JPH08337878A - Plasma treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To easily change a sealing member in a plasma treatment device. CONSTITUTION: In the plasma treatment device wherein an opening 12a is formed in a side wall 12 and a load lock chamber 20 is attached to a wall part enclosing the opening 12a with a sealing member 31 interposed, the load lock chamber 20 is composed of a housing 21 and a cassette 33 which is composed to be separated from the housing 21 and to which the sealing member 31 is attached, whereby the sealing member 31 and the cassette 33 as a seal- cassette 30 are freely attachable and detachable to/from the housing 21.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention performs etching, ashing, deposition, surface modification, surface cleaning, and other treatments on substrates such as semiconductor substrates, display substrates, multi-chip modules (MCM), and printed circuit boards. The present invention relates to a plasma processing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When performing processing such as etching, ashing, deposition, surface modification and surface cleaning on a substrate of semiconductor, metal, plastic, etc., it is processed under reduced pressure using various plasma processing devices. It is widely applied. In the plasma processing apparatus, an opening for maintenance and loading / unloading of the substrate is provided, or a load lock chamber for loading / unloading the substrate is attached to the plasma processing apparatus main body, and the load lock chamber and the plasma processing apparatus main body are connected to each other. A communication hole is provided between them to allow communication.

The opening, communication hole, and the like in the above plasma processing apparatus are provided when the inside of the plasma processing apparatus is depressurized.
It is necessary to close in an airtight state, and the plate member is pressed in a state in which a seal member such as an O-ring is interposed with respect to the opening, the communication hole, etc., so that the airtight state is closed.

The above sealing member loses its flexibility with use and its sealing performance deteriorates, so that it needs to be replaced periodically. In particular, the seal member arranged in the plasma processing chamber for performing the plasma processing is damaged by the plasma, so that the sealing performance is liable to deteriorate and it is necessary to replace the sealing member more frequently.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional plasma processing apparatus, the sealing member such as the O-ring has a groove in the wall portion of the plate material facing the wall portion surrounding the opening portion or the communication hole. However, there is a problem in that the replacement work is difficult because the groove is formed and is buried in the groove with the surface exposed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to facilitate the replacement work of a seal member in a plasma processing apparatus.

[0007]

According to the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention, an opening is formed in the wall and a seal member is interposed between the opening and the wall surrounding the opening. In a plasma processing apparatus in which another member is attached to a wall portion, the other member includes a main body and a cassette formed separately from the main body and having the seal member attached thereto. And are detachably attached to the main body as a seal cassette. In the plasma processing apparatus according to claim 2, in the plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, the wall portion is a wall portion of a first housing that forms a plasma processing chamber, and the other member is It is characterized in that it is a second housing that forms a load lock chamber that can communicate with the opening. In the plasma processing apparatus according to claim 3, in the plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The other member is a door that opens and closes the opening attached to the wall.

[0008]

In the plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1,
Since the seal member and the cassette are detachably attached to the main body as a seal cassette, the replacement of the seal member can be achieved by replacing the seal cassette.
3. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the wall portion is the wall portion of the first housing that forms the plasma processing chamber, and the other member forms the load lock chamber that can communicate with the opening. Therefore, the seal member arranged between the plasma processing chamber and the load lock chamber can be replaced by replacing the seal cassette.
In the plasma processing apparatus according to claim 3, since the other member is a door that opens and closes an opening attached to the wall, replacement of the seal member arranged between the wall and the door is performed.
This is done by replacing the seal cassette.

[0009]

Embodiments of the plasma processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a surface treatment apparatus according to the present invention.
0 and the load lock chamber 20 are mainly configured.

The plasma processing chamber 10 includes a housing 11
The load lock chamber 20 is formed by a (first housing) and is provided with, for example, a gas introduction unit, an electrode, and an exhaust unit to generate plasma discharge and perform plasma processing on a substrate to be processed such as a semiconductor substrate. An opening 12a is formed in the facing side wall 12 (wall portion).

The load lock chamber 20 has a housing 21.
A side wall 2 formed of (second housing, main body) and provided with an evacuation means for loading and unloading the substrate with respect to the plasma processing chamber 10 and facing the plasma processing chamber 10.
2 (wall portion) has an opening 22 communicating with the opening 12a.
a and a housing portion 23 for housing a seal cassette 30 described later are formed, and a step portion 23a for locking the seal cassette 30 is formed in a lower portion of the housing portion 23. A side wall 22 of the housing 21 is attached to a side wall 22 of the plasma processing chamber 10 by a hinge 24 so as to be separable from and into the side wall 12. The side wall 22 holds the load lock chamber 20 when the side wall 22 contacts the side wall 12. A pressing mechanism 25 that presses toward the plasma processing chamber 10 is provided.

The seal cassette 30 includes seal members 31 and 32 arranged in close contact with the walls surrounding the openings 12a and 22a of the side walls 12 and 22, and these seal members 3 respectively.
The cassette 33 is configured to hold the first and the second parts 32 in the groove with their surfaces exposed, and is detachably housed in the housing part 23. The cassette 33 has a notch 34 that is locked to the stepped portion 23 a of the housing portion 23, and
The openings 12a, 22a when housed in the housing 23
Is formed with a communicating hole 35, and a groove is formed around the communicating hole 35 on the side facing the load lock chamber 20, and the surface is exposed in the groove to form the gate valve sealing member 3
6 are arranged. A handle 37 is attached to the upper surface of the cassette 33 so that the attachment / detachment operation can be easily performed.

Based on the above configuration, the load lock chamber 20
The (other member) includes a housing 21 (main body) and a cassette 33 formed separately from the housing 21, and the seal members 31, 32 and the cassette 33 serve as the seal cassette 30 in the housing 21 (main body). It is supposed to be removable.

On the other hand, one side wall 26 of the load lock chamber 20.
An opening 25a is formed in the (wall), and a door 40 (other member) is provided in the (wall). The door body 40 includes a frame 42 (main body) in which a housing portion 41 for housing a seal cassette 50 described later is formed, and the seal cassette 5
It consists of zero. The frame 42 is attached to the side wall 26 by a hinge 43 so as to be detachable from and attachable to the side wall 26.
The frame 42 is provided with a pressing mechanism 44 that presses the door body 40 toward the load lock chamber 20 when the frame 42 contacts the side wall 26. In addition, at the lower part of the accommodating part 41, a step part 41 a for locking the seal cassette 50 is provided.
Are formed.

The seal cassette 50 is a seal member 51 which is arranged in close contact with the wall portion surrounding the opening 26a of the side wall 26.
And a cassette 53 that holds the seal member 51 by accommodating it in the groove with its surface exposed, and is detachably accommodated in the accommodating portion 41. The cassette 53 is formed with a cutout portion 54 that is locked to the step portion 41 a of the accommodation portion 41. A handle 57 is attached to the upper surface of the cassette 53 so that the attachment / detachment operation can be easily performed.

Based on the above structure, the door body 40 (other member)
Is composed of a frame 42 (main body) and a cassette 53 formed separately from the frame 42. The seal member 51 and the cassette 53 are detachable from the frame 42 (main body) as a seal cassette 50. ing.

In the plasma processing apparatus having the above structure, when the seal cassette 30 is housed in the housing portion 23 and the load lock chamber 20 is pressed toward the plasma processing chamber 10 by the pressing mechanism 25, the side wall of the housing 11 is opened. Since the seal member 31 is interposed between the cassette 12 and the cassette 33, the housing 11 and the cassette 33 are hermetically connected to each other, and the cassette 33 and the side wall 2 of the housing 21.
The seal member 32 is interposed between the cassette 3 and
3 and the housing 21 are airtightly connected, and eventually the housing 11 and the housing 21 are airtightly connected to the outside.

At the same time, a gate valve (not shown) arranged in the load lock chamber 20 is installed in the seal cassette 30.
When the gate valve seal member 36 is interposed, the communication hole 35 and the openings 12a and 22a are closed in an airtight state when pressed and adhered to the wall portion surrounding the communication hole 35. There is. That is, the load lock chamber 20 can communicate with the opening 12a by driving the gate valve.

Further, the seal cassette 50 is accommodated in the accommodating portion 41 and is pressed by the pressing mechanism 44 to the frame 4 of the door body 40.
When 2 is pressed toward the housing 21, the seal member 51 is interposed between the wall portion surrounding the opening portion 26a of the housing 21 and the cassette 53, so that the opening portion 26a is closed in the airtight state by the door body 40. To be done.

In the above plasma processing apparatus, the replacement of the seal members 31, 32 and the gate valve seal member 36 can be accomplished by the replacement of the seal cassette 30, and the seal members 31, 32 and the gate valve seal member 36 can be replaced. It can be easily replaced. That is, the pressing mechanism 25 loosens the pressing of the housing 21 toward the housing 11 to release the close contact between the seal members 31 and 32,
Sealing members 31, 32, gate valve sealing member 36
With the seal cassette 30 attached,
Take out from. Next, the seal cassette to which a new seal member prepared in advance is attached is accommodated in the accommodating portion 23, and is pressed toward the housing 11 of the housing 21 by the pressing mechanism 25 to bring the seal members 31 and 32 into close contact with each other. By attaching the seal cassette 30, that is, by exchanging the seal cassette 30, the seal members 31, 32,
The replacement of the gate valve sealing member 36 is completed.

Similarly, the replacement of the seal member 51 can be achieved by the replacement of the seal cassette 50, and the replacement of the seal member 51 can be easily performed. That is, the housing 21 of the frame 42 by the pressing mechanism 44
Loosen the pressure toward and release the seal member 51
The seal cassette 5 with the seal member 51 attached
0 is taken out from the container 41. Next, the seal cassette to which a new seal member is attached is accommodated in the accommodating portion 41 and the pressing mechanism 44 presses the frame 42 toward the housing 21 to bring the seal member into close contact with the seal cassette 5
0, that is, the seal cassette 50
The replacement of the seal member 51 is completed.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the plasma processing apparatus according to the present invention. The parts having the same structures as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, The explanation will be simplified.

The plasma processing apparatus in this embodiment is mainly composed of a plasma processing chamber 10 and load lock chambers 20, 20.

A transfer boat 1 is installed in the plasma processing chamber 10.
Gate valve 1 in which 5a and 15a are integrally attached
5 is arranged and moves in the plasma processing chamber 10 to communicate with the communication hole 4
1, 41 are alternately closed,
The electrodes 16 are arranged to generate plasma discharge and subject the substrate W to plasma treatment.

The load lock chamber 20 (other member) is composed of a housing 21 (main body) and a cassette 33 formed separately from the housing 21.
1, 32, gate valve sealing member 36 and cassette 3
3 and 3 are detachably attached to the housing 21 (main body) as the seal cassette 30.

In the plasma processing apparatus having the above structure, the housing 11 (first housing) and the housings 21 and 21 are provided by interposing the seal members 31 and 32.
(Both the second housing) is airtightly connected to the outside, and the gate valve seal member 36 is interposed so that the communication hole 35 and the openings 12a and 22a are airtightly closed by the gate valve 15. It is the same as in the first embodiment that the sealing is performed and the replacement of the seal members 31 and 32 and the gate valve seal member 36 can be achieved by replacing the seal cassette 30.

In this embodiment, the plasma processing chamber 10
Since plasma is generated inside, the seal members arranged in the plasma processing chamber 10, that is, the gate valve seal member 36 and the seal member 31 are severely damaged, and the gate valve seal member 36 and the seal member 31 are frequently replaced. Need to do. In this case, the gate valve sealing member 36
Since the replacement of the seal member 31 and the seal member 31 can be easily performed by replacing the seal cassette 30, it can be particularly suitably applied when the seal member needs to be replaced frequently.

[0029]

According to the plasma processing apparatus of the first aspect, since the seal member and the cassette are detachably attached to the main body as the seal cassette, the exchange of the seal member is accomplished by the exchange of the seal cassette. Therefore, the seal member can be easily replaced. According to the plasma processing apparatus of claim 2, the wall portion is the wall portion of the first housing that forms the plasma processing chamber, and the other member forms the load lock chamber that can communicate with the opening. Since the housing is used, the seal member arranged between the plasma processing chamber and the load lock chamber can be easily replaced by replacing the seal cassette.
According to the plasma processing apparatus of claim 3, since the other member is a door body that opens and closes an opening attached to the wall portion, replacement of the seal member arranged between the wall portion and the door body is required. ,
This can be easily done by replacing the seal cassette.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a plasma processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front sectional view showing a second embodiment of the plasma processing apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Plasma processing chamber 11 Housing (first housing) 12 Side wall (wall) 12a Opening 20 Load lock chamber (other member) 21 Housing (second housing, main body) 22 Side wall (wall) 22a Opening 26 Side wall (wall) 30 Seal cassette 31 Seal member 32 Seal member 33 Cassette 40 Door body (other member) 42 Frame (main body) 50 Seal cassette 51 Seal member 53 Cassette

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Reference number in the agency FI Technical indication location H05K 3/08 H01L 21/302 B (72) Inventor Kichichi Haga Tokyo Metropolitan Government Ichiyaho 992 Co., Ltd. In plasma system (72) Inventor Yukio Soejima 992, National Government of Ichi, Tokyo Metropolitan Government In plasma system

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A plasma processing apparatus in which an opening is formed in a wall portion and another member is attached to the wall portion with a seal member interposed between the opening portion and the wall portion surrounding the opening portion. Is composed of a main body and a cassette to which the seal member is attached and which is formed separately from the main body, and the seal member and the cassette are detachable from the main body as a seal cassette. Characteristic plasma processing device. 2. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wall portion is a wall portion of a first housing that forms a plasma processing chamber, and the other member is in communication with the opening portion. A plasma processing apparatus comprising a second housing forming a lock chamber. 3. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the other member is a door body that opens and closes the opening attached to the wall portion.