JPH0522552U - Thin film forming equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] In a thin film forming apparatus having two or more vacuum chambers and a means for transporting a film-forming substrate between adjacent vacuum chambers, at least one pair of adjacent vacuum chambers is provided with To easily and surely prevent impurities from adhering to or mixing with a substrate surface or a film when a substrate is transferred between chambers by a substrate transfer means. A thin film forming apparatus A having a film forming chamber 1 having film forming means, a load lock chamber 2 connected to the film forming chamber, and a device 600 for transferring a substrate between the both chambers. A thin film forming apparatus comprising a gas supply device (9, 91, 92) capable of supplying a cleaning gas in parallel to the surface of the substrate when the substrate is transported between chambers.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a thin film forming apparatus used for manufacturing various thin film devices such as semiconductor devices, liquid crystal display devices, EL display devices, and solar cells.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 There are various types of thin film forming apparatuses of this type, but generally, a film lock chamber equipped with a thin film forming means is provided with a load lock chamber for initial installation and replacement of a substrate and an appropriate valve. And a means for transferring the substrate between the two chambers. Further, there is also one in which another process vacuum chamber is connected to the film forming chamber or a load lock chamber.

An example thereof is shown in FIG. This conventional apparatus includes an ion source 11 as a film forming means, a film forming chamber 1 provided with a target 12 which receives an ion beam from the ion source and emits sputtered particles toward a substrate, and a gate valve 3. It is provided with a load lock chamber 2 connected to the film forming chamber 1 and a substrate transfer device 6A having a substrate holder 60. The film forming chamber 1 can be depressurized to a predetermined degree of vacuum by a vacuum pump 41 connected to the film forming chamber 1 via a gate valve 41a. Further, in the film forming chamber 1, there is provided a mask plate 7 for preventing the sputtered particles emitted from the target 12 from adhering to a portion other than the substrate 6 on the substrate holder 60 and the mask plate 7. A rotary shutter 8 is provided for opening and closing the opening facing the substrate.

On the other hand, the load lock chamber 2 can be depressurized to a predetermined degree of vacuum by a vacuum pump 42 connected to the load lock chamber 2 via a gate valve 42a. Further, the load lock chamber 2 is provided with an opening / closing door (not shown) for loading / unloading the substrate holder 60 or the substrate 6. According to this conventional apparatus, initially, the substrate holder 60 is arranged in the load lock chamber 2, and the inside of the film forming chamber 1 is depressurized to a predetermined vacuum level by the vacuum pump 41 with the gate valve 3 closed. In 2, the door is opened and the film forming substrate 6 is attached to the holder 60. Next, the door is closed, the load lock chamber 2 is depressurized to a predetermined vacuum degree by the pump 42, the gate valve 3 is subsequently opened, and the substrate 6 is transferred by the transfer device 6A to the film forming position of the film forming chamber 1. Is located in. After that, the gate valve 3 is closed, the inside of the film forming chamber 1 is maintained at the film forming vacuum degree by the pump 41, the shutter 8 is opened, and a thin film is formed on the substrate 6.

When the formation of the predetermined thin film is completed, the gate valve 3 is opened, the substrate 6 is returned to the load lock chamber 2 by the transfer device 6A, and the gate valve 3 is closed again. Then, the load lock chamber 2 is vented by introducing a gas from a venting gas source (not shown), the door is opened, and the substrate is replaced. After that, thin film formation is sequentially performed in the same manner.

[0006]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, according to such a conventional device, when the gate valve 3 is opened and the substrate 6 is moved by the transfer device 6A, various impurities separated from the inner wall of the film forming chamber 1 may adhere to or be mixed with the thin film. There is a problem that the film quality deteriorates. As a means for solving this problem, it is conceivable to blow a cleaning gas at the time of moving the substrate, but the gas flow is disturbed by the mask plate 7, the shutter 8, the transfer device 6A, etc. arranged in the film forming chamber, and the thin film It is not possible to sufficiently prevent the adhesion and mixing of impurities.

Therefore, the present invention provides a thin film forming apparatus having two or more vacuum chambers and a means for transporting a film-forming substrate between the adjacent vacuum chambers, wherein at least one pair of adjacent vacuum chambers are provided with these chambers. An object of the present invention is to easily and surely prevent impurities from adhering to or mixing with the surface of a substrate or a film when the substrate is transported by the substrate transporting means between them.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The thin film forming apparatus of the present invention which solves the above-mentioned problems is parallel (parallel or parallel to the substrate surface to the substrate surface when transporting the substrate between at least one pair of adjacent vacuum chambers). And) substantially parallel), and is provided with means for supplying the purifying gas.

In order to obtain the flow of the purifying gas in a desired direction more reliably, a means for rectifying the supplied gas in parallel with the surface of the substrate may be provided. An example of such a rectifying means is one in which planes parallel to the substrate are set on both sides of the substrate. In that case, a mask plate and a shutter for opening and closing the opening may be used as a part thereof.

[0010]

[Action]

 According to the device of the present invention, in at least one pair of adjacent vacuum chambers, when the substrate is moved from one vacuum chamber to the other vacuum chamber, the cleaning gas is supplied from the cleaning gas supply means parallel to the surface of the substrate. Are supplied in the form of a wire, which prevents impurities from adhering to or mixing in with the substrate surface.

[0011]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross section of one embodiment. This thin film forming apparatus A is an improvement of the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. 3. As a cleaning gas supply means, the gas is supplied to the surface of the substrate 6 in the film forming chamber 1 in parallel with the surface. The film forming chamber 1 is equipped with a gas introduction pipe 9 for supplying the gas. The pipe is connected to a gas source 92 via an opening / closing valve 91. As the cleaning gas, a gas that does not adversely affect the quality of the formed film during film formation is used.

Here, the drive device 80 of the shutter 8 and the substrate transfer device 600 in the film forming chamber 1 will be described as an example. The structure and operation of the other parts are as already described in connection with the conventional device of FIG. The shutter drive device 80 includes a shaft rod 81 that supports the shutter 8 and projects through the wall 13 of the film forming chamber, and a motor 82 that rotationally drives the shaft rod. The shaft rod 81 penetrates the wall 13. Is kept airtight by an airtight sealing bellows 83 provided to the wall 13 and the motor 82. By rotating the motor 82 in the forward and reverse directions, the shutter 8 can be rotated to open and close the opening of the mask plate 7.

The transfer device 600 includes a substrate holder 60, a member 601, which supports the substrate holder, and which is long in the transfer direction, a roller 602 in the load lock chamber 2 which supports the member 601 in the transfer direction from above and below, and a roller 602. It comprises a motor 603 for rotationally driving one of the rollers, a roller 604 in the film forming chamber 1 for movably supporting the member 601 from above and below, and a motor 605 for rotationally driving one of the rollers 604.

The member 601 supported from above and below by the roller 602 in the load lock chamber 2 is fed into the film formation chamber 1 by the normal rotation operation of the motor 603 with the gate valve 3 opened. It is passed to the roller 604 driven by the normal rotation operation of the motor 605, and is arranged at the film forming position. Therefore, the substrate holder 60 is also arranged at the film forming position. Further, by reversing the motor 605, the member 601 can be returned to the load lock chamber 2 and passed to the roller 602 driven by the reverse rotation operation of the motor 603, and can be arranged at the initial position. Therefore, the substrate holder 60 is also returned to the initial position.

According to the thin film forming apparatus A described above, the thin film is formed on the surface of the substrate 6 in the same manner as the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. However, after the thin film is formed on the substrate 6, when the substrate 6 is returned from the film forming chamber 1 to the load lock chamber 2 by the transport device 600, the valve 91 of the cleaning gas introduction pipe 9 is opened and the surface of the substrate is opened. On the other hand, a purifying gas is supplied in parallel with the surface, and the flow of the gas prevents impurities such as separation from the inner wall of the film forming chamber from adhering to or mixing in the film, thus maintaining the desired film quality. To be done.

Also, when the substrate mounted on the substrate holder 60 in the load lock chamber 2 is transported into the film forming chamber 1, the gas is supplied as necessary to prevent the attachment of impurities to the substrate surface. it can. FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the present invention. The thin film forming apparatus B is an improved version of the apparatus A. The configuration is substantially the same as that of the device A except that the gas rectifying device 10 is provided and the shutter 800 in the film forming chamber 1 also serves as a part of the rectifying device 10.

The rectifying device 10 includes a rectifying plate 101 installed behind the film forming position in the film forming chamber 1 in parallel with a substrate surface arranged at the position, and a rectifying plate 102 installed in front of the film forming position. The plate 800 includes a shutter 800 that opens and closes an opening facing the film formation position, and two parallel flow straightening plates 103 and 104 arranged in the load lock chamber 2. The rectifying plate 102 and the shutter 800 for closing the rectifying plate are parallel to the surface of the substrate arranged in the film forming position, and the rectifying plates 103 and 104 of the load lock chamber are in front of and behind the substrate surface arranged in the chamber, It is parallel to the substrate surface. The rectifying plates 101 and 103 have notches (not shown) into which the member 60a connecting the substrate holder 60 and the supporting member 601 can be inserted.

The shutter 800 is supported by a shaft rod 801 that penetrates the wall 13 of the film forming chamber in a slidable and rotatable manner, and a rotary drive motor 802 is connected to the portion of the shaft rod protruding outside the wall. There is. A bellows 803 for airtight sealing is provided on the outer surfaces of the motor 802 and the wall 13 to maintain airtightness. A frame 804 is fixed to the motor 802, one end of the frame is connected to a linear bush 806 slidably supported by a guide rod 805 projecting from the wall 13 surface, and the other end is female. The female screw portion is connected to a screw portion 807, and the female screw portion is screwed to a screw rod 809 which is provided on the wall 13 and is rotatably driven by a motor 808.

Therefore, after rotating the shaft 801 by the motor 802 to position the shutter 800 at a position facing the opening of the plate 102, the motor 808 rotates the screw rod 809 to rotate the shutter 800. Can be moved forward together with the shaft rod 801 and the motor 802 and placed in the opening of the plate 102 to form a flat rectifying surface. The opening of the plate 102 can be opened by the reverse operation.

According to this apparatus B, thin film formation on the surface of the substrate 6 is performed in the same manner as the apparatus shown in FIG. However, after the thin film is formed on the substrate 6, the opening of the current plate 102 is closed by the shutter 800, and when the substrate 6 is returned from the film forming chamber 1 to the load lock chamber 2 by the transfer device 600, the purified gas The valve 91 of the introduction pipe 9 is opened, the cleaning gas is supplied to the substrate surface in parallel with the surface, and the substrate surface parallel flow of the supplied gas is reliably maintained by the rectifier 10. The gas flow prevents impurities from adhering to the inner wall of the film forming chamber from adhering to or mixing with the substrate film, thereby maintaining a predetermined film quality.

Also, when the substrate mounted on the substrate holder 60 in the load lock chamber 2 is transported into the film forming chamber 1, the gas is supplied as necessary to prevent impurities from adhering to the substrate surface. it can. The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the thin film forming means is not limited to the above-mentioned ion beam sputtering apparatus. Other thin film forming means may be adopted if necessary.

[0022]

[Effect of the device]

 As described above, according to the apparatus of the present invention, in a thin film forming apparatus having two or more vacuum chambers and a means for transferring a film-forming substrate between adjacent vacuum chambers, at least one set of adjacent vacuum chambers is provided. In addition, it is possible to easily and surely prevent impurities from adhering to or mixing with the surface or film of the substrate when the substrate is transferred between the chambers by the substrate transfer means.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A, B Thin film forming apparatus 1 Film forming chamber 11 Ion source 12 Target 2 Load lock chamber 3 Gate valve 41, 42 Vacuum pump 6 Substrate 60 Substrate holder 600 Substrate transfer device 7 Mask plate 8, 800 Shutter 9 Purification gas introduction pipe 91 Valve 92 Purifying gas source 10 Rectifier 101, 102, 103, 104 Rectifier plate

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A thin film forming apparatus having two or more vacuum chambers and means for transporting a film forming substrate between adjacent vacuum chambers, wherein at least one set of adjacent vacuum chambers is provided between the two vacuum chambers. A thin film forming apparatus comprising means for supplying a cleaning gas to the surface of the substrate in parallel to the surface of the substrate when the substrate is transported. 2. The thin film forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for rectifying the supplied gas in parallel with the surface of the substrate.