WO1999044221A1 - A seal member and a vacuum chamber - Google Patents

A seal member and a vacuum chamber Download PDF

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Publication number
WO1999044221A1
WO1999044221A1 PCT/JP1999/000901 JP9900901W WO9944221A1 WO 1999044221 A1 WO1999044221 A1 WO 1999044221A1 JP 9900901 W JP9900901 W JP 9900901W WO 9944221 A1 WO9944221 A1 WO 9944221A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
seal member
chamber
vacuum chamber
ring shape
endurable
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/JP1999/000901
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Masanori Ono
Original Assignee
Applied Materials, Inc.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Applied Materials, Inc. filed Critical Applied Materials, Inc.
Publication of WO1999044221A1 publication Critical patent/WO1999044221A1/en

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/67005—Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/67011—Apparatus for manufacture or treatment
    • H01L21/67155—Apparatus for manufacturing or treating in a plurality of work-stations
    • H01L21/67196—Apparatus for manufacturing or treating in a plurality of work-stations characterized by the construction of the transfer chamber
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
    • C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
    • C23C14/00—Coating by vacuum evaporation, by sputtering or by ion implantation of the coating forming material
    • C23C14/22—Coating by vacuum evaporation, by sputtering or by ion implantation of the coating forming material characterised by the process of coating
    • C23C14/56—Apparatus specially adapted for continuous coating; Arrangements for maintaining the vacuum, e.g. vacuum locks
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/67005—Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/67011—Apparatus for manufacture or treatment
    • H01L21/67126—Apparatus for sealing, encapsulating, glassing, decapsulating or the like
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/67005—Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/67011—Apparatus for manufacture or treatment
    • H01L21/67155—Apparatus for manufacturing or treating in a plurality of work-stations
    • H01L21/6719—Apparatus for manufacturing or treating in a plurality of work-stations characterized by the construction of the processing chambers, e.g. modular processing chambers

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a seal member for hermetically sealing a vacuum chamber in which an object is processed under a reduced pressure, and a vacuum chamber which is sealed by that seal member.
  • Manufacturing steps of semiconductor devices, liquid crystal displays or other devices include a variety of deposition processes and etching processes for patterning. These deposition processes and etching processes are performed in vacuum chambers. For instance, the deposition processes such as plasma excited CVD, sputtering, ion plating and vacuum deposition are performed in the vacuum chambers.
  • These vacuum chambers may be a single chamber or a multichamber such that a plurality of chambers are coupled.
  • Most devices generally include a load-lock chamber for loading or unloading objects to be processed into or from devices.
  • An object or a set of objects to be processed is loaded into the load-lock chamber through an opening from the atmosphere.
  • the opening of the load-lock chamber is then closed and pressure of load- lock chamber is reduced to isolate the object from the atmosphere.
  • the object is taken out through a gate of the load-lock chamber and is transferred into a previously evacuated chamber, such as a deposition chamber or an etching chamber.
  • Kokai 6-60997 and Kokai 9-263944 disclose that a top of the chamber is detachably attached to side walls of the chamber and is removed to clean the inside of the chamber.
  • an O-ring is provided between the upper and lower parts or between the top and the sidewalls to hermetically seal the gap therebetween.
  • Kokai 6-60997 shows a plasma-etching device wherein an O-ring is used to hermetically seal a gap between an electrostatic chuck for supporting a wafer and a base.
  • a seal member made of fluorine base rubber (Byton) is generally used for vacuum sealing as disclosed in Kokai 9-263944, Byton seal is suitable for use at narrow range of temperatures between -20 and 120°C and is not suitable for use at the high temperature of for example 300°C.
  • Another seal member such as Teflon coated Byton of good chemical-endurance is also employed. In this case, Teflon itself endures the temperature of 200°C but Byton is less heat-endurable, so that the sealing member is endurable up to the temperature of only a hundred and tens.
  • the seal member capable of enduring high temperatures of 200 - 250°C is silicone rubber.
  • the inventor has recognized that a silicone seal member includes a number of pores through which light elements such as hydrogen and helium pass, which is a problem when a high vacuum is required.
  • Kokai 8-325734 discloses that an O-ring rubber in a deposition chamber is covered with a spring metal ring which separates the inside of the chamber and the O-ring rubber in order to prevent gases through the sealing rubber from entering into the chamber. While the metal ring seals the gap between walls and the top of the chamber, it is difficult to completely seal the gap because of the hardness of metal and small contact area. Thus, the material of joint portions of the chamber needs to be harder than the sealing metal, causing limitation of a housing design.
  • a seal member for providing an hermetic seal of a vacuum chamber, said seal member comprising a seal member of an O- ring shape, and a film of heat-endurable polymer which a surface of the seal member is covered with.
  • An aspect of the invention is a vacuum chamber for processing an object under a reduced pressure, wherein at least one gap of the vacuum chamber is sealed by a seal member which is covered with a heat-endurable polymer film.
  • Yet another aspect of the invention is a seal member for hermetically sealing a vacuum chamber, said seal member comprising a seal member of an O-ring shape, and a heat-endurable polymer cover having a central portion and two legs which extend from the central portion and accommodate the seal member of an O-ring shape.
  • the invention provides a vacuum chamber for processing an object under a reduced pressure wherein at least one gap of said vacuum chamber is sealed by said seal member.
  • a seal member of an O-ring shape is made of heat-endurable silicone rubber.
  • the heat-endurable polymer is referred to as an engineering plastic.
  • Typical heat-endurable polymers are polyimide, polyether-ether-ketone and polyetherimide, wherein polyimide is most common.
  • the heat-endurable polymer is capable of enduring high temperatures more than 300°C, it becomes stiffer when molded, so the only polymer is not enough for sealing.
  • the seal member of silicone rubber is coated with the heat-endurable polymer of a thickness of a few micron, the seal member suitable for using at high temperatures is obtained due to both elasticity of the silicone rubber and the heat-endurance of the heat-endurable polymer.
  • a silicone rubber seal member of an O-ring shape is accommodated in a cover of heat-endurable polymer to produce a seal member instead of using the polymer coating.
  • the seal member described above is placed in a vacuum chamber in such a manner that a side of the cover member is on a vacuum side of the vacuum chamber.
  • the seal member according to the invention is endurable to high temperatures, keeps enough contact with the vacuum chamber at the joint of the chamber. Light elements such as hydrogen and helium which may come into the silicone rubber is prevented from entering into the vacuum chamber by the film or the cover of heat- endurable polymer, thus producing a high vacuum.
  • FIG. 1 is an exemplary top view of a multi chamber.
  • Fig. 2 is an A- A' cross sectional view of the apparatus of Fig.1.
  • Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of a seal member of the embodiment according to the invention.
  • Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of a seal member of another embodiment according to the invention.
  • Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view of a seal member of the other embodiment according to the invention.
  • Fig. 6 shows cross section of the seal member of Fig. 5 in use.
  • Fig. 1 is a schematic top view of a multichamber device to perform deposition processes or etching processes onto an object such as a semiconductor wafer or a substrate of a liquid crystal panel.
  • the device comprises a cassette station 5 to supply a plurality of substrates to the device, a plurality of process chambers 1,2,3,4, and a transfer chamber 6 including a robot for transfer of the substrates from the cassette station to the process chamber.
  • Fig.2 is a cross sectional view showing connection of the cassette station 5, the transfer chamber 5, and the process chamber 3 shown in Fig.l.
  • the cassette station 5 is a chamber for loading a cassette to accommodate a plurality of substrates 21.
  • the cassette station 5 is evacuated by an exhaustion system 57 after inserting the cassette.
  • a gate 51 is opened.
  • a robot 65 in the transfer chamber 6 whose pressure has already been reduced by the exhaustion system 69 takes the substrate 21 out of the cassette station 5, and transfer the substrates into the process chamber 1,2,3,4 under high vacuum.
  • the transfer chamber 6 includes a top plate 61 which is detachably attached to the housing 62 of the transfer chamber 6.
  • the top plate 61 is attached to the housing 62, by for example a plurality of bolts.
  • a seal member 63 according to the invention is provided at the gap between the top plate 61 and the housing. The top plate 61 is removed in case of inspection or repair of the robot 65 or cleaning of the transfer chamber.
  • the process chamber 3 is a sputter deposition chamber which is connected to the exhaustion system 38 and maintained in a high vacuum.
  • the substrate 21 is transferred from the transfer chamber through the gate 66 and placed on a susceptor 36.
  • aluminum being sputtered from an aluminum target 37 is deposited on the substrate to form an aluminum film.
  • the process chamber 3 is not limited to the sputtering deposition chamber, and may be a vacuum deposition chamber, a plasma deposition chamber, a CVD chamber, a dry etching chamber, a heat chamber or other chambers which accommodates the substrate under a reduced pressure or vacuum.
  • the process chamber 3 also includes a top plate 31 which is detachably attached to the housing via a seal member 32, by for example a plurality of bolts, as in the case of the transfer chamber. Due to such constitution, the top plate 31 can be removed to clean or repair inside of the chamber 3.
  • the substrate, which has processed in the process chamber 3 is transferred to the next process chamber or the cassette station 5 by the robot 65 in the transfer chamber 6.
  • the single cassette station 5 is provided in the embodiment to load and unload the substrate, the different cassette stations for loading and unloading the substrates are possible. After the processed substrates are stocked, the cassette station is exposed to the atmosphere and the substrates are removed.
  • Fig.3 is a cross sectional view of a seal member according to the invention, where a silicone rubber seal member 301 of an O-ring shape is coated with the polyimide film of a few micron thickness.
  • the seal member is formed such that a liquid polyimide( polyimide paste) is pasted on the silicone rubber O-ring and is dried at the temperature of approximately 200°C.
  • the polyimide cover may be formed by producing a desired thickness of polyimide film by a doctor-blade method, wrapping the film around the O-ring of silicone rubber, and baking it in a heat chamber at the temperature of approximately 200°C.
  • Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of another embodiment of the seal member according to the invention, in which a silicone rubber seal member 401 of an O-ring shape is accommodated in a cover 402 which is approximately U shaped like a ring.
  • the cover 402 is molded of polyimide.
  • the cover 402 has two legs 404 and 405 which extend from a base portion 403 of a center of the cover, and the two legs has rather thick ends 406 and 407.
  • the outer surfaces of the ends 406 and 407 come in contact with the housing or the top plate of the vacuum chamber for sealing.
  • Fig. 5 shows the other embodiment of the cover according to the invention, wherein 6
  • the cover 502 is molded of polyimide.
  • Two legs extend from a base 503 of the center and have ends 506 and 507 which are rather thick than other portions.
  • An O-ring of silicone rubber 501 is accommodated between two legs.
  • the cross section of the ends 506 and 507 when the seal member is pressurized in the gap of the vacuum chamber is shown in Fig. 6.
  • the O-ring is pressurized into an oval and the outer surface of the O-ring and the inner surfaces of the ends 506 and 507 come into contact, therefore a wide flat sealing surface is formed outside of the legs.
  • the seal member is of improved heat- endurance and light elements such as hydrogen and helium is not allowed to pass through the seal member.
  • Variation of the cover is possible according to the Fig. 4 and Fig. 5.
  • the base of the cover may be round such that no boundary is formed between two legs.
  • the ends of the legs do not need to be thicker than other portions if the legs have enough thickness.
  • the thickness of the legs may be gradually increased from the base to the ends.
  • the seal member in which the O-ring is accommodated in the cover as shown in Fig. 4, Fig. 5, and Fig. 6, is provided in the vacuum chamber in such a manner that the base side of the cover is on the vacuum side or inner side of the vacuum chamber. Since polyimide is more flexible than metal and is easily transformed, and sealing surfaces of the ends 406 and 407 are pressurized during the top plate is attached to the housing, the ends of the cover come into contact with the sealing surfaces of the vacuum chamber in a wide area.
  • the O-ring which is transformed as described above with reference to Fig. 6, may be integrated with legs of the cover member to produce a wide sealing area.
  • These seal member has strong elasticity due to elasticity of the silicone rubber and flexibility of the base and legs of the cover. Accordingly, even if cleaning or maintenance is frequently performed, or the top plate is frequently removed or attached, the seal member is not fatigued and can keep a full elasticity for a long period. Also, the seal member is endurable to 300°C.
  • the multichamber is described above according to the embodiments of the invention, the invention is not limited to the multichamber and may be applied to other single process devices. Further, the invention is not limited to sealing the gap between the top plate and the housing of the vacuum chamber, and may be applied to any sealing of the vacuum chamber.
  • a hermetic seal which provides hermetical sealing of the vacuum chamber and endures high temperature is obtained.
  • the hermetic seal also prevents light elements such as hydrogen or helium from passing through.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
  • Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Materials Engineering (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Metallurgy (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Drying Of Semiconductors (AREA)
  • Physical Vapour Deposition (AREA)
  • Chemical Vapour Deposition (AREA)
  • Physical Deposition Of Substances That Are Components Of Semiconductor Devices (AREA)
  • Container, Conveyance, Adherence, Positioning, Of Wafer (AREA)

Abstract

The invention provides a seal member for providing a hermetic seal of a vacuum chamber, said seal member comprising a seal member of an O-ring shape, and a film of heat-endurable polymer which a surface of the seal member is covered with. The invention also provides a seal member for hermetically sealing a vacuum chamber, said seal member comprising a seal member of an O-ring shape, and a heat-endurable polymer cover having a central portion and two legs which extend from the central portion and accommodate the seal member of an O-ring shape. According to the invention, a hermetic seal which provides hermetical sealing of the vacuum chamber and endures high temperature is obtained. The hermetic seal also prevents light elements such as hydrogen or helium from passing through.

Description

1
DESCRIPTION
A SEAL MEMBER AND A VACUUM CHAMBER
Field of the invention
The invention relates to a seal member for hermetically sealing a vacuum chamber in which an object is processed under a reduced pressure, and a vacuum chamber which is sealed by that seal member.
Background of the invention
Manufacturing steps of semiconductor devices, liquid crystal displays or other devices include a variety of deposition processes and etching processes for patterning. These deposition processes and etching processes are performed in vacuum chambers. For instance, the deposition processes such as plasma excited CVD, sputtering, ion plating and vacuum deposition are performed in the vacuum chambers.
These vacuum chambers may be a single chamber or a multichamber such that a plurality of chambers are coupled. Most devices generally include a load-lock chamber for loading or unloading objects to be processed into or from devices. An object or a set of objects to be processed is loaded into the load-lock chamber through an opening from the atmosphere. The opening of the load-lock chamber is then closed and pressure of load- lock chamber is reduced to isolate the object from the atmosphere. Then, the object is taken out through a gate of the load-lock chamber and is transferred into a previously evacuated chamber, such as a deposition chamber or an etching chamber.
Thus, whether a single chamber or a multichamber, most process chambers are maintained in a high vacuum and need to be sealed to prevent the entry of impurity particles from adjacent chambers (including transfer chamber) or the atmosphere. On the other hand, since a material being deposited or etched, or a material scattered from an object or a target may deposit on walls and components inside of the deposition or etching chamber, cleaning inside of the chamber is often required, or such deposition may have an effect on the process. Kokai 6-161365 discloses that a housing of the chamber is separated into upper and lower parts and the upper part can be removed to clean the inside of the chamber. Further, Kokai 6-60997 and Kokai 9-263944 disclose that a top of the chamber is detachably attached to side walls of the chamber and is removed to clean the inside of the chamber. When the housing is of such construction, an O-ring is provided between the upper and lower parts or between the top and the sidewalls to hermetically seal the gap therebetween.
Also, Kokai 6-60997 shows a plasma-etching device wherein an O-ring is used to hermetically seal a gap between an electrostatic chuck for supporting a wafer and a base.
Though a seal member made of fluorine base rubber (Byton) is generally used for vacuum sealing as disclosed in Kokai 9-263944, Byton seal is suitable for use at narrow range of temperatures between -20 and 120°C and is not suitable for use at the high temperature of for example 300°C. Another seal member such as Teflon coated Byton of good chemical-endurance is also employed. In this case, Teflon itself endures the temperature of 200°C but Byton is less heat-endurable, so that the sealing member is endurable up to the temperature of only a hundred and tens. The seal member capable of enduring high temperatures of 200 - 250°C is silicone rubber. The inventor has recognized that a silicone seal member includes a number of pores through which light elements such as hydrogen and helium pass, which is a problem when a high vacuum is required.
Kokai 8-325734 discloses that an O-ring rubber in a deposition chamber is covered with a spring metal ring which separates the inside of the chamber and the O-ring rubber in order to prevent gases through the sealing rubber from entering into the chamber. While the metal ring seals the gap between walls and the top of the chamber, it is difficult to completely seal the gap because of the hardness of metal and small contact area. Thus, the material of joint portions of the chamber needs to be harder than the sealing metal, causing limitation of a housing design.
It is an object of the invention to provide a hermetic seal member which is suitable for producing a high vacuum and is capable of enduring high temperatures.
Summary of the invention
The problem described above is resolved by a seal member for providing an hermetic seal of a vacuum chamber, said seal member comprising a seal member of an O- ring shape, and a film of heat-endurable polymer which a surface of the seal member is covered with. An aspect of the invention is a vacuum chamber for processing an object under a reduced pressure, wherein at least one gap of the vacuum chamber is sealed by a seal member which is covered with a heat-endurable polymer film.
Yet another aspect of the invention is a seal member for hermetically sealing a vacuum chamber, said seal member comprising a seal member of an O-ring shape, and a heat-endurable polymer cover having a central portion and two legs which extend from the central portion and accommodate the seal member of an O-ring shape.
The invention provides a vacuum chamber for processing an object under a reduced pressure wherein at least one gap of said vacuum chamber is sealed by said seal member.
Preferably, a seal member of an O-ring shape is made of heat-endurable silicone rubber. The heat-endurable polymer is referred to as an engineering plastic. Typical heat-endurable polymers are polyimide, polyether-ether-ketone and polyetherimide, wherein polyimide is most common. Though the heat-endurable polymer is capable of enduring high temperatures more than 300°C, it becomes stiffer when molded, so the only polymer is not enough for sealing. When the seal member of silicone rubber is coated with the heat-endurable polymer of a thickness of a few micron, the seal member suitable for using at high temperatures is obtained due to both elasticity of the silicone rubber and the heat-endurance of the heat-endurable polymer.
According to one aspect of the invention, a silicone rubber seal member of an O-ring shape is accommodated in a cover of heat-endurable polymer to produce a seal member instead of using the polymer coating. The seal member described above is placed in a vacuum chamber in such a manner that a side of the cover member is on a vacuum side of the vacuum chamber.
The seal member according to the invention is endurable to high temperatures, keeps enough contact with the vacuum chamber at the joint of the chamber. Light elements such as hydrogen and helium which may come into the silicone rubber is prevented from entering into the vacuum chamber by the film or the cover of heat- endurable polymer, thus producing a high vacuum.
Brief description of drawings Fig. 1 is an exemplary top view of a multi chamber.
Fig. 2 is an A- A' cross sectional view of the apparatus of Fig.1.
Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of a seal member of the embodiment according to the invention.
Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of a seal member of another embodiment according to the invention.
Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view of a seal member of the other embodiment according to the invention.
Fig. 6 shows cross section of the seal member of Fig. 5 in use.
Detailed description of the Invention
Preferred embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic top view of a multichamber device to perform deposition processes or etching processes onto an object such as a semiconductor wafer or a substrate of a liquid crystal panel. The device comprises a cassette station 5 to supply a plurality of substrates to the device, a plurality of process chambers 1,2,3,4, and a transfer chamber 6 including a robot for transfer of the substrates from the cassette station to the process chamber.
Fig.2 is a cross sectional view showing connection of the cassette station 5, the transfer chamber 5, and the process chamber 3 shown in Fig.l. The cassette station 5 is a chamber for loading a cassette to accommodate a plurality of substrates 21. The cassette station 5 is evacuated by an exhaustion system 57 after inserting the cassette. When pressure of the chamber is reduced to a predetermined pressure, a gate 51 is opened. A robot 65 in the transfer chamber 6 whose pressure has already been reduced by the exhaustion system 69 takes the substrate 21 out of the cassette station 5, and transfer the substrates into the process chamber 1,2,3,4 under high vacuum.
The transfer chamber 6 includes a top plate 61 which is detachably attached to the housing 62 of the transfer chamber 6. The top plate 61 is attached to the housing 62, by for example a plurality of bolts. A seal member 63 according to the invention is provided at the gap between the top plate 61 and the housing. The top plate 61 is removed in case of inspection or repair of the robot 65 or cleaning of the transfer chamber.
The process chamber 3 is a sputter deposition chamber which is connected to the exhaustion system 38 and maintained in a high vacuum. The substrate 21 is transferred from the transfer chamber through the gate 66 and placed on a susceptor 36. For example, aluminum being sputtered from an aluminum target 37 is deposited on the substrate to form an aluminum film. The process chamber 3 is not limited to the sputtering deposition chamber, and may be a vacuum deposition chamber, a plasma deposition chamber, a CVD chamber, a dry etching chamber, a heat chamber or other chambers which accommodates the substrate under a reduced pressure or vacuum.
The process chamber 3 also includes a top plate 31 which is detachably attached to the housing via a seal member 32, by for example a plurality of bolts, as in the case of the transfer chamber. Due to such constitution, the top plate 31 can be removed to clean or repair inside of the chamber 3.
The substrate, which has processed in the process chamber 3 is transferred to the next process chamber or the cassette station 5 by the robot 65 in the transfer chamber 6. Though the single cassette station 5 is provided in the embodiment to load and unload the substrate, the different cassette stations for loading and unloading the substrates are possible. After the processed substrates are stocked, the cassette station is exposed to the atmosphere and the substrates are removed.
Fig.3 is a cross sectional view of a seal member according to the invention, where a silicone rubber seal member 301 of an O-ring shape is coated with the polyimide film of a few micron thickness. The seal member is formed such that a liquid polyimide( polyimide paste) is pasted on the silicone rubber O-ring and is dried at the temperature of approximately 200°C. Alternatively, the polyimide cover may be formed by producing a desired thickness of polyimide film by a doctor-blade method, wrapping the film around the O-ring of silicone rubber, and baking it in a heat chamber at the temperature of approximately 200°C.
Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of another embodiment of the seal member according to the invention, in which a silicone rubber seal member 401 of an O-ring shape is accommodated in a cover 402 which is approximately U shaped like a ring. The cover 402 is molded of polyimide. The cover 402 has two legs 404 and 405 which extend from a base portion 403 of a center of the cover, and the two legs has rather thick ends 406 and 407. The outer surfaces of the ends 406 and 407 come in contact with the housing or the top plate of the vacuum chamber for sealing.
Fig. 5 shows the other embodiment of the cover according to the invention, wherein 6
the cover 502 is molded of polyimide. Two legs extend from a base 503 of the center and have ends 506 and 507 which are rather thick than other portions. An O-ring of silicone rubber 501 is accommodated between two legs. The cross section of the ends 506 and 507 when the seal member is pressurized in the gap of the vacuum chamber is shown in Fig. 6. The O-ring is pressurized into an oval and the outer surface of the O-ring and the inner surfaces of the ends 506 and 507 come into contact, therefore a wide flat sealing surface is formed outside of the legs.
Due to the cover of the invention, the seal member is of improved heat- endurance and light elements such as hydrogen and helium is not allowed to pass through the seal member. Variation of the cover is possible according to the Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. For example, the base of the cover may be round such that no boundary is formed between two legs. Further, the ends of the legs do not need to be thicker than other portions if the legs have enough thickness. As an alternative, the thickness of the legs may be gradually increased from the base to the ends.
The seal member in which the O-ring is accommodated in the cover as shown in Fig. 4, Fig. 5, and Fig. 6, is provided in the vacuum chamber in such a manner that the base side of the cover is on the vacuum side or inner side of the vacuum chamber. Since polyimide is more flexible than metal and is easily transformed, and sealing surfaces of the ends 406 and 407 are pressurized during the top plate is attached to the housing, the ends of the cover come into contact with the sealing surfaces of the vacuum chamber in a wide area. The O-ring which is transformed as described above with reference to Fig. 6, may be integrated with legs of the cover member to produce a wide sealing area. These seal member has strong elasticity due to elasticity of the silicone rubber and flexibility of the base and legs of the cover. Accordingly, even if cleaning or maintenance is frequently performed, or the top plate is frequently removed or attached, the seal member is not fatigued and can keep a full elasticity for a long period. Also, the seal member is endurable to 300°C.
Though the multichamber is described above according to the embodiments of the invention, the invention is not limited to the multichamber and may be applied to other single process devices. Further, the invention is not limited to sealing the gap between the top plate and the housing of the vacuum chamber, and may be applied to any sealing of the vacuum chamber.
According to the invention, a hermetic seal which provides hermetical sealing of the vacuum chamber and endures high temperature is obtained. The hermetic seal also prevents light elements such as hydrogen or helium from passing through.

Claims

1. A seal member for hermetically sealing a vacuum chamber, comprising: a sealing member of an O-ring shape; and a film of heat-endurable polymer with which a surface of said seal member of an
O-ring shape is coated.
2. A vacuum chamber for processing an object under a reduced pressure, wherein at least one gap of the vacuum chamber is hermetically sealed by a seal member, said seal member is configured such that a seal member of an O-ring shape is coated with a film of heat- endurable polymer.
3. A seal member for hermetically sealing a vacuum chamber, comprising: a seal member of an O-ring shape , and a cover of heat-endurable polymer having a central base and two legs, said two legs extending from the base and accommodating said seal member of an O-ring shape.
4. A vacuum chamber for processing an object, wherein at least one gap of said vacuum chamber is hermetically sealed by a seal member, said seal member comprising: a seal member of an O-ring shape, and a cover of heat-endurable polymer having a central base and two legs, said legs extending from the base and accommodating said seal member of an O-ring shape.
5. The vacuum chamber of claim 4, wherein ends of said two legs of said cover are rather thick and the outer surface of the ends are transformed to form a sealing surface.
6. The seal member of claim 3, wherein said two legs of said cover come into contact with an outer wall of said seal member of an O-ring shape to form a sealing surface in use of said seal member.
7. The vacuum chamber of claim 4, wherein said two legs of said cover come into contact with said seal member of an O-ring shape to form a sealing surface in use of said seal member.
8. The seal member of claim 1,3 and 6, wherein said seal member of an O-ring shape is made of silicone rubber and said heat-endurable polymer is polyimide.
9. The vacuum chamber of claim 2,4,5 or 7, wherein said seal member of an O-ring shape is made of silicone rubber and said heat-endurable polymer is polymide.
PCT/JP1999/000901 1998-02-27 1999-02-26 A seal member and a vacuum chamber WO1999044221A1 (en)

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JP10046504A JPH11241155A (en) 1998-02-27 1998-02-27 Sealing member and vacuum device
JP10/46504 1998-02-27

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WO2003023829A2 (en) * 2001-09-13 2003-03-20 Micell Technologies, Inc. Sealing system and pressure chamber assembly including the same
US9859142B2 (en) 2011-10-20 2018-01-02 Lam Research Corporation Edge seal for lower electrode assembly
US9869392B2 (en) 2011-10-20 2018-01-16 Lam Research Corporation Edge seal for lower electrode assembly
US10090211B2 (en) 2013-12-26 2018-10-02 Lam Research Corporation Edge seal for lower electrode assembly

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CN113853672A (en) * 2019-05-24 2021-12-28 应用材料公司 Substrate support carrier with improved bond layer protection

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Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2003023829A2 (en) * 2001-09-13 2003-03-20 Micell Technologies, Inc. Sealing system and pressure chamber assembly including the same
WO2003023829A3 (en) * 2001-09-13 2003-12-11 Micell Technologies Inc Sealing system and pressure chamber assembly including the same
US9859142B2 (en) 2011-10-20 2018-01-02 Lam Research Corporation Edge seal for lower electrode assembly
US9869392B2 (en) 2011-10-20 2018-01-16 Lam Research Corporation Edge seal for lower electrode assembly
US10090211B2 (en) 2013-12-26 2018-10-02 Lam Research Corporation Edge seal for lower electrode assembly
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US10892197B2 (en) 2013-12-26 2021-01-12 Lam Research Corporation Edge seal configurations for a lower electrode assembly

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