Vacuum processing apparatus and operating method therefor

• US 5,950,330 A
• Filed: 04/16/1998
• Issued: 09/14/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Itou, Atsushi, Tsubone, Tsunehiko, Kato, Shigekazu, Nishihata, Kouji
• Primary Examiner(s): Bennett, Henry
• Assistant Examiner(s): GRAVINI, STEPHEN MICHAEL
• Application Number:
  US09/061,062
• Time in Patent Office: 516 Days
• Field of Search: 34/406, 34/92, 34/228, 34/229, 414/225, 414/226, 414/207, 414/217, 414/222, 414/331, 414/416, 414/939, 414/940, 134/902
• US Class Current: 34/406
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 3/006 Processes utilising sub-atmospheric pressure; Apparatus therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/36 Print density control
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/365 by compensation for variation in temperature
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/564 Means for minimising impurities in the coating chamber such as dust, moisture, residual gases
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67028 for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67167 surrounding a central transfer chamber
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67253 Process monitoring, e.g. flow or thickness monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67736 Loading to or unloading from a conveyor
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67748 horizontal transfer of a single workpiece
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 134/902 Semiconductor wafer
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 414/137 including means for charging or discharging wafer cassette
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 414/139 including wafer charging or discharging means for vacuum chamber
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 414/14 Wafer cassette transporting

Abstract

This invention relates to a vacuum processing apparatus having vacuum processing chambers the insides of which must be dry cleaned, and to a method of operating such an apparatus. When the vacuum processing chambers are dry-cleaned, dummy substrates are transferred into the vacuum processing chamber by substrates conveyor means from dummy substrate storage means which is disposed in the air atmosphere together with storage means for storing substrates to be processed, and the inside of the vacuum processing chamber is dry-cleaned by generating a plasma. The dummy substrate is returned to the dummy substrate storage means after dry cleaning is completed. Accordingly, any specific mechanism for only the cleaning purpose is not necessary and the construction of the apparatus can be made simple. Furthermore, the dummy substrates used for dry cleaning and the substrates to be processed do not coexist, contamination of the substrates to be processed due to dust and remaining gas can be prevented and the production yield can be high.

Claims

1. A method of using a conveyor system for processing substrates in plural vacuum processing chamber installation portions, the conveyor system including:

an atmospheric loader, exposed to the air;

a vacuum loader; and

a lock chamber, having an atmospheric loader side and a vacuum loader side, and having a gate valve for said atmospheric loader side and another gate valve for said vacuum loader side,

wherein said vacuum loader has

(1) a transfer chamber connected to the lock chamber via the another gate valve,

(2) a conveyor structure, and

(3) plural vacuum processing chamber installation portions, the method comprising the steps of;

transferring substrates to be processed, one by one, from said atmospheric loader, exposed to the air, to said lock chamber;

after transferring substrates to the lock chamber, providing a vacuum in said lock chamber;

after providing a vacuum in said lock chamber, transferring substrates to be processed, one by one, from said lock chamber to at least one of said plural vacuum processing chamber installation portions, via said transfer chamber;

processing substrates in at least one of said plural vacuum processing chamber installation portions;

after said processing, transferring processed substrates, one by one, from said at least one of said plural vacuum processing chamber installation portions to said lock chamber, via said transfer chamber; and

transferring processed substrates from said lock chamber to said atmospheric loader.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said substrates are transferred between said lock chamber and said at least one of said plural vacuum processing chamber installation portions by said conveyor structure, said conveyor structure being a single conveyor located in said transfer chamber.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the substrates are transferred via only the transfer chamber of the vacuum loader, and gate valves therefor, in being transferred between the lock chamber and the at least one of said plural vacuum processing chamber installation portions.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the substrates are semiconductor wafers.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein, after providing the vacuum in the lock chamber, substrates to be processed are transferred one by one from the lock chamber to said plural vacuum processing chamber installation portions, via the transfer chamber;

wherein the substrates are processed one by one in each of the plural vacuum processing chamber installation portions; and

wherein, after said processing, the processed substrates are transferred one by one from the plural vacuum processing chamber installation portions to said lock chamber, via the transfer chamber.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the substrates to be processed are transferred directly from the atmospheric loader to the lock chamber.

7. A method of using a conveyor system used in transferring substrates to be processed to a vacuum processing chamber installation portion, comprising the steps of:

transferring said substrates to be processed in said vacuum processing chamber installation portion from an atmospheric loader, exposed to the air, to a lock chamber, the substrates being transferred one by one;

providing a vacuum in the lock chamber, after substrates to be processed have been transferred thereto; and

transferring the substrates between the lock chamber and a vacuum loader, for loading the substrates into the vacuum processing chamber installation portion, the vacuum loader having gate valves for introducing substrates into the vacuum processing chamber installation portion, and also having a transfer chamber and a conveyor structure.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the substrates are semiconductor wafers.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the conveyor structure is a single conveyor, which transfers the substrates, one by one, between the lock chamber and the vacuum loader.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein the substrates are transferred one by one between the lock chamber and the vacuum loader.

11. The method according to claim 7, wherein the substrates to be processed are transferred directly from the atmospheric loader to the lock chamber.

12. A method of treating at least one wafer by vacuum processing, comprising the steps of:

(i) placing a cassette, containing at least one wafer to be processed, at a cassette table, exposed to the air;

(ii) loading said at least one wafer sequentially in order from said cassette by means of a first conveyor, by means of a load lock chamber and by means of a second conveyor in a transfer chamber under vacuum, into a plurality of vacuum processing chambers connected to said transfer chamber;

(iii) processing said wafers under vacuum in said vacuum processing chambers; and

(iv) unloading vacuum processed wafers from said vacuum processing chambers into said cassette at said cassette table, by means of the second conveyor in said transfer chamber under vacuum, an unload lock chamber and said first conveyor.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein in step (iv) said wafers are returned to their respective original positions in said cassette.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein said first conveyor carries a wafer from said cassette to said load lock chamber.

15. A method of transferring cassettes in operating a vacuum processing apparatus, the vacuum processing apparatus including:

an atmospheric loader, exposed to the air;

a vacuum loader; and

a lock chamber for connecting said atmospheric loader and said vacuum loader, wherein

said atmospheric loader includes a cassette mount unit located outside of said lock chamber,

said cassette mount unit has a cassette positioning plane which is a substantially horizontal plane in which all cassettes, containing samples to be processed and exposed to the air, are positioned in a row in front of a front wall of said lock chamber, and

said cassette positioning plane is oriented such that a cassette is placed on and removed from said cassette positioning plane so as to maintain a surface of a sample to be processed, of a sample in said cassette, substantially horizontal when the cassette containing the sample is on the cassette positioning plane,

the method comprising a step of;

placing said cassette on and removing said cassette from said cassette positioning plane of said cassette mount unit while maintaining said sample surface to be processed substantially horizontal.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein a first conveyor transfer samples directly from the atmospheric loader to the lock chamber.

17. A method of transferring cassettes in operating a vacuum processing apparatus, the vacuum processing apparatus including:

an atmospheric loader, exposed to the air;

a vacuum loader; and

a lock chamber for connecting said atmospheric loader and said vacuum loader, wherein

said atmospheric loader includes a cassette mount unit located outside of said lock chamber,

said cassette mount unit has a cassette positioning plane which is a substantially horizontal plane in which all cassettes, containing samples to be processed and exposed to the air, are positioned in a row in front of a front wall of said lock chamber, and

said cassette positioning plane is oriented such that a cassette is placed on and removed from said cassette positioning plane so as to maintain a surface of a sample to be processed, of a sample in said cassette, substantially horizontal when the cassette containing the sample is on the cassette positioning plane, and

an automatic cassette loader for loading cassettes into the atmospheric loader, wherein said automatic cassette loader loads cassettes into the atmospheric loader so as to maintain the sample surface substantially horizontal,

the method comprising a step of;

placing said cassette on and removing said cassette from said cassette positioning plane of said cassette mount unit by said automatic cassette loader, in accordance with data sent from a host control apparatus, while maintaining said sample surface to be processed substantially horizontal.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein a first conveyor transfers samples directly from the atmospheric loader to the lock chamber.

19. A method of operating a vacuum processing apparatus, the vacuum processing apparatus including:

an atmospheric loader, exposed to the air;

a vacuum loader; and

a lock chamber for connecting said atmospheric loader and said vacuum loader, wherein

said atmospheric loader includes a cassette mount unit located outside of said lock chamber,

said cassette mount unit has a cassette positioning plane which is a substantially horizontal plane in which all cassettes, containing samples to be processed and exposed to the air, are positioned in a row in front of a front wall of said lock chamber,

said cassette positioning plane is oriented such that a cassette is placed on and removed from said cassette positioning Plane so as to maintain a surface sample to be processed, of a sample in said cassette, substantially horizontal when the cassette containing the sample is on the cassette positioning plane, and

an automatic cassette loader for loading cassettes into the atmospheric loader, wherein said automatic cassette loader loads cassettes into the atmospheric loader so as to maintain the sample surface substantially horizontal,

the method comprising the steps of;

placing and removing said cassette by said automatic cassette loader in accordance with data sent from a host control apparatus; and

automatically executing a sample processing in said vacuum processing apparatus, based on processing data.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein a first conveyor transfers samples directly from the atmospheric loader to the lock chamber.

21. A method of vacuum processing a substrate using plural vacuum processing chambers, comprising the steps of:

carrying in the substrate, disposed under atmospheric pressure, into a vacuum processing chamber, of said plural vacuum processing chambers, using a lock chamber, wherein said substrate is carried from a cassette which is placed on a cassette table exposed to the air;

processing said substrate in said vacuum processing chamber; and

carrying out said substrate, processed in said vacuum processing chamber, into said atmospheric pressure, using said lock chamber.

22. A method of vacuum processing a substrate according to claim 21, wherein carrying in and carrying out of said substrate are performed sequentially.

23. A method of vacuum processing a substrate according to claim 21, wherein in said vacuum processing chamber, a processing selected from the group consisting of dry etching, chemical vapor deposition and sputtering is performed.

24. The method according to claim 21, wherein the substrate is carried directly from the cassette on the cassette table, into said lock chamber.

25. A method of vacuum processing substrates using plural vacuum processing chambers, such that the substrates are processed one by one, comprising the steps of:

carrying in a substrate, disposed under atmospheric pressure, into a vacuum processing chamber, using a lock chamber, wherein said substrate is carried from a cassette which is placed on a cassette table, exposed to the air;

processing said substrate in said vacuum processing chamber; and

carrying out said substrate, processed in said vacuum processing chamber, into said atmospheric pressure, using said lock chamber.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein the substrate is carried directly from the cassette on the cassette table, into said lock chamber.

27. A method of vacuum processing a substrate using plural vacuum processing chambers, comprising the steps of:

carrying in the substrate, disposed in an atmosphere different from an atmosphere in one of said plural vacuum processing chambers, into said one of the vacuum processing chambers, using a lock chamber, wherein said substrate is carried from a cassette which is placed on a cassette table exposed to the air;

processing said substrate in the one vacuum processing chamber; and

carrying out said substrate, processed in the one vacuum processing chamber, into said atmosphere different from said atmosphere in the one vacuum processing chamber, using said lock chamber.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the substrate is carried directly from the cassette on the cassette table, into said lock chamber.