JPH11315371A - Plasma source of vacuum film forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a plasma source of a vacuum film forming device good in operability in assembling operation and small in bodily fatigue. SOLUTION: This plasma source is composed of a primary intermediate electrode 11 superposed on the back side of a secondary intermediate electrode 12 and an insulating tube 15 fitted to the back side of the primary intermediate electrode 11, insulating rings 21 are fitted to the fronts of the primary and secondary intermediate electrodes 11 and 12 by using set members 80, each set member 80 has a rim 82 in the outer circumference, the inner circumference of the rim 82 has an inside diameter so as to be joined and inserted to the outer circumference of each intermediate electrode 11 and 12, each insulating ring 21 has difference in level 23 in the outer circumference, and the difference in level 23 has an outside diameter so as to be inserted to the inside of the set member 80.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a plasma source for a vacuum film forming apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a plasma source improved so that an assembling operation can be easily performed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an ion plating apparatus and a plasma CVD apparatus are known as vacuum film forming apparatuses utilizing plasma. As an ion plating apparatus, for example, an apparatus using a pressure gradient type plasma source which is an arc discharge type plasma source or an HCD plasma source is known. Such an ion plating apparatus is provided with a plasma source (plasma beam generator), and generates a plasma beam between a hearth (anode) arranged in a vacuum vessel and the plasma source, and places the plasma beam on the hearth. The placed evaporation material is heated and evaporated. Then, the evaporated metal particles from the deposition material are ionized by the plasma beam, and the ion particles adhere to the surface of the substrate at a negative voltage to form a film on the substrate.

With reference to FIG. 8, this type of ion plating apparatus will be described briefly. The ion plating apparatus includes an airtight vacuum vessel 1, and a plasma source (for example, a pressure gradient plasma gun) 10 is attached to the vacuum vessel 1 via a guide 2.
A steering coil 3 for plasma beam guide is arranged outside the guide portion 2.

A substrate B as an object to be processed is disposed in a vacuum vessel 1 and supported by a transfer device 4, and a DC power supply for negative bias is connected to the substrate B. A hearth (anode part) 5 is arranged on the bottom surface of the vacuum vessel 1 so as to face the substrate B. Further, a gas inlet 8 for introducing a carrier gas such as Ar gas is formed on a side wall of the vacuum vessel 1 and an exhaust port 9 for exhausting the inside of the vacuum vessel 1 is formed.

In the plasma source 10, a first intermediate electrode 11 for converging a plasma beam and a second intermediate electrode 12 are arranged concentrically and overlapped. The first intermediate electrode 11 has a permanent magnet 13 built therein so that the magnetic pole axis is parallel to the center axis of the plasma source 10, and the second intermediate electrode has a coil 14 built therein.

The plasma source 10 is provided with an insulating tube (for example, a glass tube) 15 which communicates with a passage defined by the first and second intermediate electrodes 11 and 12.
The Mo cylinder 16 is arranged in the inside 5. And this M
A Ta pipe 17 is arranged in the o-cylinder 16. Mo
The space defined by the cylinder 16 and the Ta pipe 17 is isolated by an annular plate 18 made of LaB6. The above-mentioned insulating tube 15, M
o One end of the cylinder 16 and the Ta pipe 17 is a conductor plate 19
Mounted on A carrier gas g is introduced from a carrier gas inlet 19a formed in the conductor plate portion 19,
This carrier gas g passes through the Ta pipe 17.

The negative end of the variable power source E is connected to the conductor plate 19, and the positive end is connected to the first and second intermediate electrodes 11 and 12 via resistors R1 and R2, respectively. On the other hand, hearth 5 is connected to variable power supply E and resistors R1 and R2.

In the above-described ion plating apparatus, when the carrier gas g is introduced from the carrier gas inlet 19a, a discharge starts between the first intermediate electrode 11 and the Mo cylinder 16. Thereby, the plasma beam P is generated. The plasma beam P is guided by the steering coil 3 and reaches the hearth 5 used as an anode. When the plasma beam P is given to the hearth 5, the vapor deposition material M stored in the hearth 5 is heated by Joule heating and evaporates. The evaporated metal particles are ionized by the plasma beam P and adhere to the surface of the substrate B to which the negative voltage is applied, and a film is formed on the substrate B.

In a plasma CVD apparatus, the inside of a vacuum vessel is evacuated, a source gas is introduced from a source gas inlet, a plasma beam is generated from a plasma source and guided to an anode, and a film is formed on a substrate by plasma. However, the configurations of the vacuum vessel and the plasma source are substantially the same.

[0010]

Incidentally, the plasma source 10 of the vacuum film forming apparatus is assembled as shown in FIG. First, an insulating ring 21 made of ceramic or Teflon, in which O-rings 22 are fitted in grooves on both sides, is placed on the back surface (the right side in the figure) of the second intermediate electrode 12, and the first intermediate electrode 11 is further stacked. , Adjust the phases of the bolt holes. Next, insert the insulation sleeve 101 and long bolt 10 into the bolt holes.
2 is inserted to penetrate the first intermediate electrode 11 and the second intermediate electrode 12. While the worker temporarily holds the temporarily combined state, the front surface of the second intermediate electrode 12 (left side in the figure)
Ring 21 with O-rings 22 fitted on both sides
And screw the long bolt 102 into the flange 2a of the guide portion 2 on the vacuum vessel side. In this way, the first and second
After assembling the intermediate electrodes 11 and 12, the insulating tube 15 is attached to the back surface of the first intermediate electrode 11. This insulating tube 15
Is mounted on the first intermediate electrode 11 by using the mounting flange 103.
The conductor 104 is screwed into the insulation tube 15 through the mounting flange 105.
The bolt 106 is screwed in through this.

However, the above-mentioned assembling operation is performed by removing the long bolts 102 from the temporary assembly of the first intermediate electrode 11 and the second intermediate electrode 12.
Of the insulation sleeve 101
, And the O-ring 22 falls, so that the workability is very poor. Also, since the first and second intermediate electrodes 11 and 12 must be held with one hand during the assembly work,
This is a physically demanding task. Further, although not shown, an O-ring is interposed between the negative end of the insulating tube 15 and the first intermediate electrode 11 and between the other end of the insulating tube 15 and the conductor plate portion 19, There is a problem that an O-ring (not shown) is likely to drop when the insulating tube 15 or the conductor plate 19 is mounted.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a plasma source of a vacuum film forming apparatus which can be easily assembled and requires little physical fatigue.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a plasma source for a vacuum film forming apparatus comprises: a second intermediate electrode; a first intermediate electrode mounted on a back side of the second intermediate electrode; What is claimed is: 1. A plasma source for a vacuum film forming apparatus comprising: an insulating tube attached to the back side of an intermediate electrode; and a conductor plate attached to an inlet side of the insulating tube, wherein An insulating ring having O-rings set on both front and back surfaces is interposed between the mounting members, and O-rings are set on both front and back surfaces between the back surface of the second intermediate electrode and the front surface of the first intermediate electrode. Each of the insulating rings is attached to the front surface of the first and second intermediate electrodes using a set member. The plasma source of the vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each of the set members is formed in a ring shape, is attached to each of the intermediate electrodes via a support means, and each of the insulating rings is formed on an outer periphery. There is a step, and the step has an outer diameter that fits the inner diameter of each of the set members. The plasma source of the vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the plasma source includes a second intermediate electrode, a first intermediate electrode mounted on the back side of the second intermediate electrode, and the first intermediate electrode.
What is claimed is: 1. A plasma source for a vacuum film forming apparatus comprising: an insulating tube attached to a back side of an intermediate electrode; and a conductor plate portion attached to an inlet side of the insulating tube. A rim for housing and positioning the outlet end of the tube is formed, and a rim for housing and positioning the inlet end of the insulating tube is formed on the front side of the conductor plate portion. I do.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the respective insulating rings on which the O-rings are set are respectively set by the setting members.
Since there is no possibility of dropping by being attached to the first and second intermediate electrodes, the attaching operation can be easily performed. Further, by using the set member, the distance between the second intermediate electrode and the vacuum vessel side mounting member and the distance between the first intermediate electrode and the second intermediate electrode can be fixed. The damage of the ring can be prevented. Furthermore, since there is no space between the second intermediate electrode and the vacuum vessel and between the first intermediate electrode and the second intermediate electrode, it is possible to prevent sparks due to a voltage rise. According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the insulating ring is fitted to the inner periphery of each ring-shaped set member and is attached to the intermediate electrode in that state, the insulating ring can be easily attached to the intermediate electrode. According to the invention of claim 3,
When one end of the insulating tube is inserted into the rim on the back surface of the first intermediate electrode, the insulating tube is positioned and held, so that the mounting operation can be performed without taking a hand to prevent the O-ring from dropping. When the rim on the front of the part is inserted and positioned and held, the mounting work can be performed without taking a hand to prevent the O-ring from dropping. Therefore, the workability of the assembling work is good and the physical fatigue is small.

[0015]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a plasma source 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view around a set member 80, FIG. 3 is a front view of an example of the set member 80, and FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the mounting structure of the insulating tube 15, and FIG.
FIG. 6 is a view taken along line VI.

The plasma source of the present invention can be applied to the vacuum film forming apparatus shown in FIG. 8 and also to the vacuum film forming apparatus shown in FIG. Vacuum container 1 in the device of FIG.
The guide 2, the steering coil 3, the hearth 5, and the like are substantially the same as those in the apparatus shown in FIG.

In the apparatus shown in FIG. 7, the transport mechanism 40 is specifically shown. The transfer mechanism 40 includes a transfer chamber main body 41 and an opening 4 provided on the handling chamber side of the transfer chamber main body 41.
2, a traveling rail 43 provided over substantially the entire length in the longitudinal direction of the transport chamber main body 41, a transport vehicle 44 traveling on the travel rail 43, and a chain (or belt) 45 for moving the transport vehicle 44; It comprises a sprocket 47 that engages with the chain 45, and a variable speed motor that drives the sprocket 47. Note that an opening is formed in a region of the transport trolley 44 corresponding to the mounting surface of the workpiece B. This is for exposing the lower surface side of the material to be processed B on the transport carriage 44 to the vacuum vessel 1 side.

Next, the plasma source 10 of the present embodiment will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 1, both the first intermediate electrode 11 and the second intermediate electrode 12 form steps 31 and 32 having a shape in which the outer peripheral edge on the back side is cut off in a circular shape, and house permanent magnets and coils. First and second flange portions 33 and 34 having a smaller thickness than the central portion are provided. Further, bolt holes 35, 36 are formed in the first and second flange portions 33, 34 at regular intervals in the circumferential direction.

On the other hand, a female screw hole 37 is provided in the flange portion 2a of the guide portion 2 (corresponding to an attachment member in the claims) on the vacuum vessel side so as to correspond to the bolt hole 36. Further, female screw holes 38 are formed in the second flange portion 34 alternately with the bolt holes 34.

An insulating sleeve 51 and a fastening bolt 54 are inserted into the bolt hole 35 of the first flange 33,
An insulating sleeve 61 and a fastening bolt 64 are inserted into the bolt hole 36 of the flange portion 34. As shown in FIG. 2, the insulating sleeve 61 is configured such that a receiving seat 62 and a tubular portion 63 are integrally formed. The receiving seat 62 is a dish-shaped part with a side wall for accommodating the head 65 of the fastening bolt 64. The cylindrical portion 63
Is shorter than the threaded portion 66 of the fastening bolt 64 and the guide portion 2
Has a length that abuts the surface of the.

The insulating sleeve 51 and the fastening bolt 54 passed through the bolt hole 35 of the first flange 33 have substantially the same structure as the insulating sleeve 61 and the fastening bolt 64.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 80 denotes a set member which has a function of holding the insulating rings 21, 21 on the front surfaces of the first intermediate electrode 11 and the second intermediate electrode 12.

The details of the set member 80 will be described with reference to FIGS. The set member 80 includes an annular ring portion 81
A rim 82 is formed on the outer periphery of the first rim 82, and the inner diameter of the rim 82 is fitted to the outer periphery of the first intermediate electrode 11 and the second intermediate electrode 12 by interference fitting. Then, the fastening bolts 54, 6 are provided on the ring portion 81 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction.
4 and a hole 83 through which the insulating sleeves 51 and 61 pass are formed.

On the other hand, a step 23 is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the insulating ring 21, and the inner diameter of the set member 80 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the step 23. The step 23 of the ring 21 is pressed and held on the front surfaces of the first intermediate electrode 11 and the second intermediate electrode 12. For this reason, the assembling work can be performed in a state where the O-ring 22 inserted in the groove 24 on the back surface side of the insulating ring 21 does not have to worry about dropping at all.

The thickness of the set member 80 is equal to or substantially equal to the gap between those members when the second intermediate electrode 12 is assembled to the guide portion 2. In the assembled state, the distance between the second intermediate electrode 12 and the flange 2a of the guide portion 2, and the first intermediate electrode 11 and the second intermediate electrode 1
2, the insulating ring 22 can be prevented from being broken when the fastening bolts 54 and 64 are screwed, and a spark can be prevented from occurring when the voltage rises between them.

In the present invention, the set member is the same as that shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the set member 80A may be formed of a plurality of radial pieces 84 that are discontinuous in the circumferential direction instead of the ring shape. In the setting member 80A, holes 83 are formed in each of the radial pieces 84 in accordance with the rim 82 and the mounting position in the circumferential direction. In such a setting member 80A, the insulating ring 2 when the fastening bolts 54 and 64 are tightened is also used.
2 can be prevented from being destroyed. Also, the set member 8
As means for supporting the first and second intermediate electrodes 11 and 12 to support the inner diameter of the rim 82 of the set member 80 with respect to the outer periphery of the first and second intermediate electrodes 11 and 12, a support means is used. However, separately, the set members 80 and 80A
Support means for supporting the second intermediate electrodes 11 and 12 with bolts or the like may be used.

Next, the mounting structure of the insulating tube 15 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a circumferential packing groove 91 for receiving the O-ring 22 is formed on the back surface of the first intermediate electrode 11 to which one end of the insulating tube 15 is attached. A rim 92 is formed on the outside in the direction. The inner diameter of the rim 92 is slightly larger than the outer circumference of the mounting flange 15a at one end of the insulating tube 15.

A circumferential packing groove 93 for receiving the O-ring 22 is formed on the front surface of the conductor plate 19 attached to the other end of the insulating tube 15. A rim 94 is formed. The inner diameter of the rim 94 is the same as the mounting flange 15b at the other end of the insulating tube 15.
Slightly larger than the outer circumference.

The rim 92 is useful for supporting and positioning the insulating tube 15 when the insulating tube 15 is attached to the first intermediate electrode 11, so that the physical load for supporting the insulating tube 15 is reduced and the O-ring 22 is prevented from falling. It is easier to prevent. Further, the rim 94 is useful for supporting and positioning the conductor plate portion 19 when the conductor plate portion 19 is attached to the other end of the insulating tube 15, so that the physical load for supporting the conductor plate portion 19 is reduced, and the O-ring 22 is provided. It is easy to prevent falling.

In FIGS. 5 and 6, reference numeral 71 denotes a mounting flange for the insulating tube 15, which is divided into two and has an appropriate number of bolt holes 75 through which bolts 72 are passed. When the mounting flange 71 is applied to the mounting flange portion 15a of the insulating tube 15 and the mounting bolt 72 is passed through the bolt hole 75 and screwed into the female screw hole 77 of the first intermediate electrode 11, the insulating tube 15 is brought into the first intermediate position. It can be attached to the electrode 11.

Reference numeral 73 denotes a flange for mounting the conductor plate portion 19,
It is divided into two parts, and an appropriate number of bolt holes 76 for passing bolts 74 are formed. The mounting flange 73 is applied to the mounting flange portion 15b of the insulating tube 15, and the mounting bolt 74 is passed through the bolt hole 76 and screwed into the female screw hole 78 of the conductive plate portion 19. Can be mounted on

Next, a method of assembling the plasma source 10 of the above embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. First, on the front surface of the second intermediate electrode 12, an insulating ring 21 on which O-rings 22 are set on both sides is placed, and a set member 80 is fitted on the front surface side of the second intermediate electrode 12, and the insulating ring 21 is fixed.
Next, the insulating sleeve 61 and the fastening bolt 64 are inserted into each of the bolt holes 35 of the second flange portion 34. Then, the fastening bolt 64 is inserted into the female screw hole 3 of the flange portion 2a on the vacuum vessel side.
7, and only the second intermediate electrode 12 is attached.

Next, an insulating ring 21 in which O-rings 22 are set on both front and back surfaces is placed on the front surface of the first intermediate electrode 11.
The set member 80 is fitted on the front side of the first intermediate electrode 11, and the insulating ring 21 is fixed. Next, the insulating sleeve 51 and the fastening bolt 54 are inserted into each bolt hole 35 of the first flange portion 33. Then, when the fastening bolt 54 is screwed in, the first intermediate electrode 11 is mounted on the back surface of the second intermediate electrode 12 so as to overlap.

Further, one end of the insulating tube 15 is put into the rim 92 of the first intermediate electrode 11 and tightened with a bolt 72 via a mounting flange 71, and the rim 94 of the conductor plate portion 19 is attached to the other end of the insulating tube 15. May be extrapolated and tightened with bolts 74 via the mounting flange 73.

As described above, the plasma source 10 of this embodiment is
According to this, the set member 80 makes it easier to prevent the O-ring 22 from dropping, thereby improving workability. In addition, attachment of the insulating tube 15 to the first intermediate electrode 11 and attachment of the conductor plate portion 19 to the insulating tube 15 can be easily performed, and workability is improved.

In the state assembled as described above, the distance between the second intermediate electrode 12 and the guide portion 2 on the vacuum vessel 1 side and the distance between the first intermediate electrode 11 and the second intermediate electrode 12 are fixed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the first and second insulating rings 21 from being damaged due to excessive tightening of the fastening bolts 54 and 64. Further, since there is no space between the second intermediate electrode 12 and the guide portion 2 of the vacuum vessel 1 and between the first intermediate electrode 11 and the second intermediate electrode 12, it is possible to prevent a spark due to an increase in voltage.

[0037]

According to the plasma source of the vacuum film forming apparatus of the first aspect, since there is no danger of the insulating ring on which the O-ring is set falling, the mounting operation can be easily performed, and the fastening bolt is tightened by the set member. Breakage of the insulating ring due to excessive penetration can be prevented, and sparking due to a rise in voltage between the second intermediate electrode and the vacuum vessel and between the first intermediate electrode and the second intermediate electrode can be prevented. According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the insulating ring is fitted to the inner periphery of each ring-shaped set member and is attached to the intermediate electrode in that state, the insulating ring can be easily attached to the intermediate electrode. According to the plasma source of the vacuum film forming apparatus according to the third aspect, the insulating tube can be attached without preventing the O-ring from falling, and the conductor plate portion can also be prevented from falling by the O-ring. The mounting work can be performed without taking a hand, so that the workability of the assembling work is improved and the physical fatigue is reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a plasma source 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view around a set member 80.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a setting member 80.

FIG. 4 is a front view of another example 80A of the setting member.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing a mounting structure of the insulating tube 15.

FIG. 6 is a view taken along line VII in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of an example of a vacuum film forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a basic configuration of a vacuum film forming apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional plasma source.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Plasma source 11 1st intermediate electrode 12 2nd intermediate electrode 15 Insulation tube 19 Conductor plate part 31, 32 Step 33, 34 Flange part 35, 36 Bolt hole 51, 61 Insulation sleeve 54, 64 Fastening bolt 71, 73 Mounting flange 72, 74 bolt 80 set member

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A second intermediate electrode, a first intermediate electrode mounted on the back side of the second intermediate electrode, an insulating tube mounted on the back side of the first intermediate electrode, and an inlet of the insulating tube. A plasma source for a vacuum film forming apparatus comprising: a conductive plate portion attached to the side; and an insulating member in which O-rings are set on both front and back surfaces between the front surface of the second intermediate electrode and the mounting member on the vacuum vessel side. A ring is interposed, and an insulating ring having O-rings set on both front and back surfaces is interposed between the back surface of the second intermediate electrode and the front surface of the first intermediate electrode, and each of the insulating rings serves as a set member. A plasma source for a vacuum film forming apparatus, wherein said plasma source is mounted on a front surface of said first and second intermediate electrodes. 2. Each of said set members is formed in a ring shape, and is attached to each intermediate electrode via a support means. Each of said insulating rings has a step on its outer periphery, and said step is 2. The plasma source according to claim 1, wherein the plasma source has an outer diameter that fits into the inner diameter of each of the set members. 3. A second intermediate electrode, a first intermediate electrode mounted on the back side of the second intermediate electrode, an insulating tube mounted on the back side of the first intermediate electrode, and an inlet of the insulating tube. A rim for accommodating and positioning the outlet end of the insulating tube on the back side of the first intermediate electrode, comprising: A rim for accommodating and positioning an end of the insulating tube on the inlet side is formed on a front side of the conductor plate portion.