KR101436897B1 - Slit valve - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a slit valve comprising: a valve chamber coupled to one side of a process chamber having a slit through which a substrate enters and exits; a slit opening and closing unit that is vertically driven in the valve chamber to selectively open and close the slit; And a valve grounding unit for grounding the slit opening / closing unit to the valve chamber, wherein the valve grounding unit comprises: a first conductive portion provided in one of the valve chamber and the slit opening / closing unit; And a second electroconductive portion which is provided on the other of the opening and closing units and maintains the slit opening / closing unit in contact with the first electroconductive portion even when the slit opening / closing unit moves relative to the valve chamber.

Description

Slit valve {SLIT VALVE}

The present invention relates to a slit valve, and more particularly, to a slit valve capable of effectively grounding a current applied to a slit valve in a process chamber.

Flat displays are widely used in personal computers, monitors for TVs and computers. Such a flat display is variously classified into an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a PDP (Plasma Display Panel) and an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes).

Of these flat displays, in particular, an organic light emitting display (OLED) is a cemented carbide type display device that implements a color image by self-emission of an organic substance. In view of its simple structure and high optical efficiency, Has attracted attention as a display.

The organic light emitting display OLED includes an anode, a cathode, and organic layers interposed between the anode and the cathode. Here, the organic layers include at least a light emitting layer and may further include a hole injecting layer, a hole transporting layer, an electron transporting layer, and an electron injecting layer in addition to the light emitting layer.

In addition, an organic light emitting display (OLED) is a cemented carbide type display device that implements a color image by self-emission of organic materials, and has been attracting attention as a promising next-generation flat display because of its simple structure and high optical efficiency.

In order to manufacture such an organic light emitting display (OLED) substrate, an inorganic material deposition process and a patterning process for forming a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) are repeatedly performed on a substrate, and then an organic material deposition for forming a light emitting cell is performed .

Typically, an inorganic material deposited on an organic light emitting display (OLED) substrate is deposited by a chemical vapor deposition process (CVD). This is because such a chemical vapor deposition process is advantageous for forming various thin films.

A chemical vapor deposition process (CVD), which is one of the deposition processes for manufacturing an organic light emitting display (OLED) substrate, will be briefly described. In the chemical vapor deposition process, a plasma ) And a silicon compound ion having a high energy is sputtered from a gas distribution plate through an electrode and deposited on a substrate. This process is performed in a process chamber in which a chemical vapor deposition process is performed.

In recent years, chemical vapor deposition apparatuses having a plurality of process chambers arranged at regular intervals are widely used so that many substrates can be processed in a short time.

A chemical vapor deposition apparatus for a flat panel display for a chemical vapor deposition process includes a processing chamber in which a deposition process is performed, an upper electrode provided inside the process chamber, A high frequency power source for applying RF power to the upper electrode, and a ground strap for grounding the lower electrode.

In such a chemical vapor deposition apparatus, RF power is applied to an upper electrode by a RF power unit in a state where a substrate is placed between an upper electrode and a lower electrode, and then a process gas is injected into the process chamber. Lt; / RTI >

One of the conditions necessary for the generation of such a plasma is the potential difference between the upper electrode and the lower electrode. Therefore, in order to generate a potential difference between the upper electrode and the lower electrode, RF power is applied to the upper electrode and a ground strap is connected to the lower electrode.

Meanwhile, a slit is formed in the process chamber so that the substrate can be taken out. A slit valve is disposed on one side of the process chamber to open and close the slit.

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional slit valve includes a valve chamber 10 coupled to one side of a process chamber, and an opening of a valve chamber communicating with the slit of the process chamber, A driving part 20, and a strap 30 for energizing the valve driving part and the inner wall of the valve chamber.

Since the slit valve is connected to the process chamber for opening and closing the slit, the RF power applied from the upper electrode of the process chamber can be conducted to the inside of the slit valve.

In this case, arcing may occur in the slit valve to damage the internal components of the slit valve including the O-ring, and unnecessary parasitic plasma may occur due to the potential difference inside the slit valve. As a result, the function of the slit valve is deteriorated and the surface exposed to the parasitic plasma is contaminated, which may cause serious particle contamination or damage to the substrate.

In order to solve such a problem, the conventional slit valve has a strap 30 for energizing the valve driving part 20 with the inner side wall of the valve chamber 10 so that a potential difference does not occur.

However, the conventional strap 30 of the slit valve is provided between the valve chamber 10 and the valve driving portion 20 as a thin plate having a flammable property of copper, There is a problem that fatigue accumulates due to driving and is easily broken. As a result, the conventional slit valve is ineffective in maintenance, such as periodically checking the condition of the strap 30 and frequently replacing it.

Accordingly, there is a need for a slit valve having a grounding device capable of performing a grounding function without being damaged even when the valve driving portion 20 is driven as in the prior art.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2007-0096185 Jusung Engineering Co., Ltd. October 2, 2007

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a slit valve having a valve grounding unit that can replace a strap that is easily broken and can maintain a grounded state effectively even when a slit valve is driven.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a plasma processing apparatus comprising: a valve chamber coupled to one side of a process chamber having a slit through which a substrate enters and exits; A slit opening / closing unit that is vertically driven in the valve chamber to selectively open and close the slit; And a valve grounding unit for grounding the slit opening / closing unit to the valve chamber, wherein the valve grounding unit includes: a first conductive part provided at one of the valve chamber and the slit opening / closing unit; And a slit opening / closing unit provided on the other of the valve chamber and the slit opening / closing unit so as to be brought into contact with the first conducting portion, wherein the slit opening / A slit valve including two conduction parts may be provided.

The first electroconductive portion is coupled to the slit opening / closing unit to move together with the slit opening / closing unit, and the second electroconductive portion can be coupled to the inside wall of the valve chamber.

Wherein the first conductive portion includes: a ground portion contacting the second conductive portion; And a support block that supports the ground portion and is coupled to the slit opening / closing unit.

The second conductive portion may be protrudingly engaged with the inner wall of the valve chamber, and the ground portion may include a contact roller that comes into rolling contact along the surface of the second conductive portion.

The contact roller may have an arc-shaped contact surface with a smaller cross-sectional area from both ends to a central portion, and the second conductive portion may have an arc-shaped flat cross-section so as to be contactable with the contact roller.

The slit opening / closing unit may include: a valve block vertically driven in the valve chamber; And a valve blade horizontally movably coupled to the valve block to close an opening of the valve chamber communicating with the slit, wherein the support block includes: a coupling plate coupled to the valve block; And a support plate which is bent at both ends of the coupling plate and rotatably supports both end portions of the contact roller.

And a pressing unit that presses at least one of the first conductive unit and the second conductive unit in a direction in which the first conductive unit and the second conductive unit are in contact with each other.

Wherein the pressing portion includes: a connecting pin that is coupled to the valve block through the coupling plate such that the supporting block is relatively movable; And an elastic member disposed between the coupling plate and the valve block and elastically biasing the support block against the second conductive portion.

The connecting pin includes: a head portion having a predetermined diameter; A body portion connected to the head portion and having a smaller diameter than the head portion; And a threaded portion provided on the body portion and formed in a predetermined length from the distal end of the body portion toward the head portion.

The coupling plate may have a guide hole through which the connection pin passes, and the valve block may be formed with a thread groove that is screwed with the threaded portion.

The elastic member may include a spring inserted into the connection pin, one end of which is supported by the coupling plate and the other end is supported by the valve block.

The valve grounding unit may be provided in each corner area of the valve chamber.

The contact roller may be made of a conductive rubber material, and the second conductive portion may be made of copper (Cu).

The second conductive portion is an inner wall of the valve chamber, and the first conductive portion includes: a contact roller that comes into rolling contact along the inner wall of the valve chamber; And a roller support pressing portion coupled to the slit opening and closing unit and supporting the contact roller, and elastically pressing the contact roller.

Wherein the roller support pressing portion includes: a housing provided in a hollow shape and coupled to the slit opening / closing unit; A roller arm rotatably supporting the contact roller and connected to the housing so as to be movable relative to the housing; And an elastic member interposed inside the housing and elastically biasing the roller arm toward the inner wall of the valve chamber.

Wherein the roller arm is a pressing plate that is relatively moved with respect to the housing by an elastic restoring force of the elastic member in the housing; A connecting rod connected to the pressing plate and extending outside the housing; And a roller support connected to the connecting rod and rotatably supporting the contact roller.

Embodiments of the present invention can replace a strap that is easily broken by a conventional slit valve and effectively maintain a ground state even when the slit valve is driven to prevent arcing and parasitic plasma generation inside the slit valve.

1 is a partial cut-away view of a conventional slit valve.
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a chemical vapor deposition apparatus to which a slit valve according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied.
3 is a schematic partial enlarged cross-sectional view of Fig.
4 is a schematic structural view of a slit valve according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a partial cutaway perspective view of a slit valve according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in Fig.
7 is a cross-sectional view of a slit valve according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
8 is an exploded perspective view of a valve grounding unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
9 and 10 are pressurized state diagrams of the valve grounding unit of Fig.
11 is a sectional view of a slit valve according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

In order to fully understand the present invention, operational advantages of the present invention, and objects achieved by the practice of the present invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference symbols in the drawings denote like elements.

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view of a chemical vapor deposition apparatus to which a slit valve according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 3 is a schematic enlarged sectional view of FIG.

First, a chemical vapor deposition apparatus to which a slit valve according to the present embodiment is applied will be briefly described with reference to these drawings. For reference, the substrate referred to below refers to a glass substrate for an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a PDP (Plasma Display Panel), and an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes).

The chemical vapor deposition apparatus 1 includes a plurality of process chambers 11 for performing a chemical vapor deposition process and an environment in which the substrate can enter the process chamber 11 before the substrate enters the process chamber 11 And a transfer chamber 13 connecting the process chamber 11 and the load lock chamber 12. The transfer chamber 13 is connected to the process chamber 11 via the transfer chamber 13, The transfer chamber 13 is provided with a robot (not shown) for transferring the substrate in the load lock chamber 12 to the process chamber 11 or transferring the substrate in the process chamber 11 to the load lock chamber 12 .

The process chamber 11 is a place where the deposition process is substantially performed. The process chamber 11 includes a lower electrode spaced apart from the upper electrode and the upper electrode and on which the substrate is mounted, a RF power unit for applying RF power to the upper electrode, And a ground strap for grounding the lower electrode.

In this process chamber 11, a RF power is applied to an upper electrode by a RF power unit in a state where a substrate is placed between an upper electrode and a lower electrode, and a process gas is injected into the process chamber 11, thereby depositing a substrate by generation of plasma.

Each of these process chambers 10 is provided with a slit S capable of being in a high vacuum state and through which the substrate can pass. A slit valve 20 is disposed between adjacent process chambers 10.

The slit valve 20 serves to seal the slits S of the process chamber 10 to environmentally isolate adjacent process chambers 10 from each other.

Hereinafter, the slit valve 20 according to this embodiment will be described in detail.

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural view of a slit valve according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a slit valve according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a cross- Sectional view.

As shown in these figures, the slit valve 20 according to the present embodiment includes a valve chamber 100 coupled to one side of a process chamber 10 having a slit S through which a substrate enters and exits, A slit opening and closing unit 200 which is vertically driven in the interior of the valve chamber 100 to selectively open and close the slit S and an upward and downward cylinder 200 which supports the slit opening and closing unit 200 to move up and down within the valve chamber 100 The inner wall 110 of the valve chamber 100 is coupled to the inner wall 110 of the valve chamber 100 and the slit opening and closing unit 200, And a valve grounding unit 300 which is movably provided to ground the slit opening / closing unit 200 to the valve chamber 100.

The valve chamber 100 forms a self-evacuating space and has a height that allows the opening 120 of the valve chamber 100 to communicate with the slit S of the process chamber 10, So that the substrate can be brought into or out of the process chamber 10 by opening and closing the opening 120.

The slit opening and closing unit 200 includes a valve block 220 that is in close contact with and closes the opening 120 and a valve block 220 that includes a pressurizing cylinder 230 that horizontally moves the valve blade 220 toward the opening 120. [ (210).

According to the present embodiment, the slit valve 20 may be disposed between adjacent process chambers (see FIG. 2). In this case, the valve blades 220 are provided in a pair, and are bi-directionally driven by the pressurizing cylinder 230 provided in the valve block 210 and are brought into close contact with the surface of the opening 120. At this time, the valve blade 220 may be provided with an O-ring 221 to maintain the airtightness of the opening 120 so that the vacuum of the process chamber is not broken. The driving of the pressure cylinder 230 may be performed by hydraulic pressure or pneumatic pressure.

The ascending / descending cylinder 201 serves to move the valve block 210 up or down. When the slit of the vacuum chamber is closed, the valve block 210 is lifted until the valve blade 220 is positioned on the central axis of the opening 120, and the valve block 210 is lowered when the slit is opened. The ascending / descending cylinder 201 can also be operated by hydraulic pressure or pneumatic pressure.

Since the slit valve 20 is coupled to one side of the process chamber 10, the RF power can be conducted to the inside of the slit valve 20 during the deposition process and arcing or parasitic plasma can be generated accordingly. It is necessary to ground the slit opening / closing unit 200 to eliminate the potential difference between the slit opening / closing unit 200 and the valve chamber 100. For this purpose, in the case of the conventional slit valve, the valve chamber 100 and the valve block 210 of the slit opening / closing unit 200 are grounded with a strap (see FIG. 1) provided as a thin plate. However, such a strap tends to be broken due to fatigue accumulation caused by repeated driving of the valve block, so that the grounding function can not be smoothly performed.

In order to solve such a problem, the slit valve 20 according to the present invention includes a valve grounding unit 300 that can replace a strap that is liable to be broken due to the driving of the valve block 210 and can effectively perform a grounding function do.

The valve grounding unit 300 according to the present embodiment includes a first conductive part 310 provided in one of the valve chamber 100 and the slit opening and closing unit and a second conductive part 310 provided in the valve chamber 100 And a second conductive portion 320 which is provided on the other of the slit opening / closing units and maintains the slit opening / closing unit in contact with the first conductive portion 310 even when the slit opening / closing unit moves relative to the valve chamber 100. These valve grounding units 300 may be disposed one by one in each corner area of the valve chamber 100. [

The first conductive portion 310 according to the present embodiment is coupled to an edge region of the valve block 210 that is slightly longer than the length of the valve blade 220. The second conductive portion 320 is coupled to the inner wall 110 of the valve chamber 100 in a protruding manner.

5, the first conductive portion 310 includes a grounding portion 311 contacting the second conductive portion 320, a support block 312 supporting the grounding portion 311 and coupled to the valve block 210, And moves together with the valve block 210 while maintaining contact with the second conductive portion 320. [

For reference, unlike the present embodiment, the first conductive portion 310 and the second conductive portion 320 may be arranged so as to be shifted from each other in position. That is, the first conductive portion 310 may be coupled to the inner wall 110 of the valve chamber 100 and the second conductive portion 320 may be coupled to the valve block 210. In this case, the second conductive portion 320 moves relative to the first conductive portion 310.

The grounding unit 311 is in direct contact with the second conductive unit 320 to energize the slit opening / closing unit 200 with a current flowing in the valve chamber 100. The grounding portion 311 includes a contact roller 311 that comes into rolling contact along the surface of the second conductive portion 320. The contact roller 311 can be coupled to the support block 312 by fitting the rotation axis protruding from both sides of the contact roller to the support plate 312b of the support block 312 to be described later.

The contact roller 311 according to the present embodiment is recessed inwardly as its cross-sectional area decreases from both end portions to the central portion. The second conductive portion 320, which is paired with the contact roller 311, is provided in a columnar shape having a flat section corresponding to the concave portion of the contact roller 311, which is an arc or hemisphere.

The concave portion of the contact roller 311 is engaged with the arc or hemispherical shape formed by the second conductive portion 320 to induce smooth rolling contact between the contact roller and the second conductive portion 320, And serves to guide the lowering cylinder 201 to vertically drive the valve block 210 without clearance.

The contact roller 311 may be a roller made of an electrically conductive rubber material, and the second conductive portion 320 may be a thin plate made of copper. Conversely, the contact roller 311 may be made of a copper material and the second conductive portion 320 may be made of an electrically conductive rubber material. This is to increase the electrical conductivity between the contact roller 311 and the second conductive portion 320 and to prevent particles from rolling contact.

The scope of the present invention is not limited to the contact roller 311 in which the grounding portion 311 is in rolling contact with the second conductive portion 320 as in the present embodiment, It is also possible to use various types of members that can be brought into surface contact while being slid along the surface.

The support block 312 includes an engagement plate 312a coupled to the valve block 210 and a support plate 312b that is bent at both ends of the engagement plate 312a and rotatably supports both ends of the contact roller 311, .

The coupling plate 312a may be bolted to the side of the valve block 210 and the support plate 312b may extend a predetermined distance in the direction of the second conductive portion 320 to define a contact roller 311 Rotatably.

The valve grounding unit 300 according to the present embodiment is configured such that the first conductive portion 310 coupled to the valve block 210 is connected to the second conductive portion 310 coupled to the inner wall 110 of the valve chamber 100, And is vertically movable while being in rolling contact with the surface of the rotor 320. Therefore, the valve block 210 and the valve chamber 100 can be effectively grounded without the risk of disconnection of the strap due to the driving of the valve block 210 as in the prior art. As a result, arcing or parasitic Plasma generation can be effectively prevented.

8 is a disassembled perspective view of a valve grounding unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and Figs. 9 and 10 are sectional views of the valve grounding unit of Fig. 8, Fig.

2 to 6 denote the same members, and redundant description of the same members will be omitted.

The present embodiment is substantially the same in construction as the first embodiment, but further includes a pressing portion 410 that effectively maintains a contact state between the first conductive portion 310 and the second conductive portion 320. Hereinafter, the pressing portion 410 will be mainly described.

The first conductive portion 310 is electrically connected to the first conductive portion 310 and the second conductive portion 310. When the valve grounding unit 400 is assembled or the slit opening / closing unit 200 is driven, 320) may not be properly contacted.

The valve grounding unit 400 according to the present embodiment further includes a pressing portion 410 for pressing at least one of the first conductive portion 310 and the second conductive portion 320 in a direction in which the first conductive portion 310 and the second conductive portion 320 are in contact with each other do.

7 and 8, in this embodiment, the pressing portion 410 includes a connecting pin 411 (not shown) which is coupled to the valve block 210 through the coupling plate 312a so that the supporting block 312 is relatively movable, And an elastic member 412 disposed between the coupling plate 312a and the valve block 210 and elastically biasing the supporting block 312 against the second conductive portion 320. [

The connecting pin 411 has a head portion 411a having a predetermined diameter, a body portion 411b connected to the head portion 411a and having a smaller diameter than the head portion 411a, And a threaded portion 411c formed at a predetermined length from the distal end of the body portion 411b toward the head portion 411a.

The connection pin 411 is inserted through the guide hole H1 of the coupling plate 312a and the threaded portion 411c is coupled to the valve block 210 in the thread groove formed in the valve block 210. [

The body portion 411b of the connection pin 411 guides the relative movement of the support block 312 and the head portion 411a of the connection pin 411 is provided larger than the diameter of the guide hole H1, ).

The elastic member 412 elastically biases the support block 312 in a direction approaching the second conductive portion 320. The elastic member 412 is inserted into the body portion 411b of the connecting pin 411 and one end thereof is supported by the coupling plate 312a and the other end is supported by a spring 412 supported by the valve block 210, .

The spring 412 presses the support block 312 in a direction approaching the second conductive portion 320 through an elastic restoring force. As a result, the elastic restoring force acting on the support block 312 is transmitted to the contact roller 311, and the contact roller 311 is brought into rolling contact while pressing the second conductive portion 320.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, a pressurized state of the valve grounding unit when a clearance is generated between the first conductive portion 310 and the second conductive portion 320 will be briefly described.

First, the valve grounding unit 400 according to the present embodiment is assembled such that the first conductive portion 310 and the second conductive portion 320 can exert a pressing force therebetween. That is, the spring 412 between the engaging plate 312a and the valve block 210 is compressed by a predetermined length so that the resilient restoring force of the spring acts on the supporting block 312.

In this state, when the center of the valve block 210 is further away from the inner wall 110 of the valve chamber 100 by a predetermined distance due to the self-oscillation or the repulsive force of the horizontally driven valve blade 220, 320 is reduced and the spring 412 is circularly restored to push the support block 312 toward the second conductive portion 320. Even if the valve block 210 is further away from the inner wall 110 of the valve chamber 100, the contact roller 311 and the second conductive portion 320 are always in contact with each other by the action of the pressing portion 410 .

As described above, the slit valve according to the present embodiment comes into rolling contact with the first conductive portion 310 and the second conductive portion 320 in a state in which the pressing force acts on the slit valve, and the assembly tolerance of the valve grounding unit 400 or the slit opening / The grounding state can be maintained even when the clearance is changed due to the driving of the electric motor 200. [

11 is a sectional view of a slit valve according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

1 to 10 denote the same members, and redundant description of the same members will be omitted.

The present embodiment is different from the first and second embodiments in that the contact roller 510 of this embodiment corresponding to the first conductive portion 310 is designed to be in direct rolling contact with the inner wall 110 of the valve chamber But the other configurations are the same as those of the above-described embodiments.

Referring to this figure, the valve grounding unit 500 according to the present embodiment is characterized in that the second electroconductive portion of the above-described embodiment is the inner wall 110 of the valve chamber 100 and the first electroconductive portion 500a, A contact roller 510 which is in rolling contact with the slit opening and closing unit 200 and which contacts the contact roller 510 but which elastically presses the contact roller 510, And a support pressing portion 520.

The roller support pushing portion 520 includes a housing 521 coupled to the valve block 210 of the slit opening and closing unit 200 and provided in a hollow shape and a housing 521 rotatably supporting the contact roller 510, And a roller arm 522 disposed inside the housing 521 and extending in the direction of the inner wall 110 of the valve chamber 100. The roller arm 522 is connected to the housing 521 so as to be movable relative to the housing 521, And includes an elastic member 523 for elastically biasing.

One end of the roller arm 522 is supported by the valve block 210 and the other end is supported by the roller arm 522 so that the roller arm 522 is elastically biased in the direction of the inner wall 110 of the valve chamber 100. [ And an elastic member 523 for supporting the elastic member.

In this embodiment, the contact roller 510 is made of an electrically conductive rubber material so as to prevent particles from rolling upon contact with the sidewall 110 of the valve chamber 100, and a spring 523 may be applied to the elastic member 523 .

The housing 521 has a hollow cylindrical shape, a through hole H2 through which the roller arm 522 passes, and a housing coupling plate 521a having a diameter larger than the diameter of the main body. The housing 521 may be bolted and coupled to the valve block 210 along the outer circumferential surface of the housing engaging plate 521a.

The roller arm 522 is connected to the pressing plate 522a which is moved relative to the housing 521 by the resilient restoring force of the elastic member 523 in the housing 521 and the through hole H2 And a roller support portion 522c connected to the connecting rod 522b and rotatably supporting the contact roller 510. The roller support portion 522b is a roller bearing portion.

The length of the connecting rod 522b is determined according to the interval between the valve block 210 and the valve chamber 100 during the assembly of the valve grounding unit 500 according to the present embodiment So that the spring maintains a compressed state for a predetermined length. The resilient restoring force of the compressed spring acts as a pressing force for urging the contact roller 510 toward the inner wall 110 of the valve chamber 100.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the configuration of the valve grounding unit can be simplified, and assembly and disassembly with the valve block is simple, and maintenance and repair are easy afterwards.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Accordingly, such modifications or variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

10: process chamber 20: slit valve
100: valve chamber 200: slit opening / closing unit
210: valve block 220: valve blade
230: pressure cylinder 300: valve grounding unit
310: first conductive portion 311: contact roller
312: support block 312a: engaging plate
312b: support plate 320: second conductive portion
410: pressing portion 411: connecting pin
411a: head part 411b:
411c: threaded portion 412: elastic member
520: roller support pressing portion 521: housing
522: roller arm 522a: pressing plate
522b: connecting rod 522c: roller supporting portion

Claims (16)

A valve chamber coupled to one side of a process chamber having a slit through which the substrate enters and exits;
A slit opening / closing unit that is vertically driven in the valve chamber to selectively open and close the slit; And
And a valve grounding unit for grounding the slit opening / closing unit to the valve chamber,
The slit opening /
A valve block vertically driven in the valve chamber; And
And a valve blade horizontally movably coupled to the valve block to close an opening of the valve chamber communicating with the slit,
The valve grounding unit includes:
A first conductive portion provided in the slit opening / closing unit; And
And a second electroconductive portion provided in the valve chamber so as to be in contact with the first electroconductive portion and maintained in contact with the first electroconductive portion even when the slit opening and closing unit is moved relative to the valve chamber,
The first conductive portion includes:
And a support block rotatably supporting both end portions of the contact roller and coupled to the valve block, wherein the contact block includes: Slit valve. delete delete delete The method according to claim 1,
The contact roller has a smaller cross-sectional area from both ends to the center, forming an inwardly concave contact surface,
The second conductive portion includes:
The second conductive portion is protrudingly coupled to an inner wall of the valve chamber,
And a flat section is provided in an arc shape so as to be able to contact the contact roller. The method according to claim 1,
The support block includes:
A coupling plate coupled to the valve block; And
And a support plate extending and bending at both ends of the coupling plate to rotatably support both end portions of the contact roller. The method according to claim 6,
Further comprising a pressing portion for pressing at least one of the first conductive portion and the second conductive portion in a direction in which the first conductive portion and the second conductive portion are in contact with each other. 8. The method of claim 7,
The pressing portion
A connection pin penetrating through the coupling plate and coupled to the valve block such that the supporting block is relatively movable; And
And an elastic member disposed between the coupling plate and the valve block and elastically biasing the support block against the second conductive portion. 9. The method of claim 8,
The connecting pin
A head portion having a predetermined diameter;
A body portion connected to the head portion and having a smaller diameter than the head portion; And
And a threaded portion provided on the body portion and formed by a predetermined length in a direction from the distal end of the body portion toward the head portion. 10. The method of claim 9,
The coupling plate has a guide hole through which the connection pin passes,
Wherein the valve block is formed with a thread groove to be screwed with the threaded portion. 11. The method of claim 10,
The elastic member
And a spring inserted into the connection pin, one end of which is supported by the coupling plate and the other end is supported by the valve block. The method of claim 11, wherein
The valve grounding unit includes:
And one in each corner area of the valve chamber. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the contact roller is made of a conductive rubber material, and the second conductive portion is made of copper (Cu). The method according to claim 1,
The second conductive portion is an inner wall of the valve chamber,
Wherein the support block is a roller support pressing portion for supporting the contact roller while elastically pressing the contact roller. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the roller-
A housing provided in a hollow shape and coupled to the valve block;
A roller arm rotatably supporting the contact roller and connected to the housing so as to be movable relative to the housing; And
And an elastic member interposed in the housing and biasing the roller arm in an inner wall direction of the valve chamber. 16. The method of claim 15,
Wherein the roller arm is a pressing plate that is relatively moved with respect to the housing by an elastic restoring force of the elastic member in the housing;
A connecting rod connected to the pressing plate and extending outside the housing; And
And a roller support connected to the connecting rod and rotatably supporting the contact roller.

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