JPH01172561A - Vacuum treating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve quality of treating face on surface of a substrate by making vertically adjustable of a susceptor position under cut-off condition between a carrying chamber and reaction chamber in a vacuum treating apparatus for executing various kinds of treatment on the substrate on the susceptor. CONSTITUTION:In the vacuum treating apparatus for executing the surface treatment of sputtering deposition, gaseous phase growth, etching, etc., on the substrate M on the susceptor 10, the upper part of the carrying chamber 1 is communicated to the reaction chamber 3 through a partition wall 4 and also a cylindrical opening/shutting cover 11 is arranged through a movable seal ring 7. An opening/shutting cover lifting bellows 18 is arranged below the lower end of the opening/shutting cover 11 and also a susceptor position adjusting shaft 19 as liftable is arranged in the opening/ shutting cover 11 and a supporting rod 21 for lifting the susceptor receiving table 8 is set as penetrating an upper part end plate of the opening/shutting cover 11. Further, by arranging a seal mechanism 27 of a supporting bar 21 for the susceptor and the position adjusting shaft 19, the atmosphere in the reaction chamber 3 is prevented from contamination caused by flow-in of outside air, etc., and the surface treating layer having excellent quality on the surface of the material M on the susceptor is formed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a vacuum processing apparatus for performing sputter deposition, vapor phase growth, etching, etc. on a material on a susceptor.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, there are two types of vapor phase growth apparatuses using organic metals: those equipped with only one reaction chamber and those equipped with a sample preparation chamber and multiple reaction chambers on the side of the transfer chamber. There were problems such as unstable product quality due to indoor contamination problems.

Therefore, in order to eliminate such inconvenience, the present inventor connected a reaction chamber to the upper part of the transport chamber provided on the transport line via a susceptor passage port that can be sealed and shut off with an opening/closing lid, and We have developed and have already filed an application for a system in which a susceptor support rod is inserted through the susceptor passage port and is capable of raising and lowering the susceptor pedestal between the transfer chamber and the reaction chamber, and the susceptor support rod is provided with the opening/closing lid ( Patent application 1986-11180
0 application).

However, when performing a vapor phase growth process on a substrate placed on a susceptor, the deposition power of the compound film changes greatly along the direction of gas flow in the high temperature range, so it is difficult to improve the quality of the product. , it is necessary to vertically adjust the position of the susceptor to the optimum position during the reaction to equalize the gas flow on the substrate, but in the vacuum processing apparatus according to the above-mentioned application, the seal is removed as shown in Fig. 3. The opening/closing lid 39 for shutting off is attached to the susceptor support rod 28, and is attached to the susceptor support rod 28.
Since the positional relationship between the susceptor 13 supported on the upper end of the susceptor 8 and the opening/closing M39 is fixed, the susceptor 1 during reaction
It was not possible to adjust the position of No. 3 to the optimum position for the gas flow.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention was made to solve this problem, and an object of the present invention is to enable vertical adjustment of the position of the susceptor even when the transfer chamber and the reaction chamber are cut off during reaction.

[Means for solving problems]

The vacuum processing apparatus of the present invention has a reaction chamber connected to the upper part of the transfer chamber provided on the transfer line via a partition wall, and is capable of moving up and down within the transfer chamber by penetrating the lower wall of the transfer chamber. A cylindrical opening/closing lid capable of pressing an upper end plate is provided on the lower surface of the partition via a movable seal ring, and the opening/closing lid surrounding the opening/closing lid is raised and lowered between the lower end plate of the opening/closing lid and the lower wall of the transfer chamber. A bellows is provided, and a susceptor position adjustment shaft that can be raised and lowered is provided in the opening/closing lid, and the susceptor holder is passed through the susceptor position adjustment shaft and the upper end plate of the opening/closing lid, and is passed through the susceptor passage hole provided in the partition wall. A susceptor support rod that can be raised and lowered between the transfer chamber and the reaction chamber is provided, a sealing mechanism for sealing between the susceptor support rod and the upper end of the susceptor position adjustment shaft is provided, and the sealing mechanism (or susceptor position adjustment The present invention is characterized in that a susceptor position adjustment bellows surrounding a susceptor support rod is provided between the upper end of the shaft and the upper end plate of the opening/closing lid.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

° In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes one or more transfer chambers. A series of roller conveyors 2 for conveying trays are inserted into the transfer chamber 1 and are connected to the conveyor line formed by the roller conveyors 2. Each chamber is equipped with a gate valve. can be separated as appropriate.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a reaction chamber, which is connected to the upper part of the transfer chamber 1 via a partition wall 4, and the upper and lower chambers 1 and 3 communicate with each other via a susceptor passage port 5 provided in the partition wall 4.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a tray, and the tray 6 has a tapered opening/closing lid passage opening whose diameter expands upward in the center thereof, and guided sides parallel to each other are formed in the outer facing parts of the - pair. ing. On the other hand, flanges for positioning in the left-right direction are formed at both ends of each roller of the roller conveyor 2 for conveying the tray.

Therefore, the tray 6 is placed on the roller conveyor 2,
It is guided and conveyed by a flange at the guided side.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a movable seal ring, which has a tapered susceptor support hole that expands in diameter upward and has a larger diameter than the susceptor pedestal 8, and is supported by being tapered fitted into the opening/closing lid passageway of the tray 6. . This movable seal ring 7 incorporates a compression spring 9 that uses spring force to release adhesion caused by pressing against the lower surface of the partition wall 4 .

Reference numeral 10 denotes a susceptor, the upper part of which is recessed with a material placement part, and the lower part of which is recessed with a fitting part, and when the susceptor holder 8 is raised and lowered, the susceptor holder 8 and the above-mentioned susceptor holder 8 are connected to each other. It is transferred between the movable seal ring 7 and supported by being tapered fitted into the susceptor pedestal 8 or the susceptor support hole of the movable seal ring 7.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a cylindrical opening/closing lid passing through the lower wall 12 of the transfer chamber 1, and an elevating frame 13, which also serves as a lower end plate, is fixed to the lower end of the opening/closing lid M11. The lifting frame 13 is supported by a lifting cylinder 14, and a lifting guide 1 that engages with a guide shaft 15 is provided on the side of the lifting frame 13.
6 is provided. A lift guide 17 is provided in the opening/closing lid penetrating portion of the lower wall 12.

Reference numeral 18 denotes an opening/closing lid elevating bellows, which includes an elevating frame 13 that surrounds and supports the opening/closing lid 11 and a lower wall 1 of the transfer chamber 1.
2 and the opening/closing lid 11 and the lower wall 1 of the transfer chamber 1.
There is a seal between the two.

Reference numeral 19 denotes a cylindrical susceptor position adjustment shaft, which is inserted from below into the opening/closing lid 11 and whose lower end is screwed and supported by an adjustment nut 20 that is rotatably mounted on the elevating frame 13. Rotation is prevented by a rotation prevention mechanism (not shown).

Reference numeral 21 denotes a susceptor support rod, in which two rods (upper and lower) are concentrically connected via an adjustment screw mechanism 22, the susceptor pedestal 8 is attached to the upper end of the upper rod, and a belt transmission is attached to the lower end of the upper rod. A rotation motor is connected via a mechanism 23 (only the pulley is shown). This susceptor support rod 21 allows the lower rod to be opened and closed within the susceptor position adjustment shaft 19.
A magnetic fluid rotary seal mechanism 25 penetrates through the upper end plate 24 of the susceptor position adjustment shaft 111 and seals between the upper end of the susceptor position adjustment shaft 19 and the susceptor support rod 21, and connects to the susceptor position adjustment shaft 19 via a bearing 26. Rotatably supported.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a susceptor position adjustment bellows, which surrounds the susceptor support rod 21 and connects the upper end of the magnetic fluid rotary seal mechanism 25 or the susceptor position adjustment shaft 19 (in the embodiment, the magnetic fluid rotary seal mechanism 25) and the upper end plate 24 of the opening/closing M11. The upper end plate 24 of the opening/closing lid 11 and the susceptor support rod 21 are sealed.

A gas introduction pipe 28 and a gas discharge pipe 29 are connected to the reaction chamber 3, and further a water cooling jacket 30 and a high frequency coil 31 are connected to the reaction chamber 3.
is provided. Further, the transfer chamber l is provided with a gas introduction pipe (not shown) and a gas exhaust pipe 32.

In this embodiment, an example of a split structure in which the movable seal ring 7 is tapered-fitted and supported by the tray 6 of the roller conveyor 2 has been described, but they may be formed into an integral structure.

[Effect]

When the elevating cylinder 14 is retracted, the opening/closing lid 11 is guided by the guide shaft 15 and the elevating guide 16 while being supported by the elevating frame 13 which also serves as its lower end plate, and rises relative to the lower surface of the partition wall 4. The upper end plate 24 (opening/closing lid main body) of the opening/closing lid 11 is connected to the partition wall 4 around the susceptor passage port 5.
It is pressed against the lower surface via the movable seal ring 7. The susceptor support rod 21 is rotatably supported within the susceptor position adjustment shaft 19 via a bearing 26 and a magnetic fluid rotary seal mechanism 25.
The opening/closing lid 1 is connected to the opening/closing lid 1 via an adjusting nut 20 screwed thereto.
Since the susceptor support rod 21 is attached to the lower end plate (elevating frame 13) of the susceptor 1, the susceptor support rod 21 rises as the susceptor is opened and closed. The susceptor 10 is transferred from the movable seal ring 7 on the tray 6 to the susceptor pedestal 8 at the upper end of the susceptor support rod 21, and the susceptor 10 is moved up through the susceptor passage opening 5 of the partition wall 4, and the opening/closing lid 11 is placed on the bottom surface of the partition wall 4. When pressed, it is placed at a predetermined position in the reaction chamber 3.

By the way, when performing a vapor phase growth process on the material M on the susceptor 10, the tray 6 is
A susceptor 10 supported via a movable seal ring 7
After placing the material M on top f2, the material preparation chamber is evacuated and an inert gas is introduced, and the transfer chamber 1 and reaction chamber 3 are similarly evacuated to achieve the same level of vacuum as the transfer chamber 1. When the temperature is obtained in the material preparation chamber, the gate valve separating the chambers is opened and the tray 6 is conveyed from the material preparation chamber into the transfer chamber 1 by the roller converter 2. Thereafter, the gate valve is closed, the opening/closing lid 11 is raised and pressed against the partition wall 4, and the susceptor 10 is placed at a predetermined position in the reaction chamber 3, after which the reaction chamber 3 is isolated from the transfer chamber 1. During the process, it is necessary to maintain the interior of the reaction chamber 3 at a predetermined degree of vacuum.

In the apparatus of this invention, the gap related to maintaining the vacuum in the transfer chamber 1 is the opening/closing lid penetration part of the lower wall 12 of the transfer chamber 1 (elevating guide 17
) and the opening/closing Mll, which is provided between the lower wall 12 and the lower end plate (elevating frame 13) of the opening/closing ill, and is provided by an opening/closing lid lifting bellows 27 that expands and contracts as the opening/closing ill moves up and down. It is closed and does not pose a problem.

In addition, gaps related to maintaining the vacuum in the reaction chamber 3 are between the partition wall 4 and the opening/closing lid 11 pressed against the partition wall 4, and between the opening/closing lid 11 and the opening/closing lid 11 pressed against the partition wall 4.
It is located between the susceptor support rod penetrating portion and the susceptor support rod 21, but the former is closed by the movable seal ring 7. The latter includes a magnetic fluid rotary seal mechanism 25 provided between the upper end of the susceptor position adjustment shaft 19 and the susceptor support rod 21, and a magnetic fluid rotary seal mechanism 25 (or the upper end of the susceptor position adjustment shaft 19) that can be opened and closed. Upper end plate 2 of lid 11
4 and is closed by a susceptor position adjustment bellows 27 that expands and contracts in accordance with the rise and fall of the susceptor position adjustment shaft 19, and neither causes any problems. Therefore,
The inside of the reaction chamber 3 can be maintained at a predetermined degree of vacuum.

In order to perform the vapor phase growth process well in this reaction chamber 3, the position of the material M is adjusted via the susceptor support rod 21 so that the gas flow is uniform on the surface of the material M (substrate) placed on the susceptor 10. When adjusting vertical movement, use adjustment nut 2
When the susceptor position adjustment shaft 19 is moved up and down through a screw mechanism by turning the susceptor position adjustment shaft 19 by hand or by rotating it with a motor installed outside the device, the susceptor support shaft 21 is provided within the susceptor position adjustment shaft 19 so that it can only rotate. Since it moves up and down together with the susceptor position adjustment shaft 19, the sample M can be placed at the optimum gas flow position within the reaction chamber 3.

This material M can also be rotated by rotating the susceptor support rod 21 via the belt transmission mechanism 23 using a motor or the like outside the apparatus.

After completing the vapor phase growth process, the opening/closing lid 17 is lowered in the reverse order to open the susceptor passage port 5 of the partition wall 4, and the susceptor 10 carrying the processed material is passed through the movable seal ring 7. Return it to tray 6. Thereafter, the treated material is conveyed to the next step by the roller conveyor 2.

When the opening/closing lid 11 is lowered, a compression spring 9 is applied to the movable seal ring 7.
is provided, and the movable seal ring 7 is forcibly pushed back from the partition wall 4 by its spring force, so even if the movable seal ring 10 is attached to the partition wall 4 by being pressed against the lower surface of the partition wall 4 via the O-ring. There is no problem at all.

In this embodiment, an example of a vapor phase growth processing apparatus has been described, but it goes without saying that the apparatus can also be used for sputter deposition, etching, and the like.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the present invention connects the reaction chamber to the upper part of the transfer chamber via a partition wall, and makes the reaction chamber an independent unit separated from the transfer mechanism to simplify the gas flow within the reaction chamber. Moreover, contamination within the reaction chamber can be significantly reduced. In addition, two telescopic bellows and a magnetic fluid rotary seal mechanism prevent outside air from flowing into the transfer chamber and reaction chamber from outside the device, and a movable seal ring prevents residual gas from flowing into the reaction chamber from the transfer chamber. can be reliably maintained at a predetermined degree of vacuum. Furthermore, the material on the susceptor can be placed in a uniform gas flow by adjusting the vertical movement of the susceptor support rod without impairing its vacuum sealing condition. Therefore, it is possible to cope with various processing conditions, and the quality of the product can be greatly improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the present invention in cross section;
The figure is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a conventional example corresponding to FIG. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Transfer chamber, 2... Roller conveyor, 3... Reaction chamber, 4... Partition wall, 6... Tray, 7... Movable seal ring, 10... Susceptor, 8...・Susceptor pedestal, 11... Opening/closing lid, 12... Lower wall, 13...
Elevating frame, 14... Elevating cylinder, 18... Opening/closing lid elevating seal bellows, 19... Susceptor position adjustment shaft, 20... Adjusting nut, 21... Susceptor support rod, 25... Magnetic fluid Rotating seal mechanism, 27...Susceptor position adjustment seal bellows, M...Material. Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] A reaction chamber is connected to the upper part of the transfer chamber provided on the transfer line via a partition, and the reaction chamber is movable up and down within the transfer chamber by passing through the lower chamber of the transfer chamber, and a movable seal ring is provided on the lower surface of the partition. A cylindrical opening/closing lid capable of pressing an upper end plate is provided, and an opening/closing lid lifting bellows surrounding the opening/closing lid is provided between the lower end plate of the opening/closing lid and the lower wall of the transfer chamber, and an opening/closing lid lifting bellows surrounding the opening/closing lid is provided. A susceptor position adjustment shaft that can be raised and lowered is provided in the susceptor position adjustment shaft, and the susceptor holder is passed through the susceptor passage hole provided in the partition wall by passing through the inside of the susceptor position adjustment shaft and the upper end plate of the opening/closing lid.
A susceptor support rod that can be raised and lowered between the reaction chambers is provided, a seal mechanism is provided for sealing between the susceptor support rod and the upper end of the susceptor position adjustment shaft, and the seal mechanism (or the upper end of the susceptor position adjustment shaft) is provided. A vacuum processing apparatus characterized in that a susceptor position adjustment bellows surrounding a susceptor support rod is provided between the upper end plate of the opening/closing lid.