JPH03188277A - Vacuum process device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To slowly evacuate a space and to prevent the whirling up of dust by introducing a gas into the space in a charging and discharging chamber separated by a flexible partition and contg. no samples to expand the space and reducing the volume of the space contg. a sample. CONSTITUTION:A sample 3 placed on a cart holder 1 is charged into a treating chamber S from a charging and discharging chamber 2 provided with a hatch 9 through a gate valve 8, treated in vacuum, transferred to the chamber 2 and discharged to the outside of the system through the hatch 9. In this vacuum process device, the chamber 2 is separated by the flexible partition 4 into the space X contg. the sample and the space A contg. no samples. Gas inlet and outlet lines 7X and 7A are independently connected to the spaces X and A. When the sample 3 is charged or discharged, the chamber 2 is evacuated, a gas is introduced into the space A to expand the partition 4, and the volume of the space X is reduced. Consequently, the chamber 2 is slowly evacuated or vented without deteriorating productivity, the whirling up of dust is minimized, and the product yield is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to vacuum process equipment such as plasma processing equipment and vapor deposition equipment.

[Prior Art] In a vacuum process apparatus, in order to maintain a processing chamber in a vacuum state at all times, a loading/unloading chamber is often provided adjacent to the processing chamber, which is repeatedly exposed to atmosphere and vacuum. In such an apparatus, the loading/unloading chamber is depressurized before being communicated with the processing chamber, and is vented before being opened to the atmosphere.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Incidentally, when performing venting and depressurization, there has been a conventional problem of dust flying up. In order to avoid this as much as possible, it goes without saying that venting operations and depressurization operations should be performed as gently as possible. However, taking a long time for venting and depressurization is not preferable because it directly leads to a decrease in productivity.

The present invention has been made with attention to such problems, and is intended to reduce the volume of the space in which the sample is placed as much as possible without affecting the loading and unloading of the sample or sample holder. The purpose of this invention is to realize a vacuum process apparatus that allows venting and depressurization to be performed as slowly as possible within the required time.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention takes the following measures.

That is, the vacuum process apparatus of the present invention is a vacuum process apparatus having a loading/unloading chamber, in which the loading/unloading chamber is separated by a flexible partition into a space in which a sample is placed and a space in which a sample is not placed, and each space is It is characterized in that a gas lead-in/output line is connected independently to the gas inlet/output line.

[Operation] With respect to both spaces separated by a flexible partition, the space where the sample is placed needs to be gently vented or depressurized, but the space where the sample is not placed does not need to be vented or depressurized gently.

Therefore, if the flexible partition wall is quickly activated to reduce the volume of the space as much as possible before venting or depressurizing the space where the sample is placed, the volume that needs to be vented or depressurized can be reduced. However, as a result, it becomes possible to perform the venting operation and depressurization operation more slowly even within the same required time as in the past.

[Example] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1st Embodiment> As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this vacuum process apparatus is equipped with a parallel flat plate horizontal cart holder 1 for carrying it into a processing chamber S or carrying it out of the apparatus from the processing chamber S. loading/unloading room 2
A sample 3 requiring vacuum processing is attached to the cart holder 1. A flexible tube 4 serving as a flexible partition wall is attached to the loading/unloading chamber 2 so as to be expandable and retractable.
It is separated into a space X (outside the tube) where the sample 3 is placed and a space A (inside the tube) where the sample 3 is not placed. The flexible tube 4 is provided so that it can hang down to the vicinity of the sample 3 as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 2 when it is expanded, and can retract toward the upper wall 2a of the loading/unloading chamber 2 when it is deflated as shown by the solid line in the same figure. There is.

A pair of gas inlet/output lines 7x and 7A are connected to both spaces ISA via valves 5.6, respectively.

These gas inlet/output lines 7X178 connect the space ISA to a vacuum pump (not shown) when the valve 5 is opened, and release the spaces X and A to the atmosphere when the valve 6 is opened. In addition, the first
In the figure, 8 is a gate valve that communicates or shuts off the loading/unloading chamber 2 and the processing chamber S as appropriate, and 9 is a gate valve that opens the loading/unloading chamber 2.
・Sochi.

With this configuration, the sample 3 that has been processed is transferred to the processing chamber S.
When the sample 3 is transported to the loading/unloading chamber 2, the sample 3 is taken out of the apparatus according to the following procedure.

First, open the valve 6 of the gas inlet/output line 7A to open the space A.
is vented, thereby reducing the volume of space X as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. There is no need to slowly vent at this time. Next, for the reduced space X, the inlet/outlet path 7X
Open valve 6 to vent space X. At this time, you need to do it slowly. However, since the volume of space X has been reduced in advance, venting does not take much time.

When the venting is finished, in order to make it easier to take out the sample 3, the valve 6 of the gas lead-in/out system 7x is left open, and the valve 5 of the gas lead-in/out system 7A is opened to retract the flexible tube 4 again, and the space A is Reduce the volume of. There is no need to slowly vent at this time. Finally, open the nozzle 9 and take out the sample 3.

Further, from the state in which the sample 3 has been taken out, a new sample 3 is sent into the processing chamber S according to the following procedure. First, insert the sample 3 into the carry-in/out chamber 2, close the hatch 9, and open the valve 5 of the gas lead-in/out system 7X to gently open the space exhaust to.

At this time, the volume of the space A gradually increases as the space X is evacuated, and the volume of the space X is gradually reduced, so that the evacuation does not take much time. After the space X is evacuated, the valve 5 of the gas introduction/output system 7A is opened to reduce the volume of the space A.

At this time, there is no need to slowly exhaust the air. When the exhaust is finished, the gate valve 8 is opened and the sample 3 is transported to the processing chamber S.

However, if this is the case, during operations where dust is likely to fly up (when venting or depressurizing space X)
Since the volume of the space You can avoid wasting money.

Therefore, according to the illustrated apparatus, it is possible to effectively improve the yield of products without causing a decrease in productivity.

Second Embodiment> As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, this embodiment has a loading/unloading chamber 12 for loading/unloading a parallel plate, vertical, double-sided electrode type cart holder 11.

The sample 13 is mounted facing both side walls 11a of the cart holder 11. Inside the drawer chamber 12, three flexible tubes 14, 15, 16 are installed as flexible partitions so that they can be expanded and contracted, and these tubes 14, 15, .
16, the loading/unloading chamber 12 is divided into a space Y (outside the tube) where the sample is placed, and spaces B, C, and C where the sample is not placed.
It is separated into D (inside the tube). When the flexible tube 14 is inflated, it is attached to the cart holder 1 as shown in FIG.
hanging along the side wall 11a of 1 into the opposing gap,
It is provided so that it can be retracted so as to stick to the upper wall 12a of the 12 loading/unloading chambers as shown in FIG. 4 when contracted.

In addition, when the left and right flexible tubes 15 and 16 are inflated, they expand to the vicinity of their back surfaces along the side wall 11a of the cart holder 11, as shown in FIG. 3, and when they are deflated, as shown in FIG. It is provided so that it can degenerate by sticking to it.

Then, a valve 18 is provided in each space YSB-D.
．． 19, each pair of gas lead-in/output lines 17y, 17
s, 17c, and 17o are connected.

These gas lead-in/output lines 17Y, 17B to 17D connect the spaces Y and BD with a vacuum pump (not shown) when the valve 18 is opened, and release the space YSB-D to the atmosphere when the valve 19 is opened. It looks like this.

Next, the procedure for taking out the sample 13 will be explained. First, each valve 1 of the gas lead-in/output system 17B, 17C, 17,
9 is opened to vent the spaces B and CSD as shown in FIG. 3, thereby reducing the volume of the space Y. There is no need to slowly vent at this time. Next, the reduced volume Y
The valve 19 of the gas lead-in/out system 17Y is opened to vent the space Y. At this time, you need to do it slowly.

However, since the volume of space Y has been reduced in advance, venting does not take much time. After venting, in order to make it easier to take out the sample 13, the gas inlet/outlet line 17y is opened.
While the valve 19 of the gas lead-in/output system 17B, 1
Open the knobs 18 of 7c and 17D to retract the flexible tubes 14, 15, and 16. There is no need to slowly vent at this time. After venting, open the vent and take out the sample.

Further, the procedure for sending the sample 13 is as follows. First, the valves 19 of the gas inlet/output lines 17B-17° and 17D
The valve 18 of the gas lead-in/output line 17Y is opened to slowly exhaust the space Y. At this time, space B-
The volume of D gradually increases as space Y is evacuated, and D gradually increases in volume as space Y is evacuated.
Since the volume of the gas gradually decreases, it does not take much time to exhaust the gas.

After the space Y is evacuated, the gas introduction/output lines 17B and 17C
, 17D are opened to reduce the volume of the space B1C5D. There is no need to slowly exhaust the air at this time. and,
When the exhaust is finished, the gate valve is opened and the sample is transported to the processing chamber.

However, if this is the case, during operations where dust is likely to fly up (when venting or depressurizing space Y)
Since the volume of the space Y has been reduced in advance, it is possible to perform a gentler evacuation even within the same amount of time as before, and other operations are performed using the flexible tube 14.15.
．． 16 can be activated quickly to avoid wasting time. Therefore, according to the illustrated apparatus, it is possible to effectively improve the yield of products without causing a decrease in productivity.

Although each embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the configuration of each part is not limited to the illustrated example, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the fifth
As shown in the figure, the loading/unloading chamber 21 may be separated by a bellows 22, which is a flexible partition, into a space Z where a sample is placed and a space E where a sample is not placed. Furthermore, the gas lead-in/out line can also be used for both exhaust and venting.

[Effects of the Invention] Since the present invention has the above-described configuration, it is possible to take a relatively long time for slow exhaust and slow venting of the space where the sample is placed, and to prevent dust from flying up, without reducing productivity. This makes it possible to reduce as much as possible, thereby providing a vacuum process device that effectively improves product yield.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention, with FIG. 1 being a schematic diagram of the entire apparatus, and FIG. 2 being a principle diagram of the loading/unloading chamber. FIGS. 3 and 4 are principle diagrams showing other embodiments of the present invention in different states. FIG. 5 is a principle diagram showing a loading/unloading chamber of still another embodiment. 2.12.21... Loading/unloading room 3.13... Samples 7A, 7x, 17B, 17c, 17D, 17
y... Gas lead-in/output system path 4.14.15.16... Flexible partition wall (flexible tube) 22... Flexible partition wall (bellows)

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a vacuum process apparatus having a loading/unloading chamber, the loading/unloading chamber is separated by a flexible partition into a space where a sample is placed and a space where a sample is not placed, and a gas lead-in/out system is connected to each space independently. Vacuum process equipment characterized by: