KR101358742B1 - Apparatus for going up and coming down baffle, and manufacturing machine FPD having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a baffle elevating apparatus for changing a height by moving a baffle that maintains a constant density of a plasma provided when processing a semiconductor wafer, glass, or the like, up and down. A flat panel display device manufacturing apparatus.

Here, the baffle elevating device is located between the stage and the wall of the chamber so that the inside of the chamber is partitioned up and down, while the baffle is installed to be movable. It is characterized by consisting of a plurality of operating rod (Operating Rod) installed in a penetrating form and the operating means for moving the plurality of operation rod up and down.

Meanwhile, the baffle elevating device may further include a rod plate on which a lower end of the manipulation rod is mounted, in which case the operating means is configured to move the load plate up and down rather than the manipulation rod.

Chamber, rack, motor, baffle, stage, cam, eccentric wheel, flat panel display element, pinion

Description

Baffle elevating device and flat panel display device manufacturing device having same {Apparatus for going up and coming down baffle, and manufacturing machine FPD having the same}

1 is a schematic diagram showing a general process chamber.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the baffle shown in FIG. 1.

3 is a block diagram illustrating a process chamber to which a baffle elevating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied, and shows a state in which a baffle is lowered.

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG.

5 is a bottom perspective view of the baffle shown in FIG. 3.

6 is a perspective view showing the main part of the baffle elevating apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, showing a state when the baffle is raised.

7 is a front view showing the main part of the baffle elevating apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a front view showing the main part of the baffle elevating apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a block diagram illustrating a process chamber to which a baffle elevating apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention is applied.

10 is a bottom perspective view exemplarily illustrating that the baffle of the baffle elevating apparatus according to the first to third embodiments of the present invention may be configured differently.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS

20: chamber 42: upper electrode assembly

44: lower electrode assembly 50: baffle

62: operating rod 64: rod operating means

64C: plate operating means 66, 66C: cam

66A: Eccentric Ring 66B: Rack and Pinion

68, 68C: drive unit 74: bellows

80: load plate

The present invention relates to a baffle elevating device and a flat panel display device having a height of which a height can be changed by moving a baffle that serves to maintain a constant plasma density required for processing (etching, etc.) a semiconductor wafer, glass, or the like. It relates to a manufacturing apparatus.

In general, an apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor / flat panel display device or the like includes a chamber that provides a processing space for a semiconductor wafer, glass, or the like (hereinafter referred to as a substrate). There is provided a stage in which a substrate to be processed is placed, and a baffle is provided between the periphery of the stage and the wall of the chamber to maintain a constant density of plasma provided to the chamber.

Such chambers, stages, and baffles are similarly applied to semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses, flat panel display device manufacturing apparatuses, and the like. Let's take a look.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Flat panel display devices that have been widely used in recent years include liquid crystal displays, plasma display panels, and organic light emitting diodes. In addition, as a device for manufacturing such a flat panel display device, a vacuum processing apparatus is mainly used. The apparatus includes a process chamber, a load lock chamber, a transfer chamber, and the like.

The process chamber serves to process the substrate such as etching the substrate using plasma under a vacuum atmosphere. The load lock chamber alternates between atmospheric pressure and vacuum to receive a substrate to be processed from the outside and to carry out the processed substrate to the outside. The conveying chamber is equipped with a conveying robot for conveying the substrates between the respective chambers so as to convey the substrate to be processed from the load lock chamber to the process chamber or to convey the processed substrate from the process chamber to the load lock chamber.

1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a process chamber among the described chambers.

As shown in FIG. 1, the process chamber is provided with a gate slit 11g at one side of the wall, opened and closed by a gate valve V1, and a chamber 11 having an exhaust port 11e at the bottom thereof. An upper electrode assembly (12) provided in the chamber (11) and having a shower head for injecting a process gas necessary for processing the substrate, under the upper electrode assembly (12); Lower Electrode Assembly (13) provided in the chamber (11) to be positioned, baffles provided between the lower electrode assembly (13) and the wall of the chamber (11) so that the inside of the chamber (11) is partitioned up and down. (Baffle) 14 and an exhaust pump P1 provided at the upper exhaust port 11e to discharge the process gas (including byproducts) out of the chamber 11 during or after processing of the substrate. For reference, the partitioned upper space in the chamber 11 is a process region where the substrate is processed.

The lower electrode assembly 13 is also referred to as a stage because the lower electrode assembly 13 has a substrate loaded from the load lock chamber on its upper surface. The baffle 14 has a structure in contact with the wall of the chamber 11 and the lower electrode assembly 13, and includes a plurality of slits for easily discharging the process gas in the process region through the exhaust port 11e ( 14s) are provided at regular intervals (see FIG. 2).

As described above, when the process gas is injected into the chamber 11 and power is supplied to the upper electrode assembly 12 and the lower electrode assembly 13, the process gas is in a plasma state, and the substrate is then removed. It is processed by the action of plasma. On the other hand, during the processing of the substrate, the exhaust pump P1 sucks the process gas and discharges it out of the chamber 11. The process gas is blocked by the baffle 14 and passes through the slits 14s by a predetermined amount. It flows to the exhaust port 11e.

However, the process chamber as described above can increase the density of the plasma by raising the baffle 14 while processing the substrate, and conversely, by lowering the baffle 14, the density of the plasma can be lowered. By raising and lowering the airflow of the process gas, the environment can be set optimally according to the progress of the process, but there is a problem that cannot be. In other words, once the height of the baffle 14 is set, the process chamber described above has a structure that cannot be modified during processing of the substrate.

The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and the substrate is processed by installing a baffle so as to be movable, and having a device configured to drive and move the baffle up and down outside the chamber. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a baffle elevating apparatus and a flat panel display device manufacturing apparatus having the same, which can freely and conveniently elevate the baffle.

The baffle elevating apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above technical problem, the baffle is located between the stage and the wall of the chamber so that the interior of the chamber is partitioned up and down while being movable; A plurality of operating rods mounted on the baffle and mounted on the opposite side thereof so as to be movable in the bottom of the chamber; It characterized in that it comprises a rod operating means for moving the plurality of operation rod up and down.

The rod operating means may include a cam having a configuration for moving the operating rod up and down while being installed to be in contact with a lower end of the operation rod, or an eccentric wheel installed to have a circumferential contact with the lower end of the operation rod, respectively. ; It may be configured as a drive unit for rotating the cam or the eccentric wheel, respectively. Or the rod operating means, the rack provided in the vertical direction in the lower portion of the operation rod; Pinions each of which is engaged with the rack; It may be configured as a drive unit for rotating the pinion forward / reverse respectively.

The baffle elevating apparatus according to the present invention includes: a baffle disposed between the stage and the wall of the chamber so that the inside of the chamber is partitioned up and down while being movable; A plurality of operation rods mounted on the baffle and mounted on the opposite side thereof so as to be movable in the bottom of the chamber; Load plates each having a lower end of the operation rod mounted thereon; It characterized in that it comprises a plate operating means for moving the load plate up and down.

Here, the plate operating means, at least one cam having a configuration for moving the operation rod up and down while being installed to contact the bottom surface of the load plate, or at least one installed so as to contact the circumference of the bottom surface of the load plate Eccentric ring; It may be configured as a drive unit for rotating the cam or eccentric wheel. Or the plate actuating means, at least one rack provided in the load plate in a vertical direction; Pinions each of which is engaged with the rack; It may be configured as a drive unit for rotating the pinion forward / reverse respectively.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flat panel display device manufacturing apparatus comprising: a chamber; A stage provided in the chamber and on which the substrate is placed; The interior of the chamber is partitioned up and down between the stage and the wall of the chamber while moving the baffle installed to be movable up and down, characterized in that it comprises a baffle elevating device as mentioned above.

The upper electrode assembly may be provided inside the chamber to inject a process gas required for processing the substrate, and the stage may be a lower electrode stewed product provided to face the upper electrode assembly. In addition, a bellows may be provided between a bottom of the chamber and a baffle having a top portion mounted to the baffle and a bottom portion mounted to the bottom of the chamber to have a structure surrounding the stage.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. For reference, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with an example applied to a process chamber which is one of devices for manufacturing a flat panel display device.

3 is a configuration diagram showing a process chamber to which a baffle elevating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the process chamber to which the baffle elevating apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is formed has a rectangular box shape, and preferably, the chambers 20 are provided with exhaust ports 22 at the corners of the bottom, respectively. ), An upper electrode assembly 42 and a lower electrode assembly 44 provided at upper and lower portions of the chamber 20 and positioned to face each other and face each other. Baffle 50 sandwiched between the lower electrode assembly 44 and the wall of the chamber 20 among the upper electrode assembly 42 and the lower electrode assembly 44, and the baffle 50 is moved up and down to raise and lower the height. It includes a baffle lift 60 for changing the. At this time, the exhaust port 22 is provided with an exhaust pump 34, respectively.

The chamber 20 is provided with gate slits 24 long to the left and right for carrying in and out of the substrate into one side wall. At this time, the gate slit 24 is opened and closed by a gate valve (32).

The upper electrode assembly 42 of the upper electrode assembly 42 and the lower electrode assembly 44 is provided with a shower head for injecting a process gas between the lower electrode assembly 44 and the lower electrode assembly 44. The lower electrode assembly 44 is a mount where a substrate carried in the chamber 20 is placed on an upper surface thereof. Thus, the lower electrode assembly 44 is also called a stage.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the baffle 50 illustrated in FIG. 3 is viewed from below.

The baffle 50 defines a process region, which is a space in which the substrate is processed, in the space of the chamber 20 together with the lower electrode assembly 44, and maintains a constant plasma density of the process region. It is located between the lower electrode assembly 44 and the wall of the chamber 20 so that the space is partitioned into upper and lower portions. At this time, the partitioned upper space is a process area.

As shown in FIG. 5, the baffle 50 has a vertical wall 52 having a configuration surrounding the lower electrode assembly 44 so as to contact the lower electrode assembly 44, and one side of the vertical wall 52. The upper end of the) is preferably integrally connected and the other side is made of a horizontal plate body 54 and the like in contact with the wall of the chamber 20. In this case, as described above, the horizontal plate body 54 serves to partition a space in the chamber 51, and a plurality of slits 54s for easily discharging the process gas are provided at regular intervals.

Meanwhile, the baffle 50 is installed to be movable by the baffle elevating device 60, which includes at least one guide groove 44g provided long in the vertical direction around the lower electrode assembly 44, and the guide groove. It is realized by the guide protrusion 52p provided in the vertical wall 52 so that it may be inserted in 44g.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the baffle elevating device 60 shown in FIG. 3.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the baffle elevating device 60 includes a plurality of operating rods 62 used for manipulating the baffle 50 up and down, and the shank east of the baffle 50. It consists of a rod operating means 64 which applies the required power to this operation rod 62 and operates it.

The operation rod 62 is installed in a form in which the upper end thereof is mounted on the horizontal plate body 54 of the baffle 50 and the opposite side penetrates so as to be movable in the bottom of the chamber 20. In this case, six operation rods 62 may be provided, and as shown in FIG. 4, two horizontal rods 54 and one vertical rod may be disposed in the horizontal portion. Of course, the number and arrangement of the operation rods 62 can be changed.

For reference, holes 26 for penetrating the manipulation rod 62 are provided in the bottom of the chamber 20 in the same number as the manipulation rod 62.

The rod operating means 64 is composed of a cam 66 installed to be in contact with the lower end of the operation rod 62, and a drive unit 68 for rotating the cam 66, respectively.

Here, the cam 66 moves the operation rod 62 up and down while being rotated by the drive unit 68, and any type can be applied as long as this configuration is possible. In other words, here it is applied to the egg-shaped plate cam when viewed from the front, in addition to this can be applied to the inclined plate cam.

On the other hand, the drive unit 68 is composed of a motor. This motor is firmly mounted on the bottom of the chamber 20 by a bracket or the like.

In the baffle elevating device 60 as described above, when the driving units 68 are operated simultaneously, the cam 66 is rotated. As a result, the operation rod 62 is moved up and down to raise and lower the baffle 50.

Reference numeral 62e not described above with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6 is an extension part such as a spherical shape, a hemispherical shape, a plate shape, and the like provided at the lower end of the operation rod 62 to secure a contact area with the cam 66. 74 is a bellows that prevents process gas from being diffused in the lower part of the partitioned space in the chamber 20. The upper part of the lower part of the vertical wall 52 has an upper end to have a structure surrounding the lower electrode assembly 44. The lower end is mounted to the bottom of the chamber 20. 76 is a bellows for maintaining the vacuum in the chamber 51, the upper end is mounted on the bottom surface of the chamber 20 so as to have a structure surrounding each of the operation rod 62, the lower end is mounted to a constant portion of the operation rod 62 do.

Next will be described with respect to another embodiment having a configuration similar to the first embodiment of the present invention. In this case, another embodiment will be described based on different parts as compared with the first embodiment, and the drawings will also show only the corresponding parts in some cases.

7 is a front view showing the main part of the baffle elevating apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

The second embodiment applies an eccentric wheel 66A instead of the cam 66, as shown in FIG. 7, with respect to all other configurations and their actions as compared to the first embodiment. The only difference is that. At this time, the circumference of the eccentric wheel 66A is in contact with the lower end of the operation rod 62, respectively. Meanwhile, reference numeral L denotes the distance between the center point of the eccentric wheel 66A and the rotation center, that is, the eccentric distance.

8 is a front view showing the main part of the baffle elevating apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 8, the third embodiment is basically a rack and pinion (rather than a cam 66), with respect to all other configurations and their functions as compared with the first embodiment. 66B) is different.

Here, the rack and pinion 66B includes a rack R provided up and down on the lower end of the operation rod 62, and a pinion with which the rack R meshes with each other. (P). Of course, the driving unit 68 to rotate the pinion (P) of this, the driving unit 68 at this time is composed of a motor capable of forward / reverse rotation. In this case, the expansion part 62e may be removed.

9 is a block diagram illustrating a process chamber to which a baffle elevating apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention is applied. As shown in the drawing, the process chamber to which the fourth embodiment is applied includes the chamber 20, the upper electrode assembly 42, the lower electrode assembly 44, the baffle 50, the operation rod 62, and a load plate. Comprising the 80 and the plate operating means 64C, as compared with the process chamber to which the first embodiment is applied, other than the load plate 80 and the plate operating means 64C functions the same, so the detailed description thereof It will be omitted.

The lower end of the operation rod 62 is mounted to the load plate 80, respectively. The plate operating means 64C moves the load plate 80 up and down, at least one cam 66C provided to contact the bottom of the load plate 80, and a drive unit for rotating the cam 66C. It consists of 68C. At this time, the drive unit 68C is composed of a motor.

Here, the cam 66C has almost the same configuration as that of the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the cam 66C is in direct contact with the operation rod 62, except that the cam 66C is in contact with the load plate 80 here.

On the other hand, in the case of the process chamber to which the fourth embodiment is applied, the extension 62e may be removed. On the other hand, in the process chamber to which the fourth embodiment is applied, the eccentric wheel 66A of the second embodiment may be applied instead of the cam 66C, and the rack and pinion 66B of the third embodiment may be applied.

10 is a bottom perspective view exemplarily illustrating that the baffle of the baffle elevating apparatus according to the first to third embodiments of the present invention may be configured differently.

According to this, the baffle 50 may be configured to be divided into left and right, and if configured in this way, the baffle 50 may be elevated so that the height of the left and right sides is different. Of course, it is also possible to divide into three or more instead of two, it is important that at least one manipulation rod 62 must be mounted on each fragment. For reference, if the baffle 50 is raised and lowered so that the heights of the left and right sides are different, the gap therebetween may take the role of the slit 54s, and thus, the slits 54s are extremely removed. It is also possible.

The present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed in the present specification and the accompanying drawings, and those skilled in the art within the technical scope of the present invention have ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs. I) Various modifications may be made.

The present invention constituted as described above includes a baffle installed so as to be capable of shangdong, an operation rod having an upper end mounted on the baffle, and a rod operating means for moving the operation rod up and down. It is possible to change the height by raising and lowering, and furthermore, there is an advantage in that the plasma density, the process gas air flow, and the like can be conveniently set to be optimized according to the progress of the process.

Claims (9)

A baffle disposed between the stage on which the substrate is placed and the wall of the chamber so that the inside of the chamber is partitioned up and down while being movable; A plurality of operating rods mounted on the baffle and mounted on the opposite side thereof so as to be movable in the bottom of the chamber; By including the rod operating means for moving the plurality of operation rods up and down to lift the baffle, And a height of the baffle can be changed while maintaining a height of the stage during processing of a substrate. The method according to claim 1, The rod operating means includes a cam having a configuration for moving the operating rod up and down while being installed to be in contact with a lower end of the operating rod, or an eccentric wheel installed at each of the periphery of the lower end of the operating rod; Baffle elevating device, characterized in that consisting of a drive unit for rotating the cam or the eccentric wheel, respectively. The method according to claim 1, The rod operating means and the rack provided in the vertical direction in the lower portion of the operating rod, respectively; A pinion in which the rack and teeth are engaged with each other; The baffle elevating device, characterized in that consisting of a drive unit for rotating the pinion forward / reverse respectively. A baffle disposed between the stage on which the substrate is placed and the wall of the chamber so that the inside of the chamber is partitioned up and down while being movable; A plurality of operating rods mounted on the baffle and mounted on the opposite side thereof so as to be movable in the bottom of the chamber; Load plates each having a lower end of the operation rod mounted thereon; By including the plate operating means for moving the load plate up and down to raise and lower the baffle, And a height of the baffle can be changed while maintaining a height of the stage during processing of a substrate. The method of claim 4, The plate operating means is installed to be in contact with the bottom surface of the load plate at least one cam having a configuration for moving the operation rod up and down while rotating, or at least one eccentric wheel is installed so that the circumference is in contact with the bottom of the load plate and; Baffle elevating device, characterized in that consisting of a drive unit for rotating the cam or eccentric wheel. The method of claim 4, The plate operating means includes at least one rack provided in the load plate in the vertical direction; A pinion in which the rack and teeth are engaged with each other; The baffle elevating device, characterized in that consisting of a drive unit for rotating the pinion forward / reverse respectively. A chamber; A stage provided in the chamber and on which the substrate is placed; An interior of the chamber is partitioned up and down between the stage and the wall of the chamber, while moving the baffle installed so as to move up and down, including the baffle elevating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6. Flat panel display device manufacturing apparatus characterized in that. The method of claim 7, The upper electrode assembly is provided inside the chamber for injecting the process gas required for processing the substrate, And the stage is a lower electrode simmered product provided to face the lower electrode assembly. The method of claim 7, And a bellows having an upper portion mounted on the baffle and a lower portion mounted on the bottom of the chamber to have a structure surrounding the stage between the bottom and the baffle of the chamber.

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