JPH05280647A - Vacuum seal method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a means of preventing dust from being generated by wearing an O ring even in a condition of high temperature, relating to a vacuum seal method between a partition of a vacuum device and a shaft inserted through the partition. CONSTITUTION:In a vacuum seal method between a partition 1 of a vacuum device and a shaft 2 inserted through the partition, a seal member 3 for burying a part between the partition 1 and the shaft 2 is provided. The seal member 3 provides a ring-shaped groove 7, for fitting an O ring 4, formed of a cylindrical film 5 between the O ring 11 and the shaft 2 and further of a side surface 6 with an opposite side to the film 5 in a narrow tapered shape to a bottom part direction. Constitution is provided such that the O ring 4 is deformed by pressing it with a retaining jig 8 to compress the film 5, and it tightens the shaft 2 to hold a vacuum of the vacuum device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vacuum sealing method for a sliding portion of a vacuum device. Even in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, equipment that requires a medium vacuum (about 1 Pa) vacuum treatment is C
A lot of VD equipment, sputtering equipment, etc. are required.

These devices are at atmospheric pressure when a semiconductor substrate such as a silicon wafer is put in a vacuum region, and are evacuated when processing these substrates. Therefore, these devices require a mechanism for sliding the substrate inside the vacuum device vertically and horizontally from the outside, and a vacuum sealing method for the sliding portion adapted to this is required.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a conventional example. In the figure, 19 is a partition wall, 20 is a sliding shaft, 21 is an O-ring, and 22 is a tightening plate.

Conventionally, the seal of the sliding shaft 20 provided on the partition wall 19 on the vacuum side and the atmosphere side, which is composed of a bell jar and a chamber such as a vacuum device, has a simple method when the degree of vacuum is relatively low.
As shown in FIG. 3, an O-ring 21 is used.
It was common to press and fix with a tightening plate 22 with a screw for sealing.

[0005]

Taking, for example, a vacuum heating device described below that employs the sealing method of the present invention, the semiconductor substrate 9 is conventionally inserted laterally into the vacuum heating device by this device. Sometimes, as shown in FIG. 2A, the tip of the shaft 2 is above the heating plate 10, and the semiconductor substrate 9 is supplied onto the shaft 2 by a robot or the like. Then, Figure 2
As shown in (b), after the hot plate 10 is lifted up, the lid 12 is closed, and then the vacuum step of evacuating the inside of the vacuum heating device is performed.

At this time, the shaft 2 slides at the position of the seal member 3. In recent years, the degree of integration of semiconductor devices has increased, and the adhesion of foreign matter such as fine dust has become a problem. In the high temperature condition and the seal part with sliding parts, the conventional O
The sealing method using a ring poses a problem because the life of the rubber is shortened due to abrasion and dust is generated.

The present invention is provided for the purpose of obtaining means for preventing the O-ring from being worn and dust being generated even in a high temperature state.

[0008]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of the principle of the present invention, which is an enlarged schematic sectional view of a vacuum seal portion. In the figure, 1 is a partition wall, 2 is a shaft, 3 is a sealing member, 4 is an O-ring, 5 is a film, 6 is a side surface, 7 is a groove, and 8 is a holding jig.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the seal member 3
Is provided with a ring-shaped groove 7 into which the O-ring 4 is fitted, and the inside of the groove 7 is in contact with the shaft 2 sliding through a thin film 5 having a thickness of 0.2 to 0.3 mm. There is. The outer side surface 6 of the groove 7 is inclined so as to narrow toward the bottom surface.

The material of the seal member 3 is preferably a material such as ethylene tetrafluoride (Teflon) which is soft to some extent and has little friction. When the shaft 2 is sliding, the O-ring 4 is in an open state, and no force is applied to the thin film 5 of the seal member 3.

When the sliding for carrying the semiconductor substrate or the like is completed and the vacuum sealing is required, first, the pressing jig 8 is moved up to push the O-ring 4 into the groove 7.
Then, the O-ring 4 is pressed in the direction of the shaft 2 by the taper of the side surface 6 of the groove 7. Then, the thin film 5 of the seal member 3 is pressed against the O-ring 4 and the shaft 2 is tightened, and the partition wall 1
The atmosphere side and the vacuum side are completely cut off, and the vacuum seal is completed.

If this seal structure is adopted, the O-ring 4
Less dust is generated due to abrasion and the sealing performance is good. That is, as shown in FIG. 1 (a), the object of the present invention is to provide the partition wall 1 with a seal member 3 filling the space between the partition wall 1 and the shaft 2, and the seal member 3 is provided with an O-ring. 4 is provided with a cylindrical film 5 between the shaft 4 and the shaft 2, and a ring-shaped groove 7 into which the O-ring 4 is fitted, the opposite side having a tapered side surface 6 narrowing toward the bottom, As shown in (b), when the O-ring 4 is pressed by the pressing jig 8, the O-ring 4 is deformed and presses against the film 5, and the film 5 tightens the shaft 2 to form a vacuum. This is accomplished by maintaining a vacuum on the device.

[0013]

When the method according to the present invention is used, the force applied to the seal member can be changed by fixing or releasing the O-ring with a holding jig. When the shaft slides and is not fixed, the force exerted on the seal member is small, therefore wear is reduced and dust is hardly generated.

When the sealing effect is required, the force applied to the sealing member can be increased.

[0015]

EXAMPLE FIG. 2 shows a vacuum heating apparatus explained in an example of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a partition wall, 2 is a shaft, 3 is a sealing member, 4 is an O-ring, 5 is a film, 6 is a side surface, 7 is a groove, 8
Is a holding jig, 9 is a semiconductor substrate, 10 is a hot plate, 11 is a heat insulating material,
12 is a lid, 13 is a support plate, 14 is a heater, 15 is a substrate, 16 is a clamp cylinder, 17 is a heating plate upper and lower cylinder, and 18 is a joint member.

As shown in FIG. 2 (a), a shaft 2 which penetrates the heat plate 10 and slides vertically is provided for carrying the semiconductor substrate 9. When the semiconductor substrate 9 is inserted into the vacuum chamber, the shaft 2 projects above the heating plate 10 and receives the semiconductor substrate 9 from the lateral direction by a robot or the like. When performing the vacuum heat treatment, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), the heat plate 10 rises up and the upper lid 12 is contacted with the heat insulating material 11 to be hermetically sealed, and exhausted to a predetermined vacuum degree by an exhaust device. To be done. After that, the heating plate 10 is heated through the heater 14, and the semiconductor substrate 9 is vacuum-heated accordingly.

In the figure, the shaft 2 is fixed and the heat plate
Although 10 moves up and down, it is the same when the heating plate 10 is fixed and the shaft 2 moves up and down. FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the seal member 3. The seal member 3 is attached to the joint member 18 so as not to be in direct contact with the heating plate 10 serving as the partition wall of the vacuum device and the heater 14, and protrudes to the atmosphere side. The joint member 18 is screwed into the hot plate 10.

The actual vacuum sealing is performed by pressing the thin film 5 of the sealing member 3 with the O-ring 4. This is done by pushing the holding jig 8 shown in the figure with the clamp cylinder 6.

The shape of the seal member 3 is not limited to any other shape as long as it has a structure in which a thin film 5 to be sealed and an oblique groove for pressing the O-ring are provided between the sliding shafts 2. You can take the shape.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Compared to the conventional method of directly sliding the O-ring, the thin film of the seal is made freer than the O-ring when sliding, and when the vacuum is applied, the thin film of the seal is pressed against the sliding shaft through the O-ring to create a vacuum. By holding it, the friction of the seal part is reduced and the generation of dust can be suppressed.

This greatly contributes to the quality improvement of the semiconductor process.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram (1) of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention (part 2).

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 partition wall 2 shaft 3 sealing member 4 O-ring 5 film 6 side surface 7 groove 8 holding jig 9 semiconductor substrate 10 hot plate 11 is a heat insulating material 12 lid 13 support plate 14 heater 15 substrate 16 clamp cylinder 17 hot plate upper and lower cylinder 18 joint member

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A vacuum sealing method between a partition (1) of a vacuum device and a shaft (2) penetrating the partition, the partition (1)
And a seal member filling the space between the partition wall (1) and the shaft (2)
(3) is provided, and the sealing member (3) is composed of a cylindrical membrane (5) between the O-ring (4) and the shaft (2), and the opposite side has a narrow taper shape toward the bottom. Side (6) of the O
By providing a ring-shaped groove (7) into which the ring (4) is fitted and pressing the O-ring (4) with a holding jig (8),
A vacuum sealing method, characterized in that the ring (4) is deformed to press the membrane (5), the membrane (5) clamps the shaft (2), and the vacuum of the vacuum device is maintained.