JPH1121665A - Film forming device, and method for changing target - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the film forming device of a constitution in which a cathode having the target is fixed to a current introducing plate in an electrically connected condition by a simple means without using a fixing bolt, and the changing method capable of rapidly changing the target. SOLUTION: In a film forming device, a ring-shaped insulation member 22 is fixed in a film-forming reaction chamber 1a inside a vacuum chamber 1. A cathode 6 having a target 11 of the sputtering material is positioned so that the target 11 is opposite to a substrate 12 which is an object to form a film, and placed on the insulation member 22. A current introducing plate 9 installed in the film-forming reaction chamber 1a in a freely coming-in/going-out manner, is brought into close contact with the cathode 6 so as to be electrically connected, and the cathode 6 is held and fixed by the insulation material 22 and the current introducing plate 9.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus for forming a thin film on the surface of a substrate by using sputter particles emitted from a target of a sputtering material, and a method of replacing the target.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional film forming apparatus of this type generally has a structure shown in FIG.
The configuration is as shown in FIG. That is, a reaction gas, for example, an argon gas is introduced from the mass flow controller 4 through the gas introduction pipe 7 into the film formation reaction chamber 1a inside the vacuum chamber 1 and connected to the film formation reaction chamber 1a through the vacuum exhaust pipe 2. When the evacuation pump 3 is driven, the pressure inside the film forming reaction chamber 1a is adjusted to a predetermined pressure. By applying a voltage to the target 11 of the sputtering material from the power supply unit 8 through the current introducing plate 9 and the backing plate 10 in the film forming reaction chamber 1a in the reaction gas atmosphere, for example, argon plasma is generated, and high energy is generated. The ions having the target 1
Sputter particles are ejected from 1 and the sputter particles are
For example, a thin film is formed on the surface of the substrate 12 by being deposited on a substrate 12 to be formed, such as a glass substrate.

A target 11 is attached to a backing plate 10
The cathode 6, which is held on the lower surface, is fixed to the current introducing plate 9 by a plurality of fixing bolts 14 with the upper surface of the backing plate 10 superimposed on the current introducing plate 9 in close contact.

Further, a lower end of a cylindrical support 17 having a connection line to the current introducing plate 9 inserted therein is fixed at right angles to the center of the upper surface of the current introducing plate 9. Since the upper part of 17 is penetrated and hermetically fixed to the lid 13 of the vacuum chamber 1, the current introducing plate 9 is attached to the lid 13 via the support 17 in a suspended state. . A ring-shaped magnet 18 for magnetron sputtering is mounted on the upper surface of the current introducing plate 9 in a magnetically coupled state. The action of the magnetic field generated by the magnet 18 increases the plasma density and increases the film formation rate, that is, the film formation amount per unit time.

[0005]

It is necessary to replace the cathode 6 when the target 11 has been used for a certain period of time.
In addition to the maintenance work, it is required to shorten the work time for replacing the cathode 6. However, the above-described film forming apparatus has a problem that a complicated operation is required when replacing the cathode 6 and the operation time is lengthened.

That is, when replacing the cathode 6,
First, after the fixing of the lid 13 to the vacuum chamber 1 with bolts (not shown) or the like is released, the lid 13 is pulled up from the vacuum chamber 1 by an actuator (not shown), and the support 13 is attached to the lid 13. The current introduction plate 9 and the cathode 6 suspended through
As shown by a two-dot chain line, it is pulled out above the vacuum chamber 1. The plurality of fixing bolts 14 of the assembly suspended by this actuator are removed, and the target 11
The cathode 6 composed of the backing plate 10 and the cathode 6 is removed from the current introducing plate 9. Next, the cathode 6 holding the new target 11 on the backing plate 10 is superimposed on the current introduction plate 9 in a predetermined positioning state, and a plurality of fixing bolts 14 are tightened while maintaining this positioning state. The procedure is performed by fixing the backing plate 10 to the current introduction plate 9.

Therefore, the above-described method of replacing the cathode 6 requires complicated operations such as removal and installation of the fixing bolts 14 and positioning of the backing plate 10, and requires a relatively long operation time. Moreover,
When the target 11 is a magnetic material, the cathode 6 is affected by the magnetic attraction of the magnet 18, so it is difficult to remove the cathode 6 from the current introducing plate 9 only by removing the fixing bolt 14. Complex work increases.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems,
Provided are a film forming apparatus having a configuration in which a cathode having a target is fixed in an electrically connected state to a current introducing plate by simple means without using a fixing bolt or the like, and an exchange method capable of quickly exchanging the target. It is the purpose.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a film forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a vacuum chamber having a film forming reaction chamber therein, and a ring-shaped chamber fixed inside the film forming reaction chamber. And a cathode placed on the insulating member with the target facing a substrate on which a film is to be formed, and in close contact with the cathode to be electrically connected. And a current introduction plate installed so as to be able to enter and exit the film formation reaction chamber.

In this film forming apparatus, a plasma is generated by applying a voltage to a cathode target through a current introducing plate, whereby sputtered particles ejected from the target are deposited on a substrate to be formed. A thin film is formed on the surface of.

In this film forming apparatus, the cathode having the target is placed on the insulating member and supported by being sandwiched and fixed between the insulating member and the current introduction plate. At this time, if the current introduction plate is pulled out of the vacuum chamber, the cathode remaining on the insulating member in the film forming reaction chamber can be easily replaced with a new one by manual operation or the like. . Therefore, the work of removing and attaching the fixing bolt, which fixes the cathode to the current introducing plate in the conventional apparatus, becomes unnecessary, and the working time for replacing the target can be greatly reduced.

[0012] In the above invention, a magnetron-type sputtering magnet may be provided which is magnetically coupled with the current introducing plate so as to come into contact with and separate from the current introducing plate.

[0013] Thus, magnetron type sputtering in which the plasma is confined by the magnetic field generated by the magnet can be performed, the plasma density can be improved, and the film forming rate can be increased. In this film forming apparatus, a magnet is provided. Since the magnet is provided so as to be separated from the current introducing plate, when the target is a magnetic material, the magnet is first separated from the current introducing plate. By doing so, the current introduction plate can be easily separated from the cathode, and the target remaining on the insulating member in the film forming reaction chamber can be easily replaced with a new one by hand or the like. can do.

In the method for replacing a target of a film forming apparatus according to the present invention, a step of separating a current introduction plate from a cathode having a used target of a non-magnetic material and extracting the plate to the outside of a film forming reaction chamber; Removing the cathode mounted on the insulating member to the outside of the film forming reaction chamber, mounting a cathode having a new target on the insulating member, and connecting the current introduction plate to the cathode. And a step of bringing into close contact with the substrate.

This makes it possible to easily and quickly exchange the cathode having the target.

In another method of replacing the target of the film forming apparatus of the present invention, a step of separating a magnet from a current introducing plate and a step of separating the current introducing plate from a cathode having a used target made of a magnetic material are performed. A step of extracting the cathode placed on the insulating member in the film forming reaction chamber to the outside of the film forming reaction chamber, and a step of mounting a cathode having a new target on the insulating member. Placing the current introduction plate in close contact with the target, and bringing the magnet into contact with the current introduction plate.

Thus, even if the target is made of a magnetic material, the cathode having the target can be easily replaced.
It can be performed quickly.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing a film forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6, the same or equivalent components as those in FIG. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals. This film forming apparatus is different from the apparatus shown in FIG. 6 only in the support structure of the cathode 6 holding the target 11 on the backing plate 10. The substrate holder 19 attached to the substrate holder 19 and installed in the film formation reaction chamber 1a and generally movable.
Is positioned so as to face the flat target 11 which is a sputtering material.

This embodiment exemplifies a case in which a nonmagnetic target 11 is used. Vacuum chamber 1
A disk-shaped cathode support member 20 is fitted and fixed to the inner peripheral wall surface of the cathode support member 20. The outer diameter of the cathode support member 20 is set substantially equal to the inner diameter of the vacuum chamber 1,
An opening 21 for passing sputtered particles emitted from the target 11 is provided at the center. Also,
The mounting height of the cathode support member 20 is set at a position where the target 11 can be held at the most appropriate distance from the substrate 12.

Opening 21 in cathode support member 20
As shown in FIG. 3, a ring-shaped insulating member 22 is placed and fixed on the upper surface of the peripheral portion. As shown in FIG. 3, the insulating member 22 is
It has an outer diameter substantially equal to the diameter of 0, and the inner diameter is set to a value that allows the target 11 to be inserted with a gap. The cathode 6 connects the target 11 to the insulating member 2.
2, the backing plate 10 is placed on the insulating member 22 and installed. Further, the backing plate 10 is not joined to the current introducing plate 9 by the fixing bolts 14 unlike the conventional device, and the current introducing plate 9 is merely in close contact with the electric connection state from above. That is, in a state where the lid 13 is airtightly connected to the vacuum chamber 1 and covered, the current introduction plate 9 is pressed against the backing plate 10 by the lid 13 via the support 17. . Thereby, the cathode 6 is sandwiched and fixed between the insulating member 22 and the current introducing plate 9.

Next, the film forming operation in the film forming apparatus will be briefly described. A reaction gas, for example, an argon gas is introduced from the mass flow controller 4 through the gas introduction pipe 7 into the film formation reaction chamber 1 a inside the vacuum chamber 1, and is formed through the vacuum exhaust pipe 2.
Is driven, the pressure inside the film formation reaction chamber 1a is adjusted to a predetermined pressure. In the film forming reaction chamber 1a in the reaction gas atmosphere, the power supply unit 8
To current introduction plate 9 and backing plate 1
By applying a voltage to the target 11 of the sputtering material through 0, for example, an argon plasma is generated, and ions having high energy are made to enter the target 11, whereby sputtered particles are ejected from the target 11 and the sputtered particles are discharged. By depositing on the substrate 12 to be formed, a thin film is formed on the surface of the substrate 12. The above sputtering is performed using the magnet 18
This is a magnetron type sputtering in which the plasma is confined by a magnetic field generated from the magnetic field. The plasma density can be improved and the film formation rate can be increased.

Next, a method of replacing the target 11 provided in the film forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. When replacing the target 11, first, nitrogen is introduced into the vacuum chamber 1 to bring the film forming reaction chamber 1a to atmospheric pressure. This makes it easy to remove the next lid 13 from the vacuum chamber 1. Next, after the fixing of the lid 13 to the vacuum chamber 1 by bolts or the like is released, the lid 13 is pulled up by an actuator, and is suspended from the lid 13 via the support 17 as shown in FIG. The current introducing plate 9 is pulled out above the vacuum chamber 1. At this time, since the target 11 is a non-magnetic material and is not affected by the magnetic attraction of the magnet 18, the cathode 6
Is smoothly separated from the backing plate 10. At this time, the cathode 6 composed of the used target 11 and the backing plate 10 holding the used target 11 remains in the film forming reaction chamber 1 a while being placed on the insulating member 22.

As shown in FIG. 2, the current introducing plate 9
Is drawn out of the film forming reaction chamber 1a,
The actuator holding the lid 13 is about 90 degrees around the horizontal axis.
Rotate °. As a result, the current introducing plate 9 is retracted to the side from the position above the vacuum chamber 1, so that the next operation can be easily performed. Subsequently, the operator manually removes the cathode 6 remaining in the film formation reaction chamber 1a, and removes the cathode 6 having a separately prepared new target 11 from the insulating member 22 as shown by a two-dot chain line arrow.
Place on top.

Next, the actuator descends after rotating 90 ° in the opposite direction to contact the current introducing plate 9 with the backing plate 10, and further descends to move the lid 13 to the vacuum chamber. 1 is pressed against the opening in a sealed state. At this time, the current introduction plate 9
Is pressed against the backing plate 10 in close contact. In this state, when the lid 13 is fixed to the vacuum chamber 1 by fixing means such as bolts, the cathode 6 is clamped and fixed between the insulating member 22 and the current introducing plate 9, and the replacement of the target 11 is completed.

In the method of replacing the target 11 described above, the current introducing plate 9
Is separated from the backing plate 10 of the cathode 6 integrally with the lid 13, and the cathode 6 remaining on the insulating member 22 is simply replaced by a new one by hand. Therefore, the work of removing and attaching the fixing bolt as in the related art becomes unnecessary, and the work time for replacing the target 11 can be greatly reduced.

FIG. 4 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a film forming apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, the same or equivalent components as those in FIG. Is omitted. In this embodiment, a case where a magnetic substance is used as the target 11 is illustrated, and accordingly, the magnet 18 for applying a magnetic attraction to the magnetic target 11 is provided with a current-introducing as shown in FIG. The lower surface is merely pressed against the current introducing plate 9 without being fixed to the current introducing plate 9. Further, the magnet 18 is fixed to a lower end of a movable rod 24 movably attached to the lid 13 via a slide bearing 23 while maintaining the airtight state. Accordingly, the magnet 18 is moved up and down along the support 17 integrally with the movable rod 24 by operating the movable rod 24 from outside the vacuum chamber 1. In addition,
The film forming operation in this film forming apparatus is the same as that in the apparatus shown in FIG.

Next, a method of replacing the target 11 provided in the film forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. When the target 11 is replaced, first, nitrogen is introduced into the vacuum chamber 1 to bring the film forming reaction chamber 1a to atmospheric pressure, and the upper end of the movable rod 24 is gripped outside the vacuum chamber 1 as shown in FIG. As shown by the arrow, the magnet 18 is separated from the current introduction plate 9 and is pulled up to a position where the magnetic attraction does not act on the magnetic target 11. Subsequently, after releasing the fixation of the lid 13 to the vacuum chamber 1 by bolts or the like, the lid 13 is pulled up by the actuator, and FIG.
As shown in (1), the current introduction plate 9 suspended from the lid 13 via the support 17 is pulled out above the vacuum chamber 1. At this time, since the magnet 18 is previously separated from the target 11 at a position where the magnetic attraction does not act on the target 11, the current introducing plate 9 is smoothly separated from the backing plate 10.

In the film forming reaction chamber 1a, the cathode 6 composed of the used target 11 and the backing plate 10 holding the used target 11 remains while being mounted on the insulating member 22. In the same manner as described above, the cathode 6 having the new target 11 is replaced. Thereafter, the current introduction plate 9 is pressed against the backing plate 10 by the actuation of the actuator,
After the lid 13 is fixed to the vacuum chamber 1, the movable rod 24 is operated from outside the vacuum chamber 1 and pushed down,
When the magnet 18 is brought into contact with the current introducing plate 9, the replacement of the target 11 is completed. In this method of exchanging the target 11, the target 11 is a magnetic material and the magnet 18
, The target 11 can be easily and quickly replaced.

[0029]

As described above, according to the film forming apparatus of the present invention, the cathode having the target is placed on the insulating member attached to the inner wall surface of the film forming reaction chamber of the vacuum chamber. The target and the current introduction plate are sandwiched and fixed so that they are supported.When replacing the target, pull the current introduction plate out of the vacuum chamber and place it on the insulating member in the film formation reaction chamber. The remaining cathode can be easily replaced with a new one by hand or the like, eliminating the need for removal and installation of fixing bolts, greatly reducing the time required for target replacement. Can be shortened.

According to the method for replacing a target of the film forming apparatus of the present invention, the replacement of the cathode having the target can be performed easily and promptly, regardless of whether the target is a non-magnetic substance or a magnetic substance. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a film forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a process of exchanging a target in the same apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a main part configuration of the above device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a film forming apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a process of exchanging a target in the above device.

FIG. 6 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a conventional film forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum chamber 1a Film-forming reaction chamber 6 Cathode 9 Current introduction plate 11 Target 12 Substrate 18 Magnet 22 Insulating member

Claims (4)

[Claims] A vacuum chamber having a film formation reaction chamber therein; a ring-shaped insulating member fixed inside the film formation reaction chamber; and a sputtering material target. A cathode placed on the insulating member with the target facing the same, and a current introduction plate that is electrically connected to the cathode in close contact with the cathode and that is installed so as to be able to enter and leave the film forming reaction chamber. A film forming apparatus, comprising: 2. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a magnetron type sputtering magnet which is magnetically coupled with the current introducing plate so as to come into contact with and separate from the current introducing plate. 3. The method for exchanging a target of a film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the current introducing plate is separated from a cathode having a used nonmagnetic target and drawn out of a film forming reaction chamber. Taking out the cathode mounted on the insulating member in the film forming reaction chamber to the outside of the film forming reaction chamber; mounting a cathode having a new target on the insulating member; Contacting the current introduction plate with the cathode in a state of being in close contact with the cathode. 4. The method for exchanging a target of a film forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a step of separating a magnet from the current introducing plate is performed, and a step of moving the current introducing plate from a cathode having a used target made of a magnetic material. Separating the cathode out of the film formation reaction chamber, and extracting the cathode placed on the insulating member in the film formation reaction chamber to the outside of the film formation reaction chamber. A film forming apparatus comprising: a step of placing the current introducing plate on an insulating member; a step of bringing the current introducing plate into close contact with the target; and a step of bringing the magnet into contact with the current introducing plate. How to replace the target.