KR20060092851A - Methods and apparatus for providing a floating seal for chamber doors - Google Patents

Abstract

Isolating the sealing surface from the chamber wall of the chamber and sealing the chamber between the sealing surface and the chamber wall. An apparatus is provided that includes a deflectable chamber wall, a fixing portion providing a sealing surface, and a flexible bellows attached to the chamber wall portion and the fixing portion. A system including a chamber wall having an opening, a door disposed to seal the opening, a sealing surface isolated from the chamber wall and adjacent the opening, and a chamber including a sealing portion between the sealing surface and the chamber wall. Also provided.

Description

METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING A FLOATING SEAL FOR CHAMBER DOORS

1A is a cross-sectional view of a chamber opening with an example of a floating seal utilizing a flexible bellows in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

1B is a perspective view of the chamber opening of FIG. 1A.

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a floating closure using a molded rubber bellows in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

3 is an exploded view showing an example of a portion of a floating closure in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

4 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a floating closure using a flexible metal bellows in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

5 is a perspective view showing an example of a portion of a floating closure in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

6A is a perspective view of the chamber opening of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6B is a detail of the portion enclosed by the circle of FIG. 6A; FIG.

FIG. 6C is a cross sectional view along line C-C in the enclosed portion of FIG. 6A; FIG.

6D is a perspective view of a portion of a flexible bellows in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

※ Explanation of reference numerals about the main parts of the drawing ※

100: floating sealing device 102: chamber door

104: sealing surface 106: gap

108: chamber body / wall 110: flexible bellows

112: chamber door opening G: size of the gap between the chamber body and the sealing surface

U: thickness inside chamber T: thickness of chamber body

H: height of chamber door opening

The present invention is entitled " Methods And Apparatus For Providing A Floating Seal For Chamber Doors " and is entitled US Provisional Application No. 60 / 598,039, filed Aug. 2, 2004. The United States provisional application is incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

This application claims the priority of US patent application Ser. No. 11 / 145,018, filed June 2, 2005, entitled "Methods And Apparatus For Sealing A Chamber," Part of the application, both US Provisional Application No. 60 / 576,906 and filed on June 2, 2004, and US Provisional Application No. 60 / 587,114, filed on July 12, 2004, are priority. Reference is made to the entire application for the purpose.

The present invention generally relates to flat panel displays and / or electronic device manufacturing chambers and methods and apparatus for sealing doors of such chambers.

In many electronic device manufacturing processes, vacuum process chambers are widely used to perform various chemical or physical processes. For example, vacuum process chambers may include deposition processes such as chemical vapor deposition or physical vapor deposition; Spin coating processes for photoresist materials or spin-on glass materials; And various other manufacturing processes. In addition, the transfer chamber may be operated in vacuum to protect against contamination from foreign particles. Conventional chambers are closed using a door that relies on an O-ring or similar sealing member in the door that contacts the sealing surface on the wall of the chamber around the door opening. To prevent leakage, the door must be tightly sealed at each time it is closed. Thus, a method and apparatus for reliably closing the door of a chamber is desirable.

In one aspect, the invention provides a method comprising isolating a sealing surface from a chamber wall of a chamber and sealing the chamber between the sealing surface and the chamber wall.

In another aspect, the present invention provides an apparatus comprising a deflectable chamber wall portion, a securing portion providing a sealing surface, and a flexible bellows attached to the chamber wall portion and the securing portion.

In an additional aspect, the present invention provides a chamber comprising a chamber wall having an opening, a door disposed to seal the opening, a sealing surface isolated from the chamber wall and adjacent to the opening, and a sealing portion between the sealing surface and the chamber wall. It provides a system that includes.

In yet another aspect, the present invention provides a replaceable part comprising a flexible bellows comprising a first flange portion, a second flange portion, and a flexible portion attached to the first and second flange portions.

Other features and aspects of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments, the appended claims, and the accompanying drawings.

The present invention provides an improved method and apparatus for sealing chambers (eg, processing chambers, transfer chambers, loadlocks, etc.) and other devices that require airtight seals. By providing a fixed floating sealing surface, the present invention prevents the sealing surface from moving relative to the door sealing member. This prevents wear and abrasion of the door closure member and prevents the generation of contaminated particles. Thus, by providing a mechanically isolated sealing surface (eg, a sealing surface surrounding the chamber opening), the present invention allows the chamber door to be consistently closed upon closing even when the chamber wall is significantly deflected. In various embodiments, the sealing surface is "floated" with respect to the chamber wall and therefore does not move because the chamber wall is deflected due to vacuum pressure change or thermal expansion / contraction.

Thus, the method and apparatus of the present invention provide a method for preventing the sealing surface from moving relative to the door sealing member, preventing the generation of particles, preventing wear and abrasion of the sealing member, and performing a suitable sealing. do.

The inventors of the present invention are only good with O-rings or similar sealing members because of the deflection of the chamber walls causing the chamber pressure and temperature difference between the chamber and its surrounding environment (eg, adjacent chamber and / or atmospheric pressure outside the chamber). It has been mentioned that the seal cannot be produced consistently. The inventors have also observed that the sealing members used as seals in conventional chamber doors wear out due to movement of the sealing surface because the chamber walls are deflected under pressure and / or because of thermal expansion. This wear leads to the generation of contaminant particles and abrasion of the sealing member, which in turn lowers the sealing performance. This is a problem that the excess time is increased because of the chamber cycle through the other process and the sealing member is degraded by wear. In particular, these problems are serious in chambers such as load locks that require frequent "pumping down" (decompression) and venting (re-pressurization).

In addition, in tool designs with various chambers that share common walls, such as large “stacked” chambers (eg, double loadlock and triple loadlock), different chambers may be under different pressures simultaneously and the chamber Wall deflection can accumulate from one chamber to another. This situation can cause significant movement of the sealing surface relative to the door sealing member.

In some embodiments of the invention, the sealing surface may be supported by a flexible bellows that allows the sealing surface to remain fixed relative to the door sealing member when the chamber wall is deflected. Flexible bellows may close the gap between the chamber wall and the sealing surface. In some embodiments, the bellows can include molded rubber bellows that are attached to both the sealing surface and the flexible sheet or plate. The flexible sheet may be mounted in a chamber where minimal deflection occurs or may be mounted in a rigid support member in the chamber (or outside the chamber) that is not moved when the chamber wall is deflected.

In an alternative or additional embodiment, the size of the gap between the chamber wall and the sealing surface may be selected to accommodate the largest possible amount of deflection of the chamber. For example, in the AKT-25KA type transfer chamber manufactured by Applied Materials, Inc., the deflection amount of the chamber at the center of the door opening may be approximately 4 mm, In accordance with the present invention, the gap for accommodating the deflection may be approximately 8 mm. In addition, the size and elasticity of the bellows are chosen to accommodate the largest possible amount of deflection of the chamber.

In some embodiments, the sealing surfaces above and below the chamber opening (eg, door opening) may be isolated from chamber wall deflection. In such floating closure embodiments, any deflection of the sealing surface on the side of the chamber door opening may not be important. FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view and FIG. 1B is a partial perspective view, each showing a floating closure device 100 according to the present invention. The chamber door 102 is in contact with a fixed sealing surface 104 that is separated from the chamber body 108 by a gap 106. The gap 106 is closed by the flexible bellows 110.

With respect to the floating closure device 100, which is the particular embodiment shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, in some embodiments, the individual features and configurations of the present invention may be configured proportionally to each other as shown. In some embodiments, features and configurations may be configured in proportion to being very different from that shown. For example, in the AKT-25KA type transfer chamber described above, the height H of the chamber door opening 112 may be approximately 127 mm; And the width W of the chamber door opening 11 (and / or the deflection gap 106) may be approximately 1524 mm. In the device 100, in one or more embodiments of the present invention, the size G of the gap 106 between the chamber body 108 and the sealing surface 104 may be approximately 8 mm; The distance D between the door opening 112 and the gap 106 may be approximately 25 mm. The thickness T of the chamber body 108 near the door 102 may be approximately 50 mm and the interior of the chamber (eg, in dimension U) may be approximately 113 mm.

The cumulative size of the two gaps 106 (eg, twice the dimension G) can be selected so that the two gaps 106 jointly receive the maximum possible deflection of the chamber body / wall 108 from each other. can do.

2, a perspective view is provided in more detail illustrating the above-described embodiment of a floating closure device 100 according to the present invention. During pumping and venting, the sealing surface 104 attached to the flexible seat / plate 202 is still fixed to the door sealing member 204 even when the chamber wall 108 is deflected. Thus, the present invention prevents or reduces the sealing member wear and the generation of contaminating particles.

3, a partial cutaway exploded perspective view is provided and shows in more detail the upper end of the embodiment 100 described above, the flexible seat / plate 202 and the chamber body 108 (with the sealing surface 104 mounted). Shows an example of a molded rubber bellows 110 that may be used to close the gap 106). In the illustrated embodiment, a mounting frame 304 is used to clamp (or secure) one flange edge 306 of the bellows 110 to the chamber body 108 and the sealing surface 104 is bellows. Another flange edge 308 of 110 is used to clamp (or secure) to the flexible sheet / plate 302. When using the AKT-25KA transfer chamber of the example described above, clamping the bellows 110 to the flexible portion 310 (eg, the chamber body 108 and the sealing surface 104) of the flexible bellows 110. And portions that do not include flange portions 306, 308) may be dimensioned to mate within the gap 106 between the chamber body 108 and the sealing surface 104 / flexible sheet / plate 302 and The height can thus be approximately 9 mm (including contact beads (not shown) formed in the length of the bellows 110). For example, the bellows 110 may have a thickness of about 2.3 mm.

In some embodiments, bellows 110 may be made of any suitable material, such as a fluorocarbon (FKM) rubber compound. Alternatively, in some embodiments, butyl (IIR), ethylene propylene (EPDM), fluorosilicone (FVMQ), hydrin (CO / ECO), neoprene (CR), nitrile (NER), silicone (VMQ), styrene Butadiene (SBR), or such compounds, may be used. Bellows made of rubber compounds are easy to replace and are provided at a relatively low cost, low maintenance cost to facilitate manufacturing means for sealing the gap between the sealing surface (and / or flexible sheet / plate) and the chamber wall.

In some embodiments, the flexible bellows can be implemented using thin metal sheets of flexible convolution. For example, any suitable metal may be used, such as stainless steel. Flexible bellows formed from folded thin metal can be more durable and reliable than rubber compounds, making them suitable for use in difficult-to-maintain applications or inaccessible locations, such as a seal between the processing chamber and the transfer chamber. . As in the embodiment described above with the rubber compound bellows, the flexible metal bellows mitigates any deflection of the chamber wall without moving the sealing surface.

One embodiment of the invention utilizing a metal bellows 400 is shown in FIG. 4 is flexible because the rigid surface 402 is mounted to the rigid structure 402 outside the chamber and the flexible portion 404 is mounted to the chamber wall 108 and the wall 108 is deflected so that the sealing surface 104 remains fixed. An incision perspective view showing that the sex portion will be deflected. The metal bellows 400 has a fixed sealing surface 104 and a flexible portion 404 to cause a flexible seal in the slit or gap 106 between the fixed sealing surface 104 and the flexible portion 404. Is placed in between. In some embodiments, the slit / gap size may be selected to accommodate the largest possible amount of deflection of the chamber wall.

5, a cutaway perspective view of the flexible bellows 400, the fixed closure surface portion 104, and the flexible portion 404 is provided. FIG. 5 is a view of rotating FIG. 4 by 90 degrees. Only a portion of the portions 104, 404 are shown to describe the bellows 400. In some embodiments, the complete flexible floating closure can form a frame of the entire chamber opening 112 (FIG. 4).

6A-6D, the configuration of one embodiment of flexible metal bellows 400 is shown in detail. 6A is a perspective view of the chamber opening 112 of FIG. 4. FIG. 6B is a detailed view of the enclosed portion 604 of FIG. 6A. FIG. 6C is a cross-sectional view along line C-C within the circled portion 604 of FIG. 6A. 6D is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the flexible bellows 400.

6A, in the illustrated embodiment, the sealing surfaces 104 above and below the chamber door opening 112 are isolated from the chamber wall 108, but the side 602 is not isolated. As discussed above, in some embodiments, the deflection on the sides 602 of each other of the chamber door openings 112 is not critical. As shown in FIGS. 6B and 6D, the corner block 606 or cones attach to both ends of the folded thin metal sheet 608, such as stainless steel, to form a single-part flexible metal bellows 400. For example, welded). The single-component flexible metal bellows 400 of one embodiment may have a length of approximately 1550 mm, a height of 8 mm, a depth of 12 mm, and is formed of a metal sheet approximately 0.15 mm thick. Edge 610 of bellows 400 may be welded to chamber wall 108 and sealing surface 104 as shown in FIG. 6C. As shown in FIG. 6C, in some embodiments, groove 612 may be milled in sealing surface 104 and chamber wall 108 along either side of the deflection gap to allow flexible metal bellows 400. Provide edges 614 and 616 of suitable thickness for welding. For example, in some embodiments, groove 612 may have a depth of approximately 4 mm and a width of 2 mm.

In addition, the size and elasticity of the flexible metal bellows 400 with rubber compound bellows can be selected to accommodate the largest possible amount of deflection of the chamber.

Although the present invention has been described in terms of certain specificities and some lengths with respect to some described embodiments, it should not be limited to any such specificity or embodiments or any particular embodiments, and in view of the prior art possible claims It will be interpreted with reference to the following claims to provide the broadest scope of interpretation and thus to effectively encompass the intended scope of the invention.

Providing a fixed floating sealing surface prevents the sealing surface from moving relative to the door sealing member, and prevents the wear and abrasion of the door sealing member and the generation of contaminated particles. Thus, providing a mechanically isolated sealing surface allows the chamber door to be consistently sealed even if the chamber wall has a significant deflection.

Claims (35)

Insulating the sealing surface from the chamber wall of the chamber; And Sealing the chamber between the sealing surface and the chamber wall, Way. The method of claim 1, Isolating the sealing surface comprises forming a gap in the chamber wall between the sealing surface and the chamber wall. Way. The method of claim 2, Forming the gap comprises forming a gap large enough to accommodate the largest expected deflection of the chamber wall; Way. The method of claim 3, wherein Forming the gap comprises forming the gap so as to conform to the larger dimension of the chamber opening, Way. The method of claim 1, Isolating the sealing surface comprises isolating the sealing surface around the chamber opening; Way. The method of claim 5, wherein Isolating a sealing surface around the chamber opening includes forming a gap in the chamber wall adjacent the chamber opening; Way. The method of claim 6, Forming the gap comprises forming a first horizontal gap over the chamber opening and forming a second horizontal gap under the chamber opening, Wherein the first and second gaps are formed to be large enough to accommodate the largest anticipated deflection of the chamber wall and to reach the width of the chamber opening, Way. The method of claim 7, wherein Sealing the chamber comprises using a flexible bellows to close the gap between the sealing surface and the chamber wall. Way. The method of claim 1, Sealing the chamber comprises using a bellows to seal the chamber between the sealing surface and the chamber wall; Way. The method of claim 9, Using the bellows comprises using a bellows formed from a molding compound, Way. The method of claim 10, Using the bellows includes using a flexible metal bellows, Way. The method of claim 11, Using the flexible metal bellows comprises using a flexible metal bellows in an anticipated direction of deflection of the chamber wall. Way. A deflected chamber wall portion; A fixed part provided with a sealing surface; And A flexible bellows attached to said chamber wall portion and said fixed portion, Device. The method of claim 13, The flexible bellows is a molding compound and seals the gap between the chamber wall portion and the fixed portion, Device. The method of claim 13, The flexible bellows is a single-part metal convolution and seals the gap between the chamber wall portion and the fixed portion, Device. A chamber comprising a chamber wall having an opening; A door disposed to seal the opening; A hermetic surface isolated from said chamber wall and adjacent said opening; And A closure between the closure surface and the chamber wall, system. The method of claim 16, The sealing surface is isolated from the chamber wall by a gap in the chamber wall between the sealing surface and the chamber wall, system. The method of claim 17, The gap is formed to be large enough to accommodate the largest anticipated deflection of the chamber wall; system. The method of claim 18, The gap is formed along a larger dimension of the opening, system. The method of claim 16, The sealing surface extends around the opening, system. The method of claim 20, The sealing surface around the opening is isolated by at least two gaps in the chamber wall adjacent the opening, system. The method of claim 21, The gap includes a first horizontal gap disposed above the opening and a second horizontal gap disposed below the opening, Wherein the first and second gaps are formed to be of sufficient size to collectively receive the largest anticipated deflection of the chamber wall and to reach the width of the opening, system. The method of claim 22, Wherein the closure portion comprises a first flexible bellows closing the first horizontal gap and a second flexible bellows closing the second horizontal gap, system. The method of claim 16, The sealing portion comprises a bellows sealing the chamber between the sealing surface and the chamber wall; system. The method of claim 24, Wherein the bellows is formed of a molding compound, system. The method of claim 25, Wherein the bellows comprises a flexible metal bellows, system. The method of claim 26, Wherein the flexible metal is flexible in the direction of anticipated deflection of the chamber wall, system. A first flange portion; Second flange portion; And A flexible bellows comprising a flexible portion attached to the first and second flange portions, Replaceable parts. The method of claim 28. Wherein the flexible bellows is formed of a molding compound, Replaceable parts. The method of claim 28, Wherein the first flange portion is attached to the deflective chamber and the second flange portion is attached to an isolated sealing surface, Replaceable parts. The method of claim 30, The flexible portion accommodates the largest anticipated deflection of the chamber wall, Replaceable parts. The method of claim 28, Wherein the flexible bellows is formed of a metal sheet of flexible convolution, Replaceable parts. The method of claim 32, Wherein the flexible bellows further comprises a corner block attached to each end of the flexible portion, Replaceable parts. The method of claim 32, Wherein the first and second flange portions are integral portions of the flexible portion, Replaceable parts. The method of claim 34, wherein Wherein the first flange portion is welded to an edge formed in the chamber wall and the second flange portion is welded to an edge formed in an isolated sealing surface, Replaceable parts.

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