JPH0551743A - Thin film producing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To construct overall the thin film forming device smaller in size and lower in cost than hereto fore. CONSTITUTION:This device is provided with a film forming chamber 1 having a lower opening 10, one or >=2 load-lock chambers 2 having a lower opening 20 and valve seat 22 and horizontally arranged adjacent to the chamber 1, a valve passage 30 communicating the chambers with each other, a valve disk 6 made horizontally movable in the valve passage and also used as a substrate holder, valve supports 61 on which the valve disk is placed and made vertically movable and horizontally immovable and made horizontally movable in the valve passage so that the valve disk is selectively faced the opening of the film forming chamber on load-lock chamber, an air cylinder 9 for driving the support and a jack J capable of attaching and detaching the valve disk faced the opening of the load-lock chamber to and from the valve seat in the load-lock chamber, and the valve seat 22 in the load-lock chamber is brought into airtight contact with the valve seat abutting part 64 on the slope at an inclination of theta to the horizontal moving direction of the valve disk.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a substrate for a liquid crystal display device,
The present invention relates to a thin film manufacturing apparatus for forming a thin film having a function suitable for each application, such as a film for a liquid crystal element, a film for an EL element, a superconducting film, etc., on the surface of a substrate for an EL display device, a substrate for a superconducting member, etc. ..

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are various types of thin film manufacturing apparatus, one of which is a new film forming chamber and a load lock chamber for exchanging substrates. A type in which the load-lock chamber is airtightly isolated from the film forming chamber by a valve element which also functions as a holder for the substrate when the substrate is set or the substrate is exchanged, and the valve element supporting the substrate is arranged in the film forming chamber during film formation. Are known.

An example of this type of thin film manufacturing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. 4. A load lock chamber 20 is connected to the upper portion of the film forming chamber 10. A target 40 is arranged in the film forming chamber 10, and the ion source 3 is directed toward the target 40.
The ion beam is irradiated from 0. The upper end opening of the load lock chamber 20 is opened and closed by the door 100. The film forming chamber 10 can be evacuated to a predetermined vacuum degree by the high vacuum pump PH, and the load lock chamber 20
Can be evacuated to a predetermined degree of vacuum by the rough evacuation vacuum pump PL.

The opening of the boundary between the film forming chamber 10 and the load lock chamber 20 can be hermetically sealed by the valve body 60. The valve body 60 supports the base body 50 on the upper surface thereof, and the load lock chamber 20 is provided around the base body supporting portion.
An O-ring 70 is provided that can contact the valve seat 201 on the lower surface in an airtight manner. The valve body 60 is supported on the upper end of a rod 901 which is moved up and down by the driving of an air cylinder 90 arranged below the film forming chamber 10. As the rod 901 rises, the O-ring 70 on the valve body is moved to the load lock chamber. Valve seat 201
The load lock chamber 20 is airtightly isolated from the film forming chamber 10. Further, by lowering the rod 901, the substrate 50 on the valve body can be placed at the film forming position in the film forming chamber 10 and exposed to the sputtered particles from the target 40. The rod 901 is the bottom wall 101 of the film forming chamber 10.
Through an expandable bellows type airtight seal device 80 provided on the outer surface of the bottom wall and the rod 901.

According to this conventional apparatus, initially, the load lock chamber 20 is airtightly isolated from the film forming chamber 10 by the valve body 60, and in this state, the inside of the film forming chamber 10 is evacuated to a predetermined vacuum degree by the pump PH. To be done. On the other hand, in the load lock chamber 20, the door 100 is opened, and the base body 5 is placed on the valve body 60.
0 is set. After installing the base body 50, the door 100 is hermetically closed, and the load lock chamber 20 is closed by the vacuum pump PL.
The inside is roughly pulled to a predetermined degree of vacuum.

After that, the rod 901 is lowered by the air cylinder 90, whereby the substrate 50 is placed at the film forming position in the film forming chamber 10, and the film forming chamber 10 is formed.
The inside of the chamber is set to a film-forming vacuum degree by a pump PH, and thereafter, the target 40 emits sputtered particles by the irradiation of the ion beam from the ion source 30, and the substrate 5 is caused by the sputtered particles.
A desired thin film is formed on the 0 surface.

After the thin film is formed, the base 50 is lifted together with the valve body 60 by the lifting of the rod 901 by the air cylinder 90, and the O-ring 70 on the upper surface of the valve body 60 airtightly contacts the valve seat 201 of the load lock chamber 20. Door 10 in this state
0 is opened and the substrate 50 is replaced. After exchanging the base body 50, the inside of the load lock chamber 20 is roughly evacuated to a predetermined vacuum degree by the pump PL, and then the base body 5 is replaced.
0 is arranged at the film forming position together with the valve body 60.

[0008]

However, according to the conventional thin film manufacturing apparatus, when the substrate 50 is installed on the valve body 60 or the substrate 50 is exchanged, the inside of the film forming chamber 10 is prepared in preparation for film formation. Since the door 100 of the load-lock chamber 20 is opened in a state where the pump PH is evacuated to a predetermined degree of vacuum in advance, atmospheric pressure is applied to the upper surface of the valve body 60, which is, for example, that of a valve body supporting a base body having a diameter of 30 cm. If 80
It can be as much as 0 kg. This atmospheric pressure is directly applied to the valve drive system. Further, in order to prevent the warp of the valve body that receives such atmospheric pressure, the valve body is made thick and heavy, and the weight of the valve body is also added to the drive system. Further, because of receiving this atmospheric pressure, the O-ring 70 of the valve body 60 is strongly pressed against the valve seat 201, but the tightening reaction force of the O-ring is also applied to the drive system. As described above, the drive system of the valve body including the air cylinder 90 must support all of the atmospheric pressure, the weight of the valve body and the tightening reaction force of the O-ring, and thus the drive system has a high output and a sturdy structure. Therefore, there is a problem in that the size and cost of the device are increased.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the film forming chamber and the load lock chamber for exchanging the substrate are provided in series, and the valve body also functions as a holder for the substrate to hermetically isolate the load lock chamber from the film forming chamber. It is an object of the present invention to provide a thin film manufacturing apparatus of a type capable of performing the above, which is smaller in size and can be manufactured more inexpensively than a conventional one.

[0010]

According to the above object, the present invention has a film forming chamber having an opening at the lower end and an opening at the lower end and a valve seat around the film forming chamber, which is adjacent to the film forming chamber for substrate exchange. One or more load lock chambers arranged side by side in parallel with each other, a valve moving path extending in the lateral direction for communicating the adjacent film forming chamber and load lock chamber, a valve body also serving as a substrate holder, and the valve It is placed so that the body can be raised and lowered and cannot move laterally,
A valve support base that is laterally movable in the valve moving path so that the valve body can selectively face the film formation chamber opening or the load lock chamber opening, and a drive that laterally moves the valve support base. Means and valve raising and lowering means capable of raising and lowering a valve body arranged at a position facing the opening of the load lock chamber so as to contact with or separate from a valve seat of the load lock chamber, the valve of the load lock chamber The seat and the valve seat contact portion of the valve body,
The present invention provides a thin-film manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that slopes slightly inclined with respect to the lateral movement direction of the valve body are formed so as to be in airtight contact with each other when the valve body rises.

[0011]

According to the thin film manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the valve body is placed at the position facing the film forming chamber or the load lock chamber by laterally moving the valve body supporting base on which the valve body is mounted by the driving means. Placed selectively. The valve body located at the position facing the load lock chamber is lifted by the valve lifting means, and the valve seat abutment portion of the valve body is separated by the slope slightly inclined with respect to the lateral movement direction of the valve body. The valve seat is airtightly contacted like a wedge, and the load lock chamber is airtightly isolated from the film forming chamber.

In this state, while the film forming chamber is maintained at a predetermined vacuum degree, the substrate is placed on the valve body or the substrate on the valve body is exchanged in the load lock chamber, and then the load lock chamber is replaced. Is evacuated to a predetermined degree of vacuum,
Then, the substrate is lowered together with the valve body by the valve elevating means, and then the valve body support is laterally moved by the driving means to be arranged at a position facing the film forming chamber, where a predetermined thin film is placed on the substrate. Formed in. After forming the thin film, the base body together with the valve body is moved to the load lock chamber side again, and is replaced with a new base body there.

Since the airtight closing of the load lock chamber opening by the valve body is performed at the boundary of the slope slightly inclined with respect to the lateral movement direction of the valve body, the atmospheric pressure applied to the upper surface of the valve body is divided by the lateral component force. Will be added to the valve body support driving means.
Further, the other component force in the lateral direction applied to the valve element is also applied to the valve element support base driving means. On the other hand, the force of the atmospheric pressure applied to the valve body and the vertical component force of gravity such as the valve body are mainly shared by the valve elevating means.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of one of the valve bodies facing the load lock chamber opening before the opening is closed, and FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the state where the valve body is lifted to close the load lock chamber opening. FIG. FIG. 3 is a view showing the valve body, its support base, and the linear guide of the support base in a section taken along line XX of FIG.

In this apparatus, two load lock chambers 2 are arranged side by side symmetrically on the left and right sides of a film forming chamber 1.
The film forming chamber 1 has an opening 10 at the lower end, and each load lock chamber 2
Also has an opening 20 at the lower end. The lower end openings 10, 20, 20 of the chambers 1, 2, 2 are in communication with each other by a valve movement passage 30 extending in the horizontal direction. A target 4 is installed in the film forming chamber 1, and an ion beam is emitted from the ion source 3 toward the target. Further, below the target 4, a mask plate 11 having an opening at the center is installed at the position of the opening 10 just. The film forming chamber 1 can be evacuated to a predetermined vacuum degree by the high vacuum pump PH.

The upper end opening of each load lock 2 is a door 10.
It is adapted to be opened and closed by A, and an O-ring 21 for airtight sealing is provided at the portion where the door 10A is closed. Each load lock chamber 2 can be evacuated to a predetermined degree of vacuum by a rough evacuation vacuum pump PL via an opening / closing valve V1. Further, each of the load lock chamber 2 can vent process by introducing the N ₂ gas from the N ₂ gas source (not shown) via a valve V2.

Valve bodies 6, 6 are arranged in the valve moving path 30. These valve bodies are integrally provided symmetrically in a row, and the right end portion 60 of the right valve body and the left end portion 60 of the left valve body are placed on the valve support base 61 in the figure. Each support 61 is mounted on a linear guide 62 that extends horizontally in the valve moving path 30. In FIG. 1, a right end 60 of the right valve body 6 is provided with vertical pins 60a at both ends of its lower surface, as shown in FIG. 3, and the pins 60a are provided on the support base 61. It is fitted in the linear guide 60b so as to be able to move up and down. In FIG. 1, a similar pin is also provided on the left end of the left valve body 6, and this pin is fitted in the linear guide of the valve support base. Thus, the valve bodies 6, 6 are the valve support bases 61,
The support bases 61 and 61 are placed so as to be movable up and down with respect to 61, but immovable in a horizontal plane, and the support bases 61, 61 maintain a predetermined positional relationship with each other.

Further, as can be seen from FIG. 3, the linear guides 62 for supporting the valve support bases 61, 61 are in the form of flat plate rails, but the linear guides 62 are not limited to this, and a slide shaft shape. You may employ the thing etc. With the above configuration, each valve body 6 is supported by the support bases 61, 6
It is possible to move horizontally on the linear guides 62, 62 together with the position 1 so as to be positioned at a position facing the opening 10 of the film forming chamber 1 or at a position facing the opening 20 of the load lock chamber 2.

In FIG. 1, a rod 91, which extends in a horizontal direction, is continuously provided on the left valve support base 61. The rod penetrates the side wall 200 of the left load lock chamber 2 and is connected to the air cylinder 9. ing. An expandable bellows type airtight sealing device 8 is provided on the outer surface of the side wall 200. The device surrounds and is connected to a rod 91, and hermetically seals the portion where the rod 91 penetrates the side wall 200. ing.

A valve seat surface 22 is formed around the opening 20 of each load lock chamber 2. The valve seat surface 22 is inclined at an angle θ with respect to the horizontal direction so as to incline downward in the direction away from the film forming chamber 1. It is inclined by (about 3 ° to 10 °). on the other hand,
Each valve body 6 has a portion 63 on the upper surface thereof for mounting the base body 5, and a valve seat contact portion 64 around the portion 63. The valve seat contact portion 64 is inclined by an angle θ with respect to the horizontal direction so as to correspond to the valve seat surface 22 of the load lock chamber. Further, the valve seat contact portion 64 includes an O-ring 7 for airtightly contacting the valve seat surface 22.

The linear guide 6 in the valve moving path 30
2, a portion corresponding to the opening 10 of the film forming chamber 1 is divided, and a jack J is provided here. The jack J is provided with a rigid disc F on the upper end of a bellows B that expands when gas is supplied and contracts due to degassing. A pump PL is connected to the bellows B through a valve V3. At the same time, it is connected to an N ₂ gas source (not shown) via a valve V4. In addition, the diameter b of the disc F is determined by the O-ring 7 on the valve body 6.
Is larger than the diameter a.

Therefore, one of the valve bodies 6 (the valve body 6 on the right side in the figure) is arranged at a position facing the load lock chamber 2, and the other valve body 6 (the valve body on the left side in the example in the figure). 6) is arranged at a position facing the film forming chamber 1, and in the jack J, the valve V4 is gradually opened and N ₂ gas is introduced into the bellows B, and the jack J is extended to raise the valve bodies 6 and 6,
The O-ring 7 on the valve body facing the load lock chamber 2 can be brought into airtight contact with the valve seat surface 22 of the load lock chamber 2. When the valve V3 is opened with the supply of the N ₂ gas stopped and the vacuum pump PL is operated to degas, the valve bodies 6 and 6 descend and the O-ring separates from the valve seat surface 22. In this state,
If necessary, the valve elements 6, 6 can be moved laterally.

According to the thin film manufacturing apparatus described above, for example, the valve body 6 on the right side is initially arranged at a position facing the opening 20 of the right side load lock chamber 2 by the air cylinder 9 as shown in the drawing, and the jack J is used. Lifted up with this opening 20
Close hermetically. In this state, the inside of the film forming chamber 1 is a vacuum pump P.
While the vacuum is evacuated to a predetermined degree of vacuum by H, the door 10A is opened in the closed load lock chamber 2, and the substrate 5 to be film-formed is installed on the substrate installation portion 63 of the valve body 6. Then, the door 10A is closed, and the inside of the load lock chamber 2 is evacuated to a predetermined vacuum degree by the operation of the roughing vacuum pump PL. After that, the valve bodies 6, 6 are lowered onto the support bases 61, 61 due to deaeration from the jack J, and then the right side valve body 6 which has closed the load lock chamber by the air cylinder 9 is the film formation chamber 1 The base body 5 on the valve body faces the target 4 through the central opening of the mask 11 by being moved to a position facing the opening 10. On the other hand, the left-side valve body 6 facing the film forming chamber 1 is arranged at a position facing the load-lock chamber 2 on the left side. In this state, the jacks J lift the valve bodies 6 and 6 again to close the left load-lock chamber 2 airtightly.

Thus, the film forming chamber 1 is evacuated to a predetermined film forming vacuum degree by operating the vacuum pump PH, and the ion source 3
When the target 4 is irradiated with an ion beam, the sputtered particles emitted from the target 4 adhere to the surface of the substrate 5 and a predetermined thin film is formed thereon. At this time, a part of the sputtered particles emitted from the target 4 is blocked by the mask plate 11, and it is possible to prevent the sputtered particles from adhering to and depositing on the valve seat contact portion 64 of the valve body 6 and the O-ring 7 there. In the meantime, in the left load lock chamber 2, after the vent treatment by opening the valve V2 connected thereto, the door 10A is opened and the base 5 is placed on the valve body 6.

When a predetermined thin film is formed, the jack J
Is degassed, the valve bodies 6 and 6 are lowered onto the support bases 61 and 61, the valve bodies 6 and 6 are moved to the right by the air cylinder 9, and then lifted by the jack J to load on the right side. The lock chamber 2 is closed. Thus, while depositing a film on the substrate on the left-side valve body in the film-forming chamber 1, in the right-side load lock chamber 2, the vent valve V2 connected thereto is opened for vent treatment, and then the door 10A is opened to open the valve body. After film formation on 6, the substrate 5 can be replaced. Door 1 again after replacement
0A is closed, and the inside of the chamber 2 is evacuated to a predetermined degree of vacuum by the roughing vacuum pump PL to prepare for the next film formation. In this way, a thin film is successively and repeatedly formed on the substrate 5.

During the steps described above, when one valve body 6 is in a state in which the corresponding load lock chamber 2 is closed so as to airtightly isolate it from the film forming chamber 1, when the door 10A of the chamber is opened. Although the atmospheric pressure P1 is applied to the upper surface of the valve body 6 (see FIG. 2), not all of this atmospheric pressure is applied to the air cylinder 9 side, but the horizontal component force P3 = that corresponds to the inclination angle θ of the valve seat surface. Only P1sin θ is added to the air cylinder 9 side. The vertical component force P2 is applied to the jack J. Also,
As for the tightening reaction force of the O-ring 7, only its horizontal component force is applied to the air cylinder 9 side. Further, the weight of the valve body 6 is not added to the air cylinder 9 and is carried by the jack J.

Therefore, the output of the air cylinder 9 for maintaining the valve body 6 in the position where the load lock chamber 2 is closed is relatively low, and the cylinder can be made small and inexpensive, and the output can be reduced. Vertical component P2 of atmospheric pressure P1,
The vertical component of the tightening reaction force of the O-ring 7 and the gravity of the valve bodies 6 and 6 are shared by the jack J, and since the lifting stroke of this jack is short, a small and inexpensive one will suffice. As a result, downsizing and cost reduction of the whole thin film manufacturing apparatus can be realized.

Further, the jack J has a vertical component P2 of atmospheric pressure.
Since it supports the above, the load on the valve body support bases 61, 61 and the linear guide 62 is small, and accordingly, these can be simply configured. Further, when the valve body 66 is laterally moved, the weights of the valve bodies 6, 6 and the supports 61, 61 are supported by the linear guide 62 provided in the valve moving path 30, so that the support base 6
By selecting the friction coefficient μ of 1 and the guide 62 to be small, the load of the air cylinder 9 for moving the valve body can be reduced, and in this respect also, the air cylinder 9 requires a lower output than the conventional valve body drive cylinder and can be driven. Contributes to labor saving and downsizing of the system.

Further, the O-rings of the respective valve bodies 6 contact in a direction close to the direction perpendicular to the valve seat surface 22 of the load lock chamber,
Since they separate from each other, the O-ring 7 is less likely to be damaged by frictional contact with the valve seat surface 22, and the sealing function thereof can be exerted for a long period of time. In the embodiments described above, the substrates can be exchanged in any of the load lock chambers during the film formation, so that high throughput can be obtained and it is suitable for mass production.

In the above embodiment, the film forming means is
Although the ion source 3 and the target 4 are used, other film forming means may be adopted if necessary.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, the film forming chamber and the load lock chamber for exchanging the substrate are connected to each other, and the load lock chamber is formed by the valve element which also functions as a holder for the substrate. It is possible to provide a thin film manufacturing apparatus that can be manufactured in a smaller size and at a lower cost than a conventional thin film manufacturing apparatus that can be closed airtightly from a chamber.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the present invention, showing one valve body facing a film forming chamber and the other valve body immediately before closing a corresponding load lock chamber with the valve body. It is a thing.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the device shown in FIG. 1, showing a state in which the other valve body in FIG. 1 closes the load lock chamber.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 film forming chamber 10 opening 2 load lock chamber 20 opening 22 valve seat surface 3 ion source 4 target 5 substrate 30 valve moving path 6 valve disc 61 valve disc support 62 linear guide 63 substrate mounting part 64 valve seat abutment 7 o Ring 8 Bellows for airtight seal 9 Air cylinder 91 Rod PH High vacuum pump PL Roughing vacuum pump V1, V2, V3, V4 Valve J Jack

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A film forming chamber having an opening at its lower end, and an opening at its lower end and a valve seat around the film forming chamber, which are connected in a row next to the film forming chamber for the exchange of substrates.
The above load lock chamber, a laterally extending valve moving path that connects the film forming chamber and the load lock chamber that are adjacent to each other, a valve body that also serves as a substrate holder, and the valve body that can be moved up and down and cannot be laterally moved. And a valve support base that is laterally movable in the valve moving path so that the valve body can selectively face the film formation chamber opening or the load lock chamber opening, and the valve support base is laterally moved. The load lock chamber, and a valve raising / lowering unit capable of raising / lowering the valve body arranged at a position facing the opening of the load lock chamber so as to come into contact with or separate from the valve seat of the load lock chamber. The valve seat and the valve seat abutting portion of the valve body are formed so as to be in airtight contact with each other when the valve body rises on an inclined surface slightly inclined with respect to the lateral movement direction of the valve body. Manufacturing equipment.