KR20030016548A - Sputtering machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A sputtering machine is provided to exchange easily components and ease maintenance of a chamber by opening or shutting fully a front face of the chamber. CONSTITUTION: A chamber(12) is vertically installed at a front face of the first chamber body(10). The chamber(12) has an opened front face. A sealing portion is formed between the first chamber body(10) and the second chamber body(20). A plurality of electrode units(30) are installed on each inner face of the first and the second chamber bodies(10,20). A target(32) is adhered on the electrode unit(30). The target(32) is used as a cathode. A shield assembly(34) is installed on each inner face of the first and the second chamber bodies(10,20) in order to protect the first and the second chamber bodies(10,20). A vacuum pump(40) is installed at each outer face of the first and the second chamber bodies(10,20). A heating unit(42) is used for heating a substrate. A carrier device(50) includes a carrier(52) and a plurality of wheels(54). Gate plates(70) are installed on both sides of the first chamber body(10), respectively.

Description

Sputtering Machine {SPUTTERING MACHINE}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sputtering machine, and more particularly, to a sputtering machine capable of completely opening and closing the entire chamber in a full front opening door form.

As is well known, the sputtering technology using plasma is applied to the coating of thin films in the manufacturing fields of semiconductors, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma display panels (PDPs), and projection TVs. It is commonly used.

Various types of sputtering machines have been developed for coating such thin films, and in the manufacturing field of LCD and PDP, silica (SiO ₂ ) film or ITO (Indium Tin) on the surface of glass substrate in glass sputtering machine chamber In order to coat the oxide films sequentially, each chamber is connected inline.

Looking at an example of a conventional sputtering machine, the chamber body of the sputtering machine is configured, the chamber of the chamber body is configured to open and close by the door rotated around the hinge. In addition, the chamber of the chamber body is provided with a component for coating a thin film such as an electrode unit having a target.

However, in the sputtering machine of the prior art, the chamber is blocked by the hinge structure of the door, and it is difficult to secure a working space, which involves a lot of difficulties in replacing parts such as targets and maintaining the chamber, and a considerable amount of time and manpower There is a problem. In the case of the inline sputtering system in which the respective chambers of the sputtering machines are connected inline, this problem is aggravated by the inconvenience and inconvenience of opening and closing the chambers of the sputtering machines individually by the door, which greatly reduces the operation and reliability of the entire system. There is a problem that is not suitable for application to an inline sputtering system.

On the other hand, since the chamber of the sputtering machine is maintained at a high temperature for uniform coating of the thin film, the temperature of the chamber body also inevitably increases, causing a lot of difficulties in the operation of the sputtering machine, such as component failure and shortening of life. Therefore, in order to cool the chamber body, a cooling pipe having a circular cross section is attached to the outer surface of the chamber body in a zigzag shape or a coil shape and attached by welding. Not only can the body not be sufficiently cooled, but the overall shape of the cooling tube is considerably complicated, which entails a disadvantage in that design freedom is reduced.

In addition, there is a fatal problem that the seal provided to maintain the airtightness of the chamber is easily broken by thermal curing, causing vacuum breakage of the chamber. However, there is a situation in which the yarn is periodically replaced because a method for preventing thermal curing of the yarn is not provided, and there is a problem in that the productivity decrease due to the suspension of the operation of the sputtering machine for exchanging the yarn must be taken as it is.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the various problems of the prior art as described above, the object of the present invention is to open and close the entire chamber in a fully open door method to easily perform replacement of parts and maintenance of the chamber. It is to provide a sputtering machine which can do it.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sputtering machine which can implement an inline sputtering system optimally by continuously connecting chambers by a simple structure, and can greatly improve the operation and reliability of the entire system.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a sputtering machine which can efficiently control the temperature of the chamber body and can freely configure the cooling water passage of the chamber body regardless of the arrangement of the components, thereby improving design freedom. It is.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a sputtering machine which can effectively prevent thermal curing with a cooling structure of a seal and can extend its life.

Features of the present invention for achieving the above object, the first chamber body having a chamber that is open front; A second chamber body compatible with the first chamber body to open and close the chamber of the first chamber body; A sputtering machine comprising a conveying means for moving a second chamber body relative to a first chamber body.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a sputtering machine according to the present invention,

2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a configuration of a sputtering machine according to the present invention;

3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the chamber of the sputtering machine according to the present invention in a view similar to FIG. 2;

4 is a front view showing a first chamber body of the sputtering machine according to the present invention;

5 is a front view showing a second chamber body of the sputtering machine according to the present invention;

6 is a cross-sectional view showing a trough of the sputtering machine according to the present invention;

7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a cooling structure of a seal between a first and a second chamber body in a sputtering machine according to the present invention;

8 is a partial cross-sectional view of a gate plate of the sputtering machine according to the present invention;

9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II of FIG. 8;

10 is a front view showing a gate plate of the sputtering machine according to the present invention,

11 is a plan view showing a gate valve of the sputtering machine according to the present invention.

♣ Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawing ♣

10: first chamber body 12: chamber

20: second chamber body 30: electrode unit

32: target 50: carrier

52: carriage 62: gutter

70: gate plate 80: seal

90: gate valve 100: transfer device

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a sputtering machine according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the sputtering machine of the present invention includes a first chamber body 10 and a second chamber body 20 that are compatible with each other so as to be separated from side to side. On the front surface of the first chamber body 10 in contact with the second chamber body 20, a chamber 12 having a front surface open to provide a coating space of the substrate 1 is vertically formed. Between the first chamber body 10 and the second chamber body 20, a seal 22 for maintaining the airtightness of the chamber 12 is interposed. Although the seal 22 was shown to be attached to the wall surface of the second chamber body 20, it may be attached to the wall surface of the first chamber body 10. FIG.

2, 3 and 7, a locator pin 14 protrudes from an edge of the first chamber body 10, and a first chamber body () is formed at an edge of the second chamber body 20. The locator hole 24 is formed so that the locator pin 14 of 10 may be fitted. By locating the locator pin 14 of the first chamber body 10 and the locator hole 24 of the second chamber body 20, the first chamber body 10 and the second chamber body 20 are accurately aligned. Can be aligned. The coolant passage 26 is formed inside the second chamber body 20 so as to be close to the chamber 22. The cooling water flowing through the cooling water passage 26 of the second chamber body 20 cools the chamber 22 to prevent thermal curing.

1 to 5, a plurality of electrode units 30 are provided on inner surfaces of the first and second chamber bodies 10 and 20, and a target 32 is provided on the electrode unit 30. Attached. In the present embodiment, the target 32 is made of a silica target. The target 32 is a cathode, and the first and second chamber bodies 10 and 20 are anodes. In the drawing, the target 32 shows three vertically arranged diagonally on the inner surface of each of the first and second chamber bodies 10 and 20, but the number and position of the target 32 are exemplary. You can change it. The shield assembly 34 which protects the first and second chamber bodies 10 and 20 to be compatible with the target 32 on the inner surface of each of the first and second chamber bodies 10 and 20 where the target 32 is not installed. ) Is installed. On the outer surface of each of the first and second chamber bodies 10 and 20, a vacuum pump 40 is provided to exhaust the air of the chamber 12 to create a vacuum, and one side of the inner surface of the body 1 for heating the substrate 1 is heated. The unit 42 is provided. On the upper side of the first chamber body 10, a plurality of gas injection devices 44 are provided in the chamber 12 for filling an inert gas, for example argon gas (Ar Gas).

The chamber 12 of the first chamber body 10 is configured to be opened and closed in a front open door manner by the movement of the second chamber body 20. The second chamber body 20 is moved to open and close the chamber 12 of the first chamber body 10 by the conveying device 50. The conveying device 50 has a carrier 52 on which the second chamber body 20 is mounted, and a plurality of wheels for assisting the movement of the carrier 52 by rolling motion on both lower sides of the carrier 52. 54) is installed. The rolling motion of the wheel 54 is guided by the guide rails 56, and the first chamber body 10 is fixed to the frame 58.

2, 3, and 6, the coolant passage 60 cooperates with the wall surfaces of the first and second chamber bodies 10 and 20 on the outer surfaces of the first and second chamber bodies 10 and 20, respectively. The open end 64 of the trough 62 which forms a groove is fixed by welding. The trough 62 is divided and configured in a rod shape, and the trough 62, which is divided and configured, is connected to each other by welding and is substantially zigzag over the entire wall surface of the first and second chamber bodies 10 and 20. Attach it. Accordingly, the front surface of the first and second chamber bodies 10 and 20 by the coolant flowing along the coolant passage 60 formed between the trough 62 and the wall surfaces of the first and second chamber bodies 10 and 20. Can be cooled uniformly. In addition, the cooling water passage 60 is freely opened so that interference with components such as the vacuum pump 40 provided in the first and second chamber bodies 10 and 20 is eliminated by the connection of the trough 52 that is divided and configured. Since the design can be bypassed, the design freedom of the sputtering machine can be improved.

1, 8 to 10, gate plates 70 having vertical entrances 72 communicating with the chambers 12 are mounted on both side walls of the first chamber body 10. . On the outer surface of the gate plate 70, a channel 74 is formed along the edge of the entrance and exit 72 to form a closed curve. The channel 80 of the gate plate 70 is fixedly mounted with a seal 80 for maintaining airtightness.

When the chamber 12 of the sputtering machine of the present invention is continuously connected by such a gate plate 70 and the seal 80 to form a well-known inline sputtering system, the seal 80 is a gate of an adjacent sputtering machine. Close contact with the plate 70 maintains the airtight between the sputtering machine. Therefore, the sputtering machine of the present invention can realize an optimal inline sputtering system for continuous coating of silica film and ITO film on the surface of a glass substrate, for example.

As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the cooling water passage 76 is annularly formed in the gate plate 70 so as to be close to the seal 80, and the cooling water passage 76 is introduced with the introduction of the cooling water. The pipe 82 and the cooling water discharge pipe 84 for discharging the cooling water communicate with each other. The coolant flowing through the coolant passage 76 of the gate plate 70 cools the seal 80 to prevent thermal curing.

Referring to FIG. 11, the entrance and exit 72 of the gate plate 70 may be opened and closed by the gate valve 90. The gate valve 90 opens the cylinder 92, the lever 94 connected to be rotated by the cylinder rod 92 of the cylinder 92, and the inlet 72 of the gate plate 70. It consists of the door 96 connected to the lever 94 so that it may be closed. Although the figure shows that the gate valve 90 is installed at one side of the entrance 72 of the gate plate 70, the gate valve 90 may be installed to open and close the entrance 72 of the gate plate 70 on both sides. In addition, the gate valve 90 may exclude the entrance 72 of the gate plate 70 in order to continuously communicate the sputtering machine of the present invention and the chambers adjacent to each other to form an inline sputtering system.

1 to 4, the sputtering machine of the present invention includes a transfer device 100 for transferring a tray 2 on which a plurality of substrates 1 are mounted, and the substrate 1 has a tray 2. It is mounted on both sides of the. The conveying apparatus 100 includes a plurality of shank song rollers 102 and 104 which are arranged above and below the first chamber body 10 so that the upper and lower ends of the tray 2 can be supported and transported by rolling motion. The motor 106 provides a driving force capable of rotating the roller 104, and a belt transmission device 108 for transmitting the driving force of the motor 106 to the high feed roller 104. The belt transmission device 108 includes a drive pulley 108a connected to the motor 106, a driven pulley 108b connected to the high feed roller 104, a drive pulley 108a and a driven pulley 108b. It consists of a belt 108c wound around.

The operation of the sputtering machine according to the present invention having such a configuration will now be described.

1, 2, and 11, the tray 2 on which the substrate 1 is mounted is loaded into the chamber 12 through the entrance and exit 72 of the gate plate 70, and the gate plate 70 is provided. The entrance 72 is blocked by the door 96 of the gate valve 90. In the state where the locator pin 14 of the first chamber body 10 is fitted into the locator hole 24 of the second chamber body 20, the air of the chamber 12 is operated by the operation of the vacuum pump 40. When the gas is exhausted and formed in vacuum, the interface between the first chamber body 10 and the second chamber body 20 is in intimate contact with each other due to the exhaust of air. At this time, the chamber 22 is in close contact with the front surface of the first chamber body 10 to maintain the airtightness of the chamber 12, the coolant flowing through the cooling water passage 26 of the second chamber body 20 is the chamber 22 To prevent thermal curing.

As described above, the inert gas is injected into the chamber 12 by the operation of the gas injection device 44 and the high frequency of 13.56 MHz is applied to the electrode unit 30 during the process of forming the chamber 12 in a vacuum. In this way, the plasma formed by the glow discharge of the electrode unit 30 ionizes the inert gas, and the inert gas ions release atoms from the target 32. The atoms of the target 32 are coated on the surface of the substrate 1. After the coating of the surface of the substrate 1 is completed, the door 96 of the gate valve 90 is opened to open and close the entrance and exit 72 of the gate plate 70 to drive the motor 106 of the transfer apparatus 100. Let's do it. The driving force of the motor 106 is transmitted to the high feed roller 104 by the drive pulley 108a, the driven pulley 108b and the belt 108c of the belt transmission device 108, and the tray 2 is rotated high. It is unloaded from the chamber 12 by the cooperation of the song roller 104 and the feed roller 102.

2 and 3, in order to maintain and replace components such as the chamber 12, the electrode unit 30, and the target 32, first, the vacuum of the chamber 12 is released. When the vacuum of the chamber 12 is released, it will be in the state which can move the 2nd chamber body 20 mounted in the carriage 52 of the conveying apparatus 50. FIG. When the second chamber body 20 is moved by the carriage 52 with respect to the first chamber body 10, the entire chamber 12 of the first chamber body 10 can be opened. Therefore, maintenance of the chamber 12 and replacement of parts can be performed easily. In particular, when configuring the inline sputtering system by the sputtering machine of the present invention, the entire chamber can be opened and closed at the same time, there is an advantage that can secure a sufficient working space.

The above embodiments are merely illustrative of preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments, and various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Modifications, variations, or substitutions may be made, and such embodiments are to be understood as being within the scope of the present invention.

As described above, according to the sputtering machine according to the present invention, the entire chamber can be completely opened and closed by the front open door method by the first and second chamber bodies separated and configured to the left and right. Maintenance can be performed easily. In addition, the in-line sputtering system can be optimally configured by connecting the chambers continuously by a simple structure, and the operability of the entire system can be greatly improved. Further, the temperature of the first and second chamber bodies can be efficiently controlled, and the cooling water passage of the chamber body can be freely configured regardless of the arrangement of the components, thereby improving the design freedom of the sputtering machine. In addition, the cooling structure of the seal can effectively prevent thermal curing, thereby extending the life and improving the reliability.

Claims (6)

A first chamber body having a chamber with a front surface open; A second chamber body compatible with the first chamber body to open and close the chamber of the first chamber body; And a conveying means for moving said second chamber body relative to said first chamber body. The sputtering machine according to claim 1, wherein the conveying means is composed of a carrier for mounting and moving the second chamber body, wherein the first chamber body is fixed to a frame. The gutter according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a gutter is formed on an outer surface of each of the first and second chamber bodies to form a coolant passage in cooperation with the wall surfaces of the first and second chamber bodies. · Sputtering machine configured. 4. The coolant passage of claim 3, further comprising gate plates having entrances and exits communicating with the chambers on both sidewalls of the first chamber body, the coolant passages being configured to be close to a seal attached to the gate plate for airtightness. Sputtering machine. 5. The sputtering machine according to claim 4, further comprising transfer means for transferring the tray on which the plurality of substrates are mounted to the chamber through the entrance and exit of the gate plate. The sputtering machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a coolant passage is configured to be close to a seal interposed between the first and second chamber bodies to maintain the airtightness of the chamber.