KR20090035184A - A coating apparatus with multi substrate holder in a load lock chamber - Google Patents

Abstract

A coating apparatus with a multi substrate holder in a load lock chamber is provided to reduce manufacturing cost by reducing a time for discharging a gas by using a lock chamber. A plurality of substrates is mounted on a multi-substrate stack holder mounting chamber(10), and a plurality of substrate holders is holder individually. The multi-substrate stack holder(20) includes a first and a second protrusion. A fist hook is formed on one side of the first straight-transfer unit, and a second straight-transfer includes a second hook. An evaporation transport drive(50) moves the substrate holder to a mechanical home position.

Description

Thin film deposition apparatus using a load lock chamber having a multilayer substrate holder structure

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sputtering apparatus, ie, a thin film deposition apparatus, which is widely used in the fields of optical thin film, semiconductor coating, indium tin oxide (ITO) or indium zinc oxide (IZO) coating of LCD. will be.

The present invention relates to a thin film manufacturing system such as ITO or IZO thin film, semiconductor thin film, anti-reflex film (AR) thin film, Infra-red (IR) thin film of LCD-TFT.

The optical thin film system repeats dozens of layers of alternating thin films such as TiO ₂ and SiO _{2 in the} form of a multi-layer thin film structure in recent years for higher efficiency.

Conventional systems, however, adjust thin film thickness over time with a fixed supply power or current.

Most of the conventional thin film deposition systems, as shown in Figure 1, is a system in which the substrate is rotated on the fixed target, this method, when one process is completed, the number of substrate samples that can be produced is about 2 to 4 This is relatively much less.

In addition, such a system has a problem in that the thickness of the thin film on one substrate is not uniform, so that the substrate must be rotated.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, a substrate in a linear motion by an inline driving method is deposited by passing a fixed target portion. This method has excellent homogeneity of the thin film, but the low deposition rate requires the use of a substrate loading chamber or the like to avoid vacuum during each process.

Although the vacuum in the central chamber can be broken to prevent contamination of the target material, most of the time, the substrate replacement must be performed manually into the air chamber inside the load rock chamber.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 3, methods using a multi sample loading chamber have been devised and used, but are not suitable for depositing large substrates such as next generation LCD substrates, and the manufacturing method is complicated and expensive. Since the vacuum motor and the like must be installed inside the chamber, the system becomes more complicated and requires more than billions of dollars.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention can be deposited in a large number of large substrates in one process, so that mass production is easy, and in order to minimize the chamber volume, the substrate is deposited on the sample holder mounting unit again. It is an inserting system that takes less time for outgassing and saves manufacturing costs. After coating a large amount of substrates, it is necessary to frequently remove particles in the central chamber where the target gun is located. An object of the present invention is to provide a thin film deposition apparatus using a load lock chamber having a multi-layer substrate holder structure which is very easy to manufacture a single film such as an ITO coating or a thin film system having about 3 to 5 layers.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a substrate holder (MSSHR) in which a plurality of substrates for vacuum thin film deposition are mounted, and a substrate for individually holding the substrate mounted from the multilayer substrate holder mounting chamber. It is made of a plurality of holders, the substrate holder MSSH and the first substrate and the second protrusion formed at a predetermined position on one side of the substrate holder, respectively, and the substrate holder from the multilayer substrate holder (MSSH) to extract the gate A first linear transfer drive unit MUMG having a first hook at a predetermined position on one side, and the substrate holder from the gate valve to the substrate deposition waiting chamber LSCS. And a second linear transfer driver (MUGL) having a second hook at a predetermined position on one side, and the substrate holder mounted on the deposition transfer driver (SHMU) in the substrate deposition waiting chamber. The deposition transfer driver moving to a mechanical home position, and a thin film deposition chamber (CMS) for allowing the substrate holder to be deposited during the reciprocating motion by the deposition transfer driver at a target position. .

The first and second straight line driving units are driven by a stepping motor or a servo motor, and may be moved forward and backward.

The first and second protrusions are connected to each other by an elastic spring provided at a lower end thereof, and a rod-shaped protrusion at an upper end of the elastic spring, which is tightly connected from the elastic spring.

When the projections formed at a predetermined position on the upper end of the deposition transfer driving unit are located at each lower end of the first protrusion and the second protrusion, the elastic spring is pressed down to be in a down state, and is separated from the position of the protrusion. Pressing of the elastic spring is released to be up (up) state.

The first hook and the second hook are made to be movable in the front and rear directions, and the substrate holder is made to be positioned at a home position of the substrate deposition waiting room after completion of deposition.

The present invention is capable of depositing a large amount of large substrates by one process, so unlike other apparatuses that take a long time for outgassing by breaking vacuum every process, mass production is easy and the chamber volume is minimized. In order to reduce the cost of manufacturing, it takes less time for outgassing, and the target gun is applied after coating a large amount of substrate. It is very easy to manufacture single layer or thin film system of 3 to 5 layers such as ITO coating which does not need to remove particles in the central chamber located frequently.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail based on the accompanying drawings.

Figure 4 is a perspective view schematically showing a thin film deposition apparatus using a load lock chamber of a multi-layer substrate holder structure, Figure 5 is a first hook of the first linear transfer drive is located on one side of the first protrusion of the multi-layer substrate holder FIG. 6 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a state, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a state in which a multi-layer substrate holder is lowered so that a first protrusion is caught by a first hook, and FIGS. 7 to 9 are processes in which a single substrate holder moves to a gate valve. 10 and 11 are perspective views schematically illustrating a process of transferring the substrate holder to the substrate deposition chamber by hooking a second protrusion of the second hook of the second linear transfer driving unit, and FIGS. 12A and 12B. Is a perspective view schematically showing the structures of the first and second protrusions of the substrate holder, and FIGS. 13 to 16 show that the substrate holder is mounted with a multi-layer substrate holder. A perspective view schematically showing the process of being located at the home position of the yarn.

Therefore, the thin film deposition apparatus 1 using the load lock chamber of the multilayer substrate holder structure according to the present invention,

A multi-substrate stack holder room (MSSHR) 10 having a plurality of substrates 21 for vacuum thin film deposition is provided at one end, and the multi-substrate holder mounting room 10 is provided. A plurality of substrate holders 21 'for holding the mounted substrates 21 individually may be provided. The first projections 21a and the first projections may be formed at predetermined positions on one side of the substrate holders 21', respectively. A multi substrate stack holder (MSSH) 20 having a second projection 21b formed thereon is provided at one side of the multi-layer substrate holder mounting chamber 10.

Then, the substrate holder 20 is extracted from the multilayer substrate holder 10 and moved to a gate valve 41, wherein the first hook 31 has a first hook 31 at a predetermined position. 1 It is equipped with a moving unit (MUMG; moving unit from MSSHR to Gate valve, 30) to move forward and backward.

In addition, the substrate holder 20 is moved from the gate valve 41 to a left side chamber for sputtering (LSCS) 40, and has a second hook 43a at a predetermined position on one side. A second linear transfer driving unit (MUGL; moving unit from Gate valve to LSCS, 43) is provided to be movable in the forward and backward directions.

At this time, the first linear driving unit 30 and the second linear driving unit 43 are moved to the front and rear direction through the shaft provided through each of the first hook 31 and the second hook, respectively. The multi-layered substrate holder 20 of the multi-layered substrate holder mounting chamber 10 is hooked on the first protrusion 21a and the second protrusion 21b of the substrate holder 21 'by using the 43a. 41 or from the gate valve 41 to the substrate deposition waiting chamber LSCS.

The substrate holder 21 ′ is mounted on a sample holder moving unit (SHMU) 50 in the substrate deposition waiting chamber 40, and then the substrate holder 21 ′ moves to its mechanical home position. A transfer driving unit 50 is provided in the substrate deposition waiting chamber 40.

Finally, the substrate holder 21 ′ at the position of the target includes a thin film deposition chamber (CMS) 60 to perform the deposition operation during the reciprocating motion by the deposition transfer driver 50. Is done.

The first and second linear transfer units 30 and 43 may be driven by a stepping motor or a servo motor.

In addition, the first protrusion 21a and the second protrusion 21b have elastic springs 51a provided at a lower end thereof, and rod-shaped protrusions 51b on the upper ends of the elastic springs 51a have the elastic springs 51a. It is connected to the string 51c which is tightly connected from.

When the pressing portion 51d formed at a predetermined position of the upper end of the deposition transfer driver 50 is positioned at each lower end of the first protrusion 21a and the second protrusion 21b, the elastic spring 51a is provided. Is pressed down to be in a down state in which the protrusion 51b is laid down in a predetermined direction, and when the pressure 51d is released from the position of the pressing part 51d, the elastic spring 51a is released. As the shape of the spring 51a is returned to its original shape, the string 51c is tightened to implement a mechanism in which the protrusion 51b is in an up state in which the protrusion 51b is in an upright state (see FIGS. 12A and 12B).

In addition, the substrate holder 21 'is made to be positioned at the home position of the substrate deposition waiting chamber 40 after the deposition is completed, such that a series of operations are repeatedly performed, and all substrate holders requiring deposition work. When the deposition of 21 ′ is completed, the movement of the first hook 31 is stopped by various sensors (eg, position sensing sensors, etc.).

On the other hand, the operation of the thin film deposition apparatus using the load lock chamber of the multi-layer substrate holder structure according to the present invention described above are as follows.

First, in a state where a large amount of substrate 21 is mounted in the multilayer substrate holder mounting chamber 10, the substrate 21 is held in the multilayer substrate holder 20 in the form of a substrate holder 21 'for holding the substrate 21. .

In addition, the first hook 31 of the first linear transfer driving part 30 is positioned at a portion of the substrate holder 21 ′ that is partially removed by passing through the first protrusion 21 a of the substrate holder 21 ′ (see FIG. 5).

In addition, the entirety of the multi-layer substrate holder 20 is lowered by the first linear transfer driver 30, so that the first hook 31 is the first protrusion of the substrate holder 21 ′. 21a) (see Fig. 6).

In addition, the first hook 31 pushes the first protruding portion 21a according to the movement of the first linear transfer driving part 30, thereby pushing one of the substrate holders 21 ′ into the multilayer substrate holder 20. Extracted from and positioned to the gate valve 41.

In this case, the second protrusion 21b of the substrate holder 21 ′ is positioned in the substrate deposition waiting chamber 40, and is moved up in the down state by the above-described mechanism while moving to the position. State. (See FIGS. 7 to 9)

Then, the second protrusion 21b in the up state using the second linear transfer driving part 43 holds the substrate holder 21 'in the state of being caught by the second hook 43a. And to 40. (See Figs. 10 and 11)

Subsequently, after the substrate holder 21 ′ is loaded and mounted on the deposition transfer driver 50 in the substrate deposition waiting chamber 40 (at this time, the position of the deposition transfer driver 50 is located at the left limit position). The deposition transfer driving unit 50 is moved to its mechanical home position.

At this time, during the movement of the deposition transfer driver 50, both the first protrusion 21a and the second protrusion 21b are in a down state by their own mechanism.

In addition, the second hook 43a moves toward the gate valve 41 so as not to interfere with the reciprocating motion related to the coating operation of the deposition transfer driver 50.

In addition, the first protrusion 21a and the second protrusion 21b are brought up again when moved to the home position by the evaporation-emission driver 50.

When the substrate holder 21 'is reciprocated by the deposition transfer driver 50 while the deposition is completed, the substrate is deposited on one side of the multilayer substrate holder mounting chamber 10 where a target is located. It is located at the home position of the waiting room 40.

This is because when the substrate holder 21 'is moved to the left limit position, the first protrusion 21a and the second protrusion 21b are brought down again (see Fig. 13).

In this case, the second hook 43a moves to the right to reach a ready state for moving the substrate holder 21 ′ on the deposition transfer driver 50.

When the substrate holder 21 'is continuously moved to the left limit position by the deposition transfer driver 50, the first protrusion 21a and the second protrusion 21b of the substrate holder 21' It goes up again (see Fig. 14).

15 and 16, the substrate holder 21 ′ is engaged by the second hook 43a and the second protrusion 21b by the second linear transfer driver 43. The first protrusion 21a is located in the multi-layer substrate holder mounting chamber 10 and moves from the down state to the up state when the gate valve 41 is moved to be adjacent to the gate valve 41.

In this case, the first hook 31 may transfer the substrate holder 21 'to the original position of the multilayer substrate holder mounting chamber 10 by using the first protrusion 21a. As the deposition operation is completed by various sensors such as a sensing sensor, the first hook 31 is brought to a stationary state which is no longer moved.

Therefore, the present invention is capable of depositing a large amount of large substrates in one process, so unlike other apparatuses that take a long time for outgassing by breaking the vacuum every process, mass production is easy and the chamber volume is easy. In order to minimize the problem, it is a system that inserts the deposited substrate back into the sample holder mounting part, so it takes less time for outgassing and saves manufacturing cost. It is very easy to manufacture single layer or thin film system of 3 to 5 layers such as ITO coating which does not need to remove particles in the central chamber where the target gun is located.

While the invention has been shown and described with respect to particular embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as indicated by the appended claims. Anyone can easily know.

1 is a photo schematically showing a system in which a substrate rotates on a fixed target according to the prior art;

Figure 2 is a perspective view schematically showing an inline drive system according to the prior art,

3 is a photo schematically showing a system using a multi-sample loading chamber according to the prior art,

4 is a perspective view schematically showing a thin film deposition apparatus using a load lock chamber of a multi-layer substrate holder structure according to the present invention;

5 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a state in which a first hook of a first linear driving unit is positioned on one side of a first protrusion of a multilayer board holder;

6 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a state in which the multi-layer substrate holder is lowered and the first protrusion is caught by the first hook;

7 to 9 are perspective views schematically illustrating a process of moving a single substrate holder to a gate valve;

10 and 11 are perspective views schematically illustrating a process of transferring the substrate holder to the substrate deposition waiting room by the second hook of the second linear transfer driving unit walking on the second protrusion;

12A and 12B are perspective views schematically illustrating structures of the first protrusion and the second protrusion of the substrate holder;

13 to 16 are perspective views schematically showing a process in which the substrate holder is located at the home position of the multilayer substrate holder mounting chamber.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

1: Thin film deposition apparatus using load lock chamber of multilayer substrate holder structure

10: Multi-layer substrate holder (MSSHR) 20: Multi-layer substrate holder (MSSH)

21: substrate 21a: first protrusion

21b: 2nd protrusion part 30: 1st linear feed drive part (MUMG)

40: substrate deposition waiting room (LSCS) 41: gate valve

43: second linear feed drive (MUGL) 31: first hook

43a: second hook 50: deposition transfer driving unit (SHMU)

60: thin film deposition chamber (CMS)

Claims (6)

A multi-layer substrate holder mounting chamber (MSSHR) equipped with a plurality of substrates for vacuum thin film deposition; A multi-layer substrate holder (MSSH) comprising a plurality of substrate holders holding the substrates individually mounted from the multi-layer substrate holder mounting chamber, the first and second protrusions being formed at predetermined positions on one side of the substrate holder; A first linear transfer driver (MUMG) extracting the substrate holder from the multilayer substrate holder (MSSH) and moving to the gate valve, the first hook having a first hook at a predetermined position on one side; A second linear transfer driver (MUGL) moving the substrate holder from the gate valve to a substrate deposition waiting chamber (LSCS), the second hook having a second hook at a predetermined position on one side; The deposition transfer driver moving to a mechanical home position of the substrate holder after the substrate holder is mounted on the deposition transfer driver (SHMU) in the substrate deposition waiting room; And A thin film deposition chamber (CMS) in which the substrate holder is deposited during the reciprocating motion by the deposition transfer driver at a position of a target; Thin film deposition apparatus using a load lock chamber of a multi-layer substrate holder structure comprising a. The method of claim 1, The thin film deposition apparatus using the load lock chamber of the multi-layer substrate holder structure is driven by a stepping motor or a servo motor (servo motor). The method of claim 1, Thin film deposition using a load lock chamber of a multi-layer substrate holder structure in which the first and second protrusions are connected by elastic springs provided at lower ends of the elastic springs, and rod-shaped protrusions on the upper ends of the elastic springs are tightly connected from the elastic springs. Device. The method of claim 3, When the projections formed at a predetermined position on the upper end of the deposition transfer driving unit are located at each lower end of the first protrusion and the second protrusion, the elastic spring is pressed down to be in a down state, and is separated from the position of the protrusion. Thin film deposition apparatus using a load lock chamber of the multi-layer substrate holder structure is to be released to the up (up) state by pressing the elastic spring. The method of claim 1, The first hook and the second hook thin film deposition apparatus using a load lock chamber of the multi-layer substrate holder structure to be movable in the front and rear directions. The method of claim 1, The substrate holder is a thin film deposition apparatus using a load lock chamber of a multi-layer substrate holder structure to be positioned after the completion of deposition, the home position (home position) of the substrate deposition waiting room.

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