KR20070041944A - Apparatus for vacuum processing - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a vacuum processing apparatus capable of performing a predetermined treatment on a substrate in a state where the inside thereof is formed with a vacuum atmosphere. More particularly, the vacuum chamber is separated into a chamber main body and an upper cover, and an upper cover is provided. It relates to a vacuum processing apparatus that can be easily opened and closed from the chamber body.

The present invention provides a vacuum processing apparatus for carrying out a predetermined process by carrying a substrate into a vacuum chamber composed of a chamber body having an overall rectangular parallelepiped shape and a top cover detachably disposed on the chamber body. A substrate entrance formed through one side wall of the main body; A gate valve formed at one side of the chamber body to open and close the substrate entrance and exit; A rotating part rotatably supporting the upper cover; A horizontal driving part supporting the upper cover and the rotating part to be horizontally movable in a direction facing the gate valve arrangement direction; It provides a vacuum processing apparatus comprising a; chamber body lifting unit for supporting the chamber body to be elevated.

Vacuum processing device, flat panel display device manufacturing device, upper cover, chamber body

Description

Vacuum Processing Equipment {APPARATUS FOR VACUUM PROCESSING}

1 is a diagram showing the layout of each chamber of a conventional vacuum processing apparatus.

It is a schematic cross section explaining the internal structure of a vacuum processing apparatus.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the structure of a conventional top cover opening and closing device.

4 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a vacuum processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a side view showing the structure of the chamber body lifting unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a perspective view showing the structure of a vacuum processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a side view showing the structure of a support frame according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a view showing a process of opening and closing the top cover in the vacuum processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to a vacuum processing apparatus capable of performing a predetermined treatment on a substrate in a state where the inside thereof is formed with a vacuum atmosphere. More particularly, the vacuum chamber is separated into a chamber main body and an upper cover, and an upper cover is provided. It relates to a vacuum processing apparatus that can be easily opened and closed from the chamber body.

Vacuum processing devices are mostly used in semiconductor manufacturing devices and flat panel display device manufacturing devices. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A vacuum processing apparatus for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus or a flat panel display (FPD) manufacturing apparatus is used to carry a substrate therein and perform etching, deposition, and the like using plasma or the like. In this case, the flat panel display device refers to an LCD, a PDP, an OLED, and the like, and the vacuum processing apparatus generally includes a loadlock chamber (R), a transfer chamber (T), and a process chamber ( It consists of three vacuum chambers of P).

Here, the load lock chamber (R) serves to accept the unprocessed substrate from the outside or to take out the processed substrate to the outside, the transfer chamber (T) is provided with a robot for transferring the substrate between the chambers In this case, the substrate to be processed is transferred from the load lock chamber to the process chamber, or the processed substrate is transferred from the process chamber to the load lock chamber. The process chamber P includes a support member for supporting a substrate in the chamber, a process gas supply system for supplying a process gas into the chamber, and an exhaust system for evacuating the chamber and setting the chamber interior to a vacuum. Etc., and serves to form a film or etch a film on a substrate using a plasma or heat energy in a vacuum.

In this case, since various process gases or plasmas are used in the process chamber, when a large number of processes are repeated, equipment in the process chamber may be damaged or contaminated, and replacement or repair thereof is necessary periodically. Therefore, the process chamber is composed of a chamber body 10 and the upper cover 20 so as to maintain the interior of the process chamber 1, as shown in Figure 2, the upper cover of the process chamber ( 20) generally configured to be openable and openable. At this time, the method of opening and closing the upper cover 20 is provided with a crane in the ceiling of the clean room in which the process chamber 1 is installed, and using the crane to lift and horizontally move the upper cover to open and close the process chamber, It is provided with an opening and closing means, there is a method of opening and closing the upper cover by the opening and closing means.

As an example for opening and closing the upper cover 20 in the related art, as shown in FIG. 3, an opening and closing means 50 capable of opening and closing the upper cover 20 is provided outside the process chamber 1. The top cover 20 is opened and closed by the opening and closing means 50. In this case, the opening and closing means 50 includes a vertical driving mechanism capable of lifting the upper cover 20 in a vertical direction, a horizontal driving mechanism capable of moving the upper cover 20 in a horizontal direction, and an upper cover 20. ) Is provided with a rotating mechanism capable of rotating, and a horizontal movement guide 60 for providing a movement path of the horizontal drive mechanism is provided separately.

Looking at the opening and closing process of the upper cover 20 for opening and closing the upper cover 20 by using the opening and closing means 50 as follows. First, the upper cover 20 is lifted in the vertical direction by a predetermined distance by the vertical direction driving mechanism provided in the opening and closing means 50, and then the horizontal movement guide 60 in the state where the upper cover 20 is lifted up. Use to move the top cover in the horizontal direction. And when the upper cover 20 is moved completely in the horizontal direction, the upper cover 20 is rotated by 180 ° by a rotating mechanism. In this way, the lower and upper portions of the process chamber 1 are opened to replace or repair the equipment inside the process chamber 1.

However, in recent years, as the substrate processed by the flat panel display device manufacturing apparatus has increased in size, the vacuum chamber of the flat panel display device manufacturing apparatus has rapidly increased in size. Therefore, in the recent vacuum chamber, the upper cover 20 is not only the size of the horizontal, vertical 3, 4m, but also the weight of more than 3, 4 tons. Therefore, in order to lift the upper cover of such a heavy large vacuum chamber in the up and down direction, a very large capacity air cylinder is required in the up and down driving mechanism, and the instability increases when lifting the upper cover of the large large chamber. There is a problem that the internal maintenance, repair work becomes very difficult.

An object of the present invention to provide a large vacuum processing apparatus that can easily open and close the top cover.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a processing apparatus having a chamber body provided with a gate valve to enable the flow of the substrate, the upper cover is detachably provided on the upper portion of the chamber body, the lower surface of the chamber body Installed in, the chamber body lifting unit for elevating the chamber body; It is provided on the outer surface of the upper cover, and provides a vacuum processing apparatus comprising a; horizontal drive unit for horizontally moving the upper cover in a direction facing the arrangement direction of the gate valve.

In the present invention, the chamber body lifting unit, the lifting support mechanism which is disposed between the chamber support frame and the chamber body for supporting the chamber body spaced apart from the bottom surface by a predetermined interval, the lifting and lowering the chamber body in the vertical direction; And a guide member coupled to the chamber main body to guide the vertical movement direction when the chamber main body is driven up and down, so that accurate lifting and driving of the chamber main body can be easily performed to maintain the airtightness of the chamber. .

The lifting drive mechanism is preferably arranged in plural along the edge of the chamber main body, so that the capacity of one lifting drive mechanism does not have to be large and can stably support various points of the chamber main body.

At this time, the lifting drive mechanism is preferably a bellows-shaped cylinder because it can raise and lower the large chamber body to the correct height.

And in the present invention, the guide member is disposed on the side of the chamber body, coupled to the side wall of the chamber body is a guide column for guiding the vertical movement direction of the chamber body,

A lower end thereof is coupled to an upper surface of the chamber support frame, and an upper end thereof is a guide block inserted into a guide groove formed on a lower surface of the chamber body. The simple structure can accurately guide the lifting movement direction of the chamber body. It is preferable.

And the vacuum processing apparatus according to the present invention is provided on the side of the chamber body, the support frame for receiving the upper cover which is horizontally moved by the guide rail is further provided, a state in which the high weight of the upper cover is stably supported It is desirable to be able to carry out maintenance work at.

At this time, in the present invention, the support frame is disposed at the same height as the guide rail, the horizontal frame for guiding the horizontal movement of the upper cover in the direction in which the guide rail extends; A vertical frame supporting the horizontal frame at the same height as the guide rail; And a gap filling means provided at one end of the chamber side of the horizontal frame to fill a gap between the horizontal frame and the guide rail when the support frame approaches the guide rail. The upper cover can be received by being in close contact with the guide rail without a gap, which is preferable.

And the gap filling means, has a structure rotatably hinged to the horizontal frame,

It is preferable to further include a vertical driving part for moving the gap filling means in the vertical direction, while easily filling the gap between the guide rail and the horizontal frame while easily overcoming the height difference between the guide rail and the horizontal frame.

And in the present invention, the support frame, which is provided at the lower end of the vertical frame, is further provided with a wheel portion to help the horizontal movement of the vertical frame by reducing the friction between the vertical frame and the bottom surface, while moving to various positions It is preferable to carry out maintenance work of a plurality of vacuum processing apparatuses.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a specific embodiment of the present invention.

The vacuum processing apparatus according to the present embodiment also includes a load lock chamber, a transfer chamber, and a process chamber. However, it is described here with one process chamber for convenience of description. Vacuum processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, as shown in Figure 4, the chamber body 110; Upper cover 120; Horizontal driving unit 140; Chamber body lifting unit 150; is provided.

First, the vacuum processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a vacuum chamber including a chamber main body 110 having an overall rectangular parallelepiped shape and an upper cover 120 detachably disposed on the chamber main body 110. . In this vacuum chamber, since a large area flat panel display element substrate is processed, it generally has a rectangular parallelepiped shape compatible with a rectangular substrate. The vacuum chamber is provided with an exhaust system (not shown in the figure) for vacuuming the inside of the chamber. By the operation of the exhaust system, the substrate is processed in a state in which the inside of the chamber is vacuumed.

In addition, the chamber main body 110 is provided with a substrate entrance that serves as a passage for carrying a substrate into the chamber or for carrying the substrate inside the chamber to the outside. In general, since the substrate is moved horizontally while the substrate is horizontally laid down, the substrate entrance and exit is formed through one side wall of the chamber body. And a gate valve which opens and closes this board | substrate entrance and exit is provided. The substrate entrance and exit remains open during the loading and unloading process of the substrate, but should be blocked while the loading of the substrate is completed and the processing is in progress. Therefore, the gate valve is opened and closed while the gate valve moves up and down.

Next, the chamber main body lifting unit 150 is a component that raises and lowers the chamber main body 110 by a predetermined interval in the vertical direction. In this embodiment, the chamber body lifting unit 150 is constituted by the lifting driving mechanism 152 and the guide member 154.

The elevating drive mechanism 152 is interposed between the chamber support frame 160 and the chamber body 110 for supporting the chamber body 110 at a predetermined interval from the bottom surface, and the chamber body 110. ) To raise and lower the vertical direction. The lifting and lowering of the chamber main body 110 is performed so that the lower end of the upper cover and the chamber main body do not interfere or the upper cover and the O-ring do not interfere in the process of horizontally moving the upper cover to open and close the upper cover. To do this. That is, the chamber body is lowered by a predetermined interval while the upper cover is fixed at a specific height to separate the upper cover from the chamber body.

In this embodiment, the lift drive mechanism 152 is constituted by a plurality of lift drive mechanisms having a small capacity. The use of a large number of small lift drive mechanisms is advantageous in terms of cost than using one large lift drive mechanism, and can support a large number of points of the chamber body, which is advantageous for maintaining the balance of the chamber body. to be. As the lift drive mechanism, a bellows type cylinder is preferable. At this time, it is preferable that the bellows-type cylinder is further provided with an eccentricity correction unit 156, as shown in FIG. That is, an eccentricity correction unit 156 having a hemispherical shape is further provided at an upper end of the bellows-type cylinder 152, and is formed in a hemispherical shape in an area corresponding to the center of the bellows-shaped cylinder on the lower surface of the chamber body 110. The eccentric correction unit insertion groove 112 is further provided. With such a structure, when the bellows-type cylinder 152 contacts the lower surface of the chamber body 110 to lift the chamber body, when the correct contact point is not found, the eccentric correction unit 156 is the eccentric correction unit. Sliding along the insertion groove 112 has the advantage of finding the correct contact point naturally.

In addition, the guide member 154 is a component that is coupled to the chamber main body 110 to guide the vertical movement direction when the driving of the chamber main body. In this embodiment, the guide member 154, as shown in Figure 4, the lower end is coupled to the upper surface of the chamber support frame 160, the upper end is formed on the lower surface of the chamber body 110 It is preferable to provide a guide block inserted into the guide groove. When the guide member is configured as a guide block disposed below the chamber main body, there is an advantage in that the guide member can guide the accurate lifting and lowering direction of the chamber main body without occupying a separate area.

Of course, the guide member may be arranged on the side of the chamber body, and may be configured as a guide column coupled to the side wall of the chamber body to guide the vertical movement direction of the chamber body.

Next, the horizontal driver 140 is a component that supports the upper cover 120 to be horizontally movable in a direction facing the gate valve arrangement direction. That is, the upper cover 120 is coupled to the upper cover 120 to move horizontally. Therefore, when the chamber main body 110 moves downward by a predetermined distance by the chamber body lifting unit 150, the horizontal driving unit 140 separates the chamber main body 110 and the upper cover 120 from the upper cover 120. Horizontally move to secure the turning radius.

Therefore, in the horizontal drive unit 140 according to the present embodiment, a pair of guide rails 142 disposed parallel to the horizontal direction with the upper cover therebetween to guide the upper cover 120 in the horizontal direction. Is provided. The guide rail 142 provides a path through which the upper cover 120 moves horizontally. In this case, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the guide rail 142 includes a primary portion 142a facing the upper cover and a secondary portion 142b extending in the horizontal direction beyond the upper cover. The secondary portion 142b is preferably provided in a structure that can be folded toward the side of the upper cover. Therefore, the secondary portion 142b is kept folded while not in use to minimize the area occupied by the vacuum processing apparatus.

On the other hand, the vacuum processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, is provided on the side of the chamber body 110, the support frame 170 for receiving the upper cover 120 which is horizontally moved by the guide rail 142 is further provided May be In this case, when the support frame 170 is separately provided, the support frame 170 may have a support frame with respect to the plurality of vacuum chambers provided in one vacuum processing apparatus. That is, instead of providing a separate support frame for each vacuum chamber, a support frame of a movable structure is used to use one support frame for a plurality of vacuum chambers.

In this embodiment, the support frame 170, as shown in Figure 7, the horizontal frame 172; Vertical frame 174; It comprises a gap filling means 176. First, the horizontal frame 172 is disposed at the same height as the guide rail 142 and is a component that guides the horizontal movement of the upper cover 120 in the direction in which the guide rail 142 extends. Next, the vertical frame 174 is a component that supports the horizontal frame 172 at the same height as the guide rail 142. It is preferable that this vertical frame has a structure which can adjust the height of the said horizontal frame to an up-down direction, since it can adapt to the height difference with the said guide rail.

The gap filling means 176 is provided at one end of the chamber side of the horizontal frame 172, and the gap between the horizontal frame and the guide rail when the support frame 170 approaches the guide rail 142. The component that fills in Full contact of the horizontal frame to the guide rail is very difficult with various components and support frame structures provided on the outside of the chamber. Therefore, as shown in Figure 7, by using a separate gap filling means 176 to fill the gap between the horizontal frame and the guide rail. In the present embodiment, the gap filling means 176 is hinged to the horizontal frame 172 to have a rotatable structure as shown in FIG. To fill the gap between the horizontal frame and the guide rail.

In addition, it is preferable that the gap filling means 176 further includes a vertical driving part for moving the gap filling means in the vertical direction. Although not shown in the preferred form of the up and down drive unit, it is preferable to be provided in the form of a ball screw so that the gap filling means 176 can be precisely driven up and down.

In addition, the support frame 170 according to the present embodiment is provided at the lower end of the vertical frame, and further provided with a wheel portion 178 to reduce the friction between the vertical frame and the bottom surface to help the horizontal movement of the vertical frame. It is desirable to be able to easily move the support frame.

In addition, the support frame 170 according to the present embodiment may be further provided with a rotating portion 177. The rotating part 177 is a component for rotating the upper cover 120. In the present embodiment, the rotating part 177 is provided on the horizontal frame 172, and the upper cover is disposed between the opposite sides of the upper cover, and the upper cover is rotated in combination with the side wall center of the upper cover. Make it possible to support it. Therefore, when the upper cover is moved in a state in which a sufficient turning radius is secured by the horizontal driver, the upper cover is rotated so that the inside of the upper cover faces upward to facilitate maintenance work.

In addition, the support frame 170 according to the present embodiment is preferably provided with a fixing portion 179 for fixing the support frame 170 to the chamber body 110. The fixing part 179 prevents the support frame 170 from being spaced apart from the chamber body 110 during the horizontal movement and rotation of the upper cover 120. In this embodiment, the fixing part 179 is composed of a fixing block 179a and a fixing pin 179b. Therefore, after fitting a pair of fixing blocks 179a, the fixing pin 179b is inserted into the fixing block to fix the support frame.

Hereinafter, a process of opening and closing the upper cover using the vacuum processing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 8A, the chamber body is lowered by about 10 to 15 mm using the chamber body lifting unit 150. Then, the upper cover 120 and the chamber body 110 are spaced apart from each other and do not interfere with each other. Then, as shown in FIG. 8B, the horizontal cover 140 is driven to horizontally move the upper cover. At this time, in the case of using the support frame 170, the support frame 170 should be arranged to be in close contact with the guide rail 142. And when using only the guide rail 142 should be able to secure a stable rotation radius of the upper cover by expanding the secondary portion. After horizontally moving so that the upper cover can rotate, as shown in FIG. 8C, the upper cover is rotated 180 degrees by driving the rotating unit 177. Then proceed with the maintenance work of the top cover. When the maintenance work is completed, the top cover is closed again in the reverse order of the above-described top cover opening process.

According to the present invention, in the large-sized vacuum processing apparatus for processing a large area substrate, the upper cover is provided with only a rotating part and a horizontal moving part of a simple structure, and has a structure for elevating the chamber body by a simple structure. There is an advantage that can open and close the cover.

Claims (15)

In the processing apparatus having a chamber body having a gate valve to enable the flow of the substrate, the upper cover is detachably provided on the upper portion of the chamber body, A chamber main body lifting part installed on a lower surface of the chamber main body to lift and lower the chamber main body; And a horizontal driving part installed on an outer surface of the upper cover to horizontally move the upper cover in a direction facing the arrangement direction of the gate valve. The method of claim 1, wherein the chamber body lifting unit, A lift drive mechanism interposed between the chamber support frame and the chamber main body for supporting the chamber main body at a predetermined interval from a bottom surface, and for elevating the chamber main body in a vertical direction; And And a guide member coupled to the chamber main body to guide the vertical movement direction during the elevating operation of the chamber main body. According to claim 2, The lifting drive mechanism, A plurality of vacuum processing apparatus, characterized in that arranged along the edge of the chamber body. According to claim 2, The lifting drive mechanism, Vacuum processing apparatus, characterized in that the bellows-type cylinder. The method of claim 2, wherein the guide member, It is disposed on the side of the chamber body, the vacuum processing apparatus, characterized in that the guide column coupled to the side wall of the chamber body to guide the vertical movement direction of the chamber body. The method of claim 2, wherein the guide member, A lower end thereof is coupled to an upper surface of the chamber support frame, and an upper end thereof is a guide block inserted into a guide groove formed on a lower surface of the chamber body. The method of claim 4, wherein An eccentricity correction unit having a hemispherical shape is further provided at the upper end of the bellows-type cylinder, Vacuum processing apparatus, characterized in that the lower chamber is further provided with an eccentric correction portion insertion groove is formed in a hemispherical engraved region corresponding to the center of the bellows-shaped cylinder. The method of claim 1, wherein the horizontal drive unit, And a pair of guide rails disposed parallel to the horizontal direction with the upper cover interposed therebetween to guide the rotating part in the horizontal direction. The method of claim 8, wherein the guide rail, And a primary portion facing the upper cover and a secondary portion extending in the horizontal direction beyond the upper cover, wherein the secondary portion is foldable toward the side of the upper cover. . The method of claim 8, It is provided on the side of the chamber body, the vacuum processing apparatus characterized in that the support frame for receiving the upper cover which is horizontally moved by the guide rail is further provided. The method of claim 10, wherein the support frame, A horizontal frame disposed at the same height as the guide rail and guiding a horizontal movement of the upper cover in a direction in which the guide rail extends; A vertical frame supporting the horizontal frame at the same height as the guide rail; And a gap filling means that is provided at one end of the chamber side of the horizontal frame and fills the gap between the horizontal frame and the guide rail when the support frame approaches the guide rail. The method of claim 11, wherein the gap filling means, And a rotatable structure hinged to the horizontal frame. The method of claim 12, wherein the gap filling means, And a vertical driving part for moving the gap filling means in the vertical direction. The method of claim 11, It is provided on the lower end of the vertical frame, the vacuum processing apparatus characterized in that the wheel portion to further assist the horizontal movement of the vertical frame by reducing the friction between the vertical frame and the bottom surface. The method of claim 11, The vacuum processing apparatus is provided on the horizontal frame, characterized in that the rotary unit is further provided to rotate in combination with the upper cover has moved on the horizontal frame.

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