JPH0297679A - Device for forming deposited film - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To stably produce a high quality film by installing a transfer chamber for moving a substrate on which a deposited film is formed between plural chambers and by fitting a means for introducing gaseous ClF3 to the transfer chamber. CONSTITUTION:In a device for forming a deposited film, a series of stages for forming a deposited film on a substrate 204 is carried out in plural chambers. The substrate 204 is moved between the plural chambers with the movable transfer chamber 201. An introducing pipe 206 as a means of introducing gas is fitted to the chamber 201 and gaseous ClF3 is introduced from the pipe 206 to remove remaining material such as a film, powder, remaining in the chamber 201 by etching. A high quality film can stably be produced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention provides a deposited film forming apparatus for forming a deposited film, which includes a plurality of chambers, and a substrate between the plurality of chambers and, if necessary, a substrate. The present invention relates to a mass-produced device having a movable transfer chamber for moving a support for supporting a device, and relates to a deposited film forming device that can effectively clean the transfer chamber.

[Prior Art] As a deposited film forming a photoelectric conversion layer in a solid-state imaging device, an electrophotographic image forming member in the image forming field, a document reading device, or a solar cell, it has a high sensitivity and a low S/N ratio (photocurrent [ It is required to have a high Ipl/dark current [1 dl], an absorption spectrum that matches the spectral characteristics of the electromagnetic waves to be irradiated, and be harmless to the human body.

As a material constituting such a deposited film having photoelectric conversion properties, for example, amorphous silicon (hereinafter referred to as rA-3iJ) is used.
It is written as. ) Selenium (Se), ctis, BN, etc. can be mentioned. The formation of such a deposited film has been carried out under reduced pressure using, for example, a vacuum evaporation method, a sputtering method, a vapor phase chemical method, or the like.

Such a deposited film forming apparatus divides the entire process required for deposited film formation into four steps, for example, loading a substrate, heating the substrate, forming a deposited film, and cooling, and each step is performed in four steps. A deposited film forming apparatus has been proposed in which the deposition is performed in two different chambers, and a movable transfer chamber is used to move the substrate between the chambers.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a deposited film forming apparatus including the -4 chambers, that is, an input chamber, a heating chamber, a deposition chamber, a cooling chamber, and a transfer chamber.

In Figure 2, 101, 111, 121° 131.1
41 are a charging chamber, a heating chamber, and a deposition chamber, respectively.

They are a cooling chamber and an I2 sending chamber, each of which is equipped with a vacuum pump (not shown). 102, 112, 122, 132, and 142 are connected to each chamber and the transfer chamber 141, and are opened and closed when substrates for deposited film formation are taken in and out. This is a door that makes it possible to maintain a vacuum inside the room (hereinafter referred to as a gate valve). 143 is a connection between the transfer chamber 141 and each chamber.

It is a transfer chamber elevator that has a movable part for separating, and has a support 104 inside. A hanging tool 145 is provided. 1
44 is a rail for moving the transfer chamber 141 to a position where it can be connected to each chamber.

Further, 103 is a gate valve for installing the substrate for forming the deposited film and the substrate support 104 in the input chamber, and 133 is a gate for taking out the substrate on which the deposited film is formed and the substrate support 104 from the cooling chamber 131.・It is a valve.

An outline of a method for forming a deposited film using the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 will be described.

First, the input chamber 101 is leaked to atmospheric pressure, the gate valve 103 is opened, and the support 104 on which the substrate for forming the deposited film, which has been previously subjected to the desired surface treatment and cleaning, is set is installed in the input chamber 101. do. After the base and the support are installed, the inside of the charging chamber 101 is reduced to a desired pressure by a vacuum pump (not shown). After the inside of the loading chamber 101 reaches the desired pressure, the transfer chamber 141, whose inside has been reduced in pressure by a vacuum pump (not shown), is moved to the rail 144 and the elevator 143.
, and connects to the charging chamber 101 . Loading room 101
If the transfer chamber 141 is connected, the gate valve 1
02 and 142 are opened, and the support tool 104 is moved into the transfer chamber 141 using the hanging tool 145. When the movement of the substrate and support 104 into the transfer chamber is completed, the gate valve 10
2° 142 is closed, and the loading chamber 101 and the transfer chamber 141 are separated by the elevator 143.

Next, the transfer chamber 141 is moved by the rails 144 to a position where it can be connected to the heating chamber 111 whose interior has been previously reduced in pressure, and connected to the heating chamber by the elevator 143. After the connection, the gate valves 112 and 142 are opened and the substrate and support 104 are moved from the transfer chamber 141 to the heating chamber 111. When the movement of the substrate and the support 104 is completed, the gate valves 112 and 142 are closed, and the heating chamber 111 and the transfer chamber 141 are separated by the elevator 143.

The substrate placed in the heating chamber 111 is heated to a predetermined temperature by a heating means such as a heater (not shown).

Thereafter, the substrate and support 104 that have been heated in the same manner are moved to the deposition chamber 121 via the transfer chamber 141, and further to the cooling chamber 131 after forming the desired deposited film.

Finally, the cooled base and support 104 are placed in the cooling chamber 13.
1 is leaked to atmospheric pressure, and the gate valve 133 is opened to take it out from the cooling chamber 131.

A film is formed on the substrate as described above. However, even in this deposited film forming apparatus, the following problems remain.

That is, the substrate and support 104 on which the deposited film has been formed in the deposition chamber 121 are transferred to the cooling chamber 13 via the transfer chamber 141.
However, during the movement, the deposited film often peels off from part of the substrate and support 104 in the transfer chamber 141, and the peeled film is removed from the lower part of the transfer chamber. It remains on the vacuum seal surface of the gate valve 142, causing a vacuum seal failure, and when continuously forming a deposited film, results in atmospheric air being brought into the deposition chamber, impairing the properties and quality of the resulting film. There is a problem in that not only does this lead to a decrease in the quality of the film, but also the peeled film adheres to the substrate, causing defects such as pinholes in the deposited film.

Currently, in order to avoid the adverse effects on film formation due to the above-mentioned problems, the operation of the deposited film forming apparatus is stopped every few cycles of deposited film formation, and residual substances such as powder and film bodies remaining in the transfer chamber are removed. Cleaning work is underway to remove it. For that reason,
This resulted in a substantial decrease in the operating efficiency of the entire deposited film forming apparatus.

In addition, as one of the cleaning methods for removing residual substances such as powder and film remaining in the transfer chamber, for example, CF4. An example of this method is to introduce an etching gas such as NF into the transfer chamber 1 to reduce the remaining material and convert it into a gaseous state for removal. However, the etching gas, ie CF4. When NF3 or the like is used, the residual substance cannot be reduced to a gaseous state without external supply of energy such as heat, plasma, or light. Therefore, in order to remove the residual substances with an etching gas such as CF4NF3, it is necessary to supply energy to the etching gas and the equipment required is large. Removal of the residual substances using the method is not very suitable for practical use.

Furthermore, two transfer chambers are provided, with one chamber dedicated to operating the substrate and substrate support before film deposition, and the remaining chamber dedicated to movement of the substrate and support after film deposition, with a functionally separated configuration. Therefore, methods have been proposed to prevent the peeled-off film from adhering to the substrate before the film is deposited. However, this method also requires a periodic cleaning process of a transfer chamber dedicated to moving the substrate and support after film deposition, and has the disadvantage that the entire equipment becomes large because it has two transfer chambers.

Therefore, it is easy to remove residual substances such as powder or film that has fallen off from a part of the base or support and remains in the transfer chamber, and prevents vacuum seal failure of gate valves. There is a strong need for a deposited film forming apparatus that can prevent the occurrence of pinholes in the film, easily obtain a deposited film of good quality and stable quality, and has excellent mass productivity.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention overcomes the above-mentioned problems in conventional deposited film forming apparatuses, suppresses air intrusion, and provides a deposited film forming method that can stably obtain a high quality deposited film with few defects such as pinholes. The purpose is to provide equipment. Furthermore, another object of the present invention is to provide a deposited film forming apparatus with excellent productivity and high operating efficiency.

[Means and effects for solving the problems] A deposited film forming apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a plurality of chambers for performing a series of steps of forming a deposited film on a substrate. It has a movable transfer chamber for moving the deposited film forming substrate between the chambers, and the transfer chamber has a C.
This device is characterized by being provided with a gas introduction means for introducing l1Fj gas.

In the deposited film forming apparatus of the present invention having a means for introducing CuF3 gas into the transfer chamber as configured above, residual substances such as powder or film remaining in the transfer chamber can be removed by etching. As a result, powder or film remaining in the transport chamber will not adhere to the support before film deposition, and the resulting deposited film will have extremely few defects such as pinholes. Vacuum sealing by the gate valve of the chamber is ensured, and as a result, it is possible to stably produce a high-quality film that suppresses air intrusion into the deposited film.

Further, the powder or film remaining in the transfer chamber can be removed without interrupting the steps necessary for forming the deposited film, such as depositing the deposited film on the substrate, cooling the substrate, etc. Since it can be performed in parallel with the process, excellent productivity can be achieved. Furthermore, regarding the heating chamber, the heater no longer needs to be cooled due to cooling the substrate or atmospheric leakage, and can maintain a constant heating state, which greatly reduces the time required to heat and cool the heater, increasing productivity. can be improved. Furthermore, as for the deposition chamber, there is no need for leakage for loading and unloading the support, and it is possible to keep the deposition chamber always in a reduced pressure state, thereby improving the substantial utilization efficiency of the deposition chamber.

In addition, it is possible to omit the disassembly, cleaning and assembly operations of the transfer chamber, which were conventionally required every few cycles, and it is possible to significantly improve the operating rate of the deposited film forming apparatus.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically explained with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of one main configuration of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration diagram of a transfer chamber provided with an introduction means for introducing a gas containing CuF3 gas, and the transfer chamber includes:
In this example embodiment, the transfer chamber 14 in FIG.
It replaces 1. The rest is the same as the device shown in FIG. 2, so a description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 1, 201 is a transfer chamber, and 202 is a transfer chamber 201.
A gate valve that maintains a vacuum inside and opens and closes when the base body 204 is taken in and out; 203 is a base support; 205 is a hanging fixture that grasps the base body 204 together with the support 203; (1!F is a gas introduction pipe for introducing gas, 207 is a vacuum pump for reducing the pressure inside the transfer chamber 201, and the exhaust gas is led to an exhaust treatment facility (not shown). 210 is a gas introduction pipe for introducing gas into the transfer chamber 201. The elevator 211 is a rail for moving the transfer chamber 201 to a position where it can be connected to each chamber.Hereinafter, in the transfer chamber 201 shown in FIG. A method for cleaning the inside of the transfer chamber 201 by etching residual powder or film will be specifically described.

The pressure inside the transfer chamber 201 is reduced by a vacuum pump 207. In addition, in the lower part of the transfer chamber 201 and near the gate valve 202, there are powders and particles that have fallen off from the base 204 and the support 203 when the base 204 and the support 203 are moved from the deposition chamber 121 to the cooling chamber 131. Membrane remains. After moving the base 204 and the support 203 to the cooling chamber 131, CJ2 is introduced into the transfer chamber 201 from the gas introduction pipe 206.
Introduce F3 gas. Cβ introduced into the transfer chamber 201
The F3 gas is supplied to the lower part of the transfer chamber 201 and the gate valve 20.
The powder or film remaining in the vicinity of 207 is etched into a gaseous substance, and the gaseous substance is exhausted from the vacuum pump 207.

As described above, since the powder or film remaining in the transfer chamber 201 can be cleaned by etching, the gate valve 2
The vacuum seal in 02 is ensured, and the transfer chamber 2
As a result of reducing the amount of air flowing into the deposition chamber 121, air is also prevented from entering the deposition chamber 121, and the amount of air mixed into the deposited film is minimized, making it possible to stably form a high-quality film.

Furthermore, by cleaning the transfer chamber 201 of the present invention, the disassembly of the transfer chamber, which was conventionally considered indispensable after every several cycles of film deposition, is eliminated.
It becomes possible to omit the cleaning 1 assembly work, and the operating rate of the entire deposited film forming apparatus can be greatly improved. Furthermore, the remaining powder or film is removed from the charging chamber 101 or the heating chamber 1.
11 and adhering to the substrate 204 before film deposition, the number of pinholes in the resulting deposited film is reduced, which improves the yield of the product and also reduces the cost of the product. .

CILF! used in the deposited film forming apparatus of the present invention!
The gas acts as a so-called etching gas on the deposited film, unlike conventionally used CF4 and NFs.
, SFa, and other gases.

Cl3F gas is highly reactive with deposited films, for example, it reacts with crystalline silicon films, A-St films, and even powdered silicon hydride called polysilane, converting Si atoms into S
It has the effect of reducing to silicon halide molecular gas, such as iF4, 5iCuF3, which is in a gaseous state at room temperature.

The etching effect of the CuF3 gas mentioned above is not limited to silicon films, but also to other materials known as deposited film forming materials, such as silicon nitride (S i N) films, silicon carbide (SiC) films, amorphous silicon films, etc. Germanium (A-S i Ge) film, tungsten (W)
membrane, titanium carbide (Tic) membrane, titanium nitride (TiN)
It reacts with substances such as films, boron nitride (BN) films, and ITO films used as transparent electrode materials, and has the effect of reducing each substance to a gaseous substance in the same way as silicon.

Furthermore, CρF3 gas has the following two characteristics that are different from gases such as CF4, NF3, SF6, etc. that have been conventionally used as etching gases.

The first feature is that the etching reaction of CJ2F3 gas proceeds without the supply of external energy such as heat, plasma, or light. CF4, NF3, SFa, etc., do not have an etching effect only when supplied to the processing space, but only become effective when energy is applied from the outside to generate fluorine radicals. On the other hand, with Cl2F3 gas, etching proceeds simply by supplying the gas, and there is no need to supply energy such as heat, plasma, light, etc. from the outside. Furthermore, as a result, there is an advantage that the degree of freedom in designing the layout of the deposited film forming apparatus increases.

The second feature is that etching with Cl1F3 gas is extremely fast. Specifically, C11F
The etching speed using the three gases is several times that of the conventional gases mentioned above. As a result, it becomes possible to shorten the time required for the etching process associated with the formation of the deposited film, and furthermore, it becomes possible to reduce the cost of the product.

The CρF3 gas for etching the inside of the transfer chamber is CρF3.
The gas may be used alone, or Ar, He, N2, etc. may be used for purposes such as reducing damage to the equipment and controlling the etching rate, depending on the equipment configuration and the exhaust capacity of the vacuum pump.
It may be used after being diluted with a gas such as. In particular (preferably CfL to reduce damage to the equipment due to 12F3 gas)
It is desirable to use the F3 gas concentration at a dilution rate of 1% to 80%.

In addition, the etching reaction of CJZF3 gas proceeds without applying energy from the outside, but if necessary, heat,
There is no problem in accelerating the etching speed by applying energy such as plasma or light from the outside. In this case, C.J.Z.
As the diluent gas for F3 gas, the above-mentioned Ar, He, N2
etc., but also CF4. It is also effective to use a mixture of etching gases such as NF3, SFa, C112, etc. to control the etching rate.

The pressure inside the transfer chamber when introducing the CuF3 gas can be set as appropriate depending on the purpose or the evacuation capacity of the vacuum pump, but in order to obtain a practically sufficient etching rate, it is preferably 0.01 Torr or more. 700Torr
It is desirable to set it within the range of . In addition, (in order to remove residual substances in the transfer chamber by introducing 12F3 gas,
The F 3 gas is introduced and simultaneously exhausted, and the pressure inside the transfer chamber is maintained at a desired value by balancing the introduction and exhaust. Alternatively, CuF3 gas may be sealed in the transfer chamber under a desired pressure and the interior of the transfer chamber described above may be etched.

The deposited film forming method employed in the deposited film forming apparatus of the present invention includes any method that is carried out under normal pressure or reduced pressure.
There are no restrictions, such as a gas phase chemical reaction method using glow discharge or a hot vapor phase chemical reaction method.

Examples include a photovapor phase chemical reaction method, a sputtering method, and a vacuum evaporation method.

Further, the film deposited by the deposited film forming apparatus of the present invention is not particularly limited, and may include, for example, a silicon film, a tungsten (W) film, a titanium carbide ("ric") film, a titanium nitride (TiN) film, and a boron nitride film. (BN) film, ITO, etc.
Any substance that can be etched by CILF3 gas can exhibit the effectiveness of the deposited film forming apparatus of the present invention.

In the deposited film forming apparatus of the present invention, the chambers installed to perform a series of steps for forming a deposited film, such as a heating chamber and a deposition chamber, may be a single chamber, or the same type of chamber may be used for the steps to be executed. You may provide more than one. Furthermore, when one process can be divided into multiple small processes, for example, p-layer, i-layer, n-layer in a solar cell
It is also effective to deposit each layer in a different deposition chamber, and to move the substrate and substrate support between the deposition chambers using a transfer chamber.

Further, the transfer chamber may be a single chamber or may be provided in plurality depending on the purpose.

Hereinafter, specific examples of the present invention will be described, but the present invention is not limited to the examples in any way.

[Example 1 and Comparative Example 1] The deposited film forming apparatus has the transport chamber 201 shown in FIG. 1 instead of the transport chamber 141 shown in FIG. 2, and the deposition chamber 301 shown in FIG. 3 instead of the deposition chamber 121. An amorphous silicon single cell solar cell was produced using the same deposited film forming apparatus as shown in FIG. Furthermore, the deposition chamber 301
A waveguide 305 for introducing microwaves is provided.

A 1 cm square aluminum plate was used as the base. A-
After depositing the n layer, i layer, and 9 layers of Si under the conditions shown in Table 1, and taking out the deposited film, a layer with a thickness of 1000 nm was deposited on the P layer.
A human transparent electrode (ITO) was vacuum-deposited using a commonly used method as a sample, and its characteristics were evaluated. The specific method will be described below.

In the deposited film forming apparatus used in this example, the transfer chamber 141 in FIG. 2 was replaced with the transfer chamber 201 in FIG. 1, and the deposition chamber 301 shown in FIG. 3 was used as the deposition chamber. Using. Note that each chamber was cleaned in advance before film formation.

The aluminum substrate 304 was subjected to ultrasonic cleaning (for 10 minutes) twice in trichlorethylene, and the aluminum substrate 1
0 sheets were set together on the support 303.

The charging chamber 101 is leaked with atmospheric pressure, and the gate valve 1
03 was opened, and the support 303 on which the aluminum base was set was placed in the charging chambers 1 and 01. Next, input chamber 1
The pressure inside the 01 was reduced using a vacuum pump (not shown). When the inside of the loading chamber 101 is in a high vacuum of lXl0-6 Torr, the transfer chamber 201, which has been depressurized in advance, is moved to the rail 21.
1 and an elevator 210 to connect it to the charging chamber 101. After connection, the gate valves 202 and 102 are opened, and the base 304 and the support 303 are moved to the transfer chamber 201 using the hanging tool 205.
Moved it inside. Then gate valve 202.102
is closed, and the loading chamber 101 and the transfer chamber 20 are moved by the elevator 210.
1 was separated. The separated transfer chamber 201 is connected to the rail 21
1, it was moved 8 times to a position where it could be connected to the heating chamber 111.

Thereafter, the base 304 and the support 303 are placed in the heating chamber 111 in the same manner.
After being heated to 250° C., it was transferred to the deposition chamber 301. Inside the deposition chamber 301 is a waveguide 305 for introducing microwaves.
Under the conditions shown in Table 1, n-type A is sequentially deposited on the substrate by a microwave glow discharge electrophase chemical reaction method.
-Si layer, i-type A-3i layer, and p-type A-3t layer were deposited. After all layers were deposited, the substrate 304 and the support 303 were transferred to the cooling chamber 131 in the same manner as described above, cooled to room temperature, and then taken out through the gate valve 133. Base body 304
After moving the support tool 303 to the cooling chamber 131, the transfer chamber 20
Cl1F3 gas 0.4S is introduced into 1 from the gas inlet 206.
LM%Ar gas 0. By introducing 6SLM (dilution rate 40%) and adjusting the pumping speed of the vacuum pump 207,
The inside of the transfer chamber 201 was maintained at 10 Torr.

After etching the inside of the transfer chamber 201 for 10 minutes as described above, the inflow of CuF3 gas and Ar gas was stopped, and the inside of the transfer chamber 201 was again brought into a high vacuum state of txto-'Torr. With the above steps, one cycle of film deposition is completed (hereinafter referred to as 1 cycle), and the process returns to the first step of the next cycle.

Ten solar cells were created for each cycle, but the number of solar cells that could not be used as solar cells due to short circuits due to pin holes was counted as the usable number. The conversion efficiency (η) of the M battery was investigated using a general method under AM-1, and the average was calculated as the average efficiency (
%). The solar cell was produced in three cycles, and the above evaluation was performed for each cycle. Furthermore, after the completion of the third cycle, the presence or absence of any residue in the transfer chamber was visually confirmed. The results are shown in Table 2. Further, a solar cell was fabricated in the same manner as in this example except that the film deposition cycle was repeated without etching with CuF3 gas in the transfer chamber 201. The evaluation results are shown in Table 2 as Comparative Example 1 together with this example.

As shown in Table 2, in the comparative example, after 3 cycles,
While powder and film remained in the transfer chamber, no residue was observed in this example.

In addition, in the comparative example, the number of usable solar cells decreases each time the film deposition cycle is repeated, but in the present example, it does not decrease and remains stable, and this result depends on the presence or absence of residue in the transfer chamber. I was dependent on it. Furthermore, the average efficiency decreased with each repetition of the film deposition cycle in the comparative example, whereas it remained stable in the present example.

Next, the amount of nitrogen and oxygen contained in the i-layer of the solar cell was measured using a secondary ion mass spectrometer (SIMS). Cs” ions were used as irradiation ions, and a transparent electrode (ITO
) and P layer are removed by Cs+ ion irradiation, i
The nitrogen and oxygen content in the layer was measured. As a result, in the solar cell of the comparative example, the nitrogen content in the i-layer was 8xlO" atm/a
m'', oxygen is 5 X 10 I9a tm/ crn'
In contrast, in this example, nitrogen was contained in 4
0 ”at m/ Crr? and oxygen is 2x101
It was found that both values decreased to 9 atm/Cm'.

From the above, by introducing CJ2F3 gas into the transfer chamber and etching the inside of the transfer chamber, it is possible to remove the residue in the transfer chamber, thereby preventing vacuum seal failure of the gate valve of the transfer chamber, and preventing the transfer chamber from entering the film. It has become clear that atmospheric contamination can be reduced and that the characteristics of the obtained solar cells are stable. Furthermore, since the powder remaining in the transfer chamber and the film will not adhere to the substrate before film deposition, short circuits due to pinholes will be suppressed, making it possible to stably produce high-quality solar cells at a high yield. .

[Example 2 and Comparative Example 2] The deposited film forming apparatus has the transport chamber 201 shown in FIG. 1 instead of the transport chamber 141 shown in FIG. 2, and the deposition chamber 401 shown in FIG. 4 instead of the deposition chamber 121. An A-3t-based electrophotographic light-receiving member was prepared using the same deposited film forming apparatus as shown in FIG. The deposition chamber 401 has a coaxial cylinder type R
, F is a glow discharge device. Note that each chamber of the deposited film forming apparatus used in this example was cleaned in advance before film formation. The base body has an outer diameter of φ80 mm and a wall thickness of 5 mm.

An aluminum cylindrical base 404 with a length of 358 mm was used. The deposition conditions are shown in Table 3.

A cylindrical base 404 set on a support 403 was loaded into the loading chamber 101 one by one for each cycle. Base body 404
And the support 403 is similar to Embodiment 1 when the input chamber 101 is 1X.
After the pressure was reduced to 10-' Torr, it was transferred to a heating chamber 111 and heated to 300°C. After heating, the deposition chamber 40
1, and a long wavelength light absorbing layer, a charge injection blocking layer, and a surface protective layer of the photoconductive layer 1 were deposited in order from the substrate 404 under the conditions shown in Table 3. After the film deposition was completed, the substrate 404 and the support 403 were transferred to the cooling chamber 131 and cooled to room temperature, and then taken out from the gate valve 133.

After moving the base 404 and the support 403 to the cooling chamber 131,
Cl3 F3 is introduced into the transfer chamber 201 from the gas inlet 206.
Gas 0.2SLM, He gas 0.8SLM (dilution rate 20
%) was introduced, and by adjusting the exhaust speed of the vacuum pump 207, the inside of the transfer chamber 201 was maintained at 10 Torr. After etching the inside of the transfer chamber 201 for 15 minutes as described above, the inflow of C11F, gas, and He gas was stopped, and the inside of the transfer chamber was again brought into a high vacuum state of 1.times.1O-'Torr. One cycle of film deposition was completed through the above steps, and the process returned to the first step of the next cycle.

The electrophotographic light-receiving member produced one by one for each cycle was mounted on a Canon copier NP-9330, and evaluated as an electrophotographic light-receiving member.

As an evaluation method, A3 size copies were made and the number of point-like image defects with a diameter of 0.3 mm or more caused by pinholes in the deposited film was counted.

The electrophotographic light-receiving member was produced in three cycles, and the above evaluation was performed for each cycle.

Furthermore, after the completion of the third cycle, the presence or absence of any residue in the transfer chamber 201 was visually confirmed. The results are shown in Table 4. Further, an electrophotographic light-receiving member was prepared in the same manner as in this example except that the film deposition cycle was repeated without etching with the CJZF3 gas in the transfer chamber 201. The evaluation results are shown in Table 4 as Comparative Example 2 together with this example. As shown in Table 4, in the comparative example, powder and film remained in the transfer chamber 201 after three cycles, whereas in the present example, no residue was observed.

Further, in the comparative example, the number of image defects on the copy screen increased each time the film deposition cycle was repeated, whereas in the present example, the number of image defects did not increase. Next, in order to measure the amount of nitrogen and oxygen contained in the photoconductive layer of the deposited film, a sample piece for SIMS (1
0x1Ox5mm) was cut out using a diamond cutter. Cs'' ions were used as irradiation ions, and after the surface protective layer of the deposited film was removed by irradiation with Cs'' ions, the nitrogen and oxygen contents in the photoconductive layer were measured. As a result, in the electrophotographic light-receiving member of the comparative example, nitrogen was 6X10"atm/crn' and oxygen was 4X10"atm/crn'.
/crn', whereas in the electrophotographic light-receiving member of this example, nitrogen is 4X10"atm/c
rr? It was found that the oxygen content decreased to 2xlOI8atm/cm' in both cases.

From the above, by introducing CuF3 gas into the transfer chamber and etching the inside of the transfer chamber, it is possible to prevent the vacuum seal failure of the transfer chamber gate valve and reduce the intrusion of air into the film. It has been shown that it is possible to suppress the occurrence of image defects due to pinholes, and that it is possible to stably produce high-quality electrophotographic light-receiving members at a high yield.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, in the deposited film forming apparatus of the present invention provided with means for introducing Cj2F3 gas into the transfer chamber, residual substances such as powder or film remaining in the transfer chamber can be removed. Since it can be removed by etching, there is no possibility that the powder or film remaining in the transfer chamber will adhere to the support before the film is deposited, and the resulting deposited film will have no defects such as pinholes. In addition to extremely reducing the amount of air, the vacuum sealing by the gate valve of the transfer chamber becomes reliable, and as a result, it becomes possible to stably produce a high-quality film in which air is suppressed from entering the deposited film.

Further, the powder or film remaining in the transfer chamber can be removed without interrupting the deposition process of the deposited film on the substrate, the cooling treatment ring of the substrate, and the steps necessary for forming the deposited film. Since it can be performed in parallel with the process, excellent productivity can be achieved. In terms of the heating chamber, the heater does not need to be cooled due to cooling the substrate or atmospheric leakage, and can maintain a constant heating state, so the time required for heating and cooling the heater is reduced by 1. , it becomes possible to improve productivity. Furthermore, as for the deposition chamber, there is no need for leakage for loading and unloading the support, and it is possible to keep the deposition chamber always in a reduced pressure state, thereby improving the substantial utilization efficiency of the deposition chamber.

In addition, the disassembly, cleaning and assembly operations of the transfer chamber, which were conventionally required every few cycles, can be omitted, making it possible to significantly improve the operating rate of the deposited film forming apparatus.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a transfer chamber in the deposited film forming apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing a conventional mass-produced deposited film forming apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a microwave discharge device. Fig. 4 is a schematic block diagram showing a deposition chamber equipped with R, F, and glow discharge devices. In FIG. 1, 201... Transfer chamber 202... Transfer chamber gate/valve 203... Support 204... Base 205... Hanging tool 206... -Cu F! Gas inlet pipe 207...Vacuum pump 210...Elevator 21 1... In Figure 2, 101...Charging chamber 102...Gate of charging chamber...Valve 103...Substrate Gate/valve 104 for inputting substrate support equipment...Support tool 111...Heating chamber 112...Heating chamber gate valve 121...Deposition chamber 122...Deposition chamber gate/valve 131...・・Cooling chamber 132 ・・Cooling chamber gate valve 133 ・・Gate/valve 141 for taking out the substrate or substrate support ・・Transfer chamber 142 ・・・・・Transfer chamber gate valve 143 ・・Elevator 144...Rail 145...Hanging device In Fig. 3, 301...Deposition chamber 302...Gate/valve of the deposition chamber 303...Support 304...Base 305...Waveguide 306...Microwave introduction window 307...Exhaust pump 308...Substrate heating heater 309...Gas introduction pipe In Fig. 4, 401...Deposition chamber 402...Gate valve of the deposition chamber 403... Support 404... Substrate (internal electrode) 405... External electrode 406... Gas introduction pipe 407... Gas introduction valve 408... Exhaust pump 409... Heater O for heating the substrate ... Rotation axis 2 ... Motor 3 ... Matching box 4 ... High frequency power supply

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a deposited film forming apparatus equipped with a plurality of chambers for performing a series of steps of forming a deposited film on a substrate, a movable transfer chamber for moving the deposited film forming substrate between the plurality of chambers. A deposited film forming apparatus comprising: a gas introducing means for introducing ClF_3 gas into the transfer chamber.