JPS609102B2 - Continuous vacuum processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a continuous vacuum processing apparatus for continuously manufacturing element thin films such as semiconductor wafers and communication devices in vacuum.

First, install the subordinate vacuum processing equipment according to Figures 1 and 2.
This will be explained using a sputtering apparatus as an example.

Conventional devices use a substrate that has been stored in a transport jig in advance. That is, as shown in Figure 2,
The substrate 3 has inner grooves 2 of the conveying jig 1, in which members la and lb each having a C-shaped cross section and having inner grooves 2 are arranged to face each other.
The two are joined together and stored. The conventional sputtering apparatus, as shown in FIG. Intake chamber 1 of sealed box body 7
5, a sealed box body 7, and a pick-up part 1' having a processed substrate from a take-out chamber 21 of the sealed box body 7.

The sealed box body 7 has side walls 8 in order of substrate processing steps in the jig 1.
and partition walls 9, 9', 10, 10', 11, 11', 12
, 12', 13, 13' and a side wall 14.

An intake preliminary chamber 1 is installed on the side wall of the intake chamber 15 near the rail 4.
6 is formed. In addition, the intake room 15 has an intake preliminary room 1.
A fluid pressure cylinder 23 having a sealing lid 24 for 6 is attached, and a pallet of the jig 1 (not shown) is installed in the sealing cylinder 24, and other parts for the intake preliminary chamber are installed outside the intake chamber 15. A hydraulic cylinder 25 is provided having a sealing lid 26;
The side wall 8 of the intake chamber 15 is provided with a fluid pressure cylinder 28 that pushes the jig 1 horizontally toward the transfer surface on the stereotaxic layer 30 in the intake chamber 15. A pipe 27 is attached to the intake chamber 15, and an exhaust pipe 29 is attached to the intake chamber 15. A jig is installed inside the sealed box body 7 from a position approaching a part of the intake chamber 15 to a position extending between the partition walls 9, 9' to 13, 13' and approaching a part of the extraction chamber 21. Rails 30 for transportation are laid. The sputtering chamber 17 is equipped with an exhaust pipe 31 and a sputter etch electrode 32, the heating chamber 18 is equipped with an exhaust pipe 33 and a heater 34, and the sputtering device 19 is equipped with an exhaust pipe 31 and a sputter etch electrode 32.
5 and a sputter electrode 36 are attached to the cooling chamber 2.
An exhaust pipe 37 and a cooling pipe (not shown) are attached to this part. Sputter gas is introduced into the sputter etch chamber 17 and the sputter chamber 19.

A pre-take-out chamber 22 is formed in the take-out chamber 21 on the left side when viewed from the transfer direction on the roll 30. Also, the extraction chamber 21
A hydraulic cylinder 39 is attached to the side wall 14' for receiving the exhaust pipe 38 and the jig 1 from the transfer surface of the rail 30 and transporting the jig 1 to the stereotaxic layer on the left side when viewed from the transfer direction on the rail 30. A hydraulic cylinder 40 is provided for horizontally pushing the oscilloscope out of the stereotactic layer. Further, the extraction chamber 21 is provided with a fluid pressure cylinder 41 having an airtight lid 42 for the extraction preliminary chamber 22, and a pallet of jigs 1 (not shown) is located in front of the airtight lid 42 in the substrate transfer direction. A fluid pressure cylinder 43 having a sealing lid 44 for the preliminary extraction chamber is provided outside the extraction chamber 21, and a pipe 45 is attached to the outer wall 14 for the preliminary extraction chamber 22. A fluid pressure cylinder 46 for pushing the jig 1' out of the sealed box body 7 is installed outside the extraction preparatory chamber 22 which is the extraction part of the tool lr that stores the processed substrate. The exhaust pipes 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37, and 38 are connected to a vacuum pump (not shown), and the pipes 27 and 45 are connected to the vacuum pump (not shown) and the atmosphere so as to be switchable. Each chamber has a conguctance (a value indicating the ease of gas flow) formed by the gap between the partition walls 9, 9' to 13, 13' and the gas shell 1, and a sputter etch chamber 1.
A dynamic equilibrium state is established based on the relationship between the sputtering gas flow rate introduced into the sputtering chamber 7 and the sputtering chamber 19 and the exhaust speed of the exhaust pipe of each chamber, and each chamber has a different degree of vacuum. In the conventional apparatus described above, the jigs 1 containing the substrates are arranged on the rails 4 installed outside the sealed box 7 and are transferred in the direction of the arrow a.

Next, the pick-up tool 1 is moved from the A position to the B position in the direction of arrow b by a fluid pressure cylinder 5 installed at the insertion part disengaged from the tip of the rail 4, and then moved to the B position by another fluid pressure cylinder 6.
Push it in the direction of arrow C from the intake chamber 15, and move it to the C position in the intake preliminary chamber 16, where the intake chamber side is closed with a sealing lid 24 driven by a fluid pressure cylinder 23 provided in the intake chamber 15, and then remove the sealing lid. The battle layer is placed on a pallet attached to 24.

When the pick-up tool 1 is inserted into the C position, the fluid pressure cylinder 25 provided outside the intake chamber 15 is activated, the interior of the intake preliminary chamber 16 is sealed with the sealing lids 24 and 26, and the jig 1 is placed in this position. It is housed in a sealed chamber, and the sealed chamber is evacuated to approximately the same degree of vacuum as the intake chamber 15 through piping 27.

After the sealed chamber is evacuated, the pallet and jig 1 are moved in the direction of arrow d to position E within intake chamber 15, and the sealing lid 24 is moved to position F in the direction of arrow d.

When the jig 1 is moved to the above-mentioned position E, the fluid pressure cylinder 28 attached to the side wall 8 of the intake chamber 15 is activated, and the lining tool 1 is pushed in the direction of arrow e and transferred onto the rail 30.

As a result, the jig 1 mounted on the rail 30 is moved one pitch in the direction of arrow f. After pushing the pick-up tool 1 onto the seal 30 from the E position, the sealing lids 24 and 26 are returned to their original positions shown by solid lines. In the sputter etch chamber 17, a voltage is applied between the sputter etch electrode 32 and the substrate housed in the jig 1, and the ionized sputter gas bombards the substrate surface, thereby sputter etching the substrate surface. Remove minute foreign matter from the surface.

Next, the substrate is heated by the heater 34 in the heating chamber 18 to release impurity gas adsorbed onto the surface of the substrate and occluded inside the substrate, and to raise the temperature to a temperature suitable for sputtering.

Next, in the sputtering chamber 19, by ion bombardment in the opposite direction to the sputter etching process in the sputter etching chamber 17,
A sputtering process is performed to deposit the sputtering material of the sputtering electrode 36 onto the substrate.

Next, the substrate is cooled in the cooling chamber 20, and the jig 1' having the substrate subjected to the desired sputtering treatment is sent to the removal chamber 21.

In the extraction chamber 21, the jig 1' transferred to the G position is sent in the direction of the arrow g by the fluid pressure cylinder 39, and moved to the H position, and then the jig 1 is moved from the H position to the direction of the arrow h by the fluid pressure cylinder 40. It is fed out and transferred to a position on a pallet provided on a sealing lid 42 attached to a hydraulic cylinder 41.

Next, the fluid pressure cylinder 41 is operated to move the sealing lid 42, the pallet, and the jig 1' from the J, 1 position shown by the solid line in the direction of the arrow i, and to the L, K position shown by the broken line.

At this point, the opening □ on the outside of the unloading preliminary chamber 22 is the unloading chamber 2.
When the upper sealing lid 42 moves to the L position, the extraction preliminary chamber 22 is sealed, and the pick-up tool 1' Placed in a closed room.

Atmospheric air is introduced into the sealed chamber through piping 45 to bring the pre-takeout chamber 22 to atmospheric pressure, and then the fluid pressure cylinder 43 moves the sealing lid 44 from the M position to the N position. Next, the fluid pressure cylinder 46 of the take-out section is driven to move the pick-up tool 1' located at position K on the pallet in the direction of arrow j, send it out onto the rail 4, and pick up the jig 1' having the sputtered substrate. Take it out and complete the series of actions.

By sequentially repeating the above operations, vacuum processing is applied to each substrate one by one.

However, according to the conventional apparatus, since the substrate is housed in a jig and subjected to vacuum processing, impurity gas adsorbed by the jig in the atmosphere is brought into the sputtering chamber. It has the drawback of increasing pressure, which has a negative effect on film quality, and the heat capacity of the jig is larger than that of the wafer, so it has the disadvantage of requiring a long time for both heating and cooling.
Since the size of the odor pickup is larger than that of a wafer, there is also the disadvantage that the entire device is larger than when no jig is used.
In addition, since the process is continuous for one substrate, the intake pre-chamber is evacuated from atmospheric pressure to vacuum each time one substrate is introduced, but the evacuation time is often longer than other processing times. However, the disadvantage is that the cycle time of the equipment is limited and production speed cannot be increased, and since the pick-up tool is transported from the intake chamber to the unloading chamber in a uniform takt time, it is difficult to fully heat the substrate, which normally takes a long time. However, since each chamber is evacuated independently, the vacuum evacuation system is complicated. It is an object of the present invention to provide a continuous vacuum processing apparatus which eliminates the drawbacks of the prior art, allows stable processing of substrates, has high productivity, and allows miniaturization of the entire apparatus. It is on offer. That is, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following features:
Along the transfer direction of the substrate, the substrate intake chamber, the first storage chamber, at least one vacuum processing chamber, the second storage chamber, and the extraction chamber are horizontally formed into a U-shape, and the intake chamber is and a take-out chamber are arranged adjacent to each other, an opening/closing means is provided between each of the chambers for allowing the substrate to pass alone, and further, the single substrate is transported in a substantially horizontal posture through the opening/closing means between the adjacent chambers. A belt conveying means is installed in each of the chambers, a vacuum evacuation means is shared among a plurality of chambers and connected to each chamber, and a cassette for storing a large number of substrates at once, and the substrates stored or to be stored in the cassette are provided. A cassette elevator is installed in the intake chamber, the first storage chamber, the second storage chamber, and the take-out chamber, and is installed in the intake chamber, the first storage chamber, the second storage chamber, and the extraction chamber. is provided with at least one vacuum processing means, and the vacuum processing means vacuum-processes the substrates that are sequentially horizontally transported singly from the cassette in the first storage chamber by the belt transport means, and then transported by the belt transport means. This is a continuous vacuum processing apparatus characterized in that the liquid is stored in a cassette in a second storage chamber.

In particular, it is possible to improve the reliability of transport, limit the amount of impurity gas entering the vacuum processing chamber to a maximum of 4,000, and further downsize the entire device by standardizing the vacuum evacuation means. This is because it was configured as follows. The present invention will be explained below based on the drawings.

3, 4, and 5 show an embodiment of the present invention, in which an intake chamber 52, a first A storage chamber 53, a sputter etch chamber 54, a sputter chamber 55, a cooling chamber 56, a second storage chamber 57, and a take-out chamber 58 are divided and formed, and each of these chambers is arranged in a U-shape when viewed from above, and is a closed box. A first external storage means 50 is provided on the intake chamber 52 side outside the body 51, and a second external storage means 59 is provided on the extraction chamber 58 side outside the body 51.

The first external storage means 50 includes a pair of compare belts 6.
0,61, and a cassette elevator 62 having a substrate cassette 63.

The cassette elevator 62 is connected to a drive source (not shown) such as a motor and a ball screw. The cassette 63 is formed so that the substrates 3 can be stored vertically in a shelf-like manner. In this first external storage means 50, the substrate 3 to be processed is stored alone on the compare belts 60, 61, that is, without being stored in a jig.
The board 3 is directly taught and transported to the installation position of the cassette elevator 62, and stored in the shelf of the board cassette 63 at this position. The cassette elevator 62 is intermittently raised by one pitch corresponding to each stage so that it can store a set number of sheets. After storing the set number of sheets, the cassette elevator 62 and the compare belts 600 and 61 cooperate The structure is such that the substrates 3 can be fed one by one from the substrate cassette 63 into the intake chamber 52 by the operation. A gate valve 64 is provided between the first external storage means 50 and the intake chamber 52, that is, on the inlet side wall of the intake chamber 52, and the gate valve 64 includes a fluid pressure cylinder (not shown),
The comparison belts 60 and 61 of the first external storage means 50 perform an opening operation while the substrate 3 is taken into the intake chamber 52.

The intake chamber 52 has compare belts 65, 66, a cassette elevator 67 having a cassette 68, an exhaust port 69 connected to seven vacuum pumps as shown in FIG. 5, a heater, and atmospheric leak means. , the heater and the air leak means are not shown.

The cassette elevator 67 and the board cassette 68 are the cassette elevator 6 of the first external storage means 50.
2 and the substrate cassette 63. In this intake chamber 52, the compare belts 65, 66 receive the substrates 3 one by one from the compare belts 60, 61 of the first external storage means 50 through the gate valve 64, and the substrates 3 are transferred to the substrate cassette through the operation of the cassette elevator 67. 6
After loading the set number of sheets one by one on a shelf board,
The gate valve 64 is closed, the intake chamber 52 is exhausted through the exhaust port 69, and baking is performed to degas the substrate 3 using a heater.
7 and the compare belts 65 and 66 cooperate to feed the substrates 3 from the substrate cassette 68 to the first storage chamber 53 one by one. A gate valve 71 is provided between the intake chamber 52 and the first storage chamber 53,
The gate valve 71 is constructed similarly to the gate valve 64 described above.

The first storage chamber 53 includes compare belts 72, 73,
It includes a cassette elevator 74 having a substrate cassette 75, an exhaust port 76 connected to a vacuum pump, and gas introduction means, but the vacuum pump and gas introduction means are not shown.

The cassette elevator 74 and the substrate cassette 75 are constructed similarly to the cassette elevator 62 and the substrate cassette 63 of the first external storage means 50. The first storage chamber 53 is made to have approximately the same pressure as the intake chamber by adjusting the gas flow rate introduced by the gas introduction means and the exhaust speed of the vacuum pump connected to the exhaust port 76, and then the gate valve 71 is opened and the Compare belt 65 of intake chamber 52,
66 to the compare belt 72 through the gate valve 71
, 73 receive the substrates 3 one by one, and load them into a board cassette 75 in the form of a shelf through the action of the cassette elevator 74. After storing the set number of substrates, the gate valve 71 is closed and the substrates are introduced from the gas introduction means. The gas flow rate and the exhaust speed of the vacuum pump connected to the exhaust port 76 are adjusted so that the pressure is approximately the same as that of the sputter etch chamber 54, and then the cassette elevator 74 and the compare belts 72, 73 cooperate to remove the gas from the substrate cassette 75. The substrate 3 is placed in the sputter etch chamber 54.
It is designed so that it can be fed one sheet at a time. A gate valve 7 is provided between the first storage chamber 53 and the sputter etching chamber 64.
7 is provided, and the gate valve 77 is configured similarly to the gate valve 64.

The sputter etch chamber 54 is equipped with compare belts 78 and 79.
Compare belts 80 and 81 ropes, an elevator 82, a sputter etching electrode 83, an exhaust port 84 connected to a vacuum pump, a gas introduction means, and a heater 85, although the vacuum pump and gas introduction means are not shown in the figure. Omitted.

As shown in FIG. 4, the compare belts 78, 79; 80, 81 are arranged close to each other on the same horizontal plane, and are capable of rotating vertically from a horizontal position with the outer end side as the center of rotation. There is. The elevator 82 is the fourth
As shown in the figure, compare belts 78, 79; 80
, 81 to the center of the sputtering chamber 54 is once transferred to the compare belts 78, 79; 80, 81.
After raising the substrate 3 to a position P which is higher than the conveying surface of the substrate 3, the compare belts 78, 79; 80, 81 rotate in the vertical direction and then lower the substrate 3 to a position Q above the sputter etching electrode 83. The sputter etching electrode 83 is placed in the lower part of the sputter etching chamber 54, and the heater 85 is placed in the upper part. The sputter etch chamber 54 has a flow rate of sputter gas introduced by the gas introduction means and an exhaust port 8.
The pressure is dynamically balanced to a constant pressure determined by the relationship with the evacuation speed of the vacuum pump connected to step 4. In the sputter etch chamber 54, the compare belts 72, 73 in the first storage chamber 53
from the gate valve 77 to the compare belts 78, 7.
9 receives one board 3 and transfers it to the compare belt 78
, 79; 80, 81 to the center of the sputter etch chamber 54, the gate valve 77 is closed, the substrate 3 is then lifted up by the elevator 82, and the compare belt 78
, 79; 80, 81 are rotated in the vertical direction, the substrate 3 is lowered by the elevator 82 to the Q position above the sputter etch electrode 83, and a voltage is applied to the sputter etch electrode 83 to perform a sputter etch process on the substrate 3. Then, the processed substrate 3 is lifted by the elevator 82 to the P position approaching the heater 85, and heated by the heater 85 to a temperature suitable for sputtering, while the compare belts 78, 7
9:80'81 is returned to the horizontal state, the elevator 82 is lowered, and the heated substrate 3 is transferred to the compare belt 78.
, 79; 80, 81, and then sputtering chamber 55.
It is configured so that it can be delivered to A gate valve 86 is provided between the sputter etch chamber 54 and the sputter chamber 55, and the gate valve 86 has the same structure as the gate valve 64. The sputtering chamber 55 has first compare belts 87, 88, a first rising arm 89,
A first sputter electrode 90, an anti-adhesion shield 91 for preventing sputter particles from adhering to the peripheral wall of the sputter chamber, and a second sputter electrode 90.
92, second compare belts 93, 94, second raising arm 95, second sputtering arm 96, second shirt belt 97, first and second compare belts along the ball screw 98. 87, 88: It has a transfer arm 99 that moves between 93 and 94, an exhaust port 100 connected to a vacuum pump, and a gas introduction means, but the vacuum pump and the gas introduction means are not shown.

The sputtering chamber 55 is dynamically balanced at a constant pressure determined by the relationship between the flow rate of the sputtering gas introduced from the gas introducing means and the exhaust speed of the vacuum pump connected to the exhaust row 001. The first and second compare belts 87, 88 are the compare belts 78, 79:80,
81 receives the substrates 3 one by one through the gate valve 86 and transports them in the same direction to the R position where they approach the first rising arm 89. The first lifting arm 89 receives the substrate 3 transferred to the R position in a horizontal state, and rotates approximately 90 degrees vertically from the S position to lift the substrate 3, as shown in FIG. First sputter electrode 90
The first compare belts 87 and 88 are made to stand vertically facing each other, and after sputtering, return to a position lower than the conveying surface of the first compare belts 87 and 88. The first sputtering electrode 92 and the first sputtering electrode 90 are connected to each other after the substrate 3 stands up, the first sputtering electrode 92 opens, and the first sputtering electrode 90 performs the first sputtering process on the substrate 3. After that, the first shirt sleeve 92 is closed. The transport arm 99
are the first and second compare belts 87, 88; 93, 94
Ball screw 98 and motor (not shown) stretched between them
While performing the first sputtering process on the substrate 3, it moves to the T position above the conveyance surface of the first compare belts 87, 88, and at this position, the The substrate 3 that has undergone the first sputtering process is received from the first rising arm 89 , and moved to the U position above the conveying surface of the second compare belts 93 and 94 , and the substrate 3 is transferred to the second rising arm 95 . After the handover, the first
The compare belts 87 and 88 move in the direction of the compare belts 87 and 88. The second raising arm 95 receives the substrate 3 from the transfer arm 99 at the U position, rotates approximately 90 degrees, and
The substrate 3 is stood up in a vertical position directly facing the second sputter electrode 96, and after sputtering, the second compare belt 93
. After the substrate 3 is raised by the second raising arm 95, the second shirt sleeve 97 is opened and the second sputter electrode 96 is opened.
Then, the substrate 3 is subjected to a second sputtering process, and after the sputtering process, the second shirt cover 97 is closed. The second compare belts 93 and 94 receive the substrate 3 that has been subjected to the second sputtering process from the second upright arm 95, and transport it toward the cooling chamber 56. In this sputtering chamber 54, one substrate 3 is received by the first compare belts 87, 88 from the compare belts 78, 79:80, 81 of the sputter etch chamber 53 through the gate valve 86. 86 is closed and the first compare belts 87 and 88 transport the substrate 3 to the R position, the first raising arm 89 rotates the substrate 3 in the vertical direction and stands it up. The first shirt cover 92 is opened, a first sputtering process is performed using the first sputter electrode 90, the first shirt cover 92 is closed, and the first raising arm 89 is rotated horizontally. The substrate 3 subjected to the first sputtering process is transferred from the first start-up arm 89 to the transfer arm 99 waiting at the T position, and the transfer arm 99 is transferred to the second compare belt 9.
3, 94 to the U position, and rotates the second raising arm 95 waiting below the U position to vertically raise the board 3. At this point, the second shirt arm 97 is opened. Then, the substrate 3 is subjected to a second sputtering process using the second sputtering electrode 96, and during this time, the transport arm 99 is moved from the U position in the direction of the first compare belts 87, 88, and the second shirt plate 97 is sputtered. close, rotate the second raising arm 95 horizontally, and open the second compare belts 93, 94.
The sputtered substrate 3 can be transferred to the cooling chamber 56 and transported to the cooling chamber 56. A gate valve 101 is provided between the sputtering chamber 55 and the cooling chamber 56, and the gate valve 101 and the gate valve 64 are constructed in the same machine.

The cooling chamber 56 is connected to the sputter etch chamber 54 and the partition wall 102.
and the compare belt 10
3, 104, an exhaust row 05 connected to a vacuum pump, and a gas introduction means, although the vacuum pump and the gas introduction means are shown in the figure.

Further, the exhaust port 105 is the exhaust port 84 of the sputter etch chamber 54.
The vacuum pump is shared with the sputter etching chamber 54, and the cooling chamber 56 is maintained at the same pressure as the sputter etching chamber 54. In the cooling chamber 56, the substrate 3 is received from the sputtering chamber 55 through the gate valve IQI onto the compare belts 103, 104, and after the substrate 3 is radiatively cooled on the compare belts 103, 104, the substrate 3' as a product is then heated. It is configured such that it can be delivered to the second storage chamber 57. The cooling chamber 5
6 and the second storage chamber 57 is provided with a gate valve 106 having the same structure as the aforementioned gate valve 64.

The second storage chamber 57 is separated from the first storage chamber 53 by the partition wall 10.
The sections are adjacent through 7.

In addition, the second storage chamber 57 has compare belts 108 and 109.
, a cassette elevator 1 having a substrate cassette 111
0, an exhaust row 12 and a gas introduction means are provided, but the gas introduction means is not shown. The cassette elevator 110 and the substrate cassette 111 are the first
The structure is similar to the cassette elevator 62 and substrate cassette 63 of the external storage means 50. The exhaust row 12 is formed into a circular shape with the exhaust port 76 of the first storage chamber 53, and is connected to a common vacuum pump.
A vacuum pump is not shown. This second storage room 5
7, compare belts 103, 104 of the cooling chamber 56
The substrate 3', which is a product, is passed through the gate valve 106 from
The substrates are received one by one and loaded onto the substrate cassette 111 by the cassette elevator 110. When the set number of substrates is stored in the substrate cassette 111, the gate valve 106 is closed, and the gas flow rate introduced by the gas introduction means and the exhaust oil2 are
The pumping speed of the vacuum pump connected to
9, one substrate 3' can be fed from the substrate cassette 111 to the take-out chamber 58. A gate valve 11 is provided between the second storage chamber 57 and the extraction chamber 58.
3 is attached, and the gate valve 113 is constructed in the same manner as the gate valve 64 described above.

The extraction chamber 58 is adjacent to the intake chamber 52 via the partition wall 114. This take-out chamber 58 is equipped with compare belts 115, 116, a cassette tray 117 loaded with substrate cassettes 118, an exhaust port 119, and an atmospheric leak means, but the atmospheric leak means is not shown. The cassette elevator 117 and the substrate cassette 118 are constructed similarly to the cassette elevator 62 and the substrate cassette 63 of the first external storage means 50. The exhaust row 19 is formed in a circular shape with the exhaust port 69 of the intake chamber 52, and is communicated with a common vacuum pump 7. In this take-out chamber 58, the second storage chamber 57
from the compare belts 108, 109 to the gate valve 11
The compare belts 115 and 116 receive the substrates 3' one by one through the cassette elevator 1.
loading the board cassette 1181 through the operation of 17;
After storing the set number of sheets, the gate valve 113 is closed, the exhaust row 19 is closed by a valve (not shown), and then the atmosphere is introduced by the atmosphere leak means to bring the inside of the extraction chamber 58 to atmospheric pressure, which is then compared with the cassette elevator 117. It is configured so that the substrates 3' can be sent out one by one from the substrate cassette 118 by cooperation with belts 115 and 116. A gate valve 120 having the same structure as the gate valve 64 is installed between the extraction chamber 58 and the second external storage means 59, that is, on the side wall of the extraction chamber 58 on the outlet side. The introduction portion of the moving member from the atmosphere side to the indoor side of each of the chambers 52 to 58 is hermetically sealed with a sealing member such as a vacuum bellows or an O-ring.

The second external storage means 59 includes a compare belt 121,
122 and a cassette elevator 23 equipped with a substrate cassette 124.

The cassette elevator 123 and the substrate cassette 124 are constructed similarly to the cassette elevator 62 and the substrate cassette 63 of the first external storage means 50. In this second external storage means 59, the substrate 3' is transferred from the compare belts 115, 116 of the take-out chamber 58 to the gate valve 120 by the compare belts 121, 122.
The substrates 3' are received one by one and conveyed to the set position of the cassette elevator 123. At this position, the cassette elevator 123 loads the substrates 3' into the substrate cassette 124, and after temporarily accumulating the set number of substrates, the cassette elevator 123 and the compare belt 121, 122, the substrates 3' can be pulled out one by one from the substrate cassette 124 and transported. Note that the gate valve 120 is closed when the set number of substrates 3' are stored in the substrate cassette 124.
The continuous sputtering apparatus configured as described above operates as follows.

That is, the compare belt 6 of the first external storage means 50
The substrates 3 to be processed are placed freely on the substrates 0 and 61, and the substrates 3 are transported to the installation position of the cassette elevator 62, and stored one by one on the shelf of the substrate cassette 63. Each time one board 3 is stored, the cassette elevator 62 moves up one pitch corresponding to one shelf, making it possible to store the next board 3 to be transported.

Thereafter, this operation is repeated, and a set number of substrates 3, which are transported irregularly in time, are temporarily accumulated in the substrate cassette 63. When the set number of substrates 3 are stored in the substrate cassette 63, the gate valve 64 on the inlet side of the intake chamber 52 is opened, and the cassette elevator 62 of the first external storage means 50 is lowered one pitch at a time, and the first Compare belts 60 and 61 of external storage means 50 and intake chamber 52
The substrates 3 are transported into the intake chamber 52 one by one by the compare belts 65 and 66. The substrates 3 continuously transported to the intake chamber 52 are stored one by one in a substrate cassette 68 by a cassette elevator 67, and the substrates 3 in the substrate cassette 63 of the first external storage means 50 are transferred to the substrate cassette in the intake chamber 52. When all of the gas is stored in the tube 68, the gate valve 64 is closed, and then the gas is evacuated from the vacuum pump 701 through the exhaust port 69.

At this point, the extraction chamber 58 is also evacuated to the same temperature. While the intake chamber 52 is being evacuated, baking is performed to degas the substrate 3 using a heater, and the intake process is completed. Next, by adjusting the gas flow rate introduced by the gas introduction means and the exhaust speed of the vacuum pump connected to the exhaust port 76, the pressure in the first storage chamber 53 is adjusted to the same level as the pressure in the intake chamber 52. After that, the gate valve 71 between the intake chamber 52 and the first storage chamber 53 is opened, the cassette elevator 74 in the intake chamber 52 is lowered one pitch at a time, and the substrate 3 of the substrate cassette 75 is moved into the intake chamber 52. The substrates are conveyed one by one by the compare belts 65 and 66 and the compare belts 72 and 73 in the first storage chamber 53, and are stored one by one in the substrate cassette 75 by the cassette elevator 74 in the first storage chamber 53, When all the substrates 3 in the substrate cassette 68 in the intake chamber 52 are stored in the substrate cassette 75 in the first storage chamber 53, the gate valve 71 is closed.

After the gate valve 71 is closed, the intake chamber 52 starts again to take in the next lot of substrates 3. Next, by adjusting the gas flow rate introduced by the gas introducing means in the first storage chamber 53 and the exhaust speed of the vacuum pump connected to the exhaust port 76, the pressure in the first storage chamber 53 is adjusted to the level in the sputter etching chamber. It is adjusted to approximately the same level as the pressure inside 54.

After this pressure adjustment, the gate valve 77 between the first storage chamber 53 and the sputter etching chamber 54 is opened, and the first storage chamber 53
The inner cassette elevator 74 is lowered one pitch at a time,
The substrates 3 in the substrate cassette 75 are transported one by one to the center of the sputter-etch chamber 54 by compare belts 72, 73 in the first storage chamber 53 and compare belts 78, 79:80, 81 in the sputter-etch chamber 54. , the gate valve 77 is closed while one substrate 3 is being transferred. When the substrate 3 is transported to the center of the sputter etch chamber 54, the elevator 82 is activated and the substrate 3 is transported to the center of the sputter etch chamber 54.
8, 79; 80, 81 is lifted to a higher position than the conveying surface, and then the compare belt 78, 79; 80, 81
is rotated in the vertical direction, then the elevator 82 is lowered, the substrate 3 is lowered to the Q position above the sputter etch electrode 83, a voltage is applied to the sputter etch electrode 83,
A sputter etch process is performed using the sputter etch electrode 83 to remove foreign matter adhering to the substrate 3 .

After the sputter etching process, the elevator 82 is raised again to the P position where the substrate 3 approaches the heater 85.
The heater 85 is ignited and the temperature is raised to a temperature suitable for sputtering, while the compare belts 78, 79: 80, 81
is rotated horizontally. After heating the substrate 3 with the heater 85, the elevator 82 is lowered again, and the substrate 3 is placed on the compare belts 78, 79:80, 81.
At this point, the gate valve 86 between the sputter etch chamber 54 and the sputter chamber 55 is opened, and the compare belts 78, 79:80, 81 in the sputter etch chamber 54 and the sputter chamber 5
The substrate 3 is transported to the R position of the sputtering chamber 55 by the first compare belts 87 and 88 in the sputtering chamber 55, and the gate valve 86
is closed, and then the gate valve 77 between the first storage chamber 53 and the sputter etching chamber 54 is opened to prepare for the introduction of the next substrate 3. When the substrate 3 is transferred to the R position of the sputtering chamber 55, the first upright arm 89 is rotated from the horizontal S position in the vertical direction, and the first upright arm 89 moves the substrate 3 to the R position. The first sputter electrode 9 is stood vertically facing the first sputter electrode, a voltage is applied to the first sputter electrode 901, the first cover 92 is opened, and the first sputtering process is performed on the substrate 3. The shirt sleeve 92 is closed, and the first sputtering process is completed.

Next, the first raising arm 89 is rotated from the vertical state toward the horizontal direction, and the substrate 3 is transferred to the transport arm 99 at the T position on the first compare belts 87 and 88, and the transport arm 99 is U above the second compare belts 93, 94
moved to position. When the substrate 3 is moved to the U position, the second raising arm 95 is rotated from the horizontal state to the vertical direction, and the substrate 3 is vertically raised directly facing the second sputtering electrode 96. A voltage is applied to the sputter electrode 96, the second cover 95 is opened, the second sputtering process is performed on the substrate 3, the second cover 95 is closed, and the second sputtering process is completed. The reason why the sputtering process is performed twice is to operate without increasing the takt time even when the required film thickness is large. During the second sputtering process, the transport arm 99 is moved to a position away from the second compare belts 93 and 94, and after the second sputtering process is completed, the second raising arm 95 is rotated horizontally. and the board 3 is connected to the second compare belt 93
, 94, war calendar, then sputtering chamber 55 and cooling chamber 56.
After the gate valve 101 between the sputtering chamber 55 and the cooling chamber 56 is opened, the substrate 3 is transported to the cooling chamber 56 by the second compare belts 93, 94 of the sputtering chamber 55 and the compare belts 103, 104 of the cooling chamber 56. The gate valve 101 between the sputter etch chamber 54 and the sputter chamber 55 is closed, and then the gate valve 86 between the sputter etch chamber 54 and the sputter chamber 55 is opened.

The substrate 3 transported to the cooling chamber 56 is transferred to the compare belt 103
, 104 are radiatively cooled.

After cooling the substrate 3, the gate valve 106 between the cooling chamber 56 and the second storage chamber 57 is opened, and the substrate 3 as a product is placed in the cooling chamber 5.
Compare belts 103, 104 in 6 and second storage chamber 5
The comparison belts 108 and 109 in the second storage chamber 57 are used to transport the second storage chamber 57 to the second storage chamber 57. the aforementioned sputter etch chamber 54;
In the sputtering chamber 55 and the cooling chamber 56, the substrates 3 are processed one by one. The substrate 3' conveyed to the second storage chamber 57 is conveyed to the installation position of the cassette elevator 10 by the compare belts 108, 109, and the cassette elevator 110 is raised one pitch at a time.
Boards 3' are stored one by one on the shelf, and the boards 3' are stored in a board cassette 111.

When the set number of substrates 3' are stored in the substrate cassette 111, the gate valve 106 between the cooling chamber 56 and the second storage chamber 57 is closed, and the gas flow rate introduced by the gas introduction means and the exhaust row 12 are controlled. The pressure in the second storage chamber 57 is adjusted to approximately the same pressure as the pressure in the extraction chamber 58 by adjusting the evacuation speed of the vacuum pumps connected to each other. gate valve 113 is opened. After the gate valve 13 is opened, the cassette elevator 110 in the second storage chamber 57 is lowered one pitch at a time, and the substrates 3' are fed out one by one from the substrate cassette 111, and the substrates 3' are fed out one by one into the second storage chamber 57. compare belt 106,
109 and compare belts 115 and 116 in the extraction chamber 58
The cassette elevator 117 is raised one pitch at a time, and the substrates 3' are stored one by one on the shelves of the substrate cassettes 118, and then transferred to the second storage chamber. The substrate 3' of the substrate cassette 111 in 57 is the substrate cassette 1 in the extraction chamber 58.
18, the gate valve 113 between the second storage chamber 57 and the extraction chamber 58 is closed, and the exhaust port 19 is closed.
9 is closed by a valve not shown, the atmosphere is introduced from the atmosphere leak means, and the extraction chamber 58 is adjusted to atmospheric pressure.
The gate valve 120 between the extraction chamber 58 and the second external storage means 59 is opened.

Next, the compare belts 115 and 116 in the take-out chamber 58 and the cassette elevator 117 work together to pull out the substrates 3' accumulated in the substrate cassette 118 one by one, and transfer them to the compare belt 121 of the second external storage means 59. ,122
The cassette elevator 123 is raised one pitch at a time, the substrate 3' is temporarily loaded into the substrate cassette 124, and the substrate 3' of the substrate cassette 118 in the unloading chamber 58 When the substrate is stored in the substrate cassette 124 of the second external storage means 59, the gate valve 120 is closed.

If necessary, the second external storage means 59 is activated, and the cassette elevator 123 is lowered one pitch at a time, and the substrates 3' are pulled out one by one from the substrate cassette 124, and transferred to the next process through the compare belts 121 and 122. sent to.

By repeating the above operations, the sputtering process can be continuously performed on the substrate. In the above configuration, if radiation cooling alone is insufficient for the cooling chamber 56, conductive cooling means may be added, such as bringing a water cooling rod into direct contact with the substrate.

In the illustrated embodiment, the sputter processing chamber is composed of the sputter etch chamber 54, the sputter chamber 55, and the cooling chamber 56, but depending on the application, one or both of the sputter etch chamber 54 and the cooling chamber 56 may be omitted. It's okay.

Further, in the illustrated embodiment, a pair of compare belts constitutes a conveyance means capable of conveying the substrate in a substantially horizontal position, and a cassette elevator and a substrate cassette constitute a substrate storage means.
Although the gate valve constitutes an opening means that opens only when the substrate passes, these are not limited to the configuration of the illustrated embodiment.

Further, the sputter etching electrode, the heater, the sputter electrode, the vacuum cleaner, and the cooling means constitute the vacuum processing means, and the exhaust port and the vacuum pump constitute the evacuation means.

The present invention has the structure and operation described in detail above.3 According to the present invention, each chamber can perform the processing independently and appropriately, and as a result, stable processing can be performed on the substrate with high productivity and It can be formed continuously, and since each chamber is arranged in a U-shape when viewed from the horizontal plane, the evacuation means for multiple chambers can be shared.
Furthermore, since the intake chamber and unloading chamber are installed in one place, cassettes containing processed substrates can be received near cassettes containing unprocessed substrates, which greatly improves equipment layout and workability. It has the advantage that the device as a whole can be made more compact.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional device, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a combination of a substrate and its jig to be fed to the conventional device. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional plan view of an embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are cross-sectional views taken along the plate line and V-V line in FIG. 3. 3... Substrate, 3'... Substrate serving as a product, 50... First external storage means, 51... Sealed box body, 52... Intake chamber, 53... First storage chamber, 54...・Sputter etch chamber, 55... Sputter chamber, 56... Cooling chamber, 57.
...Second storage chamber, 58...Removal chamber, 59...Second
external storage means, 60, 61; 65, 66: 72, 73
;78,79:80,81:87,88:93,94;
103,104:108,109:115,116;1
21, 122... Compare belt constituting the conveyance means, 62, 67, 74, 110, 117, 123... Cassette tray constituting the substrate storage means, 63, 68
, 75, 111, 118, 124...Same board cassette, 64, 71, 77, 86, 101, 106, 113,
120...Gate valve as closing means, 69, 76,
84, 100, 105, 112, 119...Exhaust port constituting the vacuum means, 70...The same vacuum pump, 82...
- Elevator in the sputter etching chamber, 83... Sputter etching electrode constituting the vacuum processing means, 85... The same heater, 89, 95... First and second raising arms serving as means for raising the substrate, 90, 96... First and second sputtering electrodes constituting the vacuum processing means, 91... Adhesion prevention shield, 92, 93... First and second shirt cover, 99...
Transfer arm for substrates in the sputtering chamber. O' Zuzai to Zuzu (Boo 4 Zuzu Shozu

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Along the direction of substrate transfer, the substrate intake chamber, the first
a storage chamber, at least one vacuum processing chamber, a second storage chamber,
and the take-out chamber is arranged horizontally in a U-shape, and the take-in chamber and the take-out chamber, the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber are arranged adjacent to each other,
An opening/closing means for allowing a single substrate to pass through is provided between each of the chambers, and a belt conveying means for conveying a single substrate in a substantially horizontal position through the opening/closing means between adjacent chambers is installed in each of the chambers, A cassette for storing a large number of substrates at once by commonizing a vacuum evacuation means for a plurality of chambers and connecting them to each chamber, and a single substrate contained in or to be stored in the cassette are sequentially loaded onto the belt conveying means. A cassette elevator for taking in the cassettes from the belt conveying means is installed in the taking-in chamber, a first storage chamber, a second storage chamber, and a take-out chamber, and at least one vacuum processing means is provided in the real processing chamber. The substrates are sequentially transported horizontally from the cassette in the first storage chamber by the belt transport means, and are vacuum-treated by the vacuum processing means, and then transported by the belt transport means to the second storage chamber. A continuous vacuum processing device characterized by being housed in a cassette in a chamber.