JPH08264616A - Vacuum treating apparatus and wafer transfer apparatus in vacuum treating chamber - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To smoothly and effectively operate a drive mechanism for vertically moving or moving a plurality of materials to be treated in a hermetically sealed chamber. CONSTITUTION: A transfer apparatus has an elevating mechanism for elevating a buffer mechanism 5 containing a plurality of LCD substrates, disposes a transfer mechanism for taking out the LCD board from the mechanism 5 by a transfer arm and transferring it into a treating chamber in a load locking chamber, and provides a halogen lamp 39 for heating the ball screw shaft 22 and the guide shaft 25 of the elevating mechanism disposed in the locking chamber to remove the adhering matters on the surfaces of the shafts 22 and 25.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vacuum processing apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal substrate (LCD substrate), a semiconductor wafer, etc., and a substrate transfer apparatus for transferring a substrate between a load lock chamber and a processing chamber, and a substrate. The present invention relates to a substrate transfer device that transfers between a load lock chamber and a processing chamber.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a device for etching processing is taken out from an adjacent LCD substrate cassette chamber in a single-wafer manner by a substrate transfer device provided in a load lock chamber.
It is a general method to store the load lock chamber in a load lock chamber, wait until the load lock chamber has a negative pressure, and transfer the load lock chamber to the processing chamber when the pressure becomes negative. This is a LC substrate
Each time the D substrate cassette chamber was taken out one by one, a negative pressure was required in the load lock chamber, and the transfer time could not be shortened. Therefore, after a plurality of unprocessed LCD substrates are collectively stored in the buffer mechanism provided in the load lock chamber, the LCD substrates are taken out from the buffer mechanism in a single-wafer manner and transferred to the processing chamber for processing. After the processing, it is returned to the original position in the buffer mechanism. Next, there is an etching processing apparatus in which an unprocessed LCD substrate is taken out from the buffer mechanism, similarly transported to a processing chamber and processed, and this is repeated many times to shorten the transportation time. This processing device has already been described in JP-A-6-51260. Further, a CVD apparatus comprising a processing chamber in the load lock chamber is described in JP-A-2-132825, and a load lock chamber provided with a lamp heater is disclosed.

[0003]

Conventionally, the above-mentioned JP-A-6-
In the processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 51260, a load lock chamber is provided in a negative pressure processing chamber through an opening / closing mechanism, and a buffer temporarily storing a plurality of LCD substrates is provided in the load lock chamber in order to increase throughput. Mechanism and L
A transport mechanism for loading / unloading the CD substrate into / from the processing chamber is provided.

The operation is such that after storing a plurality of unprocessed LCD substrates in each shelf of the buffer mechanism of the load lock chamber, the LCD substrates are taken out from the buffer mechanism and transferred to the processing chamber in a single-wafer processing. Therefore, the processed LCD substrate is returned from the processing chamber to the original position in the buffer mechanism.

Then, another unprocessed LCD substrate is taken out and transferred to the processing chamber for sequential processing. This operation is repeated many times. By repeating this, for example, the processing gas accumulated in the gas reservoir in the processing chamber opens the opening / closing mechanism to enter the load lock chamber from the inside of the processing chamber.

It is also conceivable that processing gas may be emitted from the processed LCD substrate transferred to the load lock chamber.
In this way, when the residual processing gas that has entered the load lock chamber touches the wall surface inside the load lock chamber or the metal components inside the load lock chamber, the temperature of the metal components is lower than that of the atmosphere inside the load lock chamber. Therefore, the accumulated processing gas is cooled and, for example, CF4 gas becomes a polymer from a monomer and cannot be suspended in a vacuum and becomes an adhered substance.

This deposit adheres to, for example, a ball screw which is a drive shaft of an elevating mechanism for temporarily holding a plurality of objects to be processed in a load lock chamber or a guide shaft which smoothly elevates the elevating mechanism, for example, the surface of a ball spline. Will end up.

When the ball screw shaft is rotatably driven in this adhered state, the diameter of the inner surface of the ball nut screwed to the ball screw shaft is the same, and the diameter of the adhered ball screw shaft becomes thick due to the adhered substance. If you rotate the ball nut, the rotation will be slow and it will stop. Due to this stop, even if an attempt is made to take out a predetermined LCD board at a predetermined position of the buffer mechanism, the height of the transfer arm of the board transfer mechanism is set, and the predetermined LCD board is not at this height. , A predetermined LC from within the buffer mechanism
The D board cannot be taken in and out. In such a case, this processing device must be temporarily stopped and repaired, which has a drawback that throughput is lowered.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to preheat and attach the drive shaft and the guide shaft for moving up and down the object to be processed in the load lock chamber. By sublimating the deposit to be removed, the deposit likely to be attached to the drive shaft and the guide shaft is removed before the attachment, and the object to be processed is smoothly moved up and down or moved smoothly and reliably. An object is to provide a substrate transfer device in a processing chamber.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a vacuum processing apparatus in which an elevating mechanism or a moving mechanism is provided in an airtight chamber into which a processing gas is introduced. The chamber is provided with heating means for heating the drive shaft of the lifting mechanism or the moving mechanism.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the load lock chamber includes an elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering a buffer mechanism for accommodating a plurality of objects to be processed, and a transfer mechanism for taking out the objects to be processed from the buffer by the transfer mechanism and transferring them into the processing chamber. In the transfer device arranged in (1), the load lock chamber is provided with heating means for heating the drive shaft of the elevating mechanism or the moving mechanism.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a moving mechanism for moving a buffer mechanism accommodating a plurality of objects to be processed in a substantially planar direction, and a transfer mechanism for taking out the objects to be processed from the buffer mechanism and transferring them into the processing chamber. In the transfer device in which and are arranged in the load lock chamber, the load lock chamber is provided with heating means for heating the drive shaft or the guide shaft of the moving mechanism. According to claim 4, the drive shaft is a ball screw shaft.

The fifth aspect is that the guide shaft is a spline shaft. Claim 6 is that the heating means is a heating lamp. Claim 7 is that the heating lamp is a halogen lamp.

[0014]

By heating the driving shaft and the guide shaft, it is possible to prevent the processing gas from becoming a polymer at a temperature below a predetermined temperature and adhering to the surface of the driving shaft and the surface of the guide shaft.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a liquid crystal substrate etching apparatus will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 4, the above-mentioned etching apparatus is, for example, a first, a second, and a third processing chambers 1a for etching a target object.
1b and 1c and, for example, a load lock chamber 2 that is hermetically connected via an opening / closing mechanism.

For example, on the three side surfaces of the load lock chamber 2, the first, second and third processing chambers 1a, 1b,
1 c are arranged so as to seal each other, and the load lock chamber 2 and the respective processing chambers 1 a, 1 b, 1 c are provided via an opening / closing mechanism (not shown). The opening / closing mechanism (not shown) is used for the first, second and third
The processing chambers 1a, 1b, 1c and the load lock chamber 2
It can be opened and closed under negative pressure.

In the load lock chamber 2, a transfer mechanism 4 having transfer arms 4c to 4e for transferring a liquid crystal substrate (hereinafter referred to as an LCD substrate) 3 which is an object to be processed to a predetermined position.
And the LCD substrate 3 transported by the transport arms 4c to 4e.
Buffer mechanism 5 for temporarily holding
Further, there is provided a rotary table 6 on which the buffer mechanism 5 is opposed and fixed.

An adhesive magnetic fluid (not shown) is provided on the outer periphery of the rotary shaft of the rotary table 6 so as to intervene on the bottom wall surface of the load lock chamber 2, and the rotary shaft and the load lock chamber 2 are attached to each other. It has a structure that keeps the part airtight, including during rotation. Here, the buffer mechanism 5 will be described. The buffer mechanism 5 has a structure for holding a plurality of LCD substrates in multiple stages at predetermined intervals, for example.

The column 4 having the arm shaft (4b in FIG. 3) of the transfer mechanism 4 at the tip of the rotary table 6 provided at the bottom wall surface of the load lock chamber 2 (position away from the center of the rotary shaft).
a is fixed vertically. Further, the buffer mechanism 5 is located at a position of the other end of the turntable 6 (for example, a point symmetrical with respect to the rotation center on a straight line passing through the tip and the rotation center).
Is arranged. The column 4a and the buffer mechanism 5
The rotary table 6 is rotated by a predetermined program in a state where the arrangement of
The processing chamber 1a is provided at a predetermined carry-in position before the entrance / exit of the opening / closing mechanism, and the unprocessed LCD substrate 3 is taken out from the buffer mechanism 5 by the carrying arms 4c to 4e into the processing chamber 1a.

The structure of the transfer arms 4c to 4e provided on the support column 4a of the rotary table 6 is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-90381, and therefore will be briefly described. As shown in FIG. 3, each of the substrate transfer arms 4c to 4e has a support column 4a provided on the rotary table 6, an arm shaft 4b provided in the support column 4a, and a first support shaft 4b connected to the support shaft 4b.
The arm 4c includes a second arm 4d connected to the first arm 4c, a third arm 4e connected to the second arm 4d, and a gear 4f connected to the arm shaft 4b. . The base end of the first arm 4c is fixed to the upper end of the arm shaft 4b provided in the support column 4a, and the gear 4f is fitted to the lower end. The base end of the second arm 4d is connected to the tip of the first arm 4c.

A gear (not shown) is built in the joint portion 4g of the first arm 4c and the second arm 4d and the joint portion 4h of the second arm 4d of the second arm 4d and the third arm 4e. The gears are rotated by driving the timing belt on which the gears are suspended, so that the transfer arms 4c to 4e can be expanded and contracted. In addition, at the tip of the third arm 4e, LC
The D board 3 is mounted. Therefore, the LCD substrate 3 placed on the third arm 4e is
c, the second arm 4d and the third arm 4e are moved and rotated in a contracting direction, and then the arm shaft 4b is rotated to extend and contract the first arm 4c, the second arm 4d, and the third arm 4e, and the buffer mechanism 5 The LCD substrate 3 can be carried in and out.

The buffer mechanism 5 is an LCD before and after processing.
It is for temporarily holding the substrate 3, and is composed of the buffer base 5a, a holding shelf 5b, a substrate locking base 5i, a spacer 5c, and a heat plate 5d as a heat insulating member. There is. A plurality of buffer bases 5a,
For example, four holding racks, that is, first, second, third, fourth
The holding receiving shelves 5b are provided in rows at predetermined intervals.

Further, the board engaging portions 5i are provided between the holding receiving shelves 5b to form, for example, a four-tiered shelf-like structure. This shelf-shaped holding shelf 5b is the buffer base 5 described above.
It is independently fixed to the three sides of a. Further, a heat plate 5d having a black surface is attached to the back surface of the buffer base 5a via a spacer 5c.

The buffer mechanism 5 described above is supported by an elevating mechanism 7 for elevating the buffer mechanism 5. Next, the lifting mechanism 7
The bottom plate 2a of the load lock chamber 2 will be described.
An opening hole is provided in the. The bottom plate 2a is placed in this opening hole.
An annular rotating body 9 projecting from the upper surface of is rotatably fitted. The base end of the rotary table 6 is fixed to the rotary body 9, and the rotary table 6 rotates together with the rotary body 9.

Further, a cylindrical housing 10 is provided so as to project coaxially with the opening 8 at the bottom of the bottom plate 2a. A rotary cylinder 13 composed of an inner cylinder 11 and an outer cylinder 12 is rotatably inserted into the housing 10, and the inner cylinder 1
The upper end of 1 is fixed to the lower surface of the rotary table 6.

A timing gear 14 is attached to the lower end of the outer cylinder 12, and the timing gear 14 is interlocked with a timing gear 17 of a first motor 16 via a timing belt 15. Then, by the rotation of the first motor 16, power is transmitted in the order of the timing gear 17, the timing belt 15, and the timing gear 14, and the rotary base 6 is rotated via the rotary body cylinder 13.

A hollow rotary shaft 18 is axially supported inside the rotary cylinder 13 by a bearing 19 in the vertical direction. The lower end of the rotary shaft 18 is directly connected to the second motor 20 fixed to the lower part of the rotary cylinder 13. Further, the upper end portion of the rotary shaft 18 has the rotary base 6
Is connected to a ball nut 21 which is rotatably supported by a ball screw 21, and a ball screw shaft 22 as a drive shaft is screwed into the ball nut 21.

A flange portion 23 is provided at the upper end of the ball screw shaft 22, the flange portion 23 is connected to the heat plate 5d of the buffer mechanism 5, and the lower end of the ball screw shaft 22 is inserted into the rotary shaft 18 described above. ing.

The rotary cylinder 1 is parallel to the rotary shaft 18.
A plurality of guide holes 23a are provided in the inside of 3 along the vertical direction. The guide tube 2 is inserted in these guide holes 23a.
4 is fixed. This guide cylinder 24 has a guide shaft 2
5 is slidably inserted in the axial direction, and its upper end is connected to the heat plate 5d of the buffer mechanism 5 via the flange 26. Then, the second motor 20
Rotation of the ball nut 21 via the rotary shaft 18 causes the rotation of the ball nut 21 to move the ball screw shaft 22 in the axial direction.
Is designed to be raised and lowered. At this time, the guide shaft 25
Guides by sliding inside the guide tube 24,
The buffer mechanism 5 can be raised and lowered while maintaining the horizontal state.

Further, a through hole 27 is provided in the rotary cylinder 13 in parallel with the rotary shaft 18 and the guide hole 23 in the vertical direction. Inside the through hole 27, there are provided rotating shafts 29 whose upper and lower ends are rotatably supported by bearings 28.

The lower end of the rotary shaft 29 is connected to a third motor 30 fixed to the lower part of the rotary cylinder 13. Further, the second gear 31 is screwed to the upper end of the rotary shaft 29,
The second gear 31 is housed in the cavity 32 inside the rotary table 6. The second gear 31 forms the first arm constituting the transfer arm 4 via the timing belt 33.
It is interlocked with Ga 4f.

A pair of heating units 34, which are heating means, are provided on the upper surface of the rotary table 6 so as to be separated from the ball screw shaft 22 which is a part of the elevating mechanism and between the pair of adjacent guide shafts 25. Has been. Since the pair of heating units 34 have the same structure, a description will be given to one of them, and as shown in FIG. 2, a heat conduction member 36 that connects the housings 35 of the pair of guide shafts 25 is provided. The heat conducting member 36 is preferably made of aluminum or copper having a high heat conducting property, and a lamp housing 37 is fixed by bolts (not shown) in the vicinity of an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction thereof. A socket 38 is provided inside the lamp housing 37 so as to face upward, and a halogen lamp 39 as a heating lamp is detachably attached to the socket 38.

Inside the lamp housing 37, there is provided a reflection mirror 40 for irradiating the irradiation light generated from the halogen lamp 39 toward the heat plate 5d provided on the upper buffer mechanism 5. Further, the upper end opening of the lamp housing 37 is closed by a cover glass 41, and the cover glass 41 is fixed by a tightening ring 42 screwed to the lamp housing 37.

Irradiation light emitted from the halogen lamp 39 is reflected by the reflection mirror 40 to the heat plate 5d.
To heat the heat plate 5d,
At the same time, the heat generated from the halogen lamp 39 is conducted from the lamp housing 37 to the heat conducting member 36, and further to the housing 35 of the pair of guide shafts 25.

Heat plate 5d and housing 35
When this is heated, this heat is conducted to the ball screw shaft 22 and the guide shaft 25, and the adhered substances adhering to the surfaces of the ball screw shaft 22 and the guide shaft 25 become the halogen lamp 39.
Sublimated by heat energy from the ball screw shaft 22
Also, the adherends are prevented from remaining on the surface of the guide shaft 25.

Next, the operation of the etching apparatus constructed as described above will be described. As an example, the transfer arm 4 provided in the load lock chamber 2 is extended to the first processing chamber 1a, and the LCD substrate 3 is taken out from the first processing chamber 1a and stored in the buffer 5b of the buffer mechanism 5 of the load lock chamber 2. LC from the buffer 5b
A procedure for taking out the D substrate 3 and carrying it to the second processing chamber 1b will be described.

First, when the first motor 16 is driven, power is transmitted in the order of the timing gear 17, the timing belt 15, and the timing gear 14, and the rotary base 6 is rotated via the rotary body 13.

Due to the rotation of the rotating body 13, the transfer arm 4 provided at the tip of the rotating body 13 is positioned at the entrance / exit of the first processing chamber 1a. Next, when the third motor 30 is driven, power is transmitted in the order of the rotary shaft 29, the second gear 31, the timing belt 33, and the first gear 4f, and the first arm 4c turns via the arm shaft 4b, and at the same time, The second and third arms 4d, 4e are expanded and contracted.

On the other hand, a plurality of pins (not shown) projecting freely are embedded in a mounting table (not shown) in the first processing chamber 1a, and the LCD substrate 3 is supported by these pins. The LCD substrate 3 is moved to the third arm 4e as it is immersed.
Hand over to. The delivered third arm 4e exits from the first processing chamber 1a.

When the third motor 30 is driven again, the transfer arms 4c to 4e rotate the arm shaft 4b by about 180 °,
The transfer arms 4c to 4e supported by the third arm 4e are extended to the first processing chamber 1a, and the LCD substrate 3 is taken out from the inside of the first processing chamber 1a and placed in the buffer 5b of the buffer mechanism 5 in the load lock chamber 2. It is stored and further faces the buffer mechanism 5. And the first, second, third
When the arms 4c, 4d, 4e are expanded and contracted, the buffer 5b
The LCD substrate 3 is inserted therein.

When the second motor 20 is driven in this state, the ball screw shaft 22 moves up and down in the axial direction by the rotation of the ball nut 21 via the rotary shaft 18, and the buffer mechanism 5 rises. At this time, the guide shaft 25 is attached to the guide tube 2
Since it slides inside 4, the buffer mechanism 5 can be raised while maintaining the horizontal state.

By raising the buffer mechanism 5, the LCD substrate 3 supported by the third arm 4e can be delivered to the holding receiving rack 5b, and the LCD from the inside of the first processing chamber 1a.
The work of taking out the substrate 3 and delivering it to the buffer 5b is completed.

Next, a procedure for transporting the LCD substrate 3 stored in the holding shelf b into the second processing chamber 1a will be described. First, the third motor 30 is driven to rotate the transfer arm 4 so as to face the holding rack 5b. Next, the transfer arm 4 is extended and the third arm 4e is inserted into the holding shelf 5b. In this state, when the second motor 20 is rotated in the opposite direction to the above, the buffer mechanism 5 is lowered, and the LCD substrate 3 in the holding shelf 5b is moved to the third arm 4 by this lowering.
Handed over to e.

Next, the third motor 30 is driven again to contract the transfer arm 4, and then the first motor 16 is driven to position the transfer arm 4 at the entrance / exit of the second processing chamber 1b. Further, the third arm 4e of the transfer arm 4 is extended and inserted into the second processing chamber 1b, and the LCD substrate 3 is moved to the second position.
It is carried into the processing chamber 1b.

When the above-mentioned loading is repeated, the etching processing gas, for example, CF4, which has flowed into the first processing chamber 1a, also flows into the load lock chamber 2. The process gas CF4 that has entered is volatile and is usually exhausted. However, some of the process gas CF4 is disposed inside the load lock chamber 2, for example, the buffer mechanism 5 and the transfer arms 4c to 4e.
Since the temperature of the parts such as is lower than the temperature of the atmosphere in the first processing chamber 1a, the processing gas CF contacting this low portion
4 chemically reacts to form a polymer, which is attached to the surface of the ball screw shaft 22, the guide shaft 25, the ball nut 21, the guide cylinder 24, or the like.

However, as described above, the irradiation light emitted from the halogen lamp 39 inside the load lock chamber 2 is reflected by the reflection mirror 40 and the heat plate 5d.
The heat generated by the halogen lamp 39 is conducted to the heat conducting member 36 from the lamp housing 37, and the housing 35 of the guide shaft 25 is further heated.

When the heat plate 5d and the housing 35 are heated in this manner, this heat is generated by the ball screw shaft 22.
Also, even if heat is conducted to the guide shaft 25 and tries to adhere to the surfaces of the ball screw shaft 22 and the guide shaft 25, the adhesion can be suppressed by the above thermal energy, and even if it adheres, it is sublimated. It prevents the deposits from remaining on.

Therefore, the buffer mechanism 5 in the load lock chamber 2 can be always raised and lowered without hindering the movement thereof. Through this operation, the throughput can be improved.

In the above embodiment, the lifting mechanism in the load lock chamber 2 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the moving mechanism for moving the buffer mechanism 5 in the load lock chamber 2 in the horizontal direction also removes the deposits attached to the member having the ball screw shaft, the ball nut, the guide shaft, and the guide hole into which the guide shaft is inserted, to smooth the movement. Needless to say, it is possible to obtain such movement.

The first effect of the above-described embodiment is that the surface of the heat plate 5d to which the ball screw shaft is fixed is black, so that the irradiation heat of the halogen lamp of the heating means can be absorbed efficiently, and the drive shaft and the guide shaft are not affected. The deposit can be removed from the surface. Therefore, there is an effect that the buffer mechanism 5 can be surely moved up and down, and the throughput can be improved.

The second effect of the above embodiment is that the heat plate 5d heated by the irradiation light of the halogen lamp is the spacer 5c.
Since it is fixed to the buffer mechanism 5 via, the heat of the heat plate 5d is unlikely to escape. Therefore, the ball screw shaft and the like can be efficiently heated.

[0052]

As described above, according to the present invention, since it is possible to suppress the adhered matter that adheres to the surface of the drive shaft and the surface of the guide shaft, the buffer mechanism can be surely moved up and down, and the transferred object can be moved. It can be accurately transported to a predetermined position and the transportation system can be kept constant. Further, since it is not necessary to remove the deposit, the processing efficiency is increased and the throughput can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of an etching processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the heating unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the lifting mechanism according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the load lock chamber of the same embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1a to 1c ... Processing chamber, 2 ... Load lock chamber, 3 ...
LCD substrate, 4 ... Transport mechanism, 4c-4e ... Substrate transport arm, 5 ... Buffer mechanism, 5d ... Heat plate, 7 ... Lifting mechanism, 9 ... Rotating body, 22 ... Ball screw shaft, 25 ... Guide shaft, 29 ... Rotating shaft , 34 ... Heating unit, 36 ... Heat conducting member, 37 ... Lamp housing, 39 ... Halogen lamp.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A vacuum processing apparatus in which an elevating mechanism or a moving mechanism is provided in an airtight chamber into which a processing gas is introduced, wherein the chamber is provided with heating means for heating a drive shaft of the elevating mechanism or the moving mechanism. Vacuum processing equipment. 2. A load lock chamber comprising a lifting mechanism for lifting a buffer mechanism accommodating a plurality of objects to be processed, and a transfer mechanism for taking out the objects to be processed from the buffer mechanism with a transfer arm and transferring them into the processing chamber. In the arranged transfer device, the substrate transfer device is characterized in that the load lock chamber is provided with heating means for heating the drive shaft of the elevating mechanism. 3. A moving mechanism for moving a buffer mechanism accommodating a plurality of objects to be processed in a substantially planar direction, and a transfer mechanism for taking out the objects to be processed from the buffer mechanism by a transfer mechanism and transferring them into a processing chamber. In the arranged transfer device, a heating device for heating the drive shaft or the guide shaft of the moving mechanism is provided in the load lock chamber. 4. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the drive shaft is a ball screw shaft. 5. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the guide shaft is a spline shaft. 6. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the heating means is a heating lamp. 7. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the heating lamp is a halogen lamp.