VACUUM PROCESSING APPARATUS AND OPERATING METHOD FOR VACUUM PROCESSING APPARATUS

• US 20100310785A1
• Filed: 06/27/2008
• Published: 12/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
• Inventors: Sakaki, Masahiro, Ueno, Shigekazu, Takano, Akemi, Sasakawa, Eishiro, Kawamura, Keisuke
• Granted Patent: US 8,529,704 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 427/457
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4401 Means for minimising impurities, e.g. dust, moisture or residual gas, in the reaction chamber
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4404 Coatings or surface treatment on the inside of the reaction chamber or on parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4405 Cleaning of reactor or parts inside the reactor by using reactive gases
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/3244 Gas supply means
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32449 Gas control, e.g. control of the gas flow
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32862 In situ cleaning of vessels and/or internal parts

Abstract

It is an object of the invention to provide a vacuum processing apparatus that enables setting a timing interval between self-cleaning procedures simply and so as to have general-use, enables significantly lengthening this timing interval, and improves the production efficiency. In a plasma CVD apparatus (100) that carries out self-cleaning procedure by feeding a cleaning gas into a film deposition chamber (1) in which film deposition processing is carried out on a substrate (4), the timing interval between self-cleaning procedures is set in a range in which a film deposition operating time ratio (Ps) is converged with respect to an increase in a film deposition process amount, where the film deposition operating time ratio (Ps) is represented by the proportion of a film deposition-related operating time (Tt) in the sum of the film deposition-related operating time (Tt) and a cleaning-related operating time (Tc).

Claims

1. A vacuum processing apparatus that carries out a self-cleaning procedure by feeding a cleaning gas into a film deposition chamber in which film deposition processing is carried out on a substrate, wherein a timing interval between self-cleaning procedures is set in a range in which a film deposition operating time ratio is converged with respect to an increase in the film deposition processing amount, where the film deposition operating time ratio represented by a proportion of a film deposition-related operating time in the sum of the film deposition-related operating time, which includes a film deposition time and a film deposition preparation time, and a cleaning-related operating time, which includes a self-cleaning procedure time, a self-cleaning procedure preparation time, and a pre-deposition film deposition time.

2. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the film deposition operating time ratio is set in a range that exceeds 90% of the convergence value thereof.

3. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a high heat capacity heat energy reservoir is arranged inside the film deposition chamber.

4. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a discharge electrode arranged opposite to the substrate and an electrode cover that covers the discharge electrode are used as the heat energy reservoir member.

5. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a pre-deposition film deposition operation that forms a pre-deposition film inside the film deposition chamber is carried out after the completion of the self-cleaning procedure.

6. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the pre-deposition film deposition operation is implemented such that a film deposition pressure is equal to or greater than 1.0 times and equal to or less than 1.5 times the film deposition pressure during the film deposition process, and at least during an initial film deposition period, a radio frequency power supplied to the discharge electrode is equal to or greater than 0.1 times and equal to or less than 1.0 times the radio frequency power supplied during the film deposition processing.

7. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the pre-deposition film deposition operation is suspended at least one time and a high vacuum exhaust step is carried out.

8. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein, inside the film deposition chamber, the surface of the portions on which the pre-deposition film is formed is blast processed so that a ten point average roughness is equal to or greater than 0.1 μ

m and equal to or less than 5 μ

m and a maximum height is equal to or less than 20 μ

m.

9. An operating method for a vacuum processing apparatus that carries out a self-cleaning procedure by feeding a cleaning gas into a film deposition chamber in which a film deposition processing is carried out on a substrate, comprising the step of implementing the self-cleaning procedure in a range in which a film deposition operating time ratio is converged with respect to an increase in a film deposition processing amount, where the film deposition operating time ratio is represented by the proportion of a film deposition-related operating time in the sum of the film deposition-related operating time, which includes a film deposition time and a film deposition preparation time, and a cleaning-related operating time, which includes a self-cleaning procedure time, a self-cleaning procedure preparation time, and an pre-deposition film deposition time.

10. The operating method, for a vacuum processing apparatus, according to claim 9, comprising the step of implementing self-cleaning procedure in a range in which the film deposition operating time ratio exceeds 90% of the convergence value thereof.

11. The operating method, for a vacuum processing apparatus, according to claim 9, comprising the step of accumulating a heat amount generated during the self-cleaning procedure operation by using a high heat capacity heat energy reservoir member that is arranged in the interior of the film deposition chamber.

12. The operating method, for a vacuum processing apparatus, according to claim 9, comprising the step of carrying out a pre-deposition film deposition operation that forms a pre-deposition film in the film deposition chamber after the self-cleaning procedure has completed.

13. The operating method, for a vacuum processing apparatus, according to claim 12, comprising the step of implementing the pre-deposition film deposition operation such that a film deposition pressure is equal to or greater than 1.0 times and equal to or less than 1.5 times the film deposition pressure during the film deposition process, and at least during an initial film deposition period, a radio frequency power supplied to the discharge electrode is equal to or greater than 0.1 times and equal to or less than 1.0 times the radio frequency power supplied during the film deposition processing.

14. The operating method, for a vacuum processing apparatus, according to claim 12, comprising the step of suspending at least one time the pre-deposition film deposition operation and carrying out a high vacuum exhaust step.