacuum pump. May be. In addition, the load lock chamber according to the embodiments described herein may have a substrate transfer system for transporting the substrate within the load lock chamber and / or vacuum chamber (eg, vacuum processing chamber). In some embodiments, the load lock chamber may include a carrier for carrying the substrate within and / or through the load lock chamber. The load lock chamber may have vacuum sealing valves at the substrate inlet and substrate outlet. According to some embodiments that can be combined with other embodiments described herein, vacuum sealed valves may be provided by a group consisting of gate valves, slit valves, and slot valves.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a load lock chamber 100 connected to a processing chamber 700 by a processing tool or processing instrument 710 to show examples of possible application areas of the embodiments described herein. The processing equipment may include, for example, a deposition source. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the substrate is essentially vertically oriented within the load lock chamber and the processing chamber. Vertically oriented substrates may have some deviation from vertical orientation (ie 90 °) within the load lock chamber to allow stable transport at a few degrees of tilt, i.e. the substrate. It should be understood that may have deviations from vertical orientation of ± 20 ° or less (eg ± 10 ° or less).

While the embodiments shown in the figure refer to substantially vertically oriented substrates, the embodiments described herein are loads for vertically or substantially vertically arranged substrates. It should be understood that it can also be applied to lock chambers and vacuum processing systems.

The expression "substantially" or "essentially" as used herein may mean that there may be some deviation from the properties indicated by "substantially". For example, the expression "substantially horizontal" means that it can be biased from the exact horizontal direction, eg, there is a deviation of about 1 ° to about 10 °. According to some embodiments, the expression "substantially" can include a value or range of values that deviates from the value by up to 15%.

In FIG. 1, the load lock chamber is connected to the processing chamber via a sluice 400. After the load lock chamber 100 has been evacuated to an appropriate pressure level (such as a vacuum pressure level), the substrate 300 can be conveyed through the sluice 400. In some embodiments, the load lock chamber 100 can also be used as an unload chamber for removing the substrate from the processing chamber 700. For example, the load lock chamber 100 may have two trajectories to transport the substrate in both directions to and from the processing chamber 700, as described in detail with reference to FIG. The load lock chamber 100 used as the unload lock chamber may be ventilated to return the pressure level of the load lock chamber to atmospheric pressure conditions.

According to some embodiments, the load lock chamber and the processing chamber may be directly connected to each other, as exemplified in FIG. In some embodiments, the buffer chamber may be provided between the load lock chamber and the processing chamber, as described in detail with reference to FIG.

Some embodiments describe load lock chambers for vacuum processing systems. The load lock chamber includes a load lock wall that surrounds the space of the load lock chamber. The road lock wall includes a first road lock wall and a second road lock wall, and the second road lock wall is arranged so as to face the first road lock wall. The load lock chamber further includes at least one of a first vacuum suction outlet and a second vacuum suction outlet for exhausting the load lock chamber. At least one first vacuum suction outlet is located on the first load lock wall and at least one second vacuum suction outlet is located on the second load lock wall.

As mentioned above, the pressure in the load lock chamber generally varies cyclically between atmospheric pressure and vacuum conditions. In known systems, the pumping port for vacuum generation is located at the bottom of the load lock chamber, causing a pumping flow from the top of the chamber to the bottom of the chamber (top-down direction). In a load lock chamber having a vacuum suction outlet (or vacuum pumping outlet, vacuum pumping port) on the opposite side of the load lock chamber according to the embodiments described in this document, the pumping flow is from top-down to inward and outward and also. Can be changed from front to back. According to the embodiments described herein, the flow of particles in the load lock chamber exhaust is generally transferred from a contaminated or contaminated area (such as a carrier frame, glass holder or chamber wall). By changing the pumping flow away from the center of the substrate, additional particle contamination of the substrate to be processed can be avoided. The arrangement of the vacuum suction outlets or pumping ports according to the embodiments described herein ensures that the gas flow during pumping is always guided away from the center of the substrate. The possibility of particle contamination does not transfer out of the substrate.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic perspective view of the load lock chamber 100. The load lock chamber 100 shown in FIG. 2 has been greatly simplified to illustrate the geometric terms used to connect to the load lock chamber according to the embodiments described herein. The load lock chamber 100 shown in FIG. 2 is simplified to a cube. However, one of ordinary skill in the art can shape the load lock chamber into a different (particularly non-cubic) shape according to the embodiments described herein, as long as the shape is suitable for the function of the load lock chamber. It can be understood that the shape of is also possible.

The load lock chamber 100 shown in FIG. 2 includes a first load lock wall 101 and a second load lock wall 102, which are arranged so as to face each other. According to some embodiments, the walls arranged so as to substantially face each other may be understood to face each other with respect to the space of the load lock chamber. For example, walls that are placed facing each other can be placed on opposite faces of the load lock chamber space. In one embodiment, the walls facing each other may be placed on the axis of the load lock chamber (eg, walls 101 and 102 facing each other on the height axis 107 of the load lock chamber, or the load. See walls 103 and 104 facing each other on the vertical axis 108 of the lock chamber). Those skilled in the art should understand that two opposing walls may deviate to some extent from the tightly parallel arrangement of each wall. The load lock chamber space can be described as a space surrounded by a load lock wall. In one embodiment, the load lock space can be understood as a space that is exhausted, eg, a space that can be exhausted by a vacuum suction outlet.

As can be seen from FIG. 2, the load lock chamber 100 further includes walls 103 and 104 arranged to face each other. The wall 103 is sometimes referred to as a first linking road lock wall that links the opposite road lock walls 101 and 102. The wall 104 may be referred to as a second linking road lock wall that links the opposite road lock walls 101 and 102 and is arranged to face the first linking road lock wall 103. The load lock chamber may further include walls 105 and 106, also referred to as load lock front walls 105 and load lock rear walls 106. The terms "road lock front wall" and "road lock rear wall" are described in more detail below.

FIG. 3a shows an example of a load lock chamber 100 according to an embodiment described in this document. FIG. 3a shows a view from the horizontal direction toward the load lock chamber. The load lock chamber of FIG. 3a is shown in a vertical cross section. The load lock chamber 100 includes load lock walls 101, 102, 103, and 104, the walls 101 and 102 facing each other, and the walls 103 and 104 facing each other. FIG. 3a shows a first vacuum suction outlet 110 located on the first load lock wall 101 and a second vacuum suction outlet 111 located on the second load lock wall 102.

A vacuum suction outlet, or vacuum pumping outlet, can be understood as a load lock chamber outlet that assists in exhausting the load lock chamber, as used herein. In particular, the vacuum suction outlet may be the outlet through which the suction force applied to the air or gas in the load lock chamber passes. In some embodiments, the vacuum suction outlet comprises an opening in the load lock wall. According to some embodiments, the vacuum suction outlet may lead to the outside of the load lock chamber. In some embodiments, the vacuum suction outlet is a channel, conduit, passage, pipe that is considered part of the load lock chamber (located inside the load lock wall or outside the chamber wall as part of the load lock wall). , Or it may lead to a collector pipe. The vacuum suction outlet may include a vacuum pump, a particle pump, a particle trap, or a vacuum pumping port configured to be connected to other devices suitable for exhausting the load lock chamber.

The embodiment of the load lock chamber 100 shown in FIG. 3a also shows a carrier 120 capable of carrying the substrate 300 whose edges are indicated by dotted lines. For example, the carrier 120 may include a frame and clamps for holding the substrate. Other mounts of carriers are also possible, such as electrostatic carriers and carriers that carry the substrate by adhesion.

According to the embodiments described herein, the facing arrangement of the vacuum suction outlets helps guide the suction flow away from the substrate (or especially the center of the substrate). The arrangement shown in the examples also helps reduce (particle) contamination of the substrate before treatment.

In some embodiments, the load lock chamber defines a substrate holding position 116 in which the substrate is held in the exhaust (particularly in the substrate transport direction). According to some embodiments, the substrate holding position can substantially correspond to the center point of the substrate (while the substrate is stopped in the load lock chamber). As an embodiment, the vacuum suction outlet shown in FIG. 3a is located near the substrate holding position. Generally, the holding position of the board during exhaust of the load lock chamber is the position where the board stops or the board carrier stops (and / or is fixed in place) when the exhaust process of the load lock chamber starts. Can be recognized as. In some embodiments, the holding position may allow the carrier to be secured in a position where the substrate can be carried upright during exhaust.

An embodiment of the vertically arranged substrate of FIG. 3a is a substantially horizontal line passing substantially half the height of the substrate in the load lock chamber (eg, when the substrate is in the substrate holding position). Is shown. According to some embodiments described in this document, the half above line 117 of the load lock chamber is sucked by the vacuum suction outlet 110 and the half below line 117 of the load lock chamber is sucked by the vacuum suction outlet 111. Be sucked. The flow of sucked air or gas is guided away from the center of the substrate in this embodiment. For example, a virtually horizontal line can be described as a (de facto) neutral line.

[0033] FIG. 3b shows a horizontal view towards the load lock chamber according to the embodiments described herein. The load lock chamber of FIG. 3b is shown in a vertical cross section. FIG. 3b shows an embodiment of a load lock chamber 100 having two first vacuum suction outlets 110 on a first load lock wall 101 and two second vacuum suction outlets 111 on a second load lock wall 102. Is shown. The embodiment of FIG. 3b shows that the vacuum suction outlets 110 and 111 can be placed on the sides of the load lock chamber towards the walls 103 and 104, respectively. FIG. 3a shows the placement of the vacuum suction outlets approximately located at the holding or centering position of the substrate, which, in some embodiments, is the horizontal center of the substrate (for vertically arranged substrates). Can correspond to the position. According to some embodiments, the center position of the substrate can be understood as the center of the substrate in the transport direction during exhaust of the load lock chamber.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 3b having vacuum suction outlets 110 and 111 located at off-center, or lateral, or edge positions of the load lock walls 101 and 102 is in the exhaust of the load lock chamber. The effect of guiding the flow away from the substrate, especially from the center of the substrate, is further enhanced. For example, the vacuum suction outlets 110 and 111 may be arranged in the exhaust of the load lock chamber so that the flow is away from the center position of the substrate.

FIG. 3c shows a horizontal view towards the load lock chamber according to the embodiments described herein. The load lock chamber of FIG. 3c is shown in a vertical cross section. FIG. 3c shows a load lock chamber 100 having two first vacuum suction outlets 110 on the first linking load lock wall 103 and two second vacuum suction outlets 111 on the second linking road lock wall 104. An embodiment is shown. The examples in FIG. 3c show that the vacuum suction outlets 110 and 111 can be placed towards the walls 101 and 102, respectively, towards the top and bottom of the load lock chamber. According to the embodiments described herein, the placement of the vacuum suction outlets can help guide the flow of sucked gas or air away from the center of the substrate.

Further, in FIG. 3c, a vertical line 116 that can define the substrate holding position and a horizontal line 117 that can define the horizontal center line of the substrate are shown in the load lock chamber. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3c, the right half of the load lock chamber is sucked by the vacuum suction outlet 110 on the right side of the line 116, and the left half of the load lock chamber is sucked by the vacuum suction outlet 111 on the left side of the line 116. The flow of sucked air or gas is guided away from the vertical center of the substrate in this embodiment. For example, a virtually vertical line can be described as a (de facto) neutral line. For those skilled in the art, the statements "upper," "lower," "left," and "right" are exemplary references to the projection plane of the figure shown and are in the chamber and within the chamber. It should be understood that it can depend on the orientation of the substrate.

FIG. 4a shows an embodiment of a load lock chamber according to the embodiments described herein. FIG. 4a shows a view from the horizontal direction toward the load lock chamber. The load lock chamber of FIG. 4a is shown in a vertical cross section. The load lock chamber 100 includes load lock walls 101, 102, 103 and 104. The load lock chamber 100 of FIG. 4a provides vacuum suction outlets 112, 113 and 111 for the three load lock walls 102, 103 and 104 of the load lock chamber. The load lock walls 103 and 104 that provide the vacuum suction outlets 112 and 113 are load lock walls that are arranged to face each other. As can be seen from FIG. 4a, the load lock wall 103 and the load lock wall 104 provide channels 130 and 132 for guiding suctioned air from the vacuum suction outlets 112 and 113 to a pumping port that can be connected to a vacuum pump. .. In FIG. 4a, the vacuum suction outlet 111 may be configured to include or be connected to a vacuum pumping port that can be connected to a vacuum pump. The arrows shown in FIG. 4a indicate the approximate direction of the stream drawn from the load lock chamber space. The arrangement of the vacuum suction outlets 111, 112 and 113 can guide the flow of gas or air away from the substrate or away from the center of the substrate as described above. According to some embodiments, the arrangement shown in FIG. 4a can be described as a U-shaped arrangement of vacuum suction outlets.

FIG. 4b guides air or gas into the load lock chamber via channels 130 and 131 for further suction to the vacuum pump via the vacuum suction outlet 111, as indicated by the arrows. , The arrangement of the load lock chamber 100 having the vacuum suction outlet 110 is shown. For those skilled in the art, a vacuum suction outlet 111 (or, for example, a vacuum pumping port that can be connected to a vacuum pump) may be a first wall 101 on the top surface, or a first linking wall 103 and a second linking wall 104. It should be understood that it can be placed on another side of the load lock chamber. The remaining wall of the load lock chamber may be provided with channels for guiding sucked air or gas.

[0039] FIG. 5 shows a view seen from the horizontal direction toward the load lock chamber. The load lock chamber of FIG. 5 is shown in a vertical cross section. FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a load lock chamber 100 having vacuum pumping ports on the four load lock walls 101, 102, 103 and 104. The load lock chamber 100 of FIG. 5 also includes channels 130 and 131 in which gas or air sucked from the load lock chamber space is guided from the vacuum suction outlets 112 and 113. Channels 130 and 131 direct the sucked gas or air to a vacuum suction outlet that includes a vacuum pumping port or is configured to be connected to the vacuum pumping port.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, both channels 130 and 131 communicate with the vacuum suction outlet 111. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in another embodiment the channel can be connected to the vacuum suction outlet 110 (or can be effective for fluid communication). In some embodiments, the channels can both be effective for fluid communication with the vacuum suction outlets 110 and 111 at the load lock walls 101 and 102. In another embodiment, each channel 130, 131 may be effective for fluid communication with one vacuum suction outlet on the load lock wall, respectively. In some embodiments, the arrangement shown in FIG. 5 can be described as an O-shaped arrangement of vacuum suction outlets.

According to some embodiments that can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the number of vacuum suction outlets on each load lock wall is two or more, eg, 4, 5 or greater 8 Or 10 may be used. In some embodiments, the load lock wall may be provided with multiple openings that act as vacuum suction outlets. For example, the load lock wall can be provided as a sintered material that provides multiple openings that act as a kind of shower or as a vacuum suction outlet, especially over the entire area of the load lock wall. According to some embodiments, the plurality of openings acting as vacuum suction outlets lead to channels for collecting air or gas sucked through the openings and the like.

[0042] According to some embodiments, a load lock chamber for a vacuum processing system is provided that includes a carrier that carries the substrate. The carrier includes a carrier front surface that faces the same direction as the substrate front surface of the substrate. Generally, the front surface of the substrate is the surface processed by the vacuum processing of the vacuum processing system. The carrier further includes the back of the carrier on the back side of the substrate. According to the embodiments described herein, the load lock chamber further includes a load lock front wall facing the carrier front surface of the carrier and a load lock rear wall facing the carrier carrier back surface. The load lock chamber includes two vacuum suction outlets on the load lock rear wall, namely a first vacuum suction outlet on the load lock rear wall and a second vacuum suction outlet on the load lock rear wall.

[0043] FIG. 6 shows an example of the load lock chamber 200 in a cross-sectional view cut in the horizontal direction. The load lock chamber of FIG. 6 is a vertical view particularly seen from above the load lock chamber. Those skilled in the art should understand that FIG. 6 shows a horizontal cross-sectional view of the vertically arranged substrate 300. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the embodiments described herein can also be applied to load lock chambers in which the substrates are placed substantially horizontally. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the load lock walls 205 and 206 are provided with a plurality of openings that act as vacuum suction outlets 210, 211. The load lock walls 205 and 206 can be described as a sintered material that provides multiple openings that act as a kind of shower or as a vacuum suction outlet, especially over the entire area of the load lock walls 205, 206. For example, the plurality of openings dispersed over the entire area of the load lock chamber walls 205, 206 prevent the substrate 300 from bending in one direction due to anomalies in the suction flow of gas or air in the load lock chamber. sell. As can be seen from FIG. 6, the plurality of openings operating as the vacuum suction outlets 110, 111 lead to the vacuum suction outlets 213 and 214 (or vacuum pumping ports) configured to be connected to a vacuum pump or the like. ..

The load lock chamber 200 includes a load lock front wall 205 and a load lock rear wall 206. According to some embodiments, the items described in FIG. 2 may also be applied to correspond to the items of FIGS. 6 and 7. For example, the schematic shape of the load lock chamber shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 may be as described for FIG. The cross-sectional view of FIG. 6 shows the first linking road lock wall 203 and the second linking road lock wall 204. The first linking road lock wall and the second linking road lock wall may be opposite walls of the load lock chamber. In some embodiments, the first linking road lock wall and the second linking road lock wall connect the road lock front wall and the road lock rear wall, and / or the first load lock wall and the second load. It may be a wall connecting lock walls (as exemplified in FIG. 2). The load lock chamber 200 shown in FIG. 6 has a plurality of first vacuum suction outlets 210 on the load lock front wall 205 of the load lock chamber and a plurality of first vacuums on the load lock rear wall 206 of the load lock chamber. The suction outlet 211 is provided and the load lock rear wall is arranged to face the road lock front wall.

According to some embodiments, the load lock front wall can be understood as the wall of the load lock chamber facing the front surface of the substrate. The front surface of the substrate is the surface (ie, surface) of the substrate being treated or processed within the processing chamber to which the load lock chamber is connected (via a chamber, or a processing unit such as a heating unit, or directly). In some embodiments, the load lock anterior wall can be understood as the wall of the load lock chamber facing the anterior surface of the carrier within the load lock chamber. For example, the front surface of the carrier can be the surface of the carrier facing the same direction as the front surface of the substrate. As described in detail below, the carrier may have a different shape on the front surface of the carrier than on the back surface of the carrier. In some embodiments, the load lock anterior wall can be understood as a wall located on the first surface of the processing system to which the load lock chamber can be a part. The first aspect of the processing system may be the aspect of the processing system in which the processing area is prepared. According to some embodiments, the processing area of the processing system is a processing tool or processing equipment for processing the substrate (particularly the front surface of the substrate), such as a heating device, a cooling device, a material source, a deposition equipment, a plasma. It may include generating equipment, vapor deposition equipment, coating equipment, cleaning equipment, etching equipment, and the like.

According to some embodiments described herein, the load lock anterior wall of the load lock chamber may be located on the same surface as the processing area of the processing system to which the load lock chamber may be a part. In particular, the load lock anterior wall of the load lock chamber can be oriented in the same direction as the processing area of the processing system to which the load lock chamber can be part.

Those skilled in the art should understand that the rear wall of the load lock is the wall of the load lock chamber arranged to face the front wall of the load lock. In particular, the above description of the load lock front wall may be applied to correspond to the load lock rear wall, if desired. For example, the load lock rear wall may be the wall of the load lock chamber facing the rear wall of the substrate and / or the rear wall of the substrate carrier.

Returning to FIG. 6, the front wall of the load lock is represented by the reference symbol 205, and the rear wall of the load lock is represented by the reference symbol 206. The load lock chamber embodiment of FIG. 6 shows the substrate 300 carried by the substrate carrier 220. The front surface of the substrate carrier is represented by the reference symbol 225, and the front surface of the substrate is represented by the reference symbol 305. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the front surface 305 of the substrate 300 and the front surface 225 of the carrier 220 are coplanar to each other. For example, in order to avoid the influence of shadows when processing the substrate, the substrate is carried with the front surface coplanar with the front surface of the carrier.

Those skilled in the art should understand that the carrier may be provided in a shape different from that shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. For example, the carrier may be adapted to hold the substrate electrostatically, magnetically, or by adhesion, and during processing such as an edge exclusion mask, the mask is applied to the carrier and the substrate (receptive portion (). Reception) can be included. In some embodiments, the carrier itself may provide an edge exclusion mask.

As can be seen from the embodiment of FIG. 6, the two vacuum suction outlets 213 and 214, one of which is located on the load lock front wall 205 and the other of which is located on the load lock rear wall 206, are located at the center of the substrate. Has been done. In some embodiments, the center position can correspond to the center position of the horizontal substrate (in the case of vertically arranged substrates). According to some embodiments, the center position of the substrate may be understood as the center of the substrate in the transport direction in the exhaust of the load lock chamber (eg, in the substrate holding position). Vacuum suction outlets 210 and 211 located on both the front wall of the load lock and the rear wall of the load lock chamber can also help prevent unidirectional bending of the substrate. The arrows shown in FIG. 6 indicate the direction of flow in the exhaust of the load lock chamber.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the load lock chamber 200 in a schematic cross-sectional view cut in the horizontal direction. The load lock chamber of FIG. 7 is a vertical view particularly seen from above the load lock chamber. FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of a load lock chamber 200 including a load lock front wall 205, a load lock rear wall 206, and a substrate carrier 220 having a front surface 225. The substrate 300 having the substrate front surface 305 is shown to be carried by the substrate carrier 220. The load lock chamber 200 of FIG. 7 includes two vacuum suction outlets 210 and 211, both located on the load lock rear wall 206. The two vacuum suction outlets 210 and 211 are located at a distance from the center of the substrate, particularly in the edge or boundary region of the substrate 300. For example, an edge region or boundary region (or each edge region shown on the left and right sides of the substrate in FIG. 7) may include an extension of about 20% of the substrate in the horizontal direction.

According to some embodiments, the two vacuum suction outlets assist in inducing a gas or air flow away from the center of the substrate during exhaust of the substrate. In the embodiment of FIG. 7, in particular, the two vacuum suction outlets 210 and 211 not only help guide the air or gas in the load lock chamber away from the center position of the substrate, but also of the substrate 300. Help guide you away from the front 305 as well. In particular, the flow is guided from the front surface of the substrate to the back surface of the substrate. The arrangement shown in FIG. 7 reduces particle contamination on the front surface of the substrate (the treated surface of the substrate).

8a and 8b show a carrier 220 (also referred to as a substrate carrier) for carrying the substrate. In particular, the carrier 220 is configured to carry the substrate within the load lock chamber according to the embodiments described herein. In some embodiments, the carrier may be configured to carry the substrate through a load lock chamber. For example, the carrier may be adapted to hold the substrate before it enters the load lock chamber and after the substrate exits the load lock chamber, such as when the substrate is on its way to a vacuum processing system. According to some embodiments, the front carrier may be adapted to carry a mask for the substrate, such as a mask for covering a portion of the substrate during the process (eg, during the deposition process). In some embodiments, the mask may be an edge exclusion mask. The carrier may be configured to receive the mask before entering the load lock chamber before the carrier enters the processing chamber or while the carrier is in the processing chamber.

As can be seen from FIGS. 8a and 8b, the carrier front surface 225 (shown in FIG. 8a) and the carrier back surface 226 (shown in FIG. 8b) of the carrier 220 may be designed differently. For example, the back surface 226 may include a receiving portion 223 (ie, recess, notch, or pouch) for a fixed device (tightening device, movable tightening device, etc.), an operating device 227, a control device, a handle 224, and the like. The front surface of the carrier may include a receiving portion 221 for a positioning mask 222 such as a substrate. According to some embodiments, the front surface of the carrier may be configured to undergo processing. For example, the anterior surface of the carrier can have a defined resistance to temperature, chemicals, deposits, etc. In some embodiments, the carrier anterior surface may be designed so as not to include complex shapes that can be difficult to clean after the substrate has been processed. According to some embodiments, the front surface of the carrier has a surface, fewer receiving portions compared to the back surface of the carrier, suitable material, or in some cases surface treatment (eg, smoothing the front surface of the carrier). Can have a simple shape, including.

FIG. 8a shows a front view of the carrier 220 having the carrier front surface 225. FIG. 8b shows a rear view of a carrier having a carrier back surface 226. The carrier 220 holds the substrate 300 vertically. In FIG. 8a, the front surface 305 of the substrate 300 can be seen, and in FIG. 8b, the back surface 306 of the substrate 300 can be seen. The carrier 220 is configured such that the substrate front surface 305 is substantially coplanar with the carrier front surface 225 when the substrate is carried by the carrier 220. According to some embodiments, it can be understood that the front surface of the carrier and the front surface of the substrate are substantially coplanar in that the front surface of the carrier and the front surface of the substrate form a continuous plane in the plane of the substrate.

According to some embodiments, the load lock chamber may include a guidance device, such as a rail for guiding carriers in the load lock chamber. The carrier of the load lock chamber according to the embodiments described herein may include a transfer device, such as a roller for transfer and for moving within the induction device.

[0057] According to some embodiments, the load lock chambers described herein (and carriers for load lock chambers, as described herein) may be adapted for large area substrates. According to some embodiments, each carrier with a large area substrate, or multiple substrates, can have a size of ^{at least 0.67 m 2.} Typically, the size may be ^{greater than or equal to about 0.67 m 2} (0.73 x 0.92 m-Gen4.5), more typically ^{from about 2 m 2} to about 9 m 2 or even 12 m. ^It may reach 2. Typically, the substrate or carrier on which the structures, systems, chambers, sluices, and valves according to the embodiments described herein are prepared is the large area substrate described herein. For example, large area substrates or carriers, corresponding to GEN4.5 corresponds to about 0.67 m ² substrate (0.73 × 0.92 m), about 1.4 m ² substrate (1.1 m × 1.3 m) GEN5, GEN7.5 corresponding to a substrate of about 4.29 ^{m 2 (1.95 m x 2.2 m), GEN 8.5 corresponding to a substrate of about 5.7 m 2} (2.2 m x 2.5 m), or It may be GEN10 corresponding to a substrate (2.85 m × 3.05 m) of about 8.7 m ^2. Larger generations such as GEN11 and GEN12, as well as corresponding substrate areas, may be similarly mounted. According to some embodiments that can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the system can be configured, for example, for TFT manufacturing with static deposition.

According to some embodiments, the arrangement of the load lock chamber and the vacuum suction outlets of the embodiments described herein is such that it is separated from the substrate during exhaust of the load lock chamber, especially on the front surface of the substrate and /. Alternatively, it provides a flow of gas or air directed away from the center of the substrate. The particles sucked out of the load lock chamber are guided away from the front surface of the substrate. By guiding the attracted particles away from the front surface of the substrate, the flow of particles in the load lock chamber does not pass through the front surface of the substrate and does not cause contamination on the front surface of the substrate. The embodiments described herein having a vacuum suction outlet on the opposite side of the load lock chamber or a vacuum suction outlet on the back of the load lock chamber reduce contamination on the front surface of the substrate and enhance the quality of the treated product.

According to some embodiments, the vacuum suction outlet guides the flow of gas or air during exhaust away from the position where the substrate being exhausted is held with the load lock chamber. Can be arranged to do so. In some embodiments, the load lock chamber provides a substrate holding position in which the substrate is held during exhaust.

[0060] According to some embodiments, a vacuum processing system for processing the substrate is provided. The vacuum processing system may include a vacuum processing chamber adapted for processing the substrate and a load lock chamber according to the embodiments described herein. The load lock chamber may be configured to transport the substrate from atmospheric conditions to vacuum conditions. In some embodiments, the load lock chamber is configured to transport the substrate from atmospheric conditions to the vacuum processing chamber.

[0061] In some embodiments, when the substrate is in the load lock chamber, the load lock chamber is evacuated and, for example, low pressure, low vacuum, or medium vacuum can be brought into the load lock chamber. For example, a load lock chamber can be subjected to a typical pressure of about 1 mbar. According to some embodiments, the processing chamber has a higher vacuum than the load lock chamber (ie, by having an ultimate vacuum (base pressure) between ^{, for example, about 10-8} mbar and about ^{10-5 mbar.} , Lower pressure).

According to some embodiments, a vacuum processing system for processing the substrate is provided. The vacuum processing system may include a vacuum processing chamber adapted to process the substrate. The vacuum processing chamber may have a processing tool facing the processing area, which is on the first surface of the vacuum processing system. The vacuum processing system may further include a load lock chamber configured to transport the substrate from atmospheric conditions to vacuum conditions. The load lock chamber faces the load lock front wall on the first surface of the vacuum processing system and the second surface of the vacuum processing system arranged to face the first surface of the vacuum processing system. May include a lock rear wall. According to some embodiments described in this document, the load lock chamber further has a first vacuum suction outlet and a second vacuum suction outlet on the load lock rear wall, or a first vacuum on the load lock front wall. Includes a second vacuum suction outlet on the suction outlet and the rear wall of the load lock.

FIG. 9 shows a vacuum processing system according to the embodiments described in this document. FIG. 9 shows a vacuum processing system 500 according to the embodiments described in this document. Examples of processing systems include a first vacuum processing chamber 501 and a buffer chamber 521. The vacuum processing system 500 further includes a processing chamber in some embodiments. The vacuum chamber can be a deposition chamber or other processing chamber, in which a vacuum is created. In FIG. 9, a load lock chamber 522 can be seen that results in a transition from atmospheric conditions outside the processing system to vacuum conditions inside the processing system chamber. The load lock chamber 522 may be a load lock chamber as described in detail above and may include the arrangement of vacuum suction outlets described in detail in the above embodiments. According to the embodiments described herein, the load lock chamber 522 and the vacuum chamber 501 (and in some cases additional vacuum chambers) may be connected by a transfer system via a linear transfer path. According to the embodiments described herein, the transfer system may include a dual track transfer system that includes several transfer tracks 561, 563, 564. In some embodiments, the transfer system may further include a rotating module capable of rotating the substrate along the transfer path. For example, large area substrates commonly used in the manufacture of displays can be transported along the linear transport path of the substrate processing system 500. Typically, the linear transport path is provided by transport tracks 561 and 563, such as a linear transport track having a plurality of rollers or the like arranged along the line.

According to a typical embodiment, the transport orbit and / or rotational trajectory is provided by a transport system at the bottom of the large area substrate and a guidance system at the top of the essentially vertically oriented large area substrate. sell.

According to different embodiments that can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the vacuum chamber dual orbital transport system, i.e., a transport system having a first transport path and a second transport path, is a fixed dual. It may be provided by a track system, a movable single track system or a movable dual track system. The fixed dual track system includes a first transport track and a second transport track, the first transport track and the second transport track cannot move laterally, i.e. the substrate is perpendicular to the transport direction. I can't move. A movable single track system is a dual track by having a linear transport path that can move laterally, i.e. perpendicular to the transport direction, so that the substrate is fed onto the first transport path or the second transport path. A transport system is provided, the first transport path and the second transport path are separated from each other. The movable dual track system includes a first transport track and a second transport track, both transport tracks are laterally movable, i.e. both transport tracks are from the first transport path to the second transport. Each position can be switched to the road and vice versa.

[0065] According to some embodiments, the vacuum processing system 500 may include processing tools such as the processing tool 570 exemplified in chamber 501 of the vacuum processing system 500. For example, the processing tools provided for a vacuum processing system can be provided by material deposit sources, evaporators, targets, plasma generation devices, heating devices, cooling devices, cleaning devices and the like. In some embodiments, heating, cooling, cleaning, bringing the substrate into high vacuum conditions, etc. can be prepared in a buffer chamber such as the buffer chamber 521 of FIG. Typically, the processing tool faces the processing area 580, which is on the first surface 590 of the vacuum processing system (the load lock front wall 505 of the load lock chamber is located on the first surface 590). ing). The vacuum processing system further includes a second surface 591 facing the first surface 590 (the load lock rear wall 506 of the load lock chamber faces the second surface 591 of the vacuum processing system). According to some embodiments, the first surface 590 of the vacuum processing system 500 can be described as a load lock chamber by a vacuum processing chamber having approximately the same orientation within the vacuum processing system. If there is no processing chamber with the same orientation as the load lock chamber (such as the processing chamber placed after the rotating module of the vacuum processing system 500), the first surface is the front surface of the substrate during the exhaust of the load lock chamber. Can be described as the facing side.

FIG. 10 shows a flow diagram of a method for evacuating the load lock chamber of a vacuum processing system. Method 600 includes opening a first vacuum sealing valve at block 610 to insert the substrate into the load lock chamber. According to some embodiments, the first vacuum sealed valve can be provided as a means of transition between the load lock chamber and the environment of the processing system in which the load lock chamber can be a part. According to some embodiments, the load lock chamber can be the load lock chamber described in connection with FIGS. 1-7. The load-lock chamber features described above can be applied to load-lock chambers used in the methods according to the embodiments described herein. At block 620, at least one substrate is inserted into the load lock chamber. For example, the substrate can be prepared in a carrier capable of carrying and transporting the substrate, especially within a vacuum processing system. For example, the carrier may be the carrier described with respect to FIGS. 7, 8a and 8b. In particular, the carrier may provide a carrier front surface that faces in the same direction as the substrate front surface, which is the surface of the substrate to be processed.

At block 630, the first vacuum seal valve is closed. According to the embodiments described herein, the load lock chamber is then evacuated to a pressure between 0.05 mbar and 1 mbar by providing suction from at least two opposite load lock walls of the load lock chamber. For example, suction is provided via a vacuum suction outlet. According to some embodiments, suction is applied to the two opposite walls of the load lock chamber, eg, the first wall 101 and the second wall 102 of the load lock chamber, or the front, as shown in the figure above. Provided by a vacuum pumping port located on the wall 205, the rear wall 206, and the like. According to some embodiments, suction can be provided via a vacuum suction outlet that can be connected to a vacuum pump. The vacuum suction outlet can be provided on the wall of a load lock chamber in a U-shaped, X-shaped, or O-shaped arrangement, as described in detail above. Some of the embodiments may provide suction for exhausting the load lock chamber from three or four sides of the load lock chamber.

[0068] According to some embodiments, the block 630 additionally or alternatively provides suction from at least two vacuum suction outlets on the rear wall of the load lock chamber, thereby providing suction from 0.05 mbar. Includes evacuating the load lock chamber to a pressure between 1 and 1 mbar. For example, the load lock chamber includes a front surface corresponding to the front surface of the substrate (the surface or surface of the substrate to be processed) and a back surface facing the front surface, particularly as described in detail above with reference to FIGS. 6-8. sell.

Although the above description is intended for embodiments, other embodiments and further embodiments may be devised without departing from the basic scope of the present disclosure, and the scope of the present disclosure is attached. It is determined by the scope of claims of.

Claims (15)

Has a substrate front及beauty substrate backside, a large area substrate having a substrate front surface is processed by vacuum processing system (300) is configured to convey to the vacuum condition from atmospheric conditions, the load lock for a vacuum processing system In the chamber (100; 200; 522), the large area substrate (300) is vertically oriented within the load lock chamber (100; 200; 522).
The load lock front wall (205) facing the front surface (305) of the large area substrate (300),
The load lock rear wall (206) facing the back surface (306) of the large area substrate (300) and
Two vacuum suction outlets provided on the load lock rear wall (206), including two vacuum suction outlets (210; 211) located at a distance from the center of the large area substrate (300). Load lock chamber (100; 200; 522). A carrier (120; 200) for carrying a large area substrate (300) is further provided, the front surface (225) of the carrier faces the same direction as the front surface (305) of the substrate, and the back surface (226) of the carrier is the side of the back surface (306) of the substrate. The load lock chamber according to claim 1 (100; 200; 522). 1 or claim 1, further comprising a substrate inlet for receiving a large area substrate (300) supplied under atmospheric conditions and a substrate outlet for connecting to another vacuum chamber (501; 521; 700). 2. The load lock chamber (100; 200; 522) according to 2. 1 or claim 1, further comprising a substrate outlet for receiving a large area substrate (300) supplied under atmospheric conditions and a substrate inlet for connecting to another vacuum chamber (501; 521; 700). 2. The load lock chamber (100; 200; 522) according to 2. Further, according to claim 1, the first vacuum sealing valve for inserting the large area substrate (300) into the load lock chamber (100; 200; 522) and the second vacuum sealing valve are provided due to atmospheric conditions. 4. The load lock chamber (100; 200; 522) according to any one of 4. The load lock chamber (100; 200; 522) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which is compatible with a vertically arranged large area substrate (300). The load lock chamber (100; 200; 522) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which is compatible with a large area substrate (300) vertically arranged in the load lock chamber (100; 200; 522). The carrier (220) carries the large-area substrate (300) so that the front surface (305) of the substrate is flush with the front surface (225) of the carrier when the large-area substrate (300) is carried. The load lock chamber (100; 200; 522) according to any one of the above. Upon evacuation of the load lock chamber, two vacuum suction outlets (210; 211) provided on the load lock rear wall (206) ensure that the evacuation flow is separated from the carrier front surface (225). Item 6. The load lock chamber (100; 200; 522) according to any one of Items 1 to 8. The load lock chamber (100; 200; 522) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the two vacuum suction outlets (210; 211) are arranged in the boundary region of the large area substrate (300). The load lock chamber (100; 200; 522) of claim 10, wherein the boundary region occupies 20% of the horizontal extension of the large area substrate. Two vacuum suction outlets (210; 211) guided the particles sucked out of the load lock chamber away from the front surface of the substrate (305) to prevent the flow of particles from passing through the front surface of the substrate (305). The load lock chamber (100; 200; 522) according to any one of claims 1 to 11. The load lock chamber (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the two vacuum suction outlets (210; 211) reduce particle contamination on the substrate front surface (305) of the large area substrate (300). 200; 522). A vacuum processing system (500) for processing large area substrates.
A vacuum processing chamber (501; 502; 503; 521) for processing a large area substrate (300), and
A vacuum processing system (500) comprising the load lock chamber (100; 200; 522) according to any one of claims 1 to 13. The method (600) for exhausting the load lock chamber (100; 200; 522) according to any one of claims 1 to 13.
Opening the first vacuum sealed valve (610) for inserting the large area substrate (300) into the load lock chamber (100; 200; 522),
Inserting at least one large area substrate (300) into the load lock chamber (100; 200; 522) (620) and
Closing the first vacuum sealed valve (630),
Exhaust the load lock chamber (100; 200; 522) to a pressure between 0.05 mbar and 1 mbar by suction from two vacuum suction outlets (110; 111) at the load lock rear wall (106; 206). (640) and the method (600).

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