JPS6348947B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention The present invention is applicable to sputtering equipment, vapor deposition equipment, ion plating equipment, plasma CVD equipment, etc.
The present invention relates to an improvement in a thin film forming apparatus that forms a thin film by depositing target particles on a substrate under vacuum, and more particularly to a thin film forming apparatus equipped with an improved viewing window that allows observation of the film forming state over a long period of time.

In the thin film forming apparatus described above, observing the part where the target particles are generated (for example, the target) or the part on which the thin film is deposited (the substrate) is particularly effective in discovering abnormalities in film formation, such as abnormalities in the target or the substrate. It is a means.

However, conventionally used thin film forming apparatuses use a method in which the target or substrate is directly viewed through a viewing window in which glass is attached directly or via a short tube to the flange of a through hole formed in the wall of the apparatus main body. ing. In this conventional method, if the thin film is manufactured for a long time, the glass of the viewing window becomes opaque due to the adhesion of scattered particles, making it impossible to observe the inside of the device, which may lead to abnormalities in the target or damage to the substrate. A problem arises in that abnormalities cannot be monitored. To solve this problem, a shielding plate is installed between the viewing window and the observation part, and by keeping the shielding as much as possible, that is, by shortening the monitoring time to the minimum necessary, it is possible to prevent the glass from becoming opaque. The current situation is that we are dealing with it. However, depending on the installation position of the shielding plate (when the distance between the viewing window and the shielding plate is long), the thin film can be produced for a long time despite the installation of the shielding plate due to scattered particles getting around. There were many inconvenient cases in which the glass became opaque, making it impossible to observe when attempting to observe it.

The present invention has been made to solve the current situation, and does not cause the viewing window to become opaque due to adhesion of foreign matter, especially film-forming particles, and has a simple structure that can be easily applied to existing thin film forming apparatuses.

That is, the present invention provides a thin film forming apparatus for forming a thin film on a substrate under vacuum as described above, in which a viewing window is provided in the main body of the equipment via a cylinder bent to such an extent that scattered particles cannot reach the viewing window. , is characterized in that a mirror is provided at the bent portion, and the interior can be observed through the viewing window through the mirror.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be explained below using a sputtering apparatus as an example with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of the above embodiment.

As is clear from the figure, the configuration related to film formation is well-known as a sputtering device, and as is well-known, after the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 is brought to a predetermined degree of vacuum by the evacuation system 2, argon etc. are supplied from the gas introduction system 3. A predetermined sputter gas is introduced, and power is supplied to the target 4 from a sputter power source (not shown),
A target 4 is sputtered to form a thin film on a substrate 5 according to the composition of the target 4. Note that 6 in the figure is a target holder, and 7 in the figure is a substrate holder. By the way, the viewing window 10 for observing the inside of the vacuum chamber 4 is provided as follows. That is, a through hole 11 is provided in the side wall of the vacuum chamber 1 facing the target 4, the substrate 5, and the discharge area therebetween so that the state of film formation can be observed. One end of the letter-shaped cylindrical body 12 is brought into contact with the through hole 11 by flanges 13a and 13b, and a mirror 14 for reflection is attached to the bent part of the cylindrical body 12 and rotated around an adjustment shaft 15 so that the incident angle θ can be adjusted. The viewing window 10 is provided movably, and the other end of the cylindrical body 12 is sealed with a glass plate via flanges 16a and 16b. In addition, adjustment axis 1
5 extends outside the cylindrical body 12 and is provided with an adjustment knob (not shown) so that the angle of incidence θ of the mirror 14 can be adjusted from the outside to enlarge the observation area.

As mentioned above, since the observation path I through which the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 is observed from the viewing window 10 by the mirror 14 is bent at a substantially right angle so that the viewing window 10 does not face the inside of the vacuum chamber 1, the particle generation section A certain target 4
The particles scattered from the glass do not reach the viewing window 10 at all, and the glass of the viewing window 10 is effectively prevented from becoming opaque.

By the way, since the mirror 14 faces the inside of the vacuum chamber 1, adhesion of scattered particles is unavoidable, but if the scattered particles are of high light reflectance, such as metal elements, the adhesion of particles may cause the formation of a mirror surface. Therefore, there is no problem. Thus, it is suitable for a thin film forming apparatus for thin films with high light reflectance, especially metal thin films. Furthermore, even in the case of thin films with low light reflectance, they can be used for a longer period of time than before, probably because mirror reflection is used. Furthermore, use the aforementioned adjustment knob to always keep the back side facing the inside of the vacuum chamber 1.
By flipping it over to the mirror side for observation only when necessary, monitoring can be carried out for a long period of time that is practically sufficient.

In addition, the connection part is a flange connection so that it can be easily attached and detached, so it is convenient for regular cleaning etc.

Although the present invention has been described above based on Examples, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to these Examples.

Although the sputtering apparatus has been described as an example, it is clear from the spirit of the present invention that it can be applied to various thin film forming apparatuses that deposit target particles on a substrate under vacuum to form a thin film.

Further, although a plane mirror without image deformation is shown as the mirror, it goes without saying that a convex mirror or the like can also be applied. Using a convex mirror is advantageous in expanding the field of view. Furthermore, if a polygon mirror is used centered on the adjustment axis, there is an advantage that when a film with low light reflectance is to be formed, the monitoring time can be greatly lengthened by sequentially rotating the mirror.

Furthermore, although an L-shaped cylinder is shown, it is clear from the spirit of the present invention that it is sufficient that the cylinder is bent to such an extent that scattered particles cannot reach the viewing window. The specific bending angle is influenced by the cylinder diameter, cylinder length, mirror size, etc., and must be determined experimentally.

As described above, the present invention provides a mirror at the bent part of the cylinder which is bent to the extent that particles do not scatter to the viewing window provided at the tip, and the interior is reflected by the mirror for observation. This thin film forming apparatus is characterized by the following: it can be implemented in various ways, it has a simple configuration and allows long-term internal observation, and it greatly contributes to improving the performance of the thin film forming apparatus.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a structural diagram of a sputtering device according to the present invention. 1: Vacuum chamber, 4: Target, 5: Substrate, 1
0: Peephole, 12: Cylinder, 14: Mirror.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a thin film forming apparatus for forming a thin film on a substrate under vacuum, a viewing window is provided in the main body of the equipment via a cylindrical body bent to such an extent that scattered particles cannot reach the viewing window, and A thin film forming apparatus characterized in that a mirror is provided at the bent portion, and the interior can be observed from a viewing window through the mirror. 2. The thin film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least the reflection angle of the mirror is adjustable from the outside. 3. The thin film forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the mirror is a polygon mirror. 4. The thin film forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the thin film is a metal thin film.