JPH04119276A - Vacuum valve - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To quickly purge gas in a vacuum valve and exhaust by providing a main body having an opening part, a holding plate to close the opening part from inside the main body, a construction to move the holding plate, and a valve on the main body. CONSTITUTION:After completion of purge, in the condition of opening valves 7a, 7b to flow gas, or in the condition of closing the valves not to flow gas, a handle 6 is rotated, a holding plate 3 is moved to open a gate valve, and a sample is transported to a reaction chamber. After completion of transport, the gate valve is closed, according to using condition, the valves 7a, 7b are closed to stop gas flow, or the valves 7a, 7b are opened to flow gas. In case of vacuum transport, after charging a sample into a prechamber, the cover of the prechamber is closed, gas flow into the prechamber and the gate valve is stopped and evacuated. At this time, compared with the past example, conductance becomes large by the portion of an exhaust port in the gate valve main body, and the inside of the gate valve and the prechamber can be quickly exhausted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a vacuum valve, and particularly to a vacuum valve that is designed to prevent impurities other than the high-purity gas used in the reaction chamber from entering the reaction chamber as much as possible.

[Conventional technology]

A vacuum valve is one of the basic components of a vacuum system, and is necessary to separate a vacuum chamber from the atmosphere, and a space filled with high-purity gas from the atmosphere. It is something.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a conventional example called a gate valve. In Fig. 2, (1) is the gate valve main body, (2a) and (2b) are flanges provided on the side of the main body, and (3) is the part including the holding plate that closes the opening of the main body from the inside (hereinafter referred to as the holding part). ), (4) is an O-ring that is a sealing material that airtightly seals the inside of the main body and the presser part, (
5) is a shaft connected to the presser part, and (6) is a handle for turning the shaft.

Next, the operation will be explained. When the gate valve is closed as shown in Figure 2, by turning the handle (6), the holding part (3), which is airtightly connected to the inside of the main body, is inserted through the shaft (5) in a direction perpendicular to the contact part. shrink and break confidential connections. Furthermore, when the handle (6) is rotated, the presser part is moved through the shaft (5) so that the opening is completely visible, and the gate valve is opened.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the gate valve in a completely open state.

To close the gate valve, rotate the handle (6) in the opposite direction to insert the presser part (3) through the shaft (5).
) until the opening can no longer be seen completely. By further rotating the handle (6) in the opposite direction, the hold-down part is spread out through the shaft (5) in a direction perpendicular to the area to be fitted and a sealed connection is obtained.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus using a gate valve, in which (8) is a reaction chamber, (9) is a gate valve, and
0) is the front chamber.

When a semiconductor sample is processed in a reaction chamber, it is carried out under reduced pressure, normal pressure, or increased pressure. Generally, when creating a vacuum in a reaction chamber, the gate valve is installed in the direction in which the atmosphere tends to close the gate valve.

That is, the reaction chamber and the flange (2b) in FIGS. 2 and 3
The method of transporting the semiconductor sample to the reaction chamber is also carried out under the above three conditions. Generally, if processing under reduced pressure is not required, normal pressure conveyance is performed. Furthermore, if the front chamber is not equipped with a structure to draw a vacuum, the front chamber will be used as a gas barge. When a semiconductor sample is placed in the front chamber, external gas enters the front chamber, and external gases and moisture adsorbed on the semiconductor sample also enter the front chamber and the inside of the gate valve. After that, gas purge is performed, and the purge inside the gate valve is performed through the gap between the main body (1) and the holding part (3), or through the opening provided in the holding part (3), but the gas flow is unidirectional. It is not purged enough because it does not work.

If the gate valve is opened in this state and the semiconductor sample is transported, external gas and moisture will enter the reaction chamber. The front chamber is designed to be evacuated, and even when transferring under vacuum, the exhaust inside the gate valve is connected to the main body (1
) and the presser part (3), or through the opening provided in the presser part (3), but because the conductance C is small, it takes a long time for sufficient exhaustion to occur. It takes. This will lower the throughput.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

As described above, in the conventional vacuum valve, gas purging or exhaust is performed through the gap between the main body (1) and the holding part (3) or the opening provided in the holding part (3). It is not possible to carry out air purification or exhaust gas, allowing impurities other than the high-purity gas used in the reaction chamber to enter the reaction chamber, and also reducing throughput.

This invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum valve that can quickly purge and exhaust the inside of the vacuum valve.

[Means to solve the problem]

The vacuum valve according to the present invention includes a main body having an opening, a presser plate that closes at least one opening from the inside of the main body,
It has a structure that moves the presser plate and a valve in the main body.

[Effect]

According to the present invention, a structure is included that quickly purges or exhausts gas that has entered the inside of the vacuum valve. For this reason, a large amount of impurities other than the high-purity gas used in the reaction chamber will not be mixed into the reaction chamber connected to the vacuum valve.

[Embodiments of the invention]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In Figure 1, (1) is the gate valve body, (2a)
(2b) is a flange provided on the side of the main body, (3) is a presser part, (4) is an O-ring that is a sealing material that tightly seals the inside of the main body and the presser part, and (5) is connected to the presser part. The shaft, (6) is the handle for turning the shaft, (
7a) is a valve for introducing gas, and (7b) is a valve for opening and closing the exhaust port.

Next, the operation of the vacuum valve according to the present invention will be explained. Since the vacuum valve is a part of the vacuum system, it is used as a part of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. The gate valve (2b) and the reaction chamber (8) are connected. When a sample is processed in a reaction chamber, it is processed under three pressure conditions: reduced pressure, normal pressure, and increased pressure. The transportation method can also be carried out in the three states mentioned above. It is assumed that the front chamber has a gas introduction structure and a structure capable of exhausting gas. When transporting a sample under normal pressure, the sample is introduced into the front chamber while flowing high-purity gas through the front chamber and the gate valve. Next, close the lid of the front chamber and perform a gas purge. At this time, gas flows into the front chamber from the inside of the gate valve through the opening on the flange (2a) side, and gas flows through the exhaust port. The gas flowing out from the opening of the gate valve makes it difficult for the external gas that entered the sample to enter the front chamber to enter the gate valve, and the gas that entered inside is exhausted from the exhaust port.

After the purge is completed, open the valves (7a) and (7b) and keep the gas flowing, or close them and keep the gas flowing, turn the handle (6), move the presser part (3), and open the gate valve. Transport the sample to the reaction chamber. After the transfer is complete, close the gate valve and close the valve (7a) (7a) according to the usage situation.
b) and turn off the gas or valve (7a) (
Leave 7b) open and let the gas flow. When transferring under vacuum, after placing the sample in the front chamber, close the lid of the front chamber, stop the gas flowing into the front chamber and the gate valve, and draw a vacuum. At this time, compared to the conventional example, the conductance is increased only in the portion of the gate valve body having the exhaust port, making it possible to quickly exhaust the inside of the gate valve and the front chamber.

In the above embodiment, an example of a gate valve part is shown in which there is one sealed connection between the presser part and the inside of the valve body, but a gate valve with two sealed connections may be used, and the present invention can be applied to all gate valves. Further, in the above example, the handle side is provided with a gas introduction valve, and the main body opening side is provided with an exhaust valve, but either may be used for introduction. Furthermore, although the case is shown in which there are one valve section each for introduction and exhaust, it does not matter how many. Also, the confidential connection is 1
In this case, the valve for introducing gas may be used only, and the exhaust port may be provided only through an opening in the valve body. In addition, if a barrier pull leak valve is installed on the gas inlet side, when beta-outing the gate valve, there are two methods: one with gas flowing under normal or pressurized conditions, one with vacuum, and one with a small drop of gas. Method 3 of performing under reduced pressure while flowing
Two methods are available and can be used effectively to quickly bake out.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the vacuum valve has a valve in its main body, so that the inside of the vacuum valve can be quickly accessed.
A gas barge or exhaust can be used, which has the effect of preventing impurities other than the high-purity gas used in the reaction chamber from entering the reaction chamber as much as possible.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a vacuum valve according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram equivalent to FIG. 1 of a conventional vacuum valve.
FIG. 3 is a diagram when a conventional vacuum valve is opened, and FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a conventional semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. In the figure, (1) is the vacuum valve body, (2a) (2
b) is a flange, (3) is a holding part, (4) is an O-ring which is a sealing material, (5) is a shaft, and (6) is a handle. Note that the same reference numerals in each figure indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A vacuum valve including a main body with an opening, a presser plate that closes the opening from the inside of the main body, a structure for moving the presser plate, and a valve in the main body. (2) In the vacuum valve, the main body and the presser plate are one part.
A vacuum valve according to claim 1, which is connected in a sealed manner at one point. (3) In the vacuum valve, the main body and the presser plate are
A vacuum valve according to claim 1, which is connected in a sealed manner at one point.