JPH0379765A - Vacuum film forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To smoothly transfer a substrate holder by supporting a transport base for retaining the holder in an upright position in an appropriate transport position with a guide member and driving the holder through a rack at the lower end of the transport base. CONSTITUTION:The rectangular substrate holder 4 charged with plural film forming substrates is supported in an upright position by the plate-shaped transport base 10, and transported by a transport means 9 successively to the treating tanks 3a and 3b formed by a partition wall 1 having a vertically long rectangular cross section. At this time, the transport position of the base 10 is kept by the guide member 14 consisting of three fixing rollers 22 triangularly arranged on one side of the base 10 in the partition wall 1 and a press roller 23 arranged at a position corresponding to the center of the triangle. A pinion 29 is engaged with the rack 11 set on the lower end face of the base 10 and driven by a motor to transfer the base 10 by a lower roller 17. Consequently, the holder 4 is smoothly transferred, and the contamination of the film forming surface due to the diffusion of dust is prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is a vacuum film forming apparatus that performs film formation by transporting a substrate holder in an upright position, with an improved means for transporting a substrate holder.

(Prior art) For example, in a transporting film forming apparatus, a substrate holder is supported in an upright position with the plate surface substantially along a vertical plane, and this is transported by a transporting means.
The film is formed by passing through a series of processing tanks. As a conventional conveying means in such a film forming apparatus, one having a structure shown in FIG. 10, for example, is known.

In FIG. 10, the substrate holder 36 is supported in an upright position by a transport base 37, and is driven to be fed by a transport means via the transport base 37.

The conveyance means includes a rack 38 fixed to one side of the conveyance base 37, a pinion 39 that feeds and drives the rack 38, and a presser roller 40 that presses the conveyance base 37 toward the pinion 39. and an idling roller 41 that supports the lower end surface of the conveyance base 37. 42 is a motor that rotates three pinions, and 43 is a partition wall that blocks the atmosphere.

In this way, in the conveying means applied to the vacuum film forming apparatus, all the constituent members are mounted on the substrate holder 36 in order to prevent the film forming surface from being contaminated by dust generated from the rotating and sliding parts. They are arranged in a concentrated manner below the .

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, in the case where the rack 38 is fixed to one side of the conveyance base 37 and is fed and driven by the pinion 39 rotating around the vertical axis, the rack 38 and the pinion 39 are Depending on the meshing position of the transfer base 37 and the substrate holder 36, the disadvantage is that the transfer base 37 and the substrate holder 36 meander. This is because a horizontal moment acts on the conveyance base 37 due to the rotational force of the three pinions, and a pressing force is applied by the presser roller 40 that opposes the acting force.

When the substrate holder 36 and the transport base 37 meander, dust generated in the drive unit and the like is likely to be diffused, contaminating the film-forming surface. Further, there is also the disadvantage that the film-forming substrate loaded in the substrate holder 36 may fall off from the loading frame due to the impact during meandering, resulting in product defects.

In order to prevent the above-mentioned meandering, it is preferable to reduce the spacing between the presser roller 40 and the three pinions and increase the number of these. However, in this case, an increase in dust generation due to an increase in the number of mechanically moving parts cannot be avoided, and it cannot necessarily be said to be useful in preventing contamination of the film-forming surface.

A series of processing tanks to which the substrate holders 36 are transferred are airtightly separated by gates for each processing step, and the gates are opened and closed each time a substrate holder 36 is transferred from the previous step. At this time, the atmospheres in adjacent processing compartments enter into each other and contaminate the interiors of the compartments. Therefore, it is desirable that the gate opening width be as small as possible. but,
In the conventional transfer device, the opening width of the gate needs to be at least the width B, which is the sum of the protrusion of the transfer base 37 and the rack 38, and there is also a disadvantage in that the atmosphere is likely to be contaminated early in each processing section.

This invention was proposed in view of the above, and by improving the drive form of the transport means, it is possible to transport the substrate holder more smoothly and prevent the film forming surface from being contaminated due to the diffusion of dust. At the same time, the aim is to eliminate accidents caused by falling film-forming substrates.

Another object of the present invention is to reduce the operating cost of the vacuum film forming apparatus by reducing the opening width of the gate and avoiding atmospheric contamination between adjacent processing sections as much as possible.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In the present invention, the conveying means includes a guide member that rolls and guides both sides and the lower side of the conveying base to maintain an upright position, and a guide member that rolls and guides both sides and the lower side of the conveying base, and It consists of a drive member that applies forward force.

The guide member consists of a lower roller supporting fl of the conveyance base, a pair of rollers placed on both sides of the base with the conveyance base in between, and a plurality of fixed rollers placed above and below, The roller pair is constituted by a presser roller that presses the base toward the fixed roller. The lower roller and roller pairs were arranged at appropriate intervals along the conveyance path.

(Function) The weight of the transport base is supported by the lower rollers, and the vertical position is always maintained by a plurality of fixed rollers and presser rollers sandwiching the transport base on both sides. Then, it is fed and driven by a drive member provided below the conveyance base.

In other words, the transport posture of the transport base is regulated by the guide member consisting of the above-mentioned rollers, and the feeding drive is performed below the transport base, so the substrate holder and transport base are transported smoothly without meandering, and This eliminates the problem of dust diffusion and falling of the film-forming substrate.

All of the guide members that maintain the posture of the transport base are provided along the transport path, and the transport base is driven by a drive member provided below, so the width of the passage opening of the transport base at the gate is The width can be reduced to the thickness of the space plus a slight margin, thereby making it possible to sufficiently reduce atmospheric contamination between adjacent processing sections when the gates are opened and closed.

(Embodiment) FIGS. 1 to 7 show an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a conveying film forming apparatus.

In FIG. 3, the transport film forming apparatus has vertically long rectangular cross-sectional partition walls 1 arranged linearly, the inside of which is divided by gates 2 for each processing step to form a processing chamber, and a substrate holder 4 By sequentially passing through a series of processing tanks, a plurality of layers of vapor-deposited thin films are formed on some of the film-forming substrates loaded in the substrate holder 4. Inlet tank 3 of the transport film forming equipment
Only a part of the heating tank 3b, the heating tank 3b, and the sputtering tank 3c are shown in FIG. Each of the above processing WJ3a, 3b, 3c includes:
Heaters 5, 6 and sputtering device 7 depending on the processing content
．． 8 etc. are provided. Also, although not shown,
Each of the processing tanks 3a, 3b*3c is provided with exhaust equipment that can be operated independently.

The substrate holder 4 is connected to a series of processing tanks 3a, 3b, 3c.
Conveying means 9 are provided for transporting along.

The substrate holder 4 is formed in a rectangular shape, and a transport base 10 is fixed to the lower end thereof. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the conveyance base 10 is made of a metal plate-shaped body that is long in the front and back, and a rack 11 is formed over the entire length of the lower end surface in the longitudinal direction. Step 1 on both sides
2 is formed.

In FIG. 4, the conveying means 9 includes a guide member 14 that defines the conveying attitude of the substrate holder 4 via the conveying base 10, and a driving member 15 that drives the conveying base 10, and both members 14 and 15 , are arranged in each processing tank 3a, 3b, 3c at an adjacent interval smaller than the width of the substrate holder 4 in the transfer direction.

The guide member 14 includes a set of four roller pairs 16 arranged on both left and right sides with the conveyance base 10 in between, and a lower roller 17 that supports the weight of the conveyance base 10. 6th
As shown in the figure, the lower roller 17 is freely rotatably supported by a bracket 18 via a horizontal shaft 19, and receives and supports the stepped portion 12 of the conveyance base 10 on the peripheral surface of the roller. .

In this supported state, in order to avoid contact with the rack 11, a relief 20 is formed on the circumferential surface of the roller.

In FIG. 5, the roller pair 16 includes three fixed rollers 22 arranged in a triangular shape on one side of the conveyance base 10, and is arranged corresponding to the triangular center position of these rollers 22, and the roller pair 16 is arranged so that the conveyance base 10 is 22, and a presser roller 23 which is pressed toward the transport base 10, and these rollers maintain the vertical position of the transport base 10. As shown in FIG. 7, each fixed roller 22 is supported by a roller holder 24 so as to freely rotate around a vertical axis. Further, the presser roller 23 is supported by a swing arm 25 so as to freely rotate around a vertical axis, and is always pressed against the conveyance base 10 by swinging the swing arm 25 with a spring 26 . , 27 is a swing axis of the arm 25. Note that the swing arm 25
The rocking limit position when advancing is regulated by a stopper (not shown), and as a result, the presser roller 23 and fixed roller 22
The facing interval is made slightly smaller than the thickness of the conveyance base 10.

In FIG. 7, the driving member 15 is composed of a rack 11 provided on the lower end surface of the conveyance base 10, a pinion 29 for feeding and driving the rack 11, a motor 30 for outputting rotational force to the pinion 29, etc. There is. pinion 29
is supported by a transmission shaft 32 via a bearing unit 31 that penetrates the partition wall 1 from inside to outside, and transmits power to the adjacent pinion 29 via a transmission mechanism 33 provided at the outer end of the transmission shaft 32. The transmission mechanism 33 uses, for example, a timing belt or a chain as a transmission medium, and is configured so that each two pinions can rotate synchronously. Lower roller 1
The bracket 18 supporting the bearing unit 7 is
It is fixed on 1.

! In Figure 07, reference numeral 34 is a dust-proof wall.

Next, the operation of the conveying means 9 will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the processing in each processing tank 3a, 3b, 3C is completed, the gate 2 between each processing tank is opened, leaving the population gate 2 as it is, and the transport means 9 is started. Then, the substrate holder 4 is sent to the next process. At this time, the conveyance base 10 is always supported by two sets of guide members 14 to maintain an appropriate conveyance posture, as shown in FIG.

The transfer base 10 also has a pinion 29 on the upper side in the transfer direction.
Before it finishes passing over the top, it meshes with the next two pinions and is continuously driven and fed at a constant speed. Then, the substrate holder 4
At the same time as the substrate holder 4 finishes passing through each gate 2, the gate 2 is closed, and with the substrate holder 4 moved to a predetermined position, the transport means 9 is stopped and necessary processing is performed. Thereafter, the entrance gate 2 is opened, a new substrate holder 4 is sent into the entrance cypress 3a, and the above transfer operation is repeated to perform film formation.

During transport, the weight of the transport base 10 is always supported by two or three lower rollers 17, and the transport base 10 does not tilt back and forth. Further, the conveying base 10 is held between at least two pairs of rollers 16 consisting of three fixed rollers 22 and one presser roller 23, so that its conveying posture is always maintained in an appropriate state. Furthermore, the transport base 10
receives the driving force of the pinion 29 on its lower surface, so no lateral moment is generated by the feed driving force. Therefore, the transport base 10 and the substrate holder 4 do not meander while moving between the respective guide members 14, and can always move smoothly and smoothly. This not only eliminates the diffusion of dust caused by the meandering of the substrate holder 4, but also eliminates the possibility that some H substrates may fall from the substrate holder 4 due to impact during the meandering.

During transfer, only the transfer base 10 and substrate holder 4 pass through the gate 2. Moreover, the rack 11 for receiving the feed driving force is provided on the lower surface of the conveyance base 10 facing downward. Therefore, the passage opening width of the transfer base 10 in the gate 2 only needs to be set slightly larger than the plate surface thickness of the transfer base 10, and it is sufficient to sufficiently reduce atmospheric contamination between adjacent processing sections when the gate is opened and closed. I can do it.

(Another Embodiment) FIGS. 8 and 9 each show another embodiment of the roller pair 16.

In the one shown in FIG. 8, a pair of upper and lower fixed rollers 22,
The roller pair 16 is operated by a total of three rollers, including a presser roller 23 arranged corresponding to the upper and lower center positions of both rollers 22.
was configured.

In addition, in the roller pair 16 shown in FIG. 9, a total of five rollers, including four fixed rollers 22 arranged in a square shape and a presser roller 23 arranged corresponding to the center of the square of these rollers 22, are used. Configured.

In this way, the roller pair 16 only needs to be composed of a plurality of fixed rollers 22 and at least one presser roller 23 arranged vertically apart.

A mechanism other than the pinion-rack mechanism can also be applied to the drive member 15. For example, a chain mechanism may be provided near the lower surface of the transport base 10, and the transport base 10 may be fed and driven by a drive claw fixed to the chain link. Further, it is also possible to add the lower roller 17 and rotate a part or all of the lower roller 17 to feed the conveyance base 10. In short, the structure is not particularly limited as long as the drive type does not generate a lateral moment on the transport base 10.

The present invention can be applied to various types of vacuum film forming apparatuses in addition to conveyance film forming apparatuses.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, in the present invention, the conveyance means is configured by being divided into a guide member that defines the conveyance posture of the conveyance base, and a drive member that feeds and drives the conveyance base. The forward force is applied from the bottom side of the object. Further, a guide means is constituted by a lower roller that supports ff1ffi of the transport base and a pair of rollers that sandwich and hold both sides of the transport base, and in particular, fixed rollers arranged above and below, and a fixed roller that connects the transport base to the fixed roller. , and a presser roller that presses the conveyance base toward the fixed roller form a roller pair, so that the conveyance posture of the conveyance base can always be maintained in an appropriate state.

Therefore, according to the above-mentioned conveyance means, it is possible to eliminate meandering caused by a lateral moment acting on the conveyance base during conveyance,
The substrate holder can now be transferred smoothly and always in a constant posture. This eliminates the problem of the substrate holder meandering, causing dust to spread, and contaminating the film-forming surface, as well as eliminating the possibility of the film-forming substrate falling from the substrate holder due to impact during meandering, resulting in product defects. It became.

Furthermore, in this invention, all of the guide members that maintain the transport posture of the transport base are provided along the transport path, and the transport drive of the transport base is performed on the bottom surface of the base.
The members that pass through each gate can be limited to only the transfer base and the substrate holder, and the width of the gate passage opening can be made sufficiently smaller than in conventional devices. This is advantageous in that it is possible to avoid mutual contamination of atmospheres in adjacent processing compartments as much as possible when the gates are opened and closed, and the operating cost of the vacuum film forming apparatus can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 7 show embodiments of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the schematic structure of the conveyance means, FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the arrangement structure of the transport means, FIG. 5 is a view taken along line B-B in FIG. 4, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line C--C, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line D in FIG. FIGS. 8 and 9 are side views of essential parts showing other embodiments of the roller pair, respectively. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional conveying means. 4... Substrate holder, 9... Conveyance means, 10... Conveyance base, 14... Guide member, 15... Drive member,] 6... Roller pair, 17... Lower roller, 22・
... Fixed roller, 23... Presser roller. 2 others

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A vacuum film forming apparatus in which a substrate holder loaded with a plurality of film forming substrates is supported in an upright position by a plate-shaped transport base, and the transport base is transported by a transport means installed along a transport path. , the conveying means includes a guide member that rolls and guides both sides and the lower side of the conveying base to maintain the vertical position, and a driving member that applies forward force to the base from the lower side of the conveying base, The guide member consists of a lower roller that supports the weight of the conveyance base, a pair of rollers placed on both sides of the base with the conveyance base in between, a plurality of fixed rollers placed above and below, and a pair of rollers that support the weight of the conveyance base. A vacuum film forming apparatus, wherein the roller pair is constituted by a presser roller that presses the base toward the fixed roller, and the lower roller and the roller pair are arranged at appropriate intervals along the conveyance path. (2) A claim in which the driving member is composed of a rack provided at the lower end of the conveyance base, a pinion that feeds and drives the rack, and a motor that supplies rotational force to the pinion.
1) The vacuum film forming apparatus described above.