JPH05160026A - Film formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To avoid the operational suspension of the film formation device during the cleaning work of the film formation chamber whereto any flakes or foreign matters adhere during the film formation step for increasing the rate of operation. CONSTITUTION:The title film formation device is fitted with an inner chamber 2 forming an independent film formation space in an outer chamber taking up vacuum atmospheric space as well as a shutter 3 opening and closing an aperture part for carrying-in and out a substrate provided in the inner chamber 2. Through these procedures, the adhering region of film forming material during the film formation step can be restricted to the inside of the chamber 2 thereby sufficing the cleaning and overhaul cleaning works for those in the inner chamber only as well as avoiding the suspension of the operations during the film formation step for a long time.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus for forming a thin film on a member to be film-formed by a gas phase or a chemical reaction in a vacuum atmosphere space or a space isolated from the atmosphere.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a film forming apparatus of this kind for forming a required thin film on the surface of a film forming member (hereinafter referred to as a substrate) such as an insulating substrate or a semiconductor substrate, a CVD apparatus and a plasma CV
A vapor deposition device such as a D device or a vacuum sputtering device is known. 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, plasma CVD processing has been frequently used in a thin film forming process in manufacturing a semiconductor device or a liquid crystal display device.

Particularly, plasma CVD is a method of reacting a gaseous substance (processing gas) in non-equilibrium plasma to deposit new solid species on a substrate, and processing gas is used in a film forming chamber which is a vacuum processing chamber. (For example, silane gas) is activated (radicalized) by applying high frequency (RF) power or DC power energy, and a thin film (eg, amorphous silicon film) is generated and deposited on the substrate.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the schematic structure of a conventional plasma CVD apparatus. 01 is a film forming chamber, 02 is a substrate transfer preliminary chamber, 03 is a substrate tray, and 04 and 05 are process gas introductions, respectively. , A discharge pipe, 06 is a radio frequency (RF) power supply, and 07 is a substrate. In the figure, a substrate 07 which is a film formation target member is placed on a substrate electrode 032 of a substrate tray 03, and a processing gas is introduced into a film forming chamber 01 in a vacuum atmosphere from an introduction pipe 04, and the processing gas is supplied to a high frequency. Power supply 06 to R
The required film is formed by activating (radicalizing) the RF power energy applied to the F electrode 031 to cause a chemical reaction on the surface of the substrate 07.

The substrate tray 03 has a structure in which an RF electrode 031 and a substrate electrode 032 are held opposite to each other by a quartz or ceramic insulating rod 033. The substrate tray 03 can be transferred to the substrate transfer auxiliary chamber 02 when the substrate is exchanged by releasing the shutter 034, and the shutter 0 can be released without breaking the vacuum atmosphere of the film forming chamber 01 and the substrate transfer auxiliary chamber 02.
34 and gate 022 are opened / closed and gate 022 is opened.
Substrate 0 transferred from the transfer station adjacent to
7 is received, and the film-formed substrate is transferred to the transfer stage.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-10224 or Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-29 discloses a conventional technique for forming a desired film on a surface of a substrate by using such a film forming chamber.
No. 4018 can be cited.

[0007]

In the above-mentioned prior art, the substrate carrying tray 03 has the RF electrode 031 and the substrate electrode 0.
32 is supported by an insulating rod 033, and the substrate is carried in / out from between the insulating rods 033, and the film forming space is constituted by a single film forming chamber 01. Therefore, when the film forming process is continued, the film forming components are deposited on the structure of the substrate tray 03 and the inner wall of the film forming chamber 01, and flakes separated from the film adhere as dust to the surface of the substrate 07 to improve the film forming quality. Lower. In particular,
Since a large amount of film-forming components adhere to the wall surface of the film-forming chamber 01 having a large area, it is necessary for the film-forming chamber 01 to regularly remove the deposition of the film-forming components together with the substrate transport tray 03.

As described above, in the conventional technique,
Since the film forming chamber that performs the film forming process on the substrate that is the film forming member forms a single space, the film forming components are deposited on the inner wall of the film forming chamber due to the film forming process. Since the flakes become foreign matters and affect the film formation state on the substrate surface and deteriorate the film formation quality, the film formation chamber 01 needs to be regularly cleaned or disassembled and cleaned.

In order to perform the cleaning operation of the film forming chamber, it is necessary to completely stop the operation of the film forming apparatus, and the film forming process is stopped during the cleaning of the film forming chamber. Therefore, there is a problem that the operating rate is significantly reduced. An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, avoid a complete stoppage of the entire film forming apparatus accompanying the cleaning work of the part of the film forming chamber where flakes and foreign substances adhere to the film forming process, and improve the operating rate. Another object of the present invention is to provide a film forming apparatus having improved characteristics.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has a shutter having a dual structure for a film forming chamber to limit a film forming space and to carry in / out a substrate into / from the film forming space. It is characterized by having a mechanism. That is, FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing only a main part of a film forming apparatus relating to plasma CVD for explaining the entire structure of the film forming apparatus according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. And an inner chamber 2 that is housed inside the outer chamber so as to form an independent film forming space in the vacuum atmosphere formed by the outer chamber 1. In the provided film forming apparatus, openings 12-1 and 12 for loading and unloading the substrate 20 into and from the inner chamber 2 are provided.
-2 and a shutter 3 for opening and closing the opening.

Further, according to the present invention, an opening 12-for loading and unloading the substrate 20 into and from the inner chamber 2 is provided.
1, 12-2 and a shutter 3 for opening / closing the opening, and an opening / closing culm 4 for opening / closing the shutter 3 of the inner chamber 2 from the outside of the film forming chamber via the outer chamber 1. Characterize.

The inner chamber 2 may be configured to be movable between the substrate exchange preliminary chamber and the adjacent processing stage through the gate 5. Also, the opening 12-
1, 12-2 may be provided only on one side of the inner chamber 2, and the shutter 3 adopts another appropriate structure such as a structure to be attached to the inner chamber via a hinge or a structure to slide on the wall surface of the inner chamber. The culm for opening and closing the culm can be installed from the bottom or side wall of the outer chamber.

Although FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the present invention as a schematic configuration diagram of a plasma CVD type film forming apparatus, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and a normal pressure CV is used.
The present invention can be applied to D, low pressure CVD method, vacuum sputtering apparatus and other vapor deposition apparatuses in general.

[0014]

The film forming chamber 10 has a double structure of the outer chamber 1 and the inner chamber 2 provided in the outer chamber, and the inner chamber 2 forms an independent space for film formation. A substrate 20 is provided in the inner chamber 2.
12-1 and 12-2 for loading and unloading
A shutter 3 for closing this opening is installed, and the substrate 2
The inner chamber 2 is opened in the same space as the outer chamber 1 when 0 is loaded, and the inner chamber 2 is closed in a space independent from the outer chamber 1 during the film forming process to form a film forming space.

The shutter 3 is opened and closed by an opening and closing culvert 4 which is operated from the outside of the outer chamber 1. With the above configuration, the film forming chamber 10 only needs to be cleaned for the inner chamber 2, and the inner chamber 2 can be detached from the outer chamber 1 as necessary so that the inner chamber 2 can be removed for cleaning work. Therefore, the operating rate of the film forming apparatus can be improved.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view for explaining one embodiment of a film forming chamber in the film forming apparatus according to the present invention, in which 10 is a film forming chamber, 11 is an outer chamber, 12 is an inner chamber, 15 is an RF electrode, and 20 is Substrate, 21 is a wheel for movement, 22 is a rail, 31 and 32 are shutters, 35 and 3
Reference numeral 6 is an opening / closing rod.

In FIG. 1, the film forming chamber 10 is composed of an outer chamber 11 and an inner chamber 12 arranged in the outer chamber 11. The outer chamber 11 includes a base container 11-1 and a shield lid 11
-2 forms a processing space in a vacuum atmosphere. The inner chamber 12 is basically composed of a substrate electrode 12-4 that constitutes a base container and a conductive plate 12-3 that is a lid, and there is insulation between the substrate electrode 12-4 and the perforated conductive plate 12-3. Body 12
It is electrically isolated at -8.

A large number of gas introduction holes 12 are formed in the conductive plate 12-3.
-5 is formed, and the processing gas introduced from the outside of the outer chamber 11 via the gas introduction pipe 15-2 is blown into the inner chamber 12 from the gas emission hole 15-3 passing through the RF electrode 15. The conductive plate 12-3 is made of stainless steel, aluminum, or the like, has a large number of gas holes 12-5 for blowing a processing gas into the film forming processing space of the inner chamber 12, and is an insulator from the substrate electrode 12-4. 12-8 electrically insulated. The RF electrode 15 is attached to the conductive plate 12-3 by a contact spring 15-1.
RF power energy is supplied to the inside of the inner chamber 12 from the conductive plate 12-3.

A plurality of pins 12-7 are arranged on the substrate electrode 12-4 of the inner chamber 12 so as to project into the inner chamber 12, and the substrate 20 on which a film is to be formed is formed.
So that the transfer device (robot arm) can project upward so that the substrate 20 can be lifted during transfer.
It is driven by the pin push-up mechanism 23. Although the pin push-up mechanism 23 is illustrated as being provided inside the outer chamber 11, it may be provided outside the bottom of the film forming chamber 10.

The substrate electrode 12-4 is the inner chamber 1
2 comprises a lower container, and a gas discharge port 12-6 is provided at an appropriate portion where the four corners of the lower container are suitable, and a processing gas involved in film formation is introduced from the inside of the inner chamber 12 into a conduit (not shown). For example, the gas is discharged to the outside of the film forming chamber 10 through the outer chamber 11.

In the wall portion of the inner chamber 12 on the substrate receiving side, openings 12-1 and 12-2 for taking in and out the substrates are formed, and shutters 31 and 32 for closing the openings 12-1 and 12-2. Are provided on the outer chamber 11 side. The shutters 31 and 32 are movable in the directions of the arrows shown in the figure. After the shutter 31 is released and the substrate is stored in the inner chamber 12, the shutter 31 is closed and the inner chamber 12 is moved to the outer chamber. Keep the space independent from 11.

In such a structure, the substrate 20 transferred from the substrate transfer auxiliary chamber kept in the same or similar vacuum atmosphere as the film forming chamber 10 is received in the outer chamber 11 of the film forming chamber 10, Inner chamber 1
2 from the opening 12-1 to the pin 12-7 of the substrate electrode 12-4.
Placed on top. After placing the substrate on the substrate electrode 12-4, the shutter 31 of the inner chamber 12 is closed. The shutter 32 is in a closed state.

In this state, the gas holes 12 of the conductive plate 12-3 are
The processing gas blown from -5 is turned into plasma by RF power energy applied from the RF electrode 15 through the conductive plate 12-3, and a required film is formed on the surface of the substrate 20 by a chemical reaction on the surface of the substrate 20. Let Film-formed substrate 2
0 is taken out of the film forming chamber 10 through the outer chamber 11 through the opening 12-2 by opening the shutter 32 of the inner chamber 12, and is transferred to the subsequent processing stage.

The shutters 31 and 32 provided in the inner chamber 12 engage the opening / closing operation culverts 35 and 36 operated from the outside of the outer chamber 11 with the groove portions 37 of the shutters 31 and 32 to open the opening / closing operation ridges 35 and 36. It is opened and closed by moving it up and down. By repeating such a film-forming process, film-forming components are deposited on the inner wall of the inner chamber 12, and the flakes separated from the film become dust and adhere to the film-forming surface of the substrate 20 during the film-forming process to form a film. Deteriorate quality. Therefore, after repeating the film forming process a certain number of times, a cleaning operation for removing the film forming components deposited on the wall surface of the inner chamber 12 is required.

When this cleaning work is required, the shield lid 11-2 of the outer chamber 11 is removed together with the RF electrode 15, and the inner chamber 12 is taken out from the outer chamber 11 for cleaning or disassembly cleaning. After taking out the inner chamber that had been used up to that point, load a new inner chamber into the outer chamber 11 and activate a vacuum pump (not shown) to bring the inside of the outer chamber 11 to the required vacuum state. The substrate is transferred to the inner chamber 12 and a film forming process is performed.

As a result, it becomes possible to continue the film forming process even while cleaning the taken out inner chamber,
The operating rate of the film forming apparatus can be significantly improved. FIG. 3 is a sectional view for explaining the structure of the inner chamber of the film forming apparatus according to the present invention shown in FIG. 2, and the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 2 correspond to the same parts. The inner chamber 12 shown in the figure has openings 12-1 and 12-2 for loading and unloading the substrate between the inner chamber 12 and the outer chamber, and the insulator 1 is provided on the upper surface.
It has a conductive plate 12-3 via 2-8.

Shutters 31 and 32 are provided in the openings 12-1 and 12-2, respectively.
Moves upward to open the openings 12-1 and 12-2, and lowers to close the openings 12-1 and 12-2. The shutters 31 and 32 are formed with a groove portion 37 with which the above-described opening / closing operation culvert is engaged.

Further, the conductive plate 12-3 is provided with a large number of holes (gas holes) 12-5 for introducing gas. The gas holes or the gap between the conductive plate 12-3 and the insulator 12-8. The processing gas is introduced into the inner chamber 12 through the. According to this configuration, the inner chamber 12 can be taken out from the outer chamber 11 in a state where the inner space is sealed, and when taking out the inner chamber, dust such as flakes is scattered into the outer chamber or other devices. Can be prevented.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the inner chamber shown in FIG. 3, showing an example of the shutter and its opening / closing operation mechanism. The shutters 31 and 32 are hinge mechanisms 33 and 34.
Is attached to the side wall of the inner chamber 12, and the shutters 31 and 32 are opened 12-1 and 12-2 by engaging the opening / closing operation culverts 35 and 36 with the groove portions 37 of the shutters 31 and 32 and moving them up and down. It has a structure that opens and closes.

FIG. 5 shows one opening 1 of the inner chamber.
It is an explanatory view of the state where 2-1 was opened,
By engaging 5 with the groove portion 37 of the shutter 31 and pointing it upward, the shutter 31 is moved upward by the hinge mechanism 33, and the opening 12-1 is opened. In this state, the substrate is transferred into the inner chamber 12 and the pins 1
Place on 2-7.

FIG. 6 is a side view on the shutter side of the inner chamber shown in FIG. 3, showing a state in which the opening 12-1 shown in FIG. 5 is opened. As shown in the figure, it can be seen that by raising the shutter 31, the opening 12-1 is opened, the inside of the inner chamber 12 is exposed, and the substrate transfer path is secured.

FIG. 7 is a top view showing a part of the inner chamber shown in FIG. 3 in a cutaway manner. There are openings 12-1 and 12-2 on the left and right sides of the drawing, and the opening 12
Shutters 31 and 32 are attached to -1 and 12-2 via hinge mechanisms 33 and 34, respectively. Insulator 1
The conductive plate 12-3 placed via 2-8 is provided with a large number of gas holes 12-5 for introducing a processing gas into the processing space of the inner chamber 12, and is supplied from the RF electrode side. Processing gas is supplied to the substrate 20 placed on the central portion of the substrate electrode 12-4. At this time, the processing gas is activated (radicalized) by the RF energy supplied from the RF electrode to form a predetermined film on the surface of the substrate 20.

The process gas after the film forming process is a gas outlet 12-
It is discharged from 6 through the outer chamber 11 to the outside of the film forming chamber. FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view similar to FIG. 5 illustrating another embodiment of the inner chamber in the film forming apparatus according to the present invention, and the same reference numerals correspond to the same parts. In the figure, shutters 31 'and 32' provided in the inner chamber 12 are slidably attached to the side wall of the inner chamber. The openings 12-1 and 12-2 of the inner chamber 12 are opened by engaging the opening / closing operation culls 35 'and 36' with the groove portions of the shutters 31 'and 32' similar to those in the above-described embodiment and sliding the shutters 31 'and 32' up and down. / Configured to close.

According to this structure, since there is no portion protruding from the side wall of the inner chamber, it is easy to handle. In the above embodiment, the conductive plate having a large number of gas holes is used for the lid constituting the upper part of the inner chamber, but the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, it is also possible to use an insulating plate such as quartz.

When a quartz plate is used, RF is applied to this quartz plate.
A uniform electric field distribution can be formed in the inner chamber 12 by applying RF power by bringing the electrodes close to or in contact with each other. Further, the inner chamber described above has wheels 21 for movement and is movable on rails 22 laid in the outer chamber 11.

In the above embodiments, the openings 12-1 and 12-2 and the shutters 31 and 32 for opening and closing the openings 12-1 and 12-2 are provided on both sides of the inner chamber 12, but the opening and the shutter of only one of them are provided. It is also possible to provide an inner chamber provided with, and in that case, loading and unloading of the substrate 20 is performed through the same opening. It is arbitrary whether the number of the openings is one or two, or which wall of the inner chamber is provided.

Further, the shutter provided in the inner chamber is not limited to the structure of each of the above-described embodiments, and may have any structure as long as it has an opening / closing mechanism having a known structure.
As the opening / closing operation mechanism, not only the operation from the bottom surface of the outer chamber but also an appropriate mechanism operated from the side surface or the upper surface can be adopted.

[0038]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The film formation chamber has a double structure consisting of an outer chamber and an inner chamber, and a shutter is provided in the opening for loading / unloading the substrate of the inner chamber, so that the deposition area of the film formation substance during the film formation process is inside the inner chamber. Since it is sufficient to clean the inner chamber where the film-forming components are deposited and to disassemble and clean the inner chamber only, it is not necessary to suspend the film-forming process for a long time, The operating rate can be significantly improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing only a main part of a film forming apparatus relating to plasma CVD for explaining an overall structure of a film forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view illustrating one example of a film forming chamber in the film forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration example of an inner chamber of the film forming apparatus according to the present invention shown in FIG.

4 is a side view of an inner chamber of the film forming apparatus according to the present invention shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which one opening of the inner chamber is opened in the film forming apparatus according to the present invention.

6 is a side view of a shutter side of the inner chamber according to the present invention shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a top view showing a part of the inner chamber according to the present invention shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 5, illustrating another configuration example of the inner chamber of the film forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a schematic structure of a conventional plasma CVD apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 11 Outer chamber 2, 12 Inner chamber 12-1, 12-2 Opening 3, 31, 32 Shutter 4, 35, 36 Opening / closing operation cul 15 RF electrode 17-2, 17-3 Gate 20 Substrate 35, 36 Opening / closing operation Culm.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Daiya Aoki, 2-chome, Yanai-cho, Yao-cho, Negaku-gun, Toyama Prefecture Inside the Toyama Plant, Kokusai Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Fumio Muramatsu 2-chome, Yanai-cho, Oji-gun, Toyama Prefecture No. 1 inside Toyama factory of Kokusai Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tomohiko Takeda 2-1, No. 2 Yasuchi, Yao-cho, Niseji-gun, Toyama prefecture Inside Toyama factory of Kokusai Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An outer chamber for holding a vacuum atmosphere space, and an inner chamber housed inside the outer chamber so as to form an independent film forming space in the vacuum atmosphere formed by the outer chamber. A film forming apparatus provided with a film forming chamber, wherein the inner chamber is provided with an opening for loading and unloading a substrate and a shutter for opening and closing the opening. 2. An outer chamber which holds a vacuum atmosphere space, and an inner chamber which is housed inside the outer chamber so as to form an independent film forming space in the vacuum atmosphere formed by the outer chamber. In a film forming apparatus having a film forming chamber, an opening for loading and unloading a substrate and a shutter for opening and closing the opening are provided in the inner chamber, and the inner chamber is provided with the shutter from outside the film forming chamber via the outer chamber. A film forming apparatus having an opening / closing culm for opening and closing a shutter of an inner chamber.