JPH11158630A - Vacuum transporting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To decrease the sliding wearing parts in a vacuum chamber as few as possible, to drastically suppress the dust generation in the vacuum chamber and to prolong the life of the wearing parts in the vacuum chamber in the case of deposition of a substrate W by arranging plural revolving rollers supporting a body to be transported at right and left ends to the right and left side walls of the vacuum chamber 2 within a vacuum vessel for sputtering deposition in a line along the respective transport direction, rotating the same synchronously with these revolving rollers and putting the body to be transported into and out of the inside of the vacuum chamber. SOLUTION: The respective revolving shafts 13 of the plural revolving rollers 8, 8,... in the vacuum chamber 2 are projected airtightly through the side wall part 1a of the vessel 1 to the outside of the vessel 1 and driven side toothed pulleys 14 are fixed to the shaft ends thereof. Toothed belts are wound around the respective driven side toothed pulleys 14 and the driving side toothed pulleys 21 on the outside of the vacuum vessel 1 driven and connected to a drive motor 18. The outside of the vacuum vessel 1 is thereby provided with a synchronous rotating drive mechanism 10 for synchronously rotating the plural revolving rollers 8, 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vacuum transfer apparatus for transferring an object to be transferred in a vacuum chamber in a vacuum vessel, and more particularly to a technical field for preventing generation of dust accompanying the transfer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in an in-line type film forming apparatus for forming a thin film on a surface of an industrial material or the like, a material to be transferred is supported by a pallet or the like and a plurality of vacuums are applied to the material to be transferred. Containers (inlet tank, heating tank, distribution tank, processing tank,
A film is formed on a material and the like while being sequentially carried into and out of each vacuum chamber in an outlet tank or the like.

[0003] As described above, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-38054, a conventional vacuum transfer apparatus used for vacuum transfer for transferring an object to be transferred in a vacuum chamber in a vacuum chamber is provided. On the left and right side wall portions, a plurality of rotary rollers for supporting the transported body on the left and right ends are arranged in a row along the transport direction of the transported body, and the rotating rollers near the rotary rollers in each of the left and right rows are arranged. A pair of left and right drive shafts extending along the transport direction are respectively supported on the side walls of the vacuum chamber, and the respective drive shafts and the rotating rollers in each row are connected by bevel gear mechanisms, respectively. There has been proposed an apparatus in which a plurality of rotating rollers are synchronously rotated by being rotationally driven by a motor or the like from the outside of the container to convey an object placed thereon.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, since the drive shaft and the bevel gear mechanism for synchronously rotating the rotating rollers are housed in the vacuum chamber, the volume of the vacuum chamber becomes large. Not only does the exhaust performance drop,
There are many sliding wear parts in the vacuum chamber, and dust generation from the sliding wear parts adversely affects film formation.In addition, the life of wear parts in the vacuum chamber is short, and the interval for replacement maintenance is short. And there was room for further improvement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the volume of a vacuum chamber by improving the mechanism for synchronously rotating a plurality of rotating rollers in the vacuum chamber. Another object of the present invention is to minimize the sliding wear portion in the vacuum chamber as much as possible, greatly reduce dust generation in the vacuum chamber, and extend the life of wear parts in the vacuum chamber.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, only a rotating roller is disposed in a vacuum chamber, and a mechanism for synchronously rotating the plurality of rotating rollers is provided outside the vacuum vessel. It was arranged.

More specifically, the invention of claim 1 is based on the premise of a vacuum transfer device that transfers a transferred object in a vacuum chamber in a vacuum vessel.

[0008] A plurality of supporting members are rotatably supported side by side on the opposite left and right side walls of the vacuum chamber along the conveying direction of the conveyed object, and movably support the conveyed object at the left and right ends. And a synchronous rotation drive mechanism provided outside the vacuum vessel and synchronously rotating the plurality of rotation rollers.

With the above arrangement, when the object to be transferred is transferred, a plurality of rotating rollers arranged side by side along the transfer direction of the transferred object on the left and right side walls of the vacuum chamber respectively operate the synchronous rotation drive mechanism. , And the conveyed objects are sequentially fed in the conveying direction by the synchronous rotation of the plurality of rotating rollers, with the left and right ends thereof supported by the plurality of rotating rollers. As a result, the transferred object is transferred in the vacuum chamber.

At this time, the synchronous rotation drive mechanism for synchronously rotating the plurality of rotation rollers is provided outside the vacuum vessel, and only the plurality of rotation rollers are disposed in the vacuum chamber. The moving wear portion is located outside the vacuum chamber, and only the contact portion between each rotating roller and the conveyed body becomes a sliding portion in the vacuum chamber. For this reason, the generation of dust from the sliding wear portion in the vacuum chamber is extremely reduced, and it is possible to prevent the dust from adversely affecting the film forming process and the like. In addition, the life of the wear parts in the vacuum chamber can be extended, and the interval between replacement maintenance can be extended.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, rails extending parallel to each other along the transport direction of the transported object and mounted on the rotary roller are provided at the left and right ends of the transported object, respectively. The rail is fed on the rotating roller by the rotation of, so that the transported object moves. In addition, a shielding cover is provided on the outer periphery of the rotating roller, which covers a portion other than the upper end on which the rail is mounted, or the lower surface and both right and left side surfaces of the rail.

[0012] With this arrangement, the portion other than the upper end of the outer periphery of the rotary roller, or the lower surface and the left and right side surfaces of the rail are shielded by the shielding covers, so that, for example, the evaporation component of the film-forming material flying from the film-forming section into the vacuum chamber. Can be prevented from adhering to the rotating roller and the rail by the shielding cover. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the generation of dust due to the deposited film adhered to the rotating roller or the rail, and to shorten the cleaning period.

In this case, according to the third aspect of the present invention, a minute gap where vacuum discharge is impossible due to intrusion of gas molecules between a portion other than the upper end of the outer periphery of the rotary roller, the lower surface of the rail, and both right and left side surfaces and the shielding cover. (For example, 2 to 5 mm). This prevents the film-forming material or the like from entering the space other than the upper end of the outer periphery of the rotating roller or the gap between the lower surface and the left and right side surfaces of the rail and the shielding cover and entering and adhering to the rotating roller and the rail. Can be prevented. In addition, gas molecules are less likely to enter the gap, and the vacuum discharge by the gas molecules forms a film on the rotating roller and rail, so that by-products that are a source of dust are not generated, thereby generating dust in the vacuum chamber. Can be further reduced.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the synchronous rotary drive mechanism includes a plurality of driven toothed pulleys fixedly mounted on the outer end of the rotary shaft of the rotary roller at the outer side of the vacuum vessel, and a drive connected to the drive means. It is provided with a side toothed pulley and a toothed belt wound around the driving side and a plurality of driven side toothed pulleys. In this case, a desirable configuration of the synchronous rotation drive mechanism can be easily obtained.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 show a vacuum transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and 1 is a vacuum for sputtering processing having a rectangular cross section extending in the left-right direction in FIGS. The vacuum vessel 1 is a similar vessel for performing other processing, for example.
The vacuum chamber 1 is connected to two vacuum vessels (not shown) to constitute an in-line type sputtering apparatus. A vacuum chamber 2 is formed inside the vacuum vessel 1. Although not shown,
At one end in the longitudinal direction of the vacuum vessel 1, an inlet is opened and closed by an inlet-side gate valve and communicates with one adjacent vacuum vessel, and at the other end is opened and closed by an outlet-side gate valve and is adjacent to the other. Each of the outlets communicating with the other vacuum vessel is opened, and in a state where each of these gate valves is opened, the transferred object 40 supporting the sputtering film formation substrate W as a work is placed in the vacuum chamber 2. The inside of the vacuum chamber 2 is brought into a vacuum state when carrying in and out, and both gate valves are closed.

A sputtering chamber 6 having a target 4 and magnets 5, 5,... Is provided on the bottom wall of the vacuum chamber 2 in the vacuum chamber 1. By operating the film unit 6, a sputter film is formed on the substrate W supported by the transferred object 40.

The transferred object 40 moves in the vacuum chamber 2 while supporting a substrate W (work) to be formed by sputtering. The transferred object 40 is formed of a rectangular plate-like member that is long along the length of the vacuum vessel 1. The opening 41 is formed in the middle part of the left and right width,
The substrate W is placed on the opening 41 so as to expose the lower surface film forming portion. A pair of left and right rails 4 extending parallel to each other in the length direction of the vacuum vessel 1 (the direction of transport of the transported object 40) are provided on the lower surfaces of the left and right end portions of the transported object 40, respectively.
2, 42 are integrally formed.

Right and left side wall portions 1 of the vacuum vessel 1 facing each other.
a, 1a have a plurality of rotating rollers 8, 8,... having a horizontal axis and facing the vacuum chamber 2 and having the same diameter, and the other has the same number of rotating rollers 8, Are arranged at the same height position at regular intervals along the transport direction of the transported body 40, and the rotating rollers 8, 8,... Of the left and right side wall portions 1a, 1a are mutually connected. It is located in the corresponding position. The interval between the left and right rotating rollers 8, 8 is the same as the interval between the left and right rails 42, 42 of the transported body 40. By being mounted on the left and right rotating rollers 8, 8,..., The transported body 40 is movably supported at the left and right ends by the rotating rollers 8, 8,. The rail 42 is fed on the rotating roller 8 by the synchronous rotation of the transfer roller 40 to move the transfer target 40, and the substrate W is transferred in the vacuum chamber 2.

On the outside of the vacuum container 1, there is provided a synchronous rotation drive mechanism 10 comprising a toothed belt transmission mechanism for synchronously rotating the plurality of rotating rollers 8, 8,. That is, each of the rotating rollers 8 is attached to the side wall 1 of the vacuum vessel 1.
a is rotatably attached and fixed to an inner end (an end inside the vacuum vessel 1) of a horizontal rotating shaft 13 which penetrates a through a seal member 11 in an airtight manner and rotatably. A driven toothed pulley 14 is attached and fixed to the outer end (the end outside the vacuum vessel 1) of each rotary shaft 13 so as to rotate integrally therewith. The diameters of the plurality of driven toothed pulleys 14, 14,. The number of teeth is the same as each other.

On the other hand, a drive shaft 16 extending horizontally in the left-right direction is provided on the upper surface of one end in the longitudinal direction of the vacuum vessel 1.
7, 17 rotatably supported by the drive shaft 16
Are protruded outward in the width direction from the left and right side walls 1a, 1a of the vacuum vessel 1. An output shaft of a drive motor 18 that can be rotated forward and backward as drive means is drivingly connected to one end of the drive shaft 16 via a gear mechanism (not shown) in a gear box 19. Further, right and left drive-side toothed pulleys 21 and 21 are fixed to both ends of the drive shaft 16 so as to rotate integrally therewith.
And a plurality of right and left driven toothed pulleys 14, 14,... On the outside of the side wall 1 a of the vacuum vessel 1, respectively.
8, the drive shaft 16 is moved to the drive-side toothed pulleys 21 and
1 and the drive-side toothed pulleys 21, 21
Are rotated in the same direction via the toothed belts 22, 22 via the toothed belts 22, 22, so that the driven toothed pulleys 14, 14,. The rotating roller 8 connected integrally with the rotation is rotated synchronously with the other rotating rollers 8, 8,... At the same rotational speed, and the transported object 40 thereon is fed and moved. In the drawing, reference numerals 23 to 26 denote guide pulleys which bend in a serpentine shape in order to wind each toothed belt 22 around each toothed pulley 14, 21.

As shown in FIG. 1, the inner surface of the side wall 1a of the vacuum vessel 1 has a portion inside the vacuum chamber 2 of a sealing member 11 for hermetically sealing the rotating shaft 13 and the outer periphery of each rotating roller 8 to be transported. A metal shielding cover 27 that covers the lower surface of the body 40 other than the upper end on which the rails 42 are mounted, or the lower surface and the left and right side surfaces of the rail 42 is attached. The shielding cover 27 includes a first cover 28 having a rectangular section and covering the inside of the vacuum chamber 2 of the seal member 11 in close contact, and a second cover having a substantially L-shaped section fixed to the lower surface of the first cover 28. 29 and the first cover 28
A groove-shaped rail accommodating portion 30 for accommodating the rail 42 is provided between the center end surface of the vacuum chamber 2 and the second cover 29.
And a roller accommodating portion 31 which is partially open on the bottom surface of the grooved rail accommodating portion 30 and is formed of a cylindrical space for accommodating each of the rotating rollers 8.

As shown in detail in FIG. 2, between the rail accommodating portion 30 of the shielding cover 27 and the rail 42 accommodated therein, and between the roller accommodating portions 31 of the shielding cover 27 and the interior thereof. A vacuum discharge due to intrusion of gas molecules between each of the rotating rollers 8 accommodated in the cover, that is, between a portion other than the upper end of the outer periphery of each of the rotating rollers 8 or the lower surface and both right and left side surfaces of the rail 42 and the shielding cover 27. Voids 33 with possible minute intervals d are provided. That is,
The interval d of the gap 33 is set in a range of d = 2 to 5 mm, and is appropriately changed within this range according to the vacuum pressure of the vacuum chamber 2.

Therefore, in this embodiment, when the vacuum chamber 2 in the vacuum vessel 1 is in a vacuum state, the inlet of the vacuum vessel 1 is opened by opening the inlet-side gate valve,
A vacuum chamber 2 communicates with one of the adjacent vacuum vessels. In this state, when the transported object 40 supporting the substrate W is loaded into the vacuum chamber 2 from the entrance of the vacuum vessel 1,
A plurality of rotary rollers 8, 8,... Arranged on the left and right side surfaces of the vacuum chamber 2 along the transport direction respectively rotate in the same direction at the same speed by the operation of the drive motor 18, and the plurality of rotary rollers 8, 8,. By the rotation of the rotating rollers 8, 8,..., The transported body 40 is transported in a state where the rails 42, 42 on the lower surfaces of the left and right ends thereof are mounted on the plurality of rotating rollers 8, 8,. The transported object 40 is transported together with the substrate W into the vacuum chamber 2. At this time, since the shielding cover 27 is attached to the inner surface of the side wall 1a of the vacuum vessel 1,
Each of the rails 42 fixed to the left and right ends of the transported body 40 is accommodated in the rail accommodation section 30 of No. 7. In addition, each of the rotation rollers 8 is accommodated in each of the roller accommodation portions 31 of each of the shielding covers 27.

Thereafter, the inlet of the vacuum vessel 1 is closed by closing the gate valve on the inlet side, and the vacuum chamber 2 is sealed. After that, the vacuum pressure in the vacuum chamber 2 becomes a predetermined pressure. The film forming unit 6 is operated, and the film forming material component that has protruded from the target 4 is deposited on the substrate W, and the film forming process on the substrate W is performed.

At this time, as described above, the rails 42 of the transported body 40 are accommodated in the rail accommodating portion 30 of the shielding cover 27, and the rotating rollers 8 are accommodated in the roller accommodating portions 31, respectively. The underside of the rail 42 and the left and right sides,
Any portion other than the upper end on which the rail 42 is mounted on the outer periphery of each rotating roller 8 is covered with the shielding cover 27. Thus, the shielding cover 27 prevents the evaporation component of the film-forming material flying from the target 4 of the sputter film-forming unit 6 into the vacuum chamber 2 from adhering to each of the rotating rollers 8 and each of the rails 42. Can be prevented.
Moreover, the gap 33 between the shielding cover 27 and the portion other than the upper end of the outer periphery of each of the rotary rollers 8 or the lower surface and the left and right side surfaces of the rail 42 is a minute interval d (d = 2 to 5 mm). It is possible to prevent the film-forming material from entering around and entering the rotating roller 8 and the rail 42. At the same time, gas molecules in the vacuum chamber 2 are also unlikely to enter the gap 33, and the rotary rollers 8 and the rails 42 are formed into a film by vacuum discharge by the gas molecules, so that by-products that generate dust are not generated. Thus, dust generation in the vacuum chamber 2 can be further reduced. As a result, it is possible to greatly reduce dust generation due to film-deposited matter adhering to the rotating roller 8 and the rails 42 and shorten the cleaning period.

After the film formation process on the substrate W, the outlet of the vacuum vessel 1 is opened by opening the outlet side gate valve, and the plurality of rotating rollers 8 and By the synchronous rotation of 8,..., The transported object 40 is carried out of the vacuum chamber 2 while supporting the substrate W, and supplied into the other adjacent vacuum vessel.

In this embodiment, a synchronous rotation drive mechanism 10 for synchronously rotating the plurality of rotating rollers 8, 8,..., Specifically, a plurality of driven side teeth mounted and fixed to a rotating shaft 13 of each rotating roller 8. Pulleys 14, 14, ..., drive motor 1
8, a drive shaft 16 connected to the drive motor 18, drive-side toothed pulleys 21 and 21 fixed to both ends thereof, a toothed belt wound around the drive-side and a plurality of driven-side toothed pulleys 21 and 14. 22 and the guide pulleys 23 to 26 are provided outside the vacuum vessel 1 and only a plurality of rotating rollers 8, 8,... The moving wear portion is located outside the vacuum chamber 1, and a sliding portion of only the contact portion between each rotating roller 8 and the rail 42 of the transported body 40 is formed in the vacuum chamber 2. For this reason, the generation of dust from the sliding wear portion in the vacuum chamber 2 is extremely reduced, and it is possible to prevent the dust from adversely affecting the sputtering film forming process. In addition, the life of the worn parts in the vacuum chamber 2 can be extended, and the interval of replacement maintenance can be extended.

In the above embodiment, the synchronous rotation drive mechanism 10 for synchronously rotating the plurality of rotating rollers 8, 8,... Is constituted by a toothed belt transmission mechanism, but may be constituted by a gear mechanism.

In the above-described embodiment, the sputter film forming section 6 is disposed on the bottom wall of the vacuum vessel 1. However, the sputter film forming section 6 may be disposed on the upper wall or the side wall 1a which does not hinder the transfer of the substrate W. Good.

The present invention can be applied to a film forming apparatus other than the sputtering apparatus as in the above-described embodiment, and can be applied to a case where a transferred object is transferred in a vacuum chamber in a vacuum vessel.

[0031]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of rotating rollers for supporting the object to be transported at the left and right ends are respectively provided on the opposite left and right side walls of the vacuum chamber in the vacuum vessel. By disposing the synchronous rotation drive mechanism for synchronously rotating the plurality of rotating rollers outside the vacuum vessel, the volume of the vacuum chamber can be reduced, and the initial gas can be reduced. And exhaust performance can be improved. In addition, the fact that the volume of the vacuum chamber is small and that the synchronous rotation drive mechanism is present outside means that the surface area of the structure exposed to the vacuum chamber is small, and the gas released from this is reduced. Thus, the exhaust performance can be further improved. In addition, the generation of dust from sliding abrasion parts in the vacuum chamber is extremely reduced to prevent adverse effects on the film forming process due to the generation of dust, and the life of wear parts in the vacuum chamber is extended to replace them. The maintenance interval can be extended.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, rails to be mounted on the rotating rollers are provided at the left and right ends of the transported body, respectively, so that the rails are fed by the rotation of the rotating rollers to move the transported body. In addition, the parts other than the upper end of the outer periphery of the rotating roller, or the lower surface and the left and right side surfaces of the rail are covered with shielding covers, so that, for example, the film forming material from the film forming apparatus is prevented from adhering to the rotating roller and the rail. Thus, it is possible to reduce the generation of dust due to the film deposition on the rotating rollers and rails, and to shorten the cleaning period.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the space other than the upper end of the outer periphery of the rotary roller or the gap formed between the lower surface and the right and left side surfaces of the rail and the shielding cover cannot be vacuum-discharged due to gas molecules entering. By making it a minute interval,
It is possible to prevent the film-forming material from entering the gaps between the shield cover and the lower part of the outer periphery of the rotating roller or the gap between the lower and right and left side surfaces and the shielding cover, and to prevent the film-forming material from adhering to the rotating roller and the rail, and entering the gap. The generation of by-products that generate dust on the rotating rollers and rails due to vacuum discharge caused by gas molecules is also prevented, and dust generation in the vacuum chamber can be further reduced.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the synchronous rotation drive mechanism is constituted by a toothed belt transmission mechanism, a desirable configuration of the synchronous rotation drive mechanism can be easily obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line II of FIG.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion around a shielding cover in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan sectional view showing a vacuum transfer device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the vacuum transfer device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum container 1a Side wall part 2 Vacuum chamber 6 Sputter deposition part 8 Rotary roller 10 Synchronous rotation drive mechanism 13 Rotary shaft 14 Driven side toothed pulley 18 Drive motor (drive means) 21 Drive side toothed pulley 22 Toothed belt 27 Shield Cover 33 Air gap d Air gap distance 40 Carrier 42 Rail W Board

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A vacuum transfer apparatus in which a transferred object is transferred in a vacuum chamber in a vacuum vessel, wherein the left and right side walls of the vacuum chamber are rotatable along the transfer direction of the transferred object. A plurality of rotating rollers rotatably supported at the left and right ends of the conveyed body, and a synchronous rotation driving mechanism provided outside the vacuum vessel and synchronously rotating the plurality of rotating rollers. A vacuum transfer device comprising: 2. The vacuum transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein left and right ends of the transferred object are provided with rails extending parallel to each other along the transfer direction of the transferred object and mounted on rotating rollers. The rail is fed on the rotating roller by the rotation of the rotating roller, so that the transported object moves, and a portion of the outer periphery of the rotating roller other than the upper end on which the rail is mounted, or A vacuum transfer device comprising a shielding cover for covering a lower surface of a rail and both left and right side surfaces. 3. The vacuum conveying device according to claim 2, wherein a vacuum discharge is not possible due to intrusion of gas molecules between a portion other than the upper end of the outer periphery of the rotating roller, the lower surface of the rail, and both right and left side surfaces and the shielding cover. A vacuum transfer device characterized by having a void. 4. The vacuum transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the synchronous rotation drive mechanism comprises: a plurality of driven toothed pulleys fixedly attached to an outer end of the rotary shaft of the rotary shaft on the outer side of the vacuum container; A vacuum transfer device comprising: a driving-side toothed pulley connected to a driving unit; and a toothed belt wound around the driving-side and a plurality of driven-side toothed pulleys.