TWI414700B - Composite sealing material - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a compound seal member, which has performances such as a vacuum seal performance, a plasma resistance and a corrosive-gas resistance altogether, which has no vacuum sealing performance degraded even after repeated uses, which has no metal particle formed when used, which can be applied to the so-called "dove-tail groove" used generally in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and which has the performances such as the plasma resistance or the corrosive-gas resistance degraded even if used in a place opened/closed repeatedly. A first seal member (6) is constituted of an annular seal body (6A), an annular bulge (6B) protruded radially inward from the inner circumference side of the seal body (6A), and a fitted portion (6C) protruded radially inward from the annular bulge (6B). Moreover, a second seal member (8) is equipped with a fitted recess (8A) having a shape generally complementary to the fitted portion (6C), and a bent portion (8B) extending from the fitted recess (8A) toward a stepped portion (6D).

Description

Composite sealing material

The present invention relates to a composite sealing material for use, for example, in an ultra-vacuum state, and more particularly to a composite sealing material suitable for use in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus or an inlet plug or the like incorporated in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.

With the advancement of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the requirements for components used in semiconductor manufacturing equipment are also more stringent and their requirements have become more diverse.

For example, a sealing material for a semiconductor device such as a dry etching device and a plasma CVD device is required to have a vacuum sealing property as a basic performance requirement. Further, depending on the device to be used and the assembly position of the sealing material, it is required to have both plasma resistance and corrosion resistance.

In addition to such a vacuum sealing performance, for a sealing portion which is required to have plasma resistance and corrosion resistance, a fluorine rubber which is not easily affected by a fluid has been used.

However, with the strict use conditions, only fluororubbers have not been able to sufficiently satisfy the properties such as plasma resistance and corrosion resistance, and new materials are desired.

With regard to the above requirements, it has the characteristics of vacuum sealing performance, plasma resistance, corrosion resistance gas resistance, etc., and by repeated use, it does not deteriorate the vacuum performance, and metal particles do not occur during use, and are inexpensive. It is easy to manufacture and can be applied to a sealing material of a so-called "tail groove" in a general semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, as described in Patent Document 1 proposed by the inventors.

Patent Document 1: Special Opening No. 2005-164027

However, in the composite sealing material described in Patent Document 1, since the portion responsible for sealing is a rubber member, the repeated use does not deteriorate the vacuum sealing property, but it is responsible for the plasma resistance and corrosion resistance. The portion to be used is a member made of a synthetic resin, and since the member made of the synthetic resin has no so-called elastic relaxation phenomenon when it is not repeatedly used as the elasticity of the rubber member, the adhesion to the target member is repeated. At the same time, it will be reduced and there will be problems that cannot maintain sufficient performance.

The present invention has the above-mentioned facts, and aims to provide a vacuum sealing performance, a plasma resistance, and a corrosion-resistant gas property, etc., and even if it is repeatedly used, the vacuum performance is not deteriorated, and does not occur during use. The metal particle phenomenon is applicable to a sealing material of a so-called "tail groove" in a general semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and can be used for repeatedly opening and closing such as an opening and closing portion of an inlet plug, and is resistant to plasma and corrosion resistance. A composite sealing material that does not deteriorate in performance.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a composite sealing material comprising a composite sealing material assembled in a sealing groove of a dovetail groove, comprising: a first sealing member composed of an elastic member disposed on an outer peripheral side of the sealing groove; a second sealing member formed of a hard material disposed on the inner peripheral side of the seal groove and harder than the first seal member; the composite seal member is characterized in that the first seal member has an annular seal An annular protruding portion that protrudes inward in the radial direction from the inner circumferential side of the sealing body, and an axially intermediate portion from the inner circumferential side of the annular convex portion protrudes inward in the radial direction of the sealing body The second sealing member is provided with a fitting recessed portion that is slightly complementary to the fitting portion of the first sealing member in the axial direction intermediate portion, and is provided at both ends in the axial direction. There is a bent portion that is in contact with a step formed between the sealing body and the annular convex portion.

According to this configuration, it is preferable to have a sealing environment that is required to have corrosion resistance and plasma resistance on the inner diameter side. That is, when the composite sealing material is pressed, the sealing body of the first sealing member on the outer diameter side is elastically deformed, so that sealing property is generated. In addition, when the second sealing member on the inner diameter side is made of a material excellent in corrosion resistance and plasma resistance, corrosion resistance and plasma resistance are generated on the inner diameter side. Further, since the first sealing member is protected by the second sealing member, the sealing property of the entire sealing material is not lowered.

Further, the composite sealing material of the present invention is a composite sealing material assembled in a dovetail-shaped sealing groove, comprising: a first sealing member formed of an elastic member disposed on an inner peripheral side of the sealing groove; and a second sealing member formed of a hard material which is harder than the first sealing member on the outer circumferential side of the sealing groove; the composite sealing member is characterized in that the first sealing member has an annular sealing body and is sealed from the seal An annular convex portion that protrudes outward in the radial direction on the outer peripheral side of the main body, and an annular fitting portion that protrudes outward in the radial direction of the sealing body from the axially intermediate portion on the outer peripheral side of the annular convex portion; The second sealing member is provided with a fitting recess portion having a shape that is slightly complementary to the fitting portion of the first sealing member, and a bent portion is provided at both end portions in the axial direction, and the bent portion is provided with The step formed between the sealing body and the annular convex portion is in contact with each other.

In such a configuration, it is effective to require the outer diameter side to have corrosion resistance and plasma resistance. In other words, when the second sealing member is made of a material having excellent corrosion resistance and plasma resistance, the outer diameter side can exhibit plasma resistance and corrosion resistance, and the sealing property of the first sealing member on the inner diameter side can be ensured. .

As described above, according to the present invention, in addition to the sealing property, it is also possible to have both plasma resistance and corrosion resistance.

Further, the composite sealing material of the present invention may define a deformation buffer space between the bending portion and the sealing body to allow the bending portion and the sealing body to be elastically deformed.

According to this configuration, the composite sealing material is elastically deformed in the deformation buffer space by allowing the sealing body of the first sealing member and the thin portion formed in the curved portion of the second sealing member to be elastically deformed, for example, even when used as an inlet plug. In the case of the opening and closing portion, the composite sealing material at the opening and closing is repeated, and the first sealing member and the second sealing member can be prevented from being damaged or damaged, and the deterioration of the sealing property can be suppressed.

Further, in the composite sealing material of the present invention, when the annular fitting portion of the first sealing member is fitted into the fitted recessed portion as the mating member, the fitting portion may be formed so as not to be embedded from the aforementioned The shape of the recessed part.

According to this configuration, it is possible to surely prevent the separation of the first sealing member and the second sealing member.

According to the composite sealing material of the present invention, since a soft member such as rubber and a hard synthetic resin such as PTFE are combined, it is possible to simultaneously have vacuum sealing performance, plasma resistance, corrosion resistance, and the like. Further, when the deformation buffer space between the curved portion of the second sealing member and the sealing body of the first sealing member is secured, in particular, the thin portion of the curved portion of the second sealing member is elastically deformed into the deformation buffer space. Therefore, even if the opening and closing are repeated repeatedly, the second sealing member and the first sealing member are not deteriorated prematurely. Moreover, the vacuum sealing performance and the adhesion to the mating member are not lowered. Further, by using rubber as the first sealing member and using a synthetic resin such as PTFE as the second sealing member, metal fines are not generated during use. It also has the advantage of being easier to manufacture and cheaper.

Hereinafter, the composite sealing material of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a view showing a composite sealing material according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a single member of the first sealing member of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a single member of the second sealing member of Fig. 1;

The composite sealing material 10 of the present embodiment is formed in a closed loop shape, and can be attached, for example, to a substantially annular seal groove 2, and Fig. 1 shows a left side cross section of the seal groove 2 disposed in a horizontal state. In addition, the arrow V in FIG. 1 indicates the axial direction, and the arrow H indicates the radial direction, and h1 and h2 at both ends of the arrow H indicate the inner side in the radial direction and the outer side in the radial direction, respectively, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 8 below. The same.

The sealing groove 2 is formed, for example, in a joint portion of a semiconductor device such as a dry etching device and a plasma CVD device, and the width of the sealing groove 2 on the side of the bottom portion 26 is wider than the width of the opening portion 22 of the sealing groove 2, forming a so-called width. The dovetail slot.

Therefore, in the composite sealing material 10, the first sealing member 6 is disposed on one side wall 28 (outer peripheral side) of the seal groove 2, and the second sealing member 8 is disposed on the other side wall 30 (inner peripheral side) of the seal groove 2. In other words, in the composite sealing material 10, the second sealing member 8 is disposed on one side of a strict environment such as corrosion gas and plasma in the semiconductor device, and is disposed on the opposite side (for example, the atmosphere side) on the strict environment side. There is a first sealing member 6.

The first sealing member 6 has an annular sealing body 6A, an annular convex portion 6B that protrudes inward in the radial direction from the inner circumferential side of the self-sealing main body 6A, and an axially intermediate portion from the inner circumferential side of the annular convex portion 6B. Further, the fitting portion 6C having a substantially trapezoidal cross section protruding toward the inner side in the radial direction of the sealing body 6A.

The first sealing member 6 is preferably made of a rubber of an elastic material. Any of natural rubber and synthetic rubber can be used as the rubber.

As described above, the first sealing member 6 is made of a rubber of an elastic material, and the elastic member of the rubber member can be pressed by the pair of members 36 when the composite sealing member 10 is pressed against the pairing member 36. The sealing body 6A of the first sealing member 6 is pressure-bonded to impart a sealing property. The rubber constituting the first sealing member 6 is preferably made of fluororubber.

As such a fluororubber, a vinylidene fluoride-based copolymer such as a vinylidene fluoride/hexafluoropropylene copolymer, a vinylidene fluoride/chlorotrifluoroethylene copolymer, or a vinylidene fluoride/pentafluoropropylene copolymer can be used. Rubber; vinylidene fluoride/tetrafluoroethylene/hexafluoropropylene copolymer, vinylidene fluoride/tetrafluoroethylene/perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer, vinylidene fluoride/tetrafluoroethylene/propylene copolymer, etc. A meta-fluorinated vinyl rubber; or a tetrafluoroethylene/propylene copolymer, a tetrafluoroethylene/perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer, a thermoplastic fluororubber, or the like.

When the rubber constituting the first sealing member 6 is a fluororubber, even if the first sealing member 6 is in contact with the corrosive gas or the plasma, the durability against the corrosive gas and the plasma is excellent, and the sealing property is not good. Will get worse.

The second sealing member 8 is disposed on the inner peripheral side of the first sealing member 6 and is another object of the first sealing member 6 . The second sealing member 8 includes a fitted portion 8A having a shape substantially complementary to the fitting portion 6C of the first sealing member 6, and is bent and extended from both sides in the longitudinal direction of the fitted portion 8A to be in contact with the first sealing member. The curved portion 8B of the step portion 6D formed between the sealed body 6A and the annular convex portion 6B is formed with a thin portion 8C at an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the curved portion 8B.

Then, the fitting portion 6C of the first sealing member 6 is fitted into the fitted portion 8A of the second sealing member 8, and the second sealing member 6 and the second sealing member are made to be in contact with the step portion 6D by the curved portion 8B. 8 is tightly assembled into one.

The second sealing member 8 is preferably made of a hard synthetic resin that is harder than the first sealing member 6, and is preferably selected from the group consisting of a fluororesin, a polyimine resin, a polyamidimide resin, and a polyether. A synthetic resin comprising at least one of a quinone imine resin, a polyamidoximine resin, a polyphenylene sulfide resin, a polybenzimidazole resin, and a polyether ketone resin.

Since the second sealing member 8 is made of a hard synthetic resin that is harder than the first sealing member 6, the durability of the corrosive gas, the plasma, and the like is good, and the entire first sealing member 6 composed of the elastic member is also It can be protected from corrosive gases, plasma, etc., and can prevent leakage.

In this case, as the fluororesin, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) resin, tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer (PFA) resin, and tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene copolymer (FEP) resin can be exemplified. , tetrafluoroethylene-ethylene copolymer (ETFE) resin, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) resin, polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE) resin, chlorotrifluoroethylene-ethylene copolymer (ECTFE) resin, polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) Resin or the like, in which PTFE is preferred in view of heat resistance, corrosion resistance gas, plasma resistance, and the like.

Next, when the second sealing member 8 is integrally assembled to the first sealing member 6, an annular deformation buffer space S is formed between the annular convex portion 6B of the first sealing member 6 and the curved portion 8B.

When the composite sealing material 10 composed of the first sealing member 6 and the second sealing member 8 thus configured is pressed, the annular convex portion 6B and the curved portion 8B are allowed to elastically deform into the deformation buffer space S.

Further, when the composite sealing material 10 is attached to the sealing groove 2 of the so-called "tail-slot", it is necessary to be easy to attach but difficult to fall off and to prevent biting. Therefore, when the sealing material 10 is compressed, it is necessary not to come into contact with the rounded portion of the opening end of the sealing groove 2.

Therefore, the width of the composite sealing material 10 is set to L2 × 0.9 < L1 < L2 × 1.1 (L1 is the maximum width in the radial direction in the cross-sectional shape, and L2 is the width of the opening end of the sealing groove 2).

Further, the shape of the outer diameter side of the first sealing member 6 is convex from the sealing surface to the center of the cross section. The sealing surface shape of the second sealing member 8 (the sealing surface A of the curved portion 8B) is a straight line (planar) in order to improve the adhesion to the sealing surface, and the second sealing member 8 is formed from the sealing surface A. The continuous outer portion of the central portion in the axial direction has a shape composed of a straight line or a curved line.

With this configuration, when the composite sealing material 10 is pressure-bonded, the sealing body 6A of the first sealing member 6 is elastically deformed to impart sealing property to the outer diameter side. Further, since the second sealing member 8 on the inner diameter side is made of a hard material that is harder than the first sealing member 6, the second sealing member 8 side is disposed on, for example, a dry etching device or an electric CVD device. In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, etc., the first sealing member 6 can be protected from the corrosive gas, plasma, etc., in the case of facing the chamber side on the strict environmental side such as corrosive gas or plasma. The seal will not be lowered.

Further, since the second sealing member 8 which is made of a material which is harder than the first sealing member 6 and which is excellent in corrosion resistance and plasma resistance is disposed on the inner diameter side, the first sealing member 6 is also subjected to the second sealing. The protection of the member 8 prevents the overall sealing property of the composite sealing material 10 from being lowered.

Further, when the composite sealing material 10 is pressure-bonded, since the sealing body 6A of the first sealing member 6 and the thin portion of the curved portion 8B formed in the second sealing member 8 are allowed to elastically deform in the deformation buffer space S, When the composite sealing material 10 is used in the portion where the opening and closing is repeated, the sealing property of the first sealing member 6 and the second sealing member 8 can be suppressed from deteriorating.

In addition, since the composite sealing material 10 is formed in a symmetrical shape with reference to the center line L shown in FIG. 1, it is possible to prevent the composite sealing material 10 from being erroneously assembled by mistake when the composite sealing material 10 is mounted. .

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto.

For example, a fitting portion 41 of the first sealing member 6 constituting the composite sealing material 40 may be formed in a substantially rectangular cross section, and the fitting portion 41 may be press-fitted to constitute a second seal. The member 42 is formed in a fitting recessed portion 43 having a substantially rectangular cross section.

Further, in the second modification shown in FIG. 5, the deformation buffer space S described in the above embodiment between the first sealing member 6 and the second sealing member 51 of the composite sealing material 50 may be omitted.

Further, in the third modification shown in Fig. 6, the second sealing member 61 of the composite sealing member 60 may be provided with a thick portion 62 instead of the thin portion 8C described in the above embodiment.

Further, in the fourth modification example shown in FIG. 7, one of the first sealing member 71 of the composite sealing material 70 and the first sealing member 71 of the second sealing member 72 may be recessed to provide a deformation buffer space. S'.

Further, in the fifth modification shown in FIG. 8, the first sealing member 81 of the composite sealing material 80 may be provided with a fitting portion 81A having a substantially convex cross section, and the fitting portion 81A may be fitted. The second sealing member 82 is inserted into the fitted portion 83.

Further, in the above embodiment, the composite sealing material 10 shown in Fig. 9 is formed into a circular ring shape as a whole system, but instead, the composite sealing material 10' may be entirely formed in the sixth modification shown in Fig. 10 . It is formed in a rectangular shape.

In the above-described embodiment, the first sealing member is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the seal groove, and the second seal member is disposed on the inner peripheral side of the seal groove. However, the composite seal member of the present invention is sealed. The outer diameter side of the groove is required to have an environment having corrosion resistance and plasma resistance. The first sealing member may be disposed on the inner circumferential side of the sealing groove, and the second sealing member may be disposed on the outer circumferential side of the sealing groove.

Further, for example, in the above embodiment, the case of using a semiconductor device such as a dry etching device or a plasma CVD device will be described, but the composite sealing material of the present invention can be easily used in other environmentally harsh conditions. The sealing part of other devices. Further, a sealing groove other than the dovetail groove can also be used.

2‧‧‧Seaning groove

6, 71, 81‧‧‧1st sealing member

6A‧‧‧ Sealing body

6B‧‧‧ annular convex

6C, 41, 81A‧‧‧Mate

6D‧‧‧Departure

62‧‧‧ thicker part

8, 42, 51, 61, 72, 82‧‧‧ second sealing member

8A, 43, 83‧‧‧ fitted recesses

8B‧‧‧Bend

8C‧‧‧ thinner part

10, 10', 40, 50, 60, 70, 80‧‧‧ composite sealing materials

22‧‧‧ Openings

26‧‧‧ bottom

28‧‧‧ side wall

30‧‧‧ side wall

36‧‧‧ Pairing components

S, S’‧‧‧ deformation buffer space

H‧‧‧radial direction arrow

H1‧‧‧ radially inside

H2‧‧‧ radially outward

V‧‧‧axis direction arrow

A‧‧‧ sealing surface

L‧‧‧ center line

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the composite sealing material of the present invention when it is attached to a so-called "tail groove" of a sealing groove;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the first sealing member of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the second sealing member of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a composite sealing material according to a first modification;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a composite sealing material according to a second modification;

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a composite sealing material according to a third modification;

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a composite sealing material according to a fourth modification;

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a composite sealing material according to a fifth modification; Figure 9 is a plan view showing a composite sealing material according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a composite sealing material according to a sixth modification.

2‧‧‧Seaning groove

6‧‧‧1st sealing member

6A‧‧‧ Sealing body

6B‧‧‧ annular convex

6C‧‧‧Mate

6D‧‧‧Departure

8‧‧‧2nd sealing member

8A‧‧‧ fitted recess

8B‧‧‧Bend

8C‧‧‧ thinner part

10‧‧‧Composite sealing material

22‧‧‧ Openings

26‧‧‧ bottom

28‧‧‧ side wall

30‧‧‧ side wall

36‧‧‧ Pairing components

S‧‧‧ deformation buffer space

H‧‧‧radial direction arrow

H1‧‧‧ radially inside

H2‧‧‧ radially outward

V‧‧‧axis direction arrow

A‧‧‧ sealing surface

L‧‧‧ center line

Claims (3)

A composite sealing material comprising a composite sealing material assembled in a sealing groove of a dovetail groove, comprising: a first sealing member which is disposed on an outer peripheral side of the sealing groove, and is formed of an elastic member; and is disposed in the sealing groove a second sealing member made of a hard material harder than the first sealing member; the composite sealing member is characterized in that the first sealing member has an annular sealing body; and an inner circumference of the sealing body An annular convex portion protruding inward in the lateral direction of the radial direction; and an annular fitting portion protruding from the axially intermediate portion of the inner circumferential side of the annular convex portion toward the inner side in the radial direction of the sealing body; The second sealing member is provided with a fitting recessed portion that is slightly complementary in shape to the fitting portion of the first sealing member, and has a bent portion at both end portions in the axial direction, and the curved portion is in contact with each other. a stepped portion formed between the sealing body and the annular convex portion; and a deformation buffer space between the curved portion and the sealing body that allows the bending portion and the sealing body to be elastically deformed; Said cross-sectional shape of the composite seal member of the center line in the horizontal direction as the base of a vertically symmetrical shape. A composite sealing material which is a composite sealing material assembled in a sealing groove of a dovetail groove, comprising: a first sealing member which is disposed on an inner peripheral side of the sealing groove and is composed of an elastic member; and is disposed in the sealing groove a second sealing member made of a hard material which is harder than the first sealing member; the composite sealing member is characterized in that the first sealing member has an annular sealing body; and an outer peripheral side of the sealing body An annular convex portion that protrudes outward in the radial direction; and an annular fitting portion that protrudes outward in the radial direction of the sealing body from an axially intermediate portion of the outer circumferential side of the annular convex portion; the second seal The member is provided with a shape in the middle portion of the axial direction, which may be slightly different from the above a fitting recessed portion in which the fitting portion of the first sealing member is complementary, and a bent portion is formed at both end portions in the axial direction, the curved portion being in contact with a stepped portion formed between the sealing body and the annular convex portion; A deformation buffer space that allows the bending portion and the sealing body to be elastically deformed is defined between the curved portion and the sealing body, and the cross-sectional shape of the composite sealing material is vertically symmetrical with respect to a center line in the horizontal direction. The composite sealing material according to the first or second aspect of the invention, wherein the fitting portion is formed when the annular fitting portion of the first sealing member is fitted to the fitting recessed portion of the mating member. The shape extracted from the fitted recess.