JPH0441671A - Device for replacing monitor glass of optical film thickness monitor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To house many monitor glasses in a holder without enlarging the holder and to improve the precision and thickness controllability in forming a film by putting may monitor glasses on one another in a supply cartridge and controlling the monitor glass to the same temp. as a substrate to be film- formed. CONSTITUTION:Many monitor glasses GM are put on one another in a supply cartridge 21. A rotor 18 having plural glass holding parts 20 at the upper part of the periphery is repeatedly lifted up and down and intermittently turned to a specified angle each time. The glasses in the cartridge 21 are held by the holding part 20 one by one from the lowermost glass and discharged from a discharge part 35 by the ascent and descent of the rotor 18. The glass is supplied to the monitor position, and the used glass on the holding part 20 is returned into a return cartridge by the rotation and subsequent descent of the rotor. The glass is exposed in a vacuum vessel 1 and preheated before being used. The supply cartridge 21 and the return cartridge 32 are made detechable from a station and integrated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an optical film thickness monitor for monitoring in real time the film thickness of a substrate formed by a vacuum film forming apparatus using a monitor glass. The present invention relates to an exchange device for exchanging glass.

(Prior art) Conventionally, this type of optical film thickness monitor has been equipped with a projector,
It consists of a mirror box, monitor glass, light receiver, measuring instrument body, etc. The monitor glass is placed near the rotation center of the substrate jig dome in a position where the same film forming conditions as the substrate in the vacuum chamber can be obtained. It is known that a monitor glass is irradiated with detection light from a projector and reflected, and a change in the amount of reflected light is detected by a light receiver to measure the film thickness.

In this film thickness monitor, of the light reflected from the monitor glass, only monochromatic light of a specific wavelength is introduced into a light receiver through a filter, and this is photoelectrically converted to measure the film thickness. At this time, the reflectance of monochromatic light continuously increases and decreases in a sine curve shape as the film thickness increases. In other words, the reflectance (reflected light amount) is maximum when the film thickness is an integral multiple (including 0 times) of a half wavelength of monochromatic light, and is minimum when the film thickness is an integral multiple of a quarter wavelength of monochromatic light. This is the reflectance.

By the way, when forming multiple layers on the substrate to form a multilayer structure, for example, a substrate jig dome is attached to the lower end of a cylindrical dome rotating shaft that is rotatably supported by penetrating the upper wall of a vacuum chamber. A hanging dome rotating mechanism is provided with a dome rotating mechanism, a rotating shaft is rotatably inserted and supported within the dome rotating shaft, a glass holder is provided at the lower end of the rotating shaft, and a plurality of monitors are mounted on the outer periphery of the glass holder. By installing the glass and rotating the glass holder to replace the monitor glass one by one,
A monitor glass replacement device is known that monitors the thickness of each film formed.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in recent years, there has been a tendency for the number of layers to be formed to be multilayered, and the number of required monitor glasses has accordingly increased. However,
Since the conventional monitor glass replacement device described above has a structure in which the monitor glasses are arranged on a plane in a glass holder, it is difficult to increase the number of monitor glasses without increasing the size of the holder, and the number of monitor glasses is limited to about 40. Moreover, since the glass holder is disposed at the upper part of the vacuum chamber, there is a problem in that it tends to interfere with film formation on the substrate.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its purpose is to improve the monitor glass replacement device so that it can be used in a limited space while controlling the temperature of the monitor glass to the same film forming conditions as the substrate. The purpose is to make it possible to accommodate a large number of monitor glasses, and to improve the controllability and accuracy of the film thickness of each film.

(Means for Solving the Problem) Therefore, the solution of the invention according to claim (1) is to stack and hold a large number of monitor glasses in a supply cartridge, and to have a plurality of glass holding parts at the upper part of the outer periphery. The rotor is moved up and down intermittently by a predetermined angle,
By this upward movement and subsequent rotation of the rotor, the monitor glasses in the supply cartridge are held one by one in the glass holder starting from the lowest one and taken out from the take-out port, and are supplied to the monitor position, and then, The used monitor glass of the glass holder is returned to the cartridge through the return opening at the bottom by the rotation of the rotor and the subsequent downward movement.

Specifically, in this invention, detection light is irradiated onto a monitor glass placed at a position where film formation conditions are equivalent to those of a substrate to be formed into a film in a vacuum chamber, and the incident light and reflected light are compared. The premise is an optical film thickness monitor that monitors the film thickness on the substrate based on the above.

On the other hand, first, a rotating shaft is rotatably and slidably supported on the upper wall of the vacuum chamber, and the lower end faces into the vacuum chamber, and a rotor is rotatably attached to the lower end of the rotating shaft. and driving means for driving the rotor. This drive means moves the rotor upward by a fixed stroke, descends by the same stroke as the upward movement, and rotates the rotor by a fixed angle around the rotation axis between the upward and downward movements. Have the child perform the same motion repeatedly.

For the rotor, a plurality of openings are formed at predetermined positions on the circumference at a constant radius from the center of rotation, and the upper edge of each opening has a peripheral edge that faces the monitor glass in a substantially diametrical direction. A glass holding part is provided, which consists of a pair of stepped parts that fit and hold together.

The optical path for passing the incident light and the reflected light from the monitor glass held by the glass holder is set to a monitor station where the glass holder of the rotor moves up or down, and the optical path is parallel to the rotation axis and the center is the aperture of the rotor. Place it so that it intersects the orbital trajectory of.

Also, at the front side of the monitor station in the rotational direction,
A cylindrical supply cartridge that stores a large number of monitor glasses in a stacked manner is arranged at a supply station where a glass holding part of a rotor moves upward.

Further, a return station, in which the glass holding part of the rotor moves downward, is located at the front side of the supply station in the rotational direction and the rear side of the monitor station in the rotational direction. Place the return cartridge.

An insertion hole through which the glass holder of the rotor can be inserted is opened in the bottom wall of the supply cartridge, and only the lowest monitor glass is inserted horizontally at the bottom of the side wall of the cartridge, which corresponds to the rear side in the rotational direction of the rotor. A cutout is formed to allow insertion in the horizontal direction.

On the other hand, the bottom wall of the return cartridge has an insertion hole through which the glass holding portion of the rotor can be inserted.

Further, in the lower part of the side wall of the cartridge, which corresponds to the front side in the rotational direction of the rotor, a return opening is formed into which a piece of monitor glass can be inserted into the cartridge by sliding it in the horizontal and lateral directions. The take-out port and the return port are arranged at the same height.

Then, the glass holding part of the rotor rises at the supply station to hold the monitor glass at the bottom of the supply cartridge, and the rotation of the rotor takes out the monitor glass from the outlet, while the rotor rotates in the raised position. The glass holder is configured to push the monitor glass from the return port into the inner bottom of the return cartridge at the return station by the movement, and release the monitor glass from being held by the lowering of the rotor.

Claim (2) 1 In this invention, a heating station is provided at the rear of the supply station in the rotational direction and at the front of the monitor station in the rotational direction for preheating the monitor glass of the glass holder by exposing it to a vacuum chamber. .

Further, in the invention according to claim (3), the supply cartridge and the return cartridge are respectively removable from the station and are integrally coupled to each other.

(Function) With the above configuration, in the invention according to claim (1), the rotor alternately repeats the raising and lowering operation and the rotating operation by the driving means, and the raising operation of the rotor causes the one glass holder to move. It rises at the supply station to hold the monitor glass at the bottom of the supply cartridge. Thereafter, when the rotor continues to rotate while remaining in the raised position, the monitor glass held by the glass holder is taken out from the take-out opening of the cartridge. The monitor glass is then positioned at a monitor station corresponding to the optical path by repeating the rotating and raising/lowering operations of the rotor, and is used there for monitoring the film thickness of the substrate.

After this use, the monitor glass is ejected from the monitor station by the rotating and raising/lowering motion of the rotor, and is positioned at the station immediately preceding the return station when the rotor is in the raised position. When the rotor rotates while remaining in the raised position, the monitor glass is pushed into the inner bottom of the returned cartridge through the return opening, and when the rotor continues to descend, the monitor glass is separated from the glass holder and removed from the returned cartridge. It will be transferred within.

By performing the above operation for each glass holding part of the rotor, a large number of monitor glasses in the supply cartridge are taken out in order from the lowest one, used for the film formation monitor, and then returned to the return cartridge. be able to.

Therefore, since a large number of monitor glasses are stacked and stored in this way, and monitor glasses after use are also stacked and taken out, even if the required number of monitor glasses increases, the monitor glass replacement device only takes up a small space. This does not interfere with the heating temperature control of the substrate in the vacuum chamber, thus improving the film thickness controllability and accuracy of the multilayer film.

Further, in the invention according to claim (2), the monitor glass taken out from the supply cartridge by the glass holding part of the rotor at the supply station is heated at the heating station before being used for film formation monitoring at the monitor station. It is exposed to a vacuum chamber and preheated. In other words, since a large number of monitor glasses are stacked in the supply cartridge, they are difficult to heat up in the vacuum chamber and have a lower temperature than the substrate, but they are not directly transferred to the monitor station.
- Since the monitor glass is heated to the same temperature as the substrate at the heating station, the film forming conditions on the monitor glass can be made substantially the same as those on the substrate, and the controllability and accuracy of the film thickness can be further improved.

In the invention according to claim (3), since the supply cartridge and the return cartridge are removable from the station, it is possible to easily supply and take out the monitor glass before and after the film forming process. Further, since both cartridges are integrated, it is easy to manage the monitor glass for film forming processing, and positioning with respect to the station can be easily performed.

(Example) Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 6 show an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a dome-type vapor deposition apparatus, which is a film forming apparatus. In FIGS. 1 and 2, 1 is a vacuum chamber. Although not shown in the drawings, an evaporation source consisting of an electron gun and a crucible as a source for supplying film-forming materials is arranged on the inner bottom wall. Further, in the upper part of the vacuum chamber 1, for example, four substrate holders are arranged so as to be able to revolve around a vertical axis at the center of the vacuum chamber 1 and to be able to rotate around an inclined central axis perpendicular to the vapor deposition source. ing. Each substrate holder holds a plurality of substrates on which a film is to be formed by vapor deposition, and while this substrate holder rotates and revolves, the evaporation material evaporated from the crucible is flown upward to each glass substrate. We are trying to form an optical thin film on it.

Further, an optical film thickness monitor 50 is provided for measuring the film thickness of the film formed on the substrate in real time. The film thickness monitor 50, as shown in detail in FIG.
This is a reflected light type monitor that uses M as a sample equivalent to the substrate and measures the degree of reflection of the detection light irradiated onto it to determine the film thickness.It is a floodlight that irradiates the monitor glass GM with incident light Br (detection light). 51, a mirror box 56 for changing and guiding the incident light Bl and the reflected light BR (measurement light) from the monitor glass G gate, a light receiver 61 for receiving the reflected light BR, and a measuring instrument (not shown). , the light emitter 51 and the light receiver 61 are arranged opposite to each other with the mirror box 56 in between. The floodlight 51 includes a light source 53 and a pinhole plate 54 inside the case 52.
, a chopper (not shown) and a condensing lens 55 are arranged in this order, and a mirror box 56 includes a mirror box 56 that reflects the detection light narrowed down to an appropriate diameter by the pinhole plate 54 toward the monitor glass GM. A first reflecting mirror 57 and a second reflecting mirror 58 that reflects reflected light BR from the monitor glass GM toward the light receiver 61 are arranged adjacent to each other. Below this mirror box 56 is an optical path tube 59 that forms an optical path for the incident light B to the monitor glass GM and its reflected light BR.
is arranged, and a monitor glass GM is disposed below the optical path tube 59.
is located.

The light receiver 61 includes an optical path tube 62 mounted on the mirror box 56 so as to face the second reflecting mirror 58, and a photoelectric conversion unit 65 joined to the optical path tube 62 via a filter 63. The filter 63 is connected to the optical path tube 62.
The filter holding frame 64 is removably mounted on the filter holding frame 64, and its optical interference allows only monochromatic light of a specific wavelength to pass through from among the reflected light BR from the monitor glass GM. Although not shown, the photoelectric conversion unit 65 includes a built-in photoelectric conversion element such as a phototube or a photodiode, and an amplifier that amplifies its output, and outputs a signal current based on the monochromatic light to a measuring instrument.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a circular through hole 2 is opened in the upper wall 1a of the vacuum chamber 1, and a cylindrical spacer 3 is provided around the through hole 2. is erected, and the upper end opening of this spacer 3 is hermetically closed with a lid member 4. This lid member 4 has an opening 5 formed therein, which is not shown in FIG.
Incident light Bl and reflected light B to monitor glass GM
It is positioned and installed so that it passes through R. 6
A glass 6 closes the open upper end of the opening 5. The optical path tube 59 extends vertically in the vertical direction, and the bolt 6 is attached to the bottom surface of the lid member 4 with its upper end aligned with the opening of the lid member 4.
It is fastened and fixed by 7. Therefore, the opening 5 of the lid member 4 and the optical path tube 59 form an optical path 60 for the incident light B to the monitor glass GM and the reflected light BR thereof.

The lid member 4 is formed with an insertion hole 6 passing through the lid member 4 at a predetermined distance from the opening 5 for forming the optical path 60,
The lower end of an upper cylindrical member 7 arranged concentrically with the insertion hole 6 is inserted in an airtight manner, and the cylindrical member 7 is fixed to the lid member 4 by welding. An insertion hole 6 is provided on the bottom surface of the lid member 4.
．． Therefore, a lower cylindrical member 8 is vertically disposed concentrically with the upper cylindrical member 7, and the upper end of the cylindrical member 8 is bolted around the insertion hole 6. A rotating shaft 9 extending vertically parallel to the optical path 60 is rotatably inserted into and supported by the upper and lower cylindrical members 7.8 so as to be slidable vertically by a predetermined stroke. A rotor 18 is movably attached to the lower end of the rotating shaft 9 by bolts 17.

On the other hand, the upper end of the rotating shaft 9 protrudes from the upper end opening of the upper cylindrical member 7, and a gear 12 is attached to the upper end of the rotating body so that it can be raised and lowered integrally with a nut 12a. The tip of an elevating arm 10 is relatively rotatably connected to the rotating shaft 9 on the lower side of the gear 12 and is engaged with the elevating body, and this arm 10 is connected to an elevating actuator in the drive device 11 using a cam mechanism (none of which is shown). The rotating shaft 9 is supported by the lifting arm 10 so that it cannot fall, and
The rotating shaft 9 and rotor 1 are moved by the operation of the lifting actuator.
8 is raised and lowered by a certain stroke (for example, 3 to 5 mm).

Further, a gear 13 having the same number of teeth is meshed with the gear 12, and this gear 13 has six cam grooves 14a arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction.

14a, . . . is connected to the six-split Geneva gear 14, and the drive bin 15 that meshes with the Geneva gear 14 is connected to the rotary actuator 1 such as a motor in the drive device 11.
When the actuator 16 operates, the Geneva gear 14 is rotated by 1/6 of a turn, and the rotary shaft 9 is intermittently rotated by 60 degrees. Then, by alternately operating the lifting actuator and the rotary actuator 16, the rotor 18 is rotated by 60'' around the rotating shaft 9 while remaining in the lowered position, then raised by a certain stroke, and then moved to the raised position. 60 more around the rotation axis 9
One cycle consists of rotating the rotor by 1° and then lowering it by the same stroke as the upward movement.
Each revolution of 8 is repeated three times.

As shown in FIG. 4, the rotor 18 is a substantially disk-shaped member, and a portion on its outer periphery is spaced from the center of rotation by the same distance as the distance between the insertion hole 6 and the opening 5 in the lid member 4. A protrusion 18a having a constant width and protruding upward is formed at a predetermined position on the circumference of a constant radius, and the upper surface of the protrusion 18a is flat. Further, on the outer periphery of the rotor 18, three circular notch-shaped openings 19, 19. ... are formed to penetrate vertically, and the inner diameter of each opening 19 is slightly smaller than the outer diameter (for example, 24.8 mm) of the monitor glass GM. The upper edge of each opening 19 is formed by a pair of notch steps formed by cutting out the opposing upper edges along the circumferential direction of the rotor 18 in a stepped shape by approximately the thickness of the monitor glass GM. A glass holding part 20 is formed, and by fitting the opposing peripheral part of the monitor glass GM into this glass holding part 20,
The monitor glass GM is held by the rotor 18 with its upper surface flush with the upper surface of the protrusion 18g.

Further, flange-shaped upper and lower covers 21 and 23 that cover the rotor 18 are attached and fixed to the lower end of the lower cylindrical member 8, and the upper cover 21 is above the rotor 18, and the lower cover 23 is They are placed below each other. The upper cover 21 includes a main body 21a and an intermediate deck portion 21 disposed below the main body 21a at a predetermined interval. It has a double structure consisting of b. This main body 21a and intermediate deck portion 21b
is a substantially disk-shaped member concentric with the rotating shaft 9, and each outer peripheral edge is integrally joined by a side wall 21c, and this side wall 21c extends downward. An annular guide groove 22 is formed in the intermediate deck portion 21b to avoid interference with the protruding portion 18a of the rotor 18, and the protruding portions 1 and 8a rotate with their upper surfaces protruding above the intermediate deck portion 21b. It is supposed to be done. On the other hand, the lower cover 23 is disk-shaped, and its outer peripheral edge is bent upward, and this bent portion is externally fitted to the extended portion of the outer peripheral side W21c of the upper cover 21 and is mounted and supported. . Furthermore, the main body 21a and intermediate deck portion 21b of the upper cover 21 and the lower cover 23 each have a monitor glass G at a position corresponding to the optical path 60.
Openings 24 to 26 having the same diameter as M are formed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the three glass holding parts 20, 20. ...- three descending stations S+, S3 .- separated by 120' from each other. There is a downward movement at S5 and an upward movement at three rising stations S2, S4, and S6 rotated 60'' from each of them, one of the three falling stations s, , s3, s5 being the monitor station S5. The optical path 60 is arranged corresponding to this monitor station S5.Therefore, the center of the optical path 60 is located at the monitor station S5.
The rotor 180 intersects with the orbital locus of the opening 19 at .

In addition, the three rising stations S2. s4゜Of S6, the front side in the rotational direction from the monitor station s5 (
The stations spaced apart by 1800 degrees in the counterclockwise direction in FIG.
About 00 pieces of unused monitor glass GM, GM, ・
A cylindrical supply cartridge 31 with a bottom is arranged.

Further, among the three descending stations Sl+33+85, one is adjacent to the front side in the rotational direction (counterclockwise direction in the figure) of the supply station S2 and is located at an interval of 120° from the monitor station S5 to the rear side in the rotational direction (clockwise direction in the figure). The station where the opening is made is called the return station S1, and about 100 pieces of used monitor glass GM and GM are placed on the upper surface of the upper cover 21 corresponding to this station S1.

A cylindrical return cartridge 32 with a bottom that can be stacked and accommodated is disposed.

The supply and return cartridges 31 and 32 are joined together at the side walls so that the respective insertion holes 34 and 36, which will be described later, are continuous in a series of circular arc shapes. The upper cover 21 includes return and supply stations S+, S,
Connect the part corresponding to + from the main body 21a to the intermediate deck part 21b.
A cartridge mounting part 27 is formed by cutting out according to the shape of the bottoms of both cartridges 31 and 32, and the bottoms of both cartridges 31 and 32 are mounted to this mounting part 27. Further, a cartridge holding member 28 is removably attached to the side surface of the lower cylinder member 8 with a screw 29 in correspondence with the above-mentioned return and supply stations Sl and S2, and a coil spring 30 is attached to the lower surface of this holding member 28. A spring receiving groove 28a is formed into which the upper end of the spring receiving groove 28a can be fitted. Further, the upper ends of both cartridges 31 and 32 are closed by a lid 33, and a spring receiving groove 33a into which the lower end of the coil spring 30 can be fitted is formed on the upper surface of the lid 33. Both cartridges 31 and 32 mounted on the cartridge mounting section 27 are pressed against the cartridge mounting section 27 and held by the elastic biasing force of the coil spring 30 between the holding member 28 and the cartridge mounting section 27.

As shown in FIG. 5, the bottom wall of the supply cartridge 31 is provided with a protruding portion 18a (each glass holding portion
A circular arc-shaped insertion hole 34 is opened through which the holder 0) is inserted. Further, the supply cartridge 31 has an ejection opening 35 formed in the lower part of the side wall corresponding to the rear side in the rotational direction of the rotor 18, through which only the lowest monitor glass GM in the cartridge 31 can be inserted horizontally and laterally. . Similarly, the bottom wall of the return cartridge 32 includes a protrusion 18 of the rotor 18.
A (each glass holder 20) is inserted into the arc-shaped insertion hole 36, and at the lower part of the side wall of the return cartridge 32 corresponding to the front side in the rotational direction of the rotor 18, there is a hole 36 which is the same as the ejection port 35 of the supply cartridge 31. At the height position
A return port 37 into which one monitor glass GM can be inserted into the return cartridge 32 by sliding it horizontally and laterally.
or a notch is formed.

During vapor deposition on the substrate, each time the film on the substrate is changed, the monitor glass GM+GM is changed accordingly.
,... are exchanged. This monitor glass GM, GM,
When replacing the glass holders 20, each glass holder 20 is raised from the lowered position at the supply station S2 by the cyclic operation of the rotor 18 by the drive device 11, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. The lowest one of the monitor glasses GM in the supply cartridge 31 is transferred to the glass holding part 20 and held therein, and then the monitor glass GM is taken out from the take-out port 35 by the rotation of the rotor 18, and this monitor glass GM is It is supplied to a monitor station S5 via stations sa and s4. On the other hand, monitor glass GM after use
, the monitor glass GM of the glass holder 20 is moved to the return port 37 at the return station S1 by rotating the rotor 18 in the raised position from the raise station S6, which is one place before the return station S1. The monitor glass GM is pushed into the inner bottom of the return cartridge 32, and the monitor glass GM is released from being held by the subsequent lowering of the rotor 18.

Furthermore, the three descending stations S, , S3, S5
Among them, the station adjacent to the rear side in the rotational direction (clockwise direction in FIG. 1) of the supply station S2 is a heating station S3, and the main body 21a of the upper cover 21 corresponding to this station S3 is equipped with a monitor glass GM.
An opening 38 having the same diameter as the substrate is formed, and when the monitor glass GM is stopped at the heating station S3, the monitor glass GM is exposed to the vacuum chamber 1 and preheated to the same temperature as the substrate. There is.

Note that the arrows drawn around the periphery of FIG. 1 and at the bottom of FIG. 5 indicate the movement of the rotor 18, and "ascending" is a rising state, and "descending" is a descending state. Moreover, the white circle indicates the stop position.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

Before the vapor deposition process, the lid member 4 is removed and the upper and lower cylinder members 7, 8, the rotating shaft 9, the rotor 18, and the covers 21 and 23 are removed.
, the supply cartridge 31, the return cartridge 32, etc. are taken out of the vacuum chamber 1. After accommodating a large number of monitor glasses GM, GM, .
7 and is pressed and fixed by the biasing force of the coil spring 30.

At this time, since the supply and return cartridges 31 and 32 are integrated with each other, the insertion holes 34 and 36 of the bottom wall can be inserted into the intermediate deck part 21b of the upper cover 21 by simply mounting the bottom part of the cartridge into the cartridge mounting part 27. is positioned and set to match the annular guide groove 22 of the cartridge 31.32 at the station S2. S+
positioning can be easily performed.

Next, contrary to the above, the cylinder members 7 and 8, the rotating shaft 9, the rotor 18, the cover 21, 23, the supply cartridge 31, the return cartridge 32, etc. are inserted into the vacuum chamber 1, and the lid member 4 is inserted. Vacuum chamber 1 is sealed.

After setting the substrate in the vacuum chamber 1, the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 is vacuumed by suction and exhaust, and the inside thereof is heated to be in a standby state for vapor deposition processing of the substrate.

In such a standby state, the drive device 11 operates to set the monitor glass GM of the film thickness monitor 50 at the monitor position. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, in the initial state, the rotor 18 is in the lowered position, and its three glass holders 20, 20°, . . . are all in the lowering station S1. S3. S5, one of which is stopped at the return station S1. In addition, three glass holding parts 20.20. . . . are all the same, so here we will explain the movement of one glass holder 20 with the return station S1 as the movement start position. That is, the rotor 18 starts one cycle of operation due to the operation of the drive device 11. First, the rotary actuator 16 is actuated and the rotor 18 remains in the lowered position until it reaches 60''.
The glass holding section 20 rotates, and the glass holding section 20 is moved to the return station S.
1 to supply station S2. Thereafter, the rotating shaft 9 rises together with the rotor 18 due to the operation of the elevating actuator, and as the rotor 18 rises, the glass holder 2
0 to the lowest monitor glass G in the cartridge 31
M fits into the rotor 18 from the front and rear rotational directions. In this state, the rotor 18 rotates 600 times while remaining in the raised position due to the operation of the rotary actuator 16. As a result of this rotation, the lowermost monitor glass GM is moved horizontally and laterally while being fitted and held in the glass holding part 20 and is taken out from the takeout port 35 of the supply cartridge 31. By taking out the monitor glass GM, the monitor glasses GM, GM, . . . fall and move by the thickness of one sheet within the supply cartridge 31. The monitor glass GM held by the glass holding part 20 is heated to the heating station S3 by rotation of the rotor ]8.
, the lifting actuator operates and the rotation axis 9
is lowered together with the rotor 18, and one cycle of operation of the rotor 18 is thus completed. By stopping the movement of the rotor 18, the monitor glass GM is heated at the heating station S3 for a predetermined period of time.
is maintained. Since an opening 38 is formed in the upper cover 21 of this heating station S3, this opening 38
Through this, the monitor glass GM is heated by the heat source in the vacuum chamber 1, and its temperature rises to the same degree as the substrate. In addition, since the movement of the rotor 18 for the second and subsequent monitor glasses GM is stopped for the time period during which the preceding monitor glass GM is used for monitoring the film formation in the monitor station S5, the movement of the rotor 18 is stopped for the same period of time when the monitor glass GM that precedes it is used for monitoring the film formation. It is stopped and held at S3.

After the heating station S3 is stopped for a predetermined period of time, the rotor 18 is moved to the second position by the operation of the drive device 11 in the same manner as described above.
The movement of the first cycle is resumed. That is, the rotor 18 rotates 60'' while remaining in the lowered position, and the monitor glass GM held by the glass holder 20 moves from the heating station S3 to the next raising station S4. After rising, it rotates 60 degrees while remaining in the raised position.When the monitor glass G opens moves to the monitor station S5 due to this rotation, the rotor 18 descends, and this completes the second cycle of the rotor 18. The operation ends. At this time, the second monitor glass GM is supplied to the heating station S3.

Due to the downward movement of the rotor 18 at the monitor station S5, the monitor glass GM opens the opening 26 of the lower cover 23.
The evaporation material is disposed close to the evaporation source and is exposed through the opening 26 to the region in which the evaporation material is ejected from the evaporation source. This completes setting the monitor glass GM to the monitor position. After the monitor glass G bar is set, the vapor deposition source is heated in this state to perform the first vapor deposition process on each substrate. At the same time, the film thickness monitor 50 monitors the amount of vapor deposition material deposited on the monitor glass 0, and when the film thickness becomes appropriate, the vapor deposition process is terminated.

During this vapor deposition process, the monitor glass GM is heated in advance at the heating station S3, and its temperature is raised to the same temperature as the substrate, so that the characteristics of the monitor glass GM and the substrate can be made similar, Therefore, monitoring the adhesion characteristics of the vapor deposition substance to the monitor glass GM with an optical monitor is equivalent to monitoring the same characteristics to the substrate, and it is possible to improve the controllability of the film thickness of the substrate and its accuracy.

When the first vapor deposition process on the substrate is thus completed, the used monitor glass GM is replaced with the next one.

This exchange is performed by the rotor 18 resuming the third (last) cycle of movement in the same manner as described above. That is, due to the operation of the drive device 11, the rotor 18 rotates 60 degrees while remaining in the lowered position, and this movement causes the used monitor glass GM held in the glass holder [20] to move from the monitor station S5 to the next ascending station. Move to S6. Next, after the rotor 18 rises, it rotates 60 degrees while remaining in the raised position and returns to the original return station S.
Move to 1. As the return station S1 moves from the raising station S6 while the rotor 18 is kept in the raised position, the monitor glass GM is horizontally slid and pushed into the inner bottom of the return cartridge 32 from the return port 37. Next, the rotor 18 descends, and the third one-cycle operation of the rotor 18 is thus completed.

Then, when the rotor 18 moves downward, the glass holding part 20 moves downward, but the monitor glass GM remains in the cartridge 32, so that the monitor glass GM is transferred and stored in the returned cartridge 32. Ru. At this time, the second monitor glass GM is supplied to the monitor station S5, and the third monitor glass GM is supplied to the heating station S3.

After replacing the monitor glass GM in this manner, the second vapor deposition process is performed on the substrate in the same manner as described above while monitoring the film thickness using the new monitor glass Gt1. Hereinafter, monitor glass GM in the supply cartridge 31,
GM, . . . are sequentially supplied to the monitor station S5,
Further, while the used monitor glass GM is being stored in the return cartridge 32, a multilayer film is vapor-deposited on the substrate.

After the multilayer film deposition process on the substrate is completed, wait for cooling, and then remove the used monitor glass GM.
GM, . . . can be taken out of the vacuum chamber 1 in each cartridge 32.

Therefore, in this embodiment, a large number of monitor glasses G
Since M, GM, . . . can be replaced sequentially, even if the number of films deposited on each substrate is multilayered, it can be adequately coped with.

Moreover, a large number of monitor glasses GM, GM, . . . are stacked and stored in the supply cartridge 31, and even when the monitor glasses GM, GM, . Because they are stacked, stored, and taken out, even if the required number of monitor glasses GM increases, the monitor glass replacement device only requires a small space and does not interfere with the heating temperature control of the substrates in the vacuum chamber 1. The thickness controllability and accuracy of multilayer films can be further improved.

In addition, a supply cartridge 31 and a return cartridge 32 are also provided.
Toga Station 52. Since it is removable from Sl, it is possible to easily supply the monitor glass GN before the film forming process and to take out the used monitor glass GM after the process. In addition, since the supply and return cartridges 31, 32 are integrated with each other, one bare cartridge 31, 32 is prepared for each multilayer film deposition process on the substrate.
In the supply cartridge 31 is a monitor glass GM.

It is sufficient to store GM, . . . , and the monitor glass GM for vapor deposition processing can be easily managed.

In the above embodiment, the number of glass holding parts 20 of the rotor 18 is three, and the number of lifting stations 81 to S6 is six, but in addition, for example, the number of glass holding parts is four, The number of lifting stations can also be changed, such as eight.

Moreover, although the above embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to a vapor deposition apparatus, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to other vacuum film forming apparatuses other than the vapor deposition apparatus.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the monitor glass replacement device for an optical film thickness monitor of the invention according to claim (1), a large number of monitor glasses are stacked and held in the supply cartridge, and the upper part of the outer periphery is A rotor having a plurality of glass holding parts is intermittently rotated by a predetermined angle while repeatedly raising and lowering, and the lowermost monitor glass in the supply cartridge is moved by the upward movement and subsequent rotational movement of the rotor. The used monitor glasses are held one by one in the glass holder and taken out from the take-out port and supplied to the monitor position, and then the used monitor glasses are returned to the glass holder by the rotor's rotating action and subsequent descending action. By returning the monitor glass from the return port at the bottom of the cartridge, even if the number of required monitor glasses increases, the monitor glass replacement device only takes up a small space and does not interfere with the heating temperature control of the substrate in the vacuum chamber. In addition, it is possible to replace multiple pieces of monitor glass in succession, and it is possible to supply monitor glasses that correspond to each layer in a multilayer film formation process, allowing each layer to be monitored with independent accuracy. The controllability and accuracy of the film thickness of the multilayer film can be improved.

Further, according to the invention according to claim (2), the monitor glass taken out from the supply cartridge by the glass holding part of the rotor is exposed to a vacuum chamber and preheated before being used for monitoring film formation. By doing so, the film forming conditions for the monitor glass can be made substantially the same as for the substrate, and the controllability and accuracy of the film thickness can be further improved.

Furthermore, according to the invention according to claim (3), since the supply cartridge and the return cartridge are removable from the station and are integrated, it is possible to facilitate the supply and removal of the monitor glass in the film forming process. At the same time, it is possible to facilitate the management of the monitor glass for the film forming process and its positioning with respect to the station.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a horizontal sectional view of the main parts of the monitor glass replacement device, and FIG.
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the main parts along the line m-m in the figure, Figure 4 is a plan view of the rotor, and Figure 5 is a monitor of the main parts of the exchange device. FIG. 6, which is a developed view developed along the center of glass transport, is a schematic structural diagram of the film thickness monitor. 1...Vacuum chamber 9...Rotary shaft 11...Drive device 16...Rotary actuator 18...Rotor 19...Opening 20...Glass holder 21...Supply cartridge 32...Return cartridge 34.36...Insertion hole 35...Takeout port 37...Return port 50...Film thickness monitor 51...Floodlight 56...Mirror box GM...Monitor glass 59...Optical path Cylinder 60... Optical path 61... Light receiver B... Incident light BR... Reflected light Fig. 4

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) Detection light is irradiated onto a monitor glass placed at a position where film formation conditions are equivalent to those of the substrate to be deposited in a vacuum chamber, and based on the comparison between the incident light and reflected light, the detection light is applied to the substrate. In an optical film thickness monitor that monitors the film thickness of A rotor is integrally attached to the rotor, and the rotor has a rising motion in which it ascends by a certain stroke, a descending motion in which it descends by the same stroke as the rising motion, and a constant movement around the rotation axis between the rising and descending motions. and a driving means for repeatedly performing an operation of rotating by an angle, and the rotor has a plurality of openings vertically penetrating formed at predetermined positions on a circumference at a constant radius from the rotation center,
A glass holding part is provided at the upper edge of each of the openings, and the glass holding part is made up of a pair of steps that fit and hold the monitor glass at peripheral edges facing each other in a substantially diametrical direction, and the glass holding part of the rotor is raised or lowered. an optical path that is arranged in an operating monitor station parallel to the rotation axis and such that its center intersects the orbit of the aperture of the rotor, and that passes incident light and reflected light to a monitor glass held by a glass holder; A cylindrical supply cartridge for stacking and accommodating a large number of monitor glasses, which is disposed at a supply station in which the glass holding part of the rotor moves upward in the forward direction of the rotation direction from the above-mentioned monitor station; A cylindrical return cartridge capable of stacking and accommodating a large number of monitor glasses is disposed at a return station in which the glass holder of the rotor moves downward at the front side and rearward of the monitor station in the rotational direction. The bottom wall of the supply cartridge has an insertion hole through which the glass holding part of the rotor can be inserted, and a lowermost monitor is provided at the bottom of the side wall of the supply cartridge corresponding to the rear side in the rotational direction of the rotor. A cut-out opening is formed through which only the glass can be inserted horizontally, while an insertion hole through which the glass holding part of the rotor can be inserted is opened in the bottom wall of the return cartridge. At the lower part of the side wall of the cartridge corresponding to the front side in the rotational direction of the rotor, there is a return port at the same height as the take-out port of the supply cartridge, into which a single monitor glass can be inserted by sliding it horizontally and laterally. The glass holding part of the rotor rises at the supply station to hold the monitor glass at the bottom of the supply cartridge, and as the rotor rotates, the monitor glass is taken out from the ejection port. The rotation of the rotor causes the glass holder to push the monitor glass from the return port into the inner bottom of the return cartridge at the return station, and the lowering of the rotor releases the monitor glass from being held. This is a monitor glass replacement device for optical film thickness monitors. (2) A heating station is provided at the rear of the supply station in the rotational direction and at the front of the monitor station in the rotational direction for preheating the monitor glass of the glass holder by exposing it to a vacuum chamber. Claim (1)
) A monitor glass replacement device for the optical film thickness monitor described in ). (3) The supply cartridge and the return cartridge are each removable from the station and are integrally connected to each other as claimed in claim (1) or (2).
) A monitor glass replacement device for the optical film thickness monitor described in ).