VACUUM PROCESSING APPARATUS

• US 20100068009A1
• Filed: 02/19/2009
• Published: 03/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi High-Tech Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Obama, Shinji, Kimura, Shingo, Okiguchi, Shouji, Kagoshima, Akira
• Granted Patent: US 8,731,706 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 414/217.100
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67745 characterized by movements or sequence of movements of transfer devices
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67778 involving loading and unloading of wafers

Abstract

A vacuum processing apparatus includes a plurality of vacuum containers; a vacuumized transfer unit connected with the vacuum containers and having a transfer chamber; a plurality of lock chambers connected to the vacuumized transfer unit; a vacuumized transferring section arranged in the transfer chamber to transfer the sample between each of the lock chambers and each of the processing chambers inside the plurality of vacuum containers; an atmospheric transfer container having a space through which the sample is transferred under the atmospheric pressure; an atmospheric transfer unit arranged in the atmospheric transfer container and adapted to transfer the sample from a cassette; and a controller operative on the basis of schedule information of a plurality of operations to adjust the operations, the information including times of stagnation of the plurality of samples and set therefor.

Claims

1. A vacuum processing apparatus comprising:

a plurality of vacuum containers each having a processing chamber in which a sample placed in a reduced pressure environment is processed by using a plasma formed in the processing chamber;

a vacuumized transfer unit having its periphery connected with said vacuum containers and having in its interior a transfer chamber which is reduced in pressure and through which said sample is transferred;

a plurality of lock chambers connected to said vacuumized transfer unit and each having its interior adjustable in pressure to the atmospheric pressure and a reduced pressure while said sample being placed in the interior, said sample being delivered/received between the vacuum side and the atmospheric side of the interior;

a vacuumized transferring section arranged in said transfer chamber to transfer said sample between each of said lock chambers and each of said processing chambers inside said plurality of vacuum containers;

an atmospheric transfer container connected to the atmospheric side of said lock chamber and including, in its interior, a space through which said sample is transferred at the atmospheric pressure;

an atmospheric transfer unit arranged in the space of said atmospheric transfer container and adapted to transfer said sample from a cassette having its frontal side on which said sample is stored; and

a controller operative on the basis of schedule information of a plurality of operations to adjust said plural operations, said information including times of stagnation of said plurality of samples and set therefor, said plurality of operations covering take-out of said sample from said cassette, processing said sample in said processing chamber and thereafter returning said sample to said cassette.

2. A vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said operation schedule information is determined in accordance with the case in which one of said plurality of lock chambers is fixedly used for loading and the other is fixedly used for unloading.

3. A vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein pursuant to said schedule information, the time of stagnation of said sample is arranged immediately before the operation for taking in said sample to said lock chamber and immediately after completion of processing said sample in said processing chamber.

4. A vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said controller has the function to cumulate and calculate times of individual operations of taking out said sample from said cassette, processing it in said processing chamber and thereafter returning it to said cassette and the function to detect one of said plurality of operations covering take-out of said sample from said cassette, process of said sample in said processing chamber and subsequent return of said sample to said cassette, said one operation impersonating a rate-controlling operation.

5. A vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said controller uses precedently stored information concerning times of individual operations covering take-out of said sample from said cassette, process of said sample in said processing chamber and thereafter return of said sample to said cassette so as to carry out said cummulation for a plurality of kinds of schedules in which the order of these operations and said stagnation time are made to be different and from said plurality of kinds of schedules, selects as operation schedule information an operation which minimizes the total process time for processing a given number of said samples.