Leak judgment method, and computer-readable recording medium with recorded leak-judgment-executable program

• US 20060068081A1
• Filed: 11/10/2005
• Published: 03/30/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Masatoshi, Izawa, Hiroshi, Echizen, Hiroshi, Ohtoshi, Hirokazu
• Granted Patent: US 7,641,382 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 427/8
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4401 Means for minimising impurities, e.g. dust, moisture or residual gas, in the reaction chamber
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 3/002 by using thermal means
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/3244 Gas supply means

Abstract

In a deposited-film formation apparatus or process having the means or steps of evacuating the inside of an inside-evacuatable chamber through an evacuation piping by an evacuation means, feeding a material gas into the chamber while evacuating the inside of the chamber, and applying a high-frequency power to form a deposited film on a substrate disposed inside the chamber, a leak is detected on the basis of a measured value of a temperature sensor which detects the heat of reaction that is generated when the material gas fed into the chamber reacts with oxygen contained in air having entered from the outside, so as to be able to stop the material gas feeding. In deposited-film formation apparatus or processes making use of spontaneously ignitable gases, the leak can quickly be detected when air enters the chamber because of any unexpected accident such as a break of piping.

Claims

1-6. -6. (canceled)

7. A deposited-film formation process comprising the steps of:

evacuating the inside of an inside-evacuatable chamber through an evacuation piping by an evacuation means;

feeding a material gas into the chamber while evacuating the inside of the chamber; and

applying a high-frequency power to form a deposited film on a substrate disposed inside the chamber; and

detecting a leak on the basis of a measured value of a temperature sensor mounted on a downstream side of a piping connection part of the evacuation piping, said temperature sensor detecting the heat of reaction that is generated when the material gas fed into the chamber reacts with oxygen contained in air having entered from the outside, so as to be able to stop the material gas feeding.

8. The deposited-film formation process according to claim 7, wherein the leak is detected on the basis of an increase in a measured value of the temperature sensor.

12. The deposited-film formation process according to claim 7, including forming the deposited film is on the substrate while continuously moving the substrate in its lengthwise direction.

9-11. -11. (canceled)

13-16. -16. (canceled)

17. A leak judgment method comprising the steps of:

feeding a reactive gas to the inside of a vacuum system having a chamber and an evacuation piping;

measuring temperature of the vacuum system at a plurality of spots thereof; and

judging the occurrence of a leak on the basis of a change with time of a plurality of measured values obtained by measuring the temperature.

18. The leak judgment method according to claim 17, wherein the leak is judged to have occurred when the plurality of measured values increase.

19. The leak judgement method according to claim 17, wherein the temperature of the vacuum system is measured at a plurality of spots thereof along the flow of gas in the vacuum system, and the leak is judged to have occurred when the plurality of measured values obtained by measuring the temperature increase along the flow of gas.

20. The leak judgement method according to claim 17, wherein an average value of the temperature of the evacuation piping is found to regard it as a reference value, and the occurrence of a leak of the vacuum system is judged on the basis of a change with time with respect to the reference value, in the plurality of measured values.

21. The leak judgment method according to claim 20, wherein a value greater than the reference value is set as a warning value in advance, and the leak is judged to have occurred when the plurality of measured values become greater than the warning value.

22. A computer-readable recording medium with a recorded program which is able to execute judgment on the occurrence of a leak of a vacuum system having a chamber into which a reactive gas is to be fed and having an evacuation piping, wherein

the recorded program is a program for executing the step of totaling a plurality of measured values obtained by measuring temperature of the vacuum system at a plurality of spots thereof, and the step of judging the occurrence of a leak on the basis of a change with time of the plurality of measured values.

23. The computer-readable recording medium with a recorded program according to claim 22, which judges the leak to have occurred when the plurality of measured values increase.

24. The computer-readable recording medium with a recorded program according to claim 22, which judges the leak to have occurred when the plurality of measured values increase along the flow of gas.

25. The computer-readable recording medium with a recorded program according to claim 22, wherein the recorded program is a program for executing the step of finding an average value of the temperature of the evacuation piping to regard it as a reference value, and the step of judging the occurrence of a leak of the vacuum system on the basis of a change with time with respect to the reference value, in the plurality of measured values.

26. The computer-readable recording medium with a recorded program according to claim 25, wherein the recorded program is a program for executing the step of setting a value greater than the reference value as a warning value in advance, and the step of comparing the plurality of measured values with the warning value to judge the leak to have occurred when the plurality of measured values become greater than the warning value.