JPH0611913B2 - Thin film manufacturing equipment - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a thin film manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly to a thin film manufacturing apparatus capable of continuously forming a thin film without breaking a vacuum in a thin film deposition chamber.

Conventional technology In vacuum evaporation or sputtering, there is a problem that it takes longer time to set the conditions by drawing a vacuum inside the chamber than in actual evaporation or sputtering (hereinafter, also simply referred to as evaporation). It was Further, since the substrate is usually heated for vapor deposition, in the case of a glass component such as a lens which is susceptible to heat shock, it is necessary to break the vacuum and replace the substrate after slowly cooling. Therefore,
A continuous vapor deposition apparatus has been proposed which continuously processes the vapor deposition chamber without opening it to the atmosphere. In this continuous vapor deposition apparatus, for example, a substrate carry-in chamber, a vapor deposition chamber, and a substrate take-out chamber are separately provided adjacent to each other, and the chambers are connected continuously via a gate valve. The vapor deposition chamber is always maintained in a vapor deposition atmosphere. When loading a substrate, the substrate is first placed in the substrate loading chamber and then evacuated to a high vacuum. Then, by opening the gate valve and moving the substrate to the vapor deposition chamber, the substrate can be carried into the vapor deposition chamber without breaking the vacuum atmosphere of the vapor deposition chamber. After vapor deposition, the substrate unloading chamber is evacuated to a high vacuum, the gate valve between the deposition chamber and the substrate unloading chamber is opened to transfer the substrate into the substrate unloading chamber, the gate valve is closed, and then the substrate unloading chamber is opened to the atmosphere. Open to take out the substrate.

As described above, according to the continuous vapor deposition apparatus, vapor deposition can be continuously performed without opening the vapor deposition chamber to the atmosphere. However, since a vacuum chamber must be formed in each chamber and connected by a gate valve, the structure becomes complicated and the gate valve is also very expensive. Further, since the substrate is transferred via the gate valve, the substrate transfer mechanism becomes complicated, resulting in cost increase and complicated maintenance, and control of the shape of the substrate holder and the like.

An object of the present invention is to provide a thin film manufacturing apparatus having a simple structure and capable of continuously performing vapor deposition, sputtering and the like with easy handling.

The thin film manufacturing apparatus of the present invention has a thin film deposition chamber having an exhaust system and a substrate holder exchange chamber provided with an exhaust system and connected to the thin film deposition chamber through an opening; The thin film deposition chamber is provided with a plurality of detachable support members for supporting the substrate holder, and is provided with a rotary transport member for transporting the substrate holder from the substrate exchange zone to the deposition zone and back to the substrate exchange zone; In the substrate exchange zone, there is provided a transfer blocking member that reversibly transfers the support member from the rotary transfer member to the opening portion and airtightly closes the opening portion through the support member. And

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view schematically showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied as a vapor deposition device. A rotary transport member 13 is provided in the vapor deposition processing chamber (thin film deposition chamber) 11. The rotary transfer member 13 has a plurality of substrate holders 17 as shown in FIG.
Can be placed. In FIG. 3, only one substrate holder 17 is shown, and details are omitted. The rotary transfer member 13 is rotated by the motor 31 to transfer the substrate holder 17 from the substrate exchange zone 34 to the vapor deposition zone (deposition zone) 24 and again to the substrate exchange zone 34. An evaporation source 29 is provided in the evaporation zone 24, and the evaporation material therein is evaporated toward a substrate (not shown) in the substrate holder 17. The evaporation source 29 is preferably equipped with an automatic replenishing device that can replenish the vapor deposition material without breaking the vacuum. 27 is a shutter, and 25 and 25 are halogen lamps as a heating device.
Moreover, 15 shows an upper heater as a heating source.

The vapor deposition processing chamber 11 is evacuated to a high vacuum by an exhaust system (not shown). In the substrate exchange zone 34, the substrate holder 17 placed on the rotary transfer member 13 of the vapor deposition processing chamber 11 is sequentially transferred by the rotation of the rotary transfer member 13. And the deposition zone
After being subjected to necessary treatments such as heat treatment until reaching 24, they are transferred to the vapor deposition zone 24. In the vapor deposition zone 24, a vapor deposition material is vapor-deposited from an evaporation source 29 while the substrate holder 17 is rotated by a drive system (not shown) to form a desired thin film.
A plurality of vapor deposition materials can be vapor-deposited in one vapor deposition zone, or a plurality of vapor deposition zones can be provided to form a multilayer film. The substrate holder 17 that has completed the vapor deposition is gradually transferred to the substrate exchange zone 34 while being gradually cooled.

Next, taking out the vapor-deposited substrate in the substrate exchange zone 34,
And, loading of a new substrate will be described. At the holding position of the substrate holder 17 of the rotary transport member 13, a support ring (support member) 19 is detachably mounted on a pedestal 21.
The substrate holder 17 is placed. The outer periphery of the support ring 19 is formed to be larger than the opening 37, and the upper surface of the support ring 19 is brought into airtight contact with the lower surface 39 of the peripheral portion of the opening 37. A transfer blocking member 35 is arranged below the support ring 19. When the transfer blocking member 35 is moved upward by the hydraulic cylinder 33 (pressing member), the transfer blocking member 35 holds and lifts the support ring 19 with the substrate holder placed thereon, and as shown in FIG. The peripheral surface 39 of the opening 37 is pressed. By being pressed by the hydraulic cylinder 33, the opening 37 is transferred and closed via the support ring 19.
Blocked by 35. Next, after leaking the substrate holder exchange chamber 41 to atmospheric pressure, the door 43 is opened, the substrate holder 17 is taken out, and the substrate holder 17 containing a new substrate
Place it on the support ring 21 instead. At this time, since the opening 37 is closed by the moving closing member 35, the vapor deposition processing chamber 11 is not exposed to the atmosphere. Next, after the substrate holder exchange chamber 41 is evacuated to a high vacuum (higher pressure than the vapor deposition processing chamber) by an exhaust system (not shown), the hydraulic cylinder 33
The moving block member 35 is lowered by the above, and the support cylinder 19 is placed on the frame 21. At this time as well, since the substrate holder exchange chamber 41 is evacuated to a high vacuum prior to the opening of the opening 37, it does not substantially affect the pressure atmosphere of the vapor deposition processing chamber 11.

The vacuum vapor deposition apparatus has been described above, but the same applies to other thin film manufacturing apparatuses such as a sputtering apparatus.

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the thin film manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of supporting members that support the substrate holder are provided on the rotary transfer member of the thin film deposition chamber,
After the substrate holder is transferred from the substrate exchange zone to the deposition zone to form a thin film, the substrate holder is returned to the substrate exchange zone to replace the substrate to continuously form a thin film. Moreover, when the substrates are exchanged, the above-mentioned support member is transferred to the opening connecting the thin film deposition chamber and the substrate holder exchange chamber by the transfer closing member, and both chambers are hermetically sealed by the transfer closing member through this support member. The substrate holder exchange chamber is opened to the atmosphere, the substrate holder held by the support member is taken out, the substrate holder containing the new substrate is again held by the support member, and then the substrate holder exchange chamber is evacuated. After evacuating, the transfer blocking member transfers the support member to the rotary transfer member and holds it. Thus, the thin film can be continuously manufactured while the substrates are exchanged without breaking the vacuum of the thin film deposition chamber. Moreover, the structure of the device is simple, and it is advantageous in terms of handling, maintenance, and cost, and no gate valve is required.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing an embodiment of a thin film manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a rotary conveying member of this apparatus. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the substrate holder exchange chamber and the vicinity of the substrate holder exchange chamber of the thin film manufacturing apparatus of the present invention when the substrate holder is exchanged. 11 ... Vapor deposition chamber, 13 ... Rotary transfer member 17 ... Substrate holder, 19 ... Support member 21 ... Platform, 24 ... Vapor deposition zone 29 ... Evaporation source, 31 ... Motor 33 ... Hydraulic cylinder, 34 ... Substrate exchange zone 35 ... Transfer blocking member, 37 ... Opening 41 ... Substrate holder exchange chamber

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A thin film deposition chamber provided with an exhaust system, and a substrate holder exchange chamber provided with an exhaust system and connected to the thin film deposition chamber through an opening; a substrate is provided in the thin film deposition chamber. In addition to being equipped with multiple support members that support the holder,
A rotary transport member is provided that rotates to transport the substrate holder from the substrate exchange zone to the deposition zone and back to the substrate exchange zone; in the substrate exchange zone, the support member is reversible from the rotary transport member to the opening. A thin film manufacturing apparatus, which is provided with a transfer blocking member that transfers the film in an airtight manner and airtightly blocks the opening through the support member.