JPH0586475A - Vacuum film formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance vacuumizing efficiency in the case of carrying a base body into a vacuum chamber. CONSTITUTION:A vacuum film formation device is provided with a vacuum chamber 41, a base body introducing/taking out chamber 43 directly connected to the upside of the vacuum chamber 41, a base body holding member 44 shared with a cover, a table 75 having a hole 75a for placing the base body, a film formation chamber for performing film formation treatment on the base body 45, an outer circumferential mask 60 for placing the base body 45 thereon and a sluice valve body 65 which partitions both the chamber 43 and the vacuum chamber 41 by interposing the outer circumferential mask 60. The base body 45 is carried into the base body introducing/taking out chamber 43 and covered with the base body holding member 44 shared with the cover. Thereafter, the chamber 43 is vacuumized and sucked from a suction port 59. Since only the chamber 43 having small volume is vacuumized and sucked at this time, this vacuumizing and suction are finished in an extremely short time. Thereafter when the sluice valve body 65 is lowered, the base body 45 is lowered together with the outer circumferential mash 60 and placed on the hole 75a of the table 75.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vacuum film forming apparatus using a vacuum evaporation method, a sputtering method, an ion plating method, etc., and particularly to a compact disk, a laser disk, a plastic disk used for a magneto-optical disk and the like. The present invention relates to a vacuum film forming apparatus for continuously forming a thin film of aluminum or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A disk continuous vapor deposition apparatus for performing vacuum vapor deposition while continuously supplying disks has conventionally been shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the whole structure is such that a rotary table 3 is provided in the vacuum chamber 1, and a plurality of disks 30 are mounted on the rotary table 3. A rotary shaft 27 is fixed to the center of the rotary table 3, and the rotary shaft 27 is connected to the index motor 201. A disk loading / unloading chamber 16 and a vapor deposition chamber 35 are connected to the upper part of the vacuum chamber, and an oil diffusion pump (which may be a turbo molecular pump or the like) 202 for drawing a high vacuum is connected to the lower part of the vacuum chamber. An air cylinder 19 is connected to the disk loading / unloading chamber 16 and can be moved up and down. A space 203 is provided around the rotary table 3 between the rotary table 3 and the vacuum chamber.

Next, processing in the conventional disk loading / unloading chamber 16 will be described with reference to FIG. Before the insertion of a new undeposited disc 30, the disc pedestal holder 7 (if the deposition work is in progress, the deposition-completed disc is placed here and is taken out immediately before the insertion work of the new disc described below. The air cylinder 10 moves up, and the disk pedestal 4 mounted on the air cylinder 10 also moves up to come into contact with the packing 106 of the vacuum chamber 1 and the vacuum chamber 1 maintains a high vacuum. At the same time, when the sluice valve body 17 raised by the air cylinder 19 hits the pin 34, the leak valve body 24 opens and air is introduced into the disk loading / unloading chamber, and the exhaust port of the oil rotary vacuum pump (not shown) seals the sealing material 104. To block and stop exhaust.
Then, the disk loading / unloading chamber 16 is continuously raised by the air cylinder 19 and stopped at an appropriate height position.

In this state, when the disk 30 is placed on the disk support 4 at the position shown by the broken line in FIG. 9, the air cylinder 19 causes the disk loading / unloading chamber 16 to descend and stop at the position where it contacts the vacuum chamber 1. At this time, the connecting portion between the disk loading / unloading chamber 16 and the vacuum chamber 1 has a sealing material 105.
And the disk loading / unloading chamber 16 is sealed.

Further, the gate valve body 17 is lowered by the air cylinder 19 and stopped at the position shown in the figure. By operating an oil rotary pump (not shown), the air in the disk loading / unloading chamber is moved from the central cylinder 17 ′ of the gate valve body 17 to the vacuum exhaust port 13
Exhausted through.

The inside of the disk loading / unloading chamber 16 is 0.1 Tor.
When the vacuum is pulled to about r, the disk pedestal holder 7
Is lowered by the air cylinder 10, and the disc is lowered together with the disc holder 4 and placed on the rotary table 3 in the vacuum chamber 1. The tip of the disk cradle holder 7 is
It comes off from the disk pedestal and descends to the lower position in the figure and stops.

In this state, the rotation of the rotary shaft 27 by the index motor 201 causes the rotary table 3 to rotate by one disc, the newly inserted disc is sent to the vapor deposition chamber, and the vapor-deposited disc is ejected. It is carried to the lower position of the receiving chamber 16.

The above process is similarly repeated in sequence, and the disk 30 is placed on the rotary table 3 and sent to the vapor deposition chamber 35.

The processing in the vapor deposition chamber will be described below with reference to FIG. When a new disk is sent below the vapor deposition chamber 35 and reaches the position shown by the dotted line in the figure, the air cylinder 41
As a result, the disc pedestal holder 7 rises to raise the disc pedestal 4 together with the disc 30, and the disc 30 comes into contact with the outer peripheral mask 36 and the inner peripheral mask 38 and stops at the position shown by the solid line in the figure.

Argon gas is flown into the vapor deposition chamber 35, and when a high voltage is applied to the cathode 37 in this state,
Discharge occurs and the argon atoms that collide with the aluminum target 39 release aluminum particles, which are deposited on the exposed portion of the disk 30 without being covered by the outer peripheral mask 36 and the inner peripheral mask 38.

When vapor deposition is completed, the disk pedestal holder 7 is lowered by the air cylinder 41, the disk pedestal 4 is lowered together with the disk 30, and the disk pedestal 4 is rotated to the position shown by the broken line in the figure. The disk holder holder 7 is further lowered and stopped at the position indicated by the broken line in the figure.

In this state, the rotation of the rotary shaft 27 by the index motor 201 causes the rotary table 3 to rotate by one disk, and the disk for which vapor deposition has been completed is sent to the disk loading / unloading chamber 16, and a new disk is placed in the vapor deposition chamber 35. Carried to the lower position. The above process is similarly repeated in sequence.

[0013]

In the above-mentioned conventional example, although vapor deposition is performed on the upper surface of the disk which has been transported in the vacuum chamber (sputter-down method), dust falls from above during transport and adheres to it. Then, a pinhole is generated in the formed film. This is especially a CD-ROM
Etc. becomes a problem. To avoid this, vapor deposition should be performed from the bottom surface of the disk (sputter-up method).

By the way, when the disk is vapor-deposited, if the outer edge is vapor-deposited, a film such as aluminum is likely to be exposed at the edge of the disk even if the surface is subsequently coated with resin. From there, it will be oxidized and deteriorated. For this reason, it is common to take a certain margin from the outer edge of the disk and not form a film of aluminum or the like on this part. For that purpose, it is necessary to provide a mask on the edge of the disk during vapor deposition to prevent aluminum and the like from adhering to it. In the above conventional example, the outer peripheral mask 36 is provided on the lower surface of the vapor deposition chamber (FIG. 10).

However, when the spatter-up method is adopted, it is difficult to provide an appropriate outer peripheral mask.

[0016]

In a vacuum film forming apparatus of the present invention for solving the above problems, a vacuum chamber and a substrate to be film-formed, which is directly and continuously provided above the vacuum chamber, are provided in the vacuum chamber. A substrate loading and unloading chamber for loading and unloading
A table that has a lid that closes the opening of the substrate loading / unloading chamber, a substrate mounting hole that receives the substrate at the inner peripheral edge of the hole, and is movably provided in the vacuum chamber, and a position different from the substrate loading / unloading chamber. And having an outer diameter D ₂ (D ₀ <D ₂ ) larger than the inner diameter D ₀ of the substrate loading / unloading chamber and the film deposition chamber provided so as to face the substrate mounting hole of the moved table. An outer peripheral mask having an inner diameter D ₁ (D ₁ <d) smaller than the outer diameter d of the substrate is vertically movable, and at the time of maximum rise, the substrate inlet / outlet chamber and the vacuum chamber are partitioned with the outer peripheral mask interposed, and It moves up and down to put the substrate together with the outer peripheral mask in the substrate mounting hole of the table or to take it out from the substrate mounting hole. The outer diameter D ₄ (D ₄ <D ₄ is smaller than the inner diameter D ₅ of the substrate mounting hole. It is characterized by having a gate valve body having ₅ ).

[0017]

In the above structure, the substrate is inserted into the substrate loading / unloading chamber by opening the lid of the substrate loading / unloading chamber. At that time, since the partition valve body is in the raised position and partitions the substrate loading / unloading chamber and the vacuum chamber together with the outer peripheral mask, outside air does not enter the vacuum chamber. Then, after closing the opening of the substrate loading / unloading chamber with a lid, vacuum suction is performed inside the substrate loading / unloading chamber. At this time, the vacuum suction can be performed in an extremely short time because only the substrate loading / unloading chamber separated from the vacuum chamber is required. After that, when the partition valve body is lowered, the base body is lowered together with the outer peripheral mask and placed in the base body mounting hole of the table. The gate valve body further descends from the table. The table rotates, the substrate is transferred to the film forming chamber, and the film forming process is performed in the film forming chamber.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 is a sectional view of a vacuum film forming apparatus 40 according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view thereof, FIG. 3 is a schematic side view thereof, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view in the vicinity of a substrate loading / unloading chamber in FIG. FIG. 6 and FIG. 6 are enlarged cross-sectional views of the vicinity of the film forming chamber in FIG. 1. The vacuum film forming apparatus 40 of this embodiment is configured such that a plastic substrate 45 such as a compact disk substrate is formed with a material such as aluminum by a sputtering method. It is a device for filming. In these figures, reference numeral 41 indicates a vacuum chamber. The vacuum chamber 41 is formed as an internal space inside the chamber housing 42. The vacuum chamber 41 is vacuum-sucked by a high-vacuum vacuum pump 51 using an oil diffusion pump, a turbo-molecular pump, a Klaion pump or the like capable of high-vacuum suction. A substrate loading / unloading chamber 43 is formed directly connected to the upper side of the vacuum chamber 41. Reference numeral 44 is a lid / base body holding member which has a function as a lid for closing the opening of the base body loading / unloading chamber 43 and a function as a base body holding portion for holding the base body 45. The lid / base body holding member 44 is fixed to both ends of the base body supply / discharge arm 46 by bolts 47. A vertical shaft 48 is fixed to the center of the substrate supply / discharge arm 46, and the substrate supply / discharge arm 46 is driven by a drive mechanism 49 to rotate 180 ° and move up and down.

The lid / base body holding member 44 is provided with a suction pad 55 for sucking the inner peripheral portion of the base body 45. The suction pad 55 is sucked and held outside by a vacuum pump (not shown) through a suction cylinder 56 penetrating the lid / base holding member 44 and a suction port 46a provided in the base supply / discharge arm 46 to suck and hold the base 45 by vacuum pressure. I do. Note that various other means can be adopted as the substrate adsorbing means itself. Further, a seal member 57 formed of an O-ring is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the lower surface of the lid / base body holding member 44, and the seal member 57 seals the upper surface of the chamber housing 42. Further, a sensor 58 is attached to the lower surface of the lid / base body holding member 44 to detect the mounting state of the base body 45 such as inclination and displacement. This sensor 58 is composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element.
An optical sensor having a pair or any other method can be adopted. Further, a suction port 59 for vacuum suctioning the inside of the disk loading / unloading chamber 43 is provided in the chamber housing 42 portion. Suction port 5
For vacuum suction in the substrate loading / unloading chamber 43 from 9, a vacuum pump for rough evacuation such as a rotary pump (not shown) is used.

Reference numeral 60 denotes an outer peripheral mask for forming a non-film-forming region on the outer periphery of the base body 45 in a film forming process in a film forming chamber 79, which will be described later, and has a step portion 60a on which the base body 45 is placed. As shown in the dimensional relationship in FIG. 5, it has an outer diameter D _{2 that} is larger than the inner diameter D ₀ of the base body inlet / outlet chamber 43 and an inner diameter D ₁ that is smaller than the outer diameter d of the base body 45. Further, a seal member 61 is provided on the inner wall surface of the chamber housing 42 with which the outer peripheral mask 60 is in contact.

Reference numeral 65 is a partition between the substrate inlet / outlet chamber 43 and the vacuum chamber 41 together with the outer peripheral mask 60 (that is, the communication between the chambers 43 and 41 is hermetically closed), and is vertically moved to move the substrate. 45 is the peripheral mask 6
0 is a partition valve body that is placed on a base body mounting hole 75a of the table 75 described below or taken out from the base body mounting hole 75a, and has an outer diameter D ₄ smaller than the inner diameter D ₅ of the base body mounting hole 75a. A seal member 66 is provided at a contact portion with the outer peripheral mask 60. A plurality of small projections 65a are provided at the center of the upper surface of the partition valve body 65 at intervals so as to avoid close contact between the base body 45 and the partition valve body 65. The partition valve body 65 is fixed to the upper end of a drive shaft 68 which is vertically driven by an air cylinder 67. The lid / substrate holding member 44 is provided with a vertically movable pin 70 which is urged downward by a spring 69 and pushes the outer peripheral mask 60 downward. The spring 69 and the pin 70 are combined with the outer peripheral mask 60.
A separating mechanism 71 for forcibly separating the substrate from the boundary surface between the substrate loading / unloading chamber 43 and the vacuum chamber 41 is configured.

The table 75 for transporting the substrate 45 described above is provided with, for example, eight substrate mounting holes 75a for receiving the substrate 45 together with the outer peripheral mask 60 as shown in FIG. This table 75 is index motor 7
Fixed to a vertical drive shaft 77 that is driven to rotate by 6,
It is adapted to rotate intermittently in one direction by 45 °, that is, by the interval of the substrate mounting holes 75a.

A bomber chamber 78 is provided at a position rotated by 90 ° from the position of the substrate loading / unloading chamber 43 in the stop position of the substrate mounting hole 75a of the table 75, and further 90 °.
A film forming chamber 79 is provided at the rotated position. Although the details of the bomber chamber 78 are omitted, plasma of argon gas injected by high-voltage discharge is generated, and the substrate 45 is cleaned by this plasma. Except that there is no target, film formation The configuration is similar to that of the chamber 79.

The details of the film forming chamber 79 are shown in FIG. Figure 6
In the figure, reference numeral 80 is a target which is a solid material of a thin film formed on the surface of the substrate 45, and is an aluminum which becomes a reflective film in the case of a CD (compact disc), for example. In this embodiment, the target 80 has an annular shape.
Reference numeral 81 is an electrode for applying a high voltage to perform discharge, and reference numeral 82 is a target holder for fixing the target 80 on the electrode 81. As illustrated, the film forming chamber 79 is provided below the table 75.

This film forming chamber 79 employs a magnetron sputtering method, and has a small-diameter annular magnet 83a located below the center hole of the annular target 80 and a large magnet located below the outer peripheral portion of the target 80. And an annular magnet 83b having a diameter. Reference numeral 84 is a magnet 83a, 8
It is a magnet base to which 3b is attached. The magnetron sputtering method is a method in which magnets 83a and 83b generate a magnetic field in the direction perpendicular to the electric field on the surface of the target 80 to collect plasma in the vicinity of the target 80 for efficient sputtering. Code 85
Is an anti-adhesion plate that prevents scattering of sputtered particles knocked out from the target 80.

Reference numeral 86 denotes an inner peripheral mask for forming a non-film-forming region on the inner peripheral portion of the base body 45, and holds the inner peripheral portion of the base body 45 together with the inner peripheral mask receiver 87 on the upper side of the base body 45. The inner peripheral mask 86 is attached to the upper end of a vertical support shaft 88, which is inserted through the central hole 81a of the electrode 81, by attaching the bolt 9
It is fixed at 0. The support shaft 88 is the inner peripheral mask 8
A hollow pipe is used so as to circulate cooling water for cooling 6, and the inner pipe 89 that serves as a passage on the inflow side is provided inside.
Are housed. The cooling water passes through the inner pipe 89 and cools the inner peripheral mask 86 at the upper end portion thereof.
Flows to the outside through the outside of. The structure of the connecting portion between the support shaft 88 and the inner peripheral mask 86 is not shown in detail, but the hollow portion of the support shaft 88 extends further upward.
It is advisable to use a small bolt as the mounting bolt and devise the bolt position so that the cooling water can effectively cool the inner peripheral mask 86. The support shaft 88 is driven up and down by an air cylinder 91, and the inner peripheral mask receiver 87 is moved.
Is likewise driven up and down by an air cylinder 92.

A dust cover 84 is provided on the center of the upper surface of the electrode 81.
Is provided. The dust cover 84 is for preventing the unwanted deposition thin film, that is, dust, which has dropped from the inner peripheral mask 86 or the like, from entering the gap between the center hole 81a of the electrode 81 and the outer peripheral surface of the support shaft 88. Reference numeral 97 is a guide portion of the support shaft 88, and 98 is a gas passage entrance.

The operation of the above vacuum film forming apparatus 40 will be described. When the film forming process is being performed in the film forming chamber 79, the lid / substrate holding member 44 located outside the substrate supply / discharge arm 46 holds the substrate 45 to be supplied next and stands by. At this time, the other lid / substrate holding member 44 contacts the upper surface of the chamber housing 42 via the seal member 57 to seal the opening of the substrate loading / unloading chamber 43 as shown in FIG. 45 is not held). Further, the gate valve body 65 is in a lowered position as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. When the film forming process for one substrate is completed in the film forming chamber 79, the table 75 is rotated by 45 °, and the substrate 45, which has been previously subjected to the film forming process, is carried directly below the substrate loading / unloading chamber 43. Here, the air cylinder 67 is actuated to raise the drive shaft 68, raise the partition valve body 65, and remove the outer peripheral mask 60 and the film-formed substrate 45 held in the substrate mounting hole 75a of the table 75. 4, the outer peripheral mask 60 is brought into contact with the inner wall surface of the chamber housing 42, and the outer peripheral mask 60 and the partition valve body 65 partition the substrate loading / unloading chamber 43 and the vacuum chamber 41 ( That is, the communication between the two chambers 41 and 43 is cut off). At the same time, the inner peripheral portion of the base body 45 contacts the suction pad 55 and is sucked by the suction pad 55.

Next, argon gas is supplied from the suction port 59 into the substrate inlet / outlet chamber 43, and then the drive mechanism 49 raises the shaft 48 to raise the lid / substrate holding member 44 integrally with the substrate supply / discharge arm 46. , Lift the base 45. At this time, since the argon gas is being supplied into the substrate loading / unloading chamber 43, and the weight of this argon gas is heavier than the air, when the lid / substrate holding member 44 is opened, the outside air flows out of the substrate. It is possible to prevent being caught in the receiving chamber 43. When the outer peripheral mask 60, the partition valve body 65, or the inner wall of the substrate loading / unloading chamber 43 is exposed to the outside air, the air remains attached and allows the air to enter the vacuum chamber 41, which leads to the film formation quality. This is one of the causes for lowering the temperature, but since the air is not entrained by the argon gas as described above, such inconvenience can be prevented.

Since the small projections 65a provided on the upper surface of the gate valve body 65 form a gap between the base body 45 and the upper surface of the gate valve body 65, the base body 45 adheres to the gate valve body 65 closely. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the trouble that the base body 45 is not separated from the gate valve body 65 when the base body 45 is lifted by the suction pad 55.

Next, the substrate supply / discharge arm 46
The base 45 to be newly inserted and held by the outer lid / base holding member 44 is positioned above the base loading / unloading chamber 43, and then the shaft 48 and the base supply / discharge arm 46 are rotated.
The lid / base body holding member 44 descends integrally with and closes the opening of the base body loading / unloading chamber 43, and the state shown in FIG. 4 is obtained. At this time,
The sensor 58 detects an abnormality in the mounting state such as inclination or displacement of the base body 45. Then, an argon gas in the substrate loading / unloading chamber 43 is sucked from the suction port 59 by a vacuum pump (not shown) for roughing to make the inside vacuum. When the inside of the substrate loading / unloading chamber 43 is evacuated, the suction pad 55 loses its suction function and the substrate 45 is easily detached from the suction pad 55.
Next, when the air cylinder 67 is operated to lower the shaft 68 and lower the partition valve body 65, the base body 45 and the outer peripheral mask 60 are lowered. At that time, the pin 70 of the detachment mechanism
Since the outer peripheral mask 60 pushes downward, the outer peripheral mask 60 does not follow the downward movement of the partition valve body 65, and the disc loading / unloading chamber 43
It is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of the trouble of not separating from the boundary surface between the vacuum chamber 41 and the vacuum chamber 41. The sluice valve body 65 descends to the position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG.
The outer peripheral mask 60 is placed on the stepped portion of the substrate mounting hole 75 a of the table 75. As a result, the loading of the new substrate 45 into the substrate mounting hole 75a of the table 75 is completed.

Subsequently, when the table 75 is rotated by 45 °, the substrate 45 which has been carried in before is rotated by the bomber chamber 78.
Then, in the bomber chamber 78, the substrate 45 is cleaned by the plasma generated by the discharge. Subsequently, when the table 75 is rotated by 45 °, the substrate 45 previously washed in the bomber chamber 78 moves to the film forming chamber 79. When a negative high voltage is applied to the electrode 81 in the film forming chamber 79 in which a low pressure argon gas is introduced from the gas passage inlet 98, the other inner wall portion of the film forming chamber 79 which is grounded faces each other. The discharge serves as an electrode, plasma of argon gas is generated, and the plasma particles collide with the target 80 to eject atoms on the surface thereof, and the ejected target atoms, that is, sputtered particles are stacked on the surface of the substrate 45. A film is formed on the surface of the substrate 45.

During the above film forming process, sputtered particles are deposited on the inner peripheral mask 86 and the like to form an unnecessary deposited thin film. When the unnecessary deposited thin film exceeds a certain level, it peels off, falls, and adheres to the target 80, which causes the quality of the film formation of the substrate 45 to deteriorate. However, the inner peripheral mask 86 is
Since it is detachable with respect to 8, the unnecessary deposition thin film can be removed and removed when the unwanted deposition thin film exceeds a certain level. As a result, it is possible to reduce the generation of unnecessary deposited thin film, that is, dust, which has fallen from the inner peripheral mask 86 or the like.

Since cooling water is circulated in the support shaft 88 to cool the inner peripheral mask 86, the inner peripheral mask 86 is prevented from being heated to a high temperature, and thermal deformation of the substrate 45 is prevented. .. Further, the dust cover 84 can prevent dust from entering the sliding portion of the support shaft 88, and functions to maintain the smooth vertical movement of the support shaft 88.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the vicinity of the dust cover. An inner protective cylinder 95, through which the support shaft 88 is inserted, is fixed to the upper surface of the dust cover 84, and an outer protective cylinder 96 surrounding the outer periphery of the inner protective cylinder 95 is provided below the inner peripheral mask 86.
Is attached. This structure further prevents dust from entering the sliding portion of the support shaft 88. Further, it is possible to prevent spatter particles from adhering to the support shaft 88, which is not easy to remove, as much as possible.
Even if an unnecessary deposition thin film is generated on the outer wall 5 or the outer protective cylinder 96, these components can be easily removed and the unnecessary deposition thin film can be deleted, so that the unnecessary deposition thin film can be prevented from remaining in the film forming chamber 79 as much as possible.

The inner peripheral mask 86, the dust cover 84,
If the inner protective cylinder 95 and the outer protective cylinder 96 are made of a metal that is non-magnetic at room temperature, the magnetic fields of the magnets 83a and 83b are not disturbed, so that the effect of adopting the magnetron sputtering method can be effectively obtained. it can. If a metal that is unlikely to be melted by an acid or an alkali is used as the material of the inner peripheral mask 86 or the like, as a means for removing the unnecessary deposited thin film, a chemical such as an acid or an alkali can be used instead of the blast treatment.

The inner peripheral mask 86, the dust cover 84,
If the surfaces of the inner protective cylinder 95, the outer protective cylinder 96 and the like are blasted (not for removing the above-mentioned unnecessary deposited thin film, but for the member surface itself), the surface roughness due to the blasting causes The adhesion of the unnecessary deposited thin film is improved and it becomes difficult to peel it off. Therefore, the frequency of removing the inner peripheral mask or the like to remove the unnecessary deposited thin film on the surface can be reduced, and the operating rate of the apparatus can be improved.

When a ferromagnetic thin film is formed on the substrate 45, it is appropriate to use an aluminum silicate-based machinable ceramic typified by Macor as the material of the inner peripheral mask 86. If the inner peripheral mask is aluminum silicate-based machinable ceramic, as a means for removing unnecessary deposited thin films,
Instead of blasting, a method of immersing in a chemical such as strong acid or strong alkali to remove it can be adopted. Also,
Since a machinable ceramic is used, it is possible to maintain the same level of machining accuracy when cutting the inner peripheral mask from the material as with the conventional metal inner peripheral mask, and there are few manufacturing problems.

In the above description, the film formation of one layer is explained. However, the plurality of substrate mounting holes 75a of the table 75 are provided.
It is of course possible to provide a plurality of film forming chambers corresponding to the above, and to form a multi-layer film on the substrate 45. In this case, when a ferromagnetic thin film and a non-ferromagnetic thin film are formed in multiple layers, a non-magnetic material may be used for the inner peripheral mask in the film forming chamber for forming the ferromagnetic thin film. If the inner mask is made of a non-magnetic material, it is possible to prevent the sputtered particles of ferromagnetic material from scattering and adhering to the inner mask.

[0040]

According to the present invention, since the substrate is statically opposed to the target to perform the film forming process, the target size and the vacuum chamber can be downsized. The downsizing of the entire structure of the membrane device can be easily realized.

The substrate is not directly supplied into the vacuum chamber, but may be supplied to a substrate loading / unloading chamber which is partitioned from the vacuum chamber by an outer peripheral mask and a partition valve body. Since only the rough evacuation is required, the rough evacuation can be performed instantly, and the vacuum evacuation work at the time of supplying the substrate is significantly speeded up.

The outer peripheral mask is used as a partition between the vacuum chamber and the substrate loading / unloading chamber.
As described above, the film forming chamber can be provided below the table, the film can be formed by the sputter-up method, and a good film with few defects due to dust or the like can be obtained.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the substrate holding portion of the substrate supply / discharge arm also serves as the lid of the substrate loading / unloading chamber, so that the mechanism is simplified and the efficiency of the substrate supply operation is improved.

According to the fourth aspect, since the outer peripheral mask is elastically pushed downward by the detaching mechanism, when the partition between the disk loading / unloading chamber and the vacuum chamber is released, the outer peripheral mask serves as a partition valve body. It is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of the trouble that the disc does not follow the downward movement and does not separate from the disc loading / unloading chamber side.

According to the fifth aspect, it is possible to confirm the correct supply of the substrate, and it is possible to prevent the trouble of defective film formation.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the trouble that the substrate does not come into close contact with the partition valve body and is not easily separated when the film-formed substrate is discharged, and the substrate can be discharged reliably. ..

According to the present invention, the presence of the inert gas makes it possible to prevent external air from being entrained in the disk loading / unloading chamber when the lid for discharging the film-formed substrate is opened. It is possible to prevent the outside air from entering the room and prevent the air from entering the vacuum chamber that does not like the air.

According to the ninth aspect, there is no obstacle in the film forming process,
A non-film-forming region can be secured in the inner peripheral portion of the base.

According to the tenth aspect, it is possible to prevent the inner peripheral mask from being heated to a high temperature and prevent troubles such as thermal deformation of the substrate.

According to the eleventh aspect, since the inner peripheral mask is attachable to and detachable from the support shaft, it is possible to remove the unnecessary deposited thin film adhering to the inner peripheral mask. At this time, it is possible to prevent the unnecessary deposited thin film from being peeled off from the inner peripheral mask as dust and adhering to the target surface to form a poor quality film.

According to the twelfth aspect, it is possible to prevent dust from entering the sliding portion of the support shaft, which is a movable member, and to maintain the smooth operation of the support shaft.

According to the thirteenth aspect, the presence of the inner protective cylinder and the outer protective cylinder can more reliably prevent dust from entering the sliding portion of the support shaft.

According to the fourteenth aspect, since the inner peripheral mask and the like are non-magnetic, when the magnetron sputtering method in which the magnetic field lines are generated around the target by the magnet is adopted, the magnetic field lines by the magnet are not disturbed and the magnetron is not disturbed. The effect of the sputtering method can be effectively obtained.

According to the fifteenth aspect, since the inner peripheral mask and the like are blasted, the adhesion of the unnecessary deposited thin film is high and the peeling is difficult. Therefore, the frequency of removing the inner peripheral mask or the like to remove the unnecessary deposited thin film on the surface can be reduced, and the operating rate of the apparatus can be improved.

According to the sixteenth aspect, when a ferromagnetic thin film and a non-ferromagnetic thin film are formed in multiple layers, in a film forming chamber for forming the ferromagnetic thin film, unnecessary strength is imparted to an inner peripheral mask or the like. It is possible to prevent the magnetic thin film from scattering and adhering. The unnecessary ferromagnetic thin film attached to the inner peripheral mask, which is the base grounding part,
Although this is a factor that hinders good film formation, such inconvenience is prevented.

If the inner peripheral mask is an aluminum silicate-based machinable ceramic, a method of immersing and removing the unnecessary deposited thin film by immersing in a chemical such as strong acid or strong alkali instead of blasting can be adopted. it can. In addition, since a machinable ceramic is used, it is possible to maintain machining accuracy of the same level as in the case of a conventional metal inner peripheral mask when processing the material into an inner peripheral mask, and there are few problems in manufacturing. ..

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a vacuum film forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the same.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the substrate loading / unloading chamber in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the dimensional relationship of each part such as a partition valve body near the substrate loading / unloading chamber.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view near the film forming chamber in FIG.

7 is a cross-sectional view of a portion near the dust cover, showing another embodiment of the portion near the dust cover in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a part of a conventional vacuum film forming apparatus in a cutaway manner.

9 is a cross-sectional view of the disk loading / unloading chamber portion in FIG.

10 is a cross-sectional view of a vapor deposition chamber portion in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 40 vacuum film forming apparatus 41 vacuum chamber 42 chamber housing 43 substrate loading / unloading chamber 44 lid / substrate holding member 45 substrate 46 substrate supply / discharge arm 55 adsorption pad 58 sensor 59 suction port 57, 61, 66 sealing member 60 outer peripheral mask 65 partition Valve body 65a Small protrusion 68 Axis 75 Table 75a Substrate mounting hole 79 Deposition chamber 80 Target 81 Electrode 81a Center hole 83a, 83b Magnet 84 Dust cover 86 Inner peripheral mask 88 Support shaft 89 Inner pipe 91 Air cylinder

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kazuaki Takahashi, 1-4-4 Jomi, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka, NEC Electronics Corporation (72) Inventor Masahiko Imai, Osaka-shi, Osaka 1-4-2-4, Jomi-ku, Nippon Electric Home Electronics Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kenichi Tsuchida 495 Owada Nitta, Yachiyo-shi, Chiba Daia Vacuum Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masaru Koarai Yachiyo Chiba City Owada Nitta 495, Daia Vacuum Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Teruo Yanagibashi 495 Owada Nitta, Yachiyo City, Chiba Daia Vacuum Co., Ltd.

Claims (17)

[Claims] 1. A vacuum chamber, a substrate loading / unloading chamber for directly loading and unloading a substrate for film formation into and out of the vacuum chamber, which is directly provided above the vacuum chamber, and an opening of the substrate loading / unloading chamber. A table having a lid for closing the portion and a substrate mounting hole for receiving the substrate at the inner peripheral edge of the hole and movably provided in the vacuum chamber, and a table moved at a position different from the substrate loading / unloading chamber. A film forming chamber provided so as to face the substrate mounting hole and an outer diameter D ₂ (D ₀ <D ₂ ) larger than the inner diameter D _{0 of the} substrate loading / unloading chamber, and the substrate outer diameter d
An outer peripheral mask having a smaller inner diameter D ₁ (D ₁ <d) can be moved up and down, and at the time of the maximum rise, the substrate loading / unloading chamber and the vacuum chamber are partitioned with the outer peripheral mask interposed and moved up and down. An outer diameter D ₄ (D ₄ <D ₅ ) smaller than the inner diameter D ₅ of the substrate mounting hole is placed on the substrate mounting hole of the table together with the outer peripheral mask or is taken out from the substrate mounting hole. A vacuum film forming apparatus comprising a partition valve body. 2. A suction port for vacuum-sucking the substrate loading / unloading chamber is provided, and when the substrate is supplied, the partition valve body and the outer peripheral mask partition the vacuum chamber and the substrate loading / unloading chamber,
The substrate is inserted into the substrate loading / unloading chamber, the lid is closed, the substrate loading / unloading chamber is vacuum-sucked through the suction port, and then the partition valve is lowered to release the partition between the vacuum chamber and the substrate loading / unloading chamber. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is delivered to the substrate mounting hole of the table together with the peripheral mask. 3. The vacuum film formation according to claim 1, wherein the substrate holding portion of the substrate supply / discharge arm for inserting the substrate into the substrate loading / unloading chamber is a lid for closing the opening of the substrate loading / unloading chamber. apparatus. 4. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lid is provided with a separating mechanism for elastically urging the outer peripheral mask downward. 5. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lid is provided with a sensor for detecting a mounting state such as inclination or displacement of the substrate in the substrate loading / unloading chamber. 6. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a small protrusion is provided on the upper surface of the partition valve body to secure a gap between the partition valve body and the base body. 7. When removing a film-formed substrate from the substrate loading / unloading chamber, the partition valve body and the peripheral mask partition the vacuum chamber and the substrate loading / unloading chamber, and an inert gas is introduced into the substrate loading / unloading chamber. The vacuum film-forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lid is opened after the filling. 8. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a target of a film forming material provided in the film forming chamber is provided below a position of the table. 9. An inner peripheral mask that covers the inner peripheral portion of a substrate placed in a substrate mounting hole in the film forming chamber, and the inner peripheral mask is supported through a central hole portion of an annular target. 9. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a vertical support shaft and an elevating drive mechanism for vertically moving the support shaft to vertically move the inner peripheral mask. 10. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the inside of the support shaft is hollow, and cooling water for cooling the inner peripheral mask is circulated in the hollow portion. 11. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the inner peripheral mask is detachable from the support shaft. 12. It is unnecessary to drop from an inner peripheral mask or the like into a gap between a support shaft insertion hole for inserting the support shaft and an outer peripheral surface of the support shaft in a central portion of an electrode on which the annular target is placed in the film forming chamber. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a dust cover for preventing the deposited thin film from entering. 13. An inner protective cylinder through which the support shaft is inserted is attached to an upper surface of the dust cover, and an outer protective cylinder that surrounds an outer periphery of the inner protective cylinder is attached to a lower surface of the inner peripheral mask. Item 12. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to item 12. 14. The material of the inner peripheral mask, the dust cover, the inner protective cylinder, the outer protective cylinder and the like is a metal that is non-magnetic at room temperature and is resistant to melting in acid or alkali. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 9, 12, or 13. 15. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 9, 12 or 13 or 14, wherein the inner peripheral mask, the dust cover, the inner protective cylinder, the outer protective cylinder and the like are blasted. 16. A vacuum film forming apparatus comprising a plurality of film forming chambers, wherein a ferromagnetic thin film and a non-ferromagnetic thin film are formed in multiple layers in different film forming chambers. 9. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the inner peripheral mask in the film forming chamber is made of a non-magnetic material. 17. The inner peripheral mask is made of an aluminum silicate based machinable ceramic.
The vacuum film forming apparatus described.