KR101511179B1 - Film forming apparatus and carrier tray for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a film forming apparatus capable of simplifying a driving mechanism and suppressing deterioration of quality of a film formation substrate by reducing the fear of adhesion of particles to a substrate.
A film forming apparatus 100 having a transfer apparatus 10 having a plurality of conveying rollers 11 for conveying a substrate 101 has a simple structure. Further, the conveying roller 11 is disposed on the lower end side of the substrate 101. Thus, even if particles are generated by the rotation of the conveying roller 11, the possibility of attaching the particles to the substrate 101 disposed above the conveying roller 11 becomes low. In addition, there is provided a driven roller (12, 13) which rotates in contact with the wall surface of the groove portion (30) formed at the upper end of the conveyance tray (20). The position of the transport tray 20 from above can be regulated and the transport tray 20 and the substrate 101 can be stably and smoothly transported.

Description

A film forming apparatus and a carrier tray for the same,

The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus and a carrier tray for a film forming apparatus.

For example, in a film forming apparatus for forming a film on an object such as a substrate, the substrate is placed on a tray (supported) and transported. The substrate is moved between a plurality of vacuum chambers, and processing such as film formation is performed. BACKGROUND ART [0002] In recent years, with the increase in size of solar cells, liquid crystal display panels, and the like, substrates have also become larger. In a film forming apparatus capable of coping with a large-sized substrate, an apparatus for transporting a substrate and a tray in a vertical posture is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In the apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a drive gear is provided on the upper side of the vacuum chamber, and a rack engaged with the drive gear is formed on the upper side of the tray. The tray was moved in the horizontal direction by rotating the drive gear on the vacuum chamber side. The substrate moves with the tray in the vacuum chamber.

(Patent Literature)

Patent Document 1: JP-A-1-268870

However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, a driving mechanism of a rack-and-pinion type is adopted and the structure is complicated, so that simplification is required. In addition, in the above-described conventional technique, since the rack pinion type driving mechanism is disposed above the substrate, there is a fear that the particles generated in the driving mechanism are adhered to the substrate when dropped, thereby deteriorating the quality of the film formation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve these problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a film forming apparatus capable of simplifying a drive mechanism and suppressing deterioration of quality of a film formation substrate by reducing a fear of adhesion of particles to a substrate, And to provide a conveyance tray.

The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus for performing a film forming process on a substrate, the apparatus comprising: a vacuum container capable of accommodating a substrate; a vacuum container for holding the substrate in a state in which the thickness direction of the substrate is horizontal, And a transfer means for transferring the transfer tray for supporting the substrate in the transfer direction crossing the plate thickness direction, the transfer means being disposed on the lower end side of the substrate and extending around the first axis extending in the plate thickness direction And a plurality of driven rollers disposed on an upper end side of the substrate and rotating about a second axis extending along a direction intersecting the plate thickness direction and the conveyance direction, On the upper surface of the conveyance tray, a continuous groove is formed along the conveying direction. The driven roller is in contact with the wall surface in the groove, Provide value.

According to this film forming apparatus, since there is provided the transfer apparatus having the plurality of conveying rollers for conveying the substrate, it is possible to provide a simple apparatus. For example, compared to the conventional rack pinion type drive mechanism, a simple structure can be obtained. In addition, since the conveying roller is disposed on the lower end side of the substrate, the possibility of particles adhering to the substrate disposed above the conveying roller is low even if particles are generated by the rotation of the conveying roller. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the particles adhere to the substrate, and to suppress deterioration of the quality of the film formation substrate. In addition, since the follower roller is configured to rotate in contact with the wall surface in the groove formed in the upper end of the conveyance tray, the conveyance tray can be restrained from above, and the conveyance tray and the substrate can be stably and smoothly conveyed.

The lower end surface of the conveyance tray may be provided with a rail portion extending in the conveying direction and capable of abutting against the peripheral surface of the conveying roller. If the rail portion is provided on the lower end face of the conveyance tray, the running of the conveyance tray can be stabilized.

Here, the plurality of driven rollers includes a first driven roller that abuts one of the pair of wall surfaces in the groove, and a second driven roller that abuts the other of the pair of wall surfaces in the groove, The two driven rollers are preferably arranged alternately in the transport direction. In the film forming apparatus of this configuration, the first driven roller is in contact with only one of the pair of wall surfaces in the groove portion of the conveyance tray, and the second driven roller is in contact with only the other side of the pair of wall surfaces in the groove portion of the conveyance tray. As a result, since the first follower roller and the second driven roller always rotate in different directions, the rotation direction of the follower roller is prevented from reversing. Therefore, the frictional resistance at the time of conveyance of the conveyance tray 20 can be reduced, so that smooth conveyance of the conveyance tray can be realized.

The distance between the position of the most one side of the pair of wall surfaces of the circumferential surface of the first driven roller and the position of the other side of the pair of wall surfaces of the circumferential surface of the second driven roller is Is smaller than the distance between the pair of wall surfaces of the groove portion. According to the film forming apparatus of this configuration, the positional deviation of the transporting tray with respect to the driven roller can be allowed, the transporting tray and the substrate can be stably transported smoothly, and the frictional resistance between the driven roller and the wall surface of the groove can be reduced, The conveying speed can be easily improved.

It is preferable that the conveying roller has a pair of jaws protruding outward in the radial direction of the conveying roller and arranged so as to sandwich both sides of the conveyance tray in the direction opposite to the first axial direction. According to the film forming apparatus of this configuration, since the pair of tucks arranged to sandwich the lower end portion of the transport tray from the both sides in the plate thickness direction are formed on the transport roller, the position of the transport tray relative to the transport roller can be stabilized . Thereby, the posture of the carrier tray and the substrate can be stabilized and smoothly conveyed.

The film forming apparatus may have a configuration in which a gate valve portion having a valve body capable of sealing an opening through which the conveyance tray of the vacuum container passes is provided and a driven roller is provided in the gate valve portion. In the film forming apparatus of this configuration, since the driven rollers are disposed in the gate valve portion, the posture of the carrier tray and the substrate can be stabilized and smoothly conveyed.

The present invention relates to a transfer tray for a film forming apparatus capable of supporting a substrate such that the substrate is transported in a state in which the substrate is in an upright state or in an inclined state from an upright state to a direction crossing the plate thickness direction, A lower end support portion for supporting a lower end portion of the substrate; and a connection portion for connecting the upper end support portion and the lower end support portion, wherein a groove portion continuous in the transport direction is formed on the upper end surface of the upper end support portion And a conveying tray for the film forming apparatus.

Such a carrier tray for a film forming apparatus is applicable to the above-mentioned film forming apparatus. Since the transfer tray for the film forming apparatus has the groove portion continuous in the carrying direction on the upper end surface of the upper end supporting portion, the driven roller of the film forming apparatus can be arranged in the groove portion. As the conveyance tray is conveyed, the driven roller comes into contact with the wall surface of the groove portion, and the driven roller rotates. The driven roller can appropriately guide the conveying direction of the conveyance tray during substrate conveyance.

It is preferable that an inclined portion formed so that the width of the groove portion widens toward the end portion is formed at the end portion in the carrying direction of the groove portion. In the conveying tray for a film forming apparatus having this configuration, since the width of the end of the driven roller at the entrance side when the driven roller enters the groove and becomes narrower as it enters the inside of the conveying direction, the influence of the positional deviation can be smoothly conveyed . Even if the positional deviation of the transporting tray with respect to the driven roller occurs, the driven roller can be prevented from being caught and transported.

A rail portion extending in the carrying direction may be provided on the lower end surface of the lower end support portion. If the rail portion is provided on the lower end face of the conveyance tray, the running of the conveyance tray can be stabilized.

The present invention can provide a film forming apparatus capable of reducing the quality of the film formation substrate by reducing the possibility of adhering particles to the substrate while simplifying the drive mechanism.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a film forming apparatus which can be applied to the film forming apparatus described above and which can simplify the driving mechanism of the film forming apparatus and reduce the quality of the film substrate by reducing the possibility of adhesion of the particles to the substrate And a conveyance tray for the conveyance.

1 is a schematic side view showing a deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a cross-sectional view showing the inside of the chamber from the side.
3 is a cross-sectional view showing the inside of the film forming chamber from the front in the carrying direction.
4 is a cross-sectional view showing an upper end portion of the transporting tray.
5 is a cross-sectional view showing the lower end of the transport tray.
6 is a plan view showing the upper end of the transport tray.
7 is a plan view showing an inclined portion formed at the upper end of the transporting tray.

A film forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the words indicating the directions such as " upper "and" lower "are based on the states shown in the drawings and are convenient. 1 to 7 also show an XYZ Cartesian coordinate system for ease of explanation.

(Film forming apparatus)

1 is a schematic side view showing a film forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 1 shows the substrate 101 (see Fig. 2) from the side in the transport direction Y. Fig. The film forming apparatus 100 shown in Fig. 1 is for performing processing such as film formation on a substrate 101 (for example, a glass substrate). The film forming apparatus 100 is a device for performing film formation by, for example, RPD (Reactive Plasma Deposition). The film forming apparatus 100 has a plasma gun 140 for generating plasma, ionizes the film forming material by using the generated plasma, and deposits the film by adhering the particles of the film forming material to the surface of the substrate 101 .

The film forming apparatus 100 is applied to, for example, a solar cell manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a solar cell, a liquid crystal display element manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element, a planar input element manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a planar input element (touch panel) can do.

The film forming apparatus 100 includes a load lock chamber 121, a buffer chamber 122, a film forming chamber (film forming chamber) 123, a buffer chamber 124, and a load lock chamber 125. These chambers 121 to 125 are arranged side by side in this order. All the chambers 121 to 125 are constituted by vacuum containers and the open / close gates 131 to 136 are provided at the entrance and exit of the chambers 121 to 125, respectively. The film forming apparatus 100 may have a configuration in which a plurality of buffer chambers 122 and 124 and a film forming chamber 123 are arranged.

A vacuum pump (not shown) is connected to each of the vacuum chambers 121 to 125 so as to set the inside of the vacuum chamber to an appropriate pressure. Each of the vacuum chambers 121 to 125 is provided with a plurality of (for example, two) vacuum gauges (not shown) for monitoring the pressure in the chamber. A vacuum exhaust pipe connected to a vacuum pump is connected to each of the chambers 121 to 125, and a vacuum system is provided in the vacuum exhaust pipe.

2, the film forming apparatus 100 is provided with a transport apparatus 10 for transporting a transport tray 20 for supporting a substrate 101. As shown in Fig. The transport apparatus 10 transports the substrate 101 and the transport tray 20 in an upright state in the vacuum chambers 121 to 125 (details will be described later).

Next, various vacuum chambers 121 to 125 will be described with reference to Fig. The load lock chamber 121 is a chamber in which a substrate 101 to be processed to be opened to the atmosphere and a transporting tray 20 for supporting the substrate 101 are introduced by opening the open / close gate 131 provided at the inlet side, to be. The outlet side of the load lock chamber 121 is connected to the inlet side of the buffer chamber 122 through the opening and closing gate 132. [

The buffer chamber 122 is a pressure adjusting chamber in which the substrate 101 passing through the load lock chamber 121 is introduced by communicating with the load lock chamber 121 by opening the opening / closing gate 132 provided at the inlet side . The outlet side of the buffer chamber 122 is connected to the inlet side of the film formation chamber 123 through the opening / In the buffer chamber 122, a heater (not shown) for heating the substrate 101 is provided. The heater is disposed so as to face the film formation surface in order to heat the film formation surface (film formation surface) of the substrate 101. In the present embodiment, since the substrate 101 is arranged in an upright state, the film formation surface is arranged along the vertical direction. In the buffer chamber 122, the substrate is heated so that the substrate temperature is, for example, about 200 ° C. The buffer chamber 122 is provided at the front end of the film formation chamber 123 and functions as a heating chamber for heating the substrate 101. [

As the heater, for example, a lamp heater can be used. The lamp heater has a bar shape and extends in the vertical direction (Z). A plurality of (for example, twelve) lamp heaters are provided in the buffer chamber 122, and are arranged at a predetermined interval in the carrying direction Y. The heat of the heater is transferred to the substrate 101, and the substrate 101 is heated.

The film forming chamber 123 is introduced with the substrate 101 and the transport tray 20 which communicate with the buffer chamber 122 and have passed through the buffer chamber 122 by opening the opening and closing gate 133 provided on the inlet side , And a thin film layer is formed on the substrate 101. The outlet side of the film forming chamber 123 is connected to the inlet side of the buffer chamber 124 through the opening / closing gate 134. As shown in Fig. 3, in the film formation chamber 123, a deposition apparatus 140 for forming a film formation material (thin film layer) on the substrate 101 is provided. The deposition apparatus 140 is constituted by a main hearth for supporting a film forming material, a plasma gun for irradiating the plasma beam with a main dust, and the like. A heater for heating the substrate 101 is provided in the film formation chamber 123. The heater is provided so as to heat the substrate 101 from the side of the back surface 101f (the surface opposite to the film formation surface 101e) side of the substrate 101, for example. In the film forming chamber 123, the substrate temperature is maintained at, for example, about 200 캜.

The buffer chamber 124 shown in Fig. 1 is provided with a substrate 101 which is formed by the film formation chamber 123 and which communicates with the film formation chamber 123 by opening the opening / closing gate 134 provided at the entrance side, And is a pressure adjustment chamber into which the carrier tray 20 is introduced. The outlet side of the buffer chamber 124 is connected to the inlet side of the load lock chamber 125 through the open / close gate 135. In the buffer chamber 124, a cooling plate (not shown) for cooling the substrate 101 is provided. This cooling plate is disposed so as to face the film formation surface of the substrate 101 in order to cool the film formation surface of the substrate 101. [ And a cooling plate for cooling the substrate 101 from the back surface 101f side of the substrate 101 may be provided. In the buffer chamber 124, the substrate is cooled to a temperature of, for example, about 120 ° C. The buffer chamber 124 is provided at the rear end of the film formation chamber 123, and functions as a cooling chamber for cooling the substrate 101. However, the buffer chamber 124 may not be provided with the cooling means. The substrate 101 may be cooled (air-cooled) by atmospheric pressure in an atmospheric pressure environment after leaving the vacuum chamber.

The cooling plate functions as a cooling means for cooling the substrate 101. The cooling plate is formed of, for example, a copper plate, and has a plate shape and is arranged to face the substrate 101. [ The cooling plate is provided with a cooling pipe (not shown) through which the cooling water passes. The heat of the substrate 101 is transferred to the cooling plate, heat transferred to the cooling plate is transferred to the cooling pipe, and the cooling pipe is cooled by the cooling water flowing in the pipe. Thereby, the cooling plate is cooled and the substrate 101 is cooled.

The load lock chamber 125 is a chamber through which the substrate 101 having passed through the buffer chamber 124 is introduced by communicating with the buffer chamber 124 by opening the opening and closing gate 135 provided on the inlet side. An opening / closing gate 136 is provided on the exit side of the load lock chamber 125, and the load lock chamber 125 is opened to the atmosphere by opening the opening / closing gate 136. In the load lock chamber 125, air is cooled by air opening and cooled to 100 ° C or lower at the time when the substrate 101 is transported out of the chamber.

(Transport tray)

Next, the conveyance tray 20 used in the film formation apparatus 100 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 2 to 7. Fig. The transfer tray 20 supports the substrate 101 when the substrate 101 is conveyed in a state in which the substrate 101 is held upright. The state in which the substrate 101 is erected is a state in which the thickness direction X of the substrate 101 is horizontal. At this time, the film formation surface of the substrate 101 is arranged along the vertical direction Z. However, the substrate 101 may be supported in a state in which the substrate 101 is tilted from the upright state. The thickness direction X of the substrate 101 may be substantially horizontal or may be inclined with respect to the horizontal direction. The plate thickness direction X is orthogonal to the up and down direction Z and perpendicular to the conveying direction Y of the substrate 101. [

As shown in Fig. 2, the transport tray 20 is formed as a rectangular frame body that supports the end portion of the substrate 101. As shown in Fig. The transfer tray 20 includes an upper end support portion 21 for supporting an upper end portion 101a of the substrate 101, a lower end support portion 22 for supporting a lower end portion 101b of the substrate 101, And a pair of side end supporting portions 23 for supporting the side end portions 101c. The conveyance tray 20 of the present embodiment is configured to support one substrate 101. The transfer tray 20 may be configured to support a plurality of (for example, two) substrates 101. [ The transfer tray may support the entire periphery of the edge portion of the substrate 101 or may partially support the edge portion of the substrate 101. As the material of the upper end supporting portion 21, the lower end supporting portion 22, and the side end supporting portion 23, for example, stainless steel can be used.

(Upper end supporting portion)

The upper end support portion 21 is disposed along the upper end portion 101a of the substrate 101. [ 4, the upper end support portion 21 is provided with a support plate 21a for supporting the substrate 101 and a substrate pressing member 21b for supporting the substrate 101 with respect to the support plate 21a have.

The support plate 21a supports the upper end portion 101a of the substrate 101 from the side opposite to the deposition surface 101e of the substrate 101. [ The substrate pressing member 21b supports the substrate 101 by pressing the upper end portion 101a of the substrate 101 from the film formation surface 101e side. The upper end portion 101a of the substrate 101 is sandwiched between the support plate 21a and the substrate pressing member 21b from both sides in the plate thickness direction X. [ The upper end support portion 21 may be configured so as to prevent displacement of the substrate 101.

(Guide groove)

A guide groove 30 for defining the conveying direction (Y direction) of the conveyance tray 20 is formed on the ceiling surface (upper surface) 21c of the upper end support portion 21 as shown in Figs. 4, 6, Respectively. The guide groove 30 is configured such that the driven rollers 12 and 13 (guide rollers) described later can enter. The guide groove 30 is formed over the entire length of the upper end support portion 21 in the Y direction. The guide groove 30 is recessed downward. The guide groove 30 may be formed, for example, by cutting the top surface 21c of the upper end supporting portion 21, or by assembling a plurality of members.

The upper end support portion 21 has a pair of guide plates 32 and 33 protruding upward from a support plate 21a for supporting the substrate 101. [ The pair of guide plates 32, 33 are arranged so as to face each other in the X direction. The opposing wall surfaces 32a and 33a of the pair of guide plates 32 and 33 are a pair of wall surfaces in the guide groove 30. The pair of guide plates 32 and 33 are fixed to the main body 31 by bolts 34, for example. However, in Figs. 6 and 7, the illustration of the bolt 34 is omitted.

(Inclined portion)

7 is a plan view showing an inclined portion formed at the upper end of the conveyance tray 20. Fig. As shown in Fig. 7, the guide grooves 30 of the upper end supporting portion 21 are formed with inclined portions 32b and 33b. The inclined portions 32b and 33b are formed at the ends of the pair of guide plates 32 and 33 in the Y direction. The inclined portions 32b and 33b are formed such that the width of the guide groove 30 widens toward the end in the Y direction. The inclined portions 32b and 33b are formed so that the width of the guide groove 30 becomes narrow toward the center in the Y direction. The opposing wall surfaces 32a and 33a of the guide plates 32 and 33 are formed in parallel except for the inclined portions 32b and 33b.

(Lower end supporting portion)

As shown in Fig. 2, the lower end support portion 22 is disposed along the lower end portion 101b of the substrate 101. As shown in Fig. The lower end support portion 22 is disposed opposite to the upper end support portion 21 in the vertical direction (Z direction). 5, the lower end support portion 22 is provided with a support plate 22a for supporting the substrate 101 and a substrate pressing member 22b for supporting the substrate 101 with respect to the support plate 22a have.

The support plate 22a supports the lower end portion 101b of the substrate 101 from the opposite side of the deposition surface 101e of the substrate 101. [ The substrate pressing member 22b supports the substrate 101 by pressing the lower end portion 101b of the substrate 101 from the film formation surface 101e side. The lower end portion 101b of the substrate 101 is sandwiched between the support plate 22a and the substrate pressing member 22b from both sides in the plate thickness direction X. [ The lower end support portion 22 may be configured so as to prevent displacement of the substrate 101.

The lower end support portion 22 has a lower end surface extending in the conveying direction Y and provided with a rail portion 26 capable of coming into contact with the peripheral surface 11b of the conveying roller 11. [ The rail portion 26 is formed linearly over the entire length in the longitudinal direction Y of the transport tray 20. Since the conveyance tray 20 is provided with the rail portion 26, the conveyance of the conveyance tray 20 can be stabilized. As the material of the rail portion 26, for example, stainless steel can be used.

(Side end supporting portion)

The side end support portion 23 (connection portion) is disposed along the side end portion 101c of the substrate 101. [ Like the upper end support portion 21 and the lower end support portion 22, the side end support portion 23 includes a support plate for supporting the substrate 101 and a substrate holding member 22 for holding the substrate 101 against the support plate, . The side end support portion 23 can be configured to prevent the substrate 101 from being displaced or deformed. The pair of side end supporting portions 23 connect the ends of the upper end supporting portion 21 and the lower end supporting portion 22 in the Y direction to form a rectangular frame body. The upper end supporting portion 21, the lower end supporting portion 22, and the side end supporting portion 23 may be integrally molded or may be connected to a separate member.

The carrier tray 20 is provided with an opening 25 for exposing the back surface 101f of the substrate 101 (the surface opposite to the deposition surface 101e), as shown in Figs. 2 to 5. The opening 25 is formed by being enclosed by, for example, an upper end supporting portion 21, a lower end supporting portion 22, and a pair of side end supporting portions 23. Since the opening 25 is formed in the carrier tray 20, the heating efficiency and cooling efficiency of the substrate 101 can be improved.

(Vacuum chamber)

Next, the vacuum chambers 121 to 125 will be described with reference to Figs. 2 and 3. Fig. The vacuum chambers 121 to 125 are box-shaped and include a top plate 51, a bottom plate 52, a front wall 53 (see FIG. 1), a rear wall 54, an inlet side wall 55, And a side wall 56. The top plate 51 and the bottom plate 52 are walls arranged so as to face each other in the vertical direction Z. The inlet sidewall 55 and the outlet sidewall 56 are walls arranged opposite to each other in the conveying direction Y. The inlet side wall 55 is a wall on the inlet side where the substrate 101 and the conveyance tray 20 are brought into the vacuum chambers 121 to 125. The outlet sidewall 56 is a wall on the outlet side where the substrate 101 and the conveyance tray 20 are taken out of the vacuum chambers 121 to 125. [ The front wall 53 and the rear wall 54 are walls arranged opposite to each other in the thickness direction X of the substrate 101. [ However, in Fig. 3, the illustration of the front wall 53 is omitted.

An opening (opening) 55a for bringing the carrier tray 20 and the substrate 101 into the vacuum chambers 121 to 125 is formed in the inlet sidewall 55. The outlet sidewall 56 is formed with an outlet (opening) 56a for carrying the carrier tray 20 and the substrate 101 out of the vacuum chambers 121 to 125. [

3 shows a cross section of the film formation chamber 123. As shown in Fig. The deposition chamber 123 is provided with a recess 54a by disposing the rear wall 54 so as to protrude outward (toward the side opposite to the substrate 101). The deposition apparatus 140 is disposed in the concave portion 54a. In the film formation chamber 123, a plasma is generated by the plasma gun, and the film forming material supported on the main wall is heated and evaporated. The film forming material evaporates and ionizes, and the particles of the film forming material are diffused in the concave portion 54a. The particles of the film forming material diffused into the concave portion 54a fly toward the substrate 101 and adhere to the surface of the substrate 101 (film forming surface 101e).

The top plate 51 and the bottom plate 52 are joined to the inlet side wall 55 at one end in the carrying direction Y and at the other end in the carrying direction Y by the outlet side wall 56 ). The front wall 53 and the back wall 54 are joined to the inlet side wall 55 at one end in the carrying direction Y and at the other end in the carrying direction Y, 56, respectively. The top plate 51 and the bottom plate 52 are joined to the front wall 53 at the front side and to the back wall 54 at the back side. These wall members 51 to 56 are integrally joined by, for example, welding. However, in order to perform maintenance in the film forming chamber 123, a part of the wall (for example, the front wall 53) may be hinged to be openable and closable.

(Conveying device)

Next, the transport apparatus 10 for transporting the substrate 101 will be described. 2 and 3, the conveying apparatus 10 includes a plurality of conveying rollers 11 disposed on the lower end side of the substrate 101, a plurality of driven rollers 11 disposed on the upper end side of the substrate 101, (12, 13).

The plurality of conveying rollers 11 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the conveying direction Y as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 5. The conveying roller 11 is fixed to a rotary shaft 14 extending in the X direction as shown in Fig. The rotary shaft (14) is rotatably supported by a pair of bearings (62). A support portion 61 for supporting the pair of bearings 62 is fixed to the bottom plate 52.

3, an opening portion 54b for inserting the rotation shaft 14 is formed in the rear wall 54 of the vacuum chambers 121 to 125. As shown in Fig. In the opening 54b, there is provided a shaft device 15 that rotatably supports the rotary shaft 14 and seals between the inside of the vacuum chamber and the external environment. As the shaft device 15, for example, a magnetic fluid bearing can be used. The rotating shaft 14 extends through the back wall 54 from the inside to the outside of the vacuum chambers 121 to 125. [ However, the rotating shaft 14 may be constituted as an integral body or may be constituted by connecting a plurality of members in the axial direction.

A driving source (for example, an electric motor) 16 for rotationally driving the rotary shaft 14 is provided outside the vacuum chambers 121 to 125. The driving force outputted from the driving source 16 is transmitted to the plurality of rotary shafts 14 by the power transmission mechanism having the belt car 17 and the endless belt 18. [ A plurality of belt trays 17 are attached to the ends of the rotary shafts 14 disposed outside the vacuum chambers 121 to 125. An endless belt 18 is provided on the belt car 17 provided on the rotary shaft 14 adjacent to the carrying direction Y. [ The belt 17 is mounted on the output shaft of the drive source 16 and the endless belt 18 is wound on the belt car 17 of the output shaft and the belt car 17 mounted on the adjacent rotary shaft 14 . Thereby, the driving force output from the driving source 16 can be distributed, and the plurality of rotary shafts 14 can be rotationally driven. However, the power transmission mechanism is not limited to the one provided with the endless belt 18 and the belt car 17, but may be any other power transmission mechanism. For example, a chain and a sprocket may be provided, or a power transmission shaft or the like may be provided.

5, the conveying roller 11 protrudes outward in the radial direction of the conveying roller 11 and rotates in the axial direction (X direction) of the rotary shaft 14 to face the conveying tray 20 And a pair of jaw portions 11a disposed so as to sandwich the both side portions of the lower end support portion 22 (the rail portion 26). The jaw portion 11a abuts on the side surface (the surface facing the X direction) of the rail portion 26 of the transport tray 20 to regulate the position of the transport tray 20.

Next, the driven rollers 12 and 13 will be described. The driven rollers 12 and 13 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the carrying direction Y. As shown in Fig. 4, the driven rollers 12, 13 are rotatably supported by a fixed shaft 71 extending in the Z direction. In Fig. 4, only the first driven roller 12 is shown, but the second driven roller 13 has the same configuration. As the driven rollers 12 and 13, a rolling bearing can be used. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the fixed shaft 71 is supported by a support member 72 fixed to the top plate 51. As shown in Fig. The supporting member 72 extends in the carrying direction Y and supports a plurality of fixed shafts 71. The driven rollers 12 and 13 are not limited to rolling bearings and may be other rotating bodies. It is preferable that the driven rollers 12 and 13 have small rotational inertia in order to smoothly perform the rotation at the time of contact with the carrying tray 20 without impact.

As shown in Fig. 6, the driven rollers 12 and 13 have a first driven roller 12 and a second driven roller 13 disposed at different positions in the X direction. The follower rollers 12 and 13 are arranged in a zigzag when viewed from the Z direction. The first driven roller 12 is disposed at a position where it can abut the wall surface 32a of the guide plate 32 disposed on one side in the X direction. The second driven roller 13 is disposed at a position where it can abut the wall surface 33a of the guide plate 33 disposed on the other side in the X direction. The driven rollers 12 and 13 are not connected to the driving device. When the driven rollers 12 and 13 come in contact with the wall surfaces 32a and 33a of the conveyance tray 20, the driven rollers 12 and 13 rotate in accordance with the movement of the wall surfaces 32a and 33a of the conveyance tray 20 abutting on the peripheral surfaces thereof .

The rotation center O ₁₂ of the first driven roller ₁₂ is disposed on the axis L ₁₂ and the rotation center O ₁₃ of the second driven roller ₁₃ is disposed on the axis L ₁₃ . The axes L ₁₂ and L ₁₃ are arranged at different positions in the X direction.

The first driven roller 12 abuts against the wall surface 32a of the guide plate 32 and rotates as the conveyance tray 20 moves. The second driven roller 13 abuts against the wall surface 33a of the guide plate 33 and rotates as the conveyance tray 20 moves. The first driven roller 12 and the second driven roller 13 are arranged alternately in the transport direction Y. [ The first driven roller 12 and the second driven roller 13 may not be disposed alternately in the transport direction Y. [ For example, two second driven rollers 13 may be disposed after two first driven rollers 12 are arranged in the transport direction Y.

A first outer diameter of the driven roller 12 and the second driven roller 13 is smaller than the width (W ₃₀₎ of the guide groove (30). A predetermined clearance d ₁ is formed between the first driven roller 12 and the guide plate 33. A predetermined gap d ₂ is formed between the second driven roller 13 and the guide plate 32.

In the X direction, the position of the most wall surface 32a side (one side of a pair of wall surfaces of the groove) of the circumferential surface of the first driven roller 12 and the position of the circumferential surface of the second driven roller 13 the wall surface (33a) side distance from the position (home one other side of the pair of wall portions) (W ₁₎ has, between a pair of guide plates (32, 33) of the guide groove 30 (groove portion of a pair Is smaller than the distance (W ₃₀ ) between the wall surfaces of the light-emitting elements.

Next, the operation of the film formation apparatus 100 of the present embodiment will be described. First, the substrate 101 is introduced into the load lock chamber 121. In the load lock chamber 121, the open / close gates 131 and 132 are closed to be in a hermetically closed state, and the pressure is reduced to a predetermined pressure. The substrate 101 is transported in the load lock chamber 121 and introduced into the adjacent buffer chamber 122.

The film formation apparatus 100 heats the substrate 101 in the buffer chamber 122 into which the substrate 101 is introduced. For example, the buffer chamber 122 is heated to a predetermined temperature before the substrate 101 is introduced.

The substrate 101 is introduced into the buffer chamber 122. In the buffer chamber 122, the open / close gates 132 and 133 are closed to be in an airtight state, and the pressure is reduced to a predetermined pressure (the same pressure as the film forming chamber 123). After the substrate 101 is heated to a temperature suitable for film formation, the substrate 101 is transported in the buffer chamber 122 and introduced into the adjacent film formation chamber 123.

In the film forming chamber 123, before the substrate 101 is introduced, the film is in an appropriate reduced pressure state for film formation. When the substrate 101 is introduced into the film formation chamber 123, the open / close gates 133 and 134 are closed to be in an airtight state. Further, the inside of the film formation chamber 123 is heated by the heater, and the substrate temperature is maintained. Then, a film formation process is performed on the substrate 101, and a metal film (thin film layer) is formed on the substrate 101.

The film formation apparatus 100 cools the substrate 101 in the buffer chamber 124 into which the substrate 101 is introduced. For example, the buffer chamber 124 is cooled to a predetermined temperature before the substrate 101 is introduced. However, it is not necessary to perform cooling in the buffer chamber 124.

The substrate 101 is introduced into the buffer chamber 124. In the buffer chamber 124, the opening and closing gates 134 and 135 are closed to be in a hermetically closed state, and the pressure is reduced to a predetermined pressure. After the substrate 101 is cooled, the substrate 101 is transported in the buffer chamber 124 and introduced into the adjacent load lock chamber 125.

In the load lock chamber 125, the opening / closing gate 136 is opened, and the substrate 101 is cooled by the air opening. After the substrate 101 is cooled, the substrate 101 is conveyed in the load lock chamber 125 and led out of the load lock chamber 125.

In the film formation apparatus 100, the driving force outputted from the driving source 16 is transmitted by using the belt car 17 and the endless belt 18, and the conveying roller 11 is rotated. The transporting tray 20 supporting the substrate 101 is transported by rotationally driving the transporting roller 11. The conveyance tray 20 is driven by a plurality of conveying rollers 11 arranged in the conveying direction Y to move within the vacuum chambers 121 to 125. [

In the film forming apparatus 100, when the driven rollers 12 and 13 disposed on the upper side of the vacuum chambers 121 to 125 come into contact with the guide plates 32 and 33, And rotates accordingly. At this time, the first driven roller 12 abuts only one of the guide plates 32 and rotates. That is, the first driven roller 12 rotates in the same direction. The second driven roller 13 is in contact with only the other guide plate 33 and rotates. That is, the second driven roller 13 is rotated in the same direction. The same driven rollers 12 and 13 rotate only in the same direction, thereby stably guiding the transport tray 20 without disturbing substrate transport.

The first driven roller 12 comes into contact with the wall surface 32a of the guide groove 30 and the second driven roller 13 comes into contact with the wall surface 33a of the guide groove 30, The posture of the transport tray 20 and the substrate 101 can be stabilized.

Since the film forming apparatus 100 includes the plurality of conveying rollers 11 for conveying the substrate 101 and the conveying tray 20, it is possible to provide a simple apparatus. It is possible to provide a simple structure as compared with the conventional rack pinion type drive mechanism. Since the conveying roller 11 is disposed on the bottom plate 52 side (below the lower end of the substrate 101) of the vacuum chambers 121 to 125, There is a low possibility that particles adhere to the substrate 101 disposed above the conveying roller 11 even if particles are generated in accordance with the rotation. This reduces the possibility that the particles adhere to the substrate 101, thereby suppressing deterioration of the quality of the deposition substrate.

The position of the transfer tray 20 relative to the transfer roller 11 can be stabilized because the transfer roller 11 is provided with the jaw portion 11a. Thereby, the posture of the transport tray 20 and the substrate 101 can be stabilized and transported smoothly. It is not necessary to provide a side roller or other guide roller for defining the position in the X direction on the lower side of the substrate 101 because the jaw portion 11a is provided on the conveying roller 11. [ As a result, a simple configuration can be achieved.

The film forming apparatus 100 is structured such that the driven rollers 12 and 13 come into contact with the pair of guide plates 32 and 33 formed on the upper end of the conveyance tray 20 and rotate, The position of the transport tray 20 can be regulated so that the transport tray 20 can be prevented from falling. Thus, the transport tray 20 and the substrate 101 can be stably and smoothly transported.

The driven rollers 12 and 13 are arranged in the guide groove 30, and the driven rollers 12 and 13 are brought into contact with the uncoated portion. Since the film forming material is attached to the outer surface side of the conveyance tray 20 after passing through the film forming chamber 123, when the roller touches the outer surface of the conveyance tray 20, the film forming material is peeled off and particles are generated. In this embodiment, since the driven rollers 12 and 13 touch the wall surfaces 32a and 33a in the guide groove 30, generation of particles can be suppressed.

The plurality of driven rollers 12 and 13 includes a first driven roller 12 abutting one guide plate 32 and a second driven roller 13 abutting the other guide plate 33, The first driven roller 12 and the second driven roller 13 are arranged alternately in the transport direction Y so that the transport tray 20 in the transporting state is in contact with the first driven roller 12 and the second driven roller 13, And abut on the driven roller 13 alternately. As a result, the posture of the transport tray 20 and the substrate 101 can be transported more stably and smoothly. As a result, the conveying speed can be improved. Since the follower rollers 12 and 13 always rotate in different directions when rotating, the rotational directions of the follower rollers 12 and 13 are not switched to reverse rotation, and the conveyance tray 20 is conveyed The frictional resistance can be reduced. Thus, smooth conveyance of the conveyance tray 20 can be realized.

The film forming apparatus 100 is arranged so that the position on the side of the maximum wall surface 32a of the circumferential surface of the first driven roller 12 and the position on the most wall surface 33a side of the circumferential surface of the second driven roller 13 the distance between the position and the distance (W ₁₎ is a pair of the wall surface of the guide groove (30) (32a, 33a) is smaller than (W _30). Thereby, the positional deviation of the transport tray 20 with respect to the driven rollers 12, 13 is permitted, and the transport tray 20 and the substrate 101 can be transported stably and smoothly. The frictional resistance between the driven rollers 12 and 13 and the wall surfaces 32a and 33a of the guide groove 30 can be reduced to improve the conveying speed.

The conveyance tray 20 of the present embodiment has the guide grooves continuous in the conveying direction Y on the upper end face 21c so that the driven rollers 12 and 13 of the film forming apparatus 100 are guided (30). The wall surfaces 32a and 33a of the guide groove 30 and the driven rollers 12 and 13 come into contact with each other and the driven rollers 12 and 13 rotate so that the conveyance of the conveyance tray 20 is suitable .

Since the inclined portions 32b and 33b are formed in the guide grooves 30 of the conveyance tray 20, the ends of the entrance side when the driven rollers 12 and 13 enter the guide groove 30 Can be made narrower as the width thereof is widened and it is advanced inward in the transport direction. Thus, even if the positional deviation of the transport tray 20 with respect to the driven rollers 12, 13 occurs, the driven rollers 12, 13 can be prevented from being caught and transported.

Although the present invention has been specifically described based on the embodiments thereof, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. The film forming apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the ion plating method, and other film forming method (for example, sputtering method) may be applied.

The transporting tray for the film forming apparatus and the film forming apparatus of the present invention is not limited to transporting the substrate upright, but it may be transported while tilting the substrate. For example, the inclined substrate may be conveyed by tilting the film forming apparatus and the conveyance tray. For example, the peripheral surface of the conveying roller may be formed so as to intersect the rotation axis line. Or a film forming apparatus for transporting a substrate by using a transport tray that supports the substrate in an inclined manner. The inclination angle when the substrate is tilted can be set to about 0 to 15 degrees with respect to the vertical direction.

The film forming apparatus may have a gate valve portion having a valve body for sealing the opening portion of the vacuum container in the casing, and a driven roller may be provided in the casing of the gate valve portion. Conventionally, since the space in the casing of the gate valve portion disposed between the vacuum vessels is small, the conveying means can not be provided. In the film forming apparatus of the present invention, driven rollers may be provided in the casing of the gate valve portion to appropriately guide the conveying direction of the conveying tray and the substrate.

In addition, by reducing the outer diameter of the driven roller, the thickness of the transport tray 20 can be reduced. Thus, the size of the opening through which the transport tray 20 passes can be suppressed.

10 conveying device
11 conveying roller
11a jaw
11b circumferential surface
12, 13 driven rollers
14 Rotary shaft
20 Transport tray
21 upper end support
22 lower end support
23 side end support portion (connection portion)
26 Le Mans
30 Guide home
32, 33 guide plate
32a, 33a wall surface (wall surface in the groove portion)
51 Top plate
52 floor plate
53 Front wall
54 times the face wall
55 inlet side wall
56 outlet side wall
100 Deposition device
101 substrate
121, 125 Load lock chamber (vacuum container)
122, 124 Buffer chamber (vacuum container)
123 Deposition chamber (vacuum container)
140 Deposition device

Claims (9)

A film forming apparatus for performing a film forming process on a substrate,
A vacuum container capable of accommodating the substrate;
The conveyance tray for supporting the substrate is inclined in the plate thickness direction X in a state in which the substrate is upright or tilted from the upright state so that the plate thickness direction X of the substrate is horizontal in the vacuum container, In the conveying direction (Y) intersecting with the conveying direction
Wherein,
A plurality of conveying rollers disposed on a lower end side of the substrate and rotating around a rotation axis in the plate thickness direction X to convey the conveyance tray,
And a plurality of driven rollers disposed on an upper end side of the substrate and rotating about an axis of rotation in the up and down direction (Z) crossing the plate thickness direction (X) and the conveyance direction (Y)
Wherein a continuous groove portion is formed on the upper end surface of the conveyance tray along the conveyance direction,
Wherein the driven roller is in contact with a wall surface in the groove portion and rotates in accordance with the movement of the conveyance tray,
Wherein the plurality of driven rollers
A first driven roller which is in contact with one of a pair of wall surfaces in the groove,
And a second driven roller which is in contact with the other of the pair of wall surfaces in the groove portion,
Wherein the first driven roller and the second driven roller are arranged alternately in the transport direction,
The rotation center of the first driven roller is arranged on the first axis L12 and the rotation center of the second driven roller is arranged on the second axis L13,
Wherein the first axis L12 and the second axis L13 are disposed at different positions in the plate thickness direction X. [ The method according to claim 1,
And a rail portion extending in the conveying direction and capable of coming into contact with a peripheral surface of the conveying roller is provided on a lower end surface of the conveying tray. delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein a position of the one end of the pair of wall surfaces of the circumferential surface of the first driven roller and a position of the other end of the pair of wall surfaces of the circumferential surface of the second driven roller Is smaller than the distance between the pair of wall surfaces of the groove portion. The method according to any one of claims 1, 2, and 4,
Wherein the conveying roller has a pair of jaw portions protruding outward in the radial direction of the conveying roller and arranged so as to sandwich both sides of the conveyance tray opposite to the plate thickness direction. The method according to any one of claims 1, 2, and 4,
And a gate valve portion having a valve body capable of sealing an opening through which the conveyance tray of the vacuum container passes,
And the driven roller is provided in the gate valve portion. delete The method according to claim 1,
And an inclined portion formed at an end portion of the groove portion in the carrying direction (Y) such that a width of the groove portion widens toward the end portion. delete

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