Vacuum processing apparatus and operating method therefor

• US 6,330,756 B1
• Filed: 07/12/2000
• Issued: 12/18/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/1990
• Status: Expired

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Itou, Atsushi, Tsubone, Tsunehiko, Kato, Shigekazu, Nishihata, Kouji
• Primary Examiner(s): GRAVINI, STEPHEN MICHAEL
• Application Number:
  US09/614,764
• Time in Patent Office: 524 Days
• Field of Search: 344/06, 344/09, 344/13, 344/17, 414/939, 414/940, 134/902, 156/345, 156/345.C, 156/345.PC, 118/723.F, 118/723.I, 118/730, 118/719
• 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 dirty-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 transferring a substrate, using an apparatus comprising:

a cassette for receiving plural substrates, said cassette being located at a position of which an upper region is open to a cassette transferring path air;

an atmospheric transferring device for transferring, one by one, said substrates;

a vacuum transferring chamber having a vacuum transferring means;

plural vacuum processing chambers for processing, one by one, said substrates;

a device having a first lock chamber in which said substrates are carried in and carried out, one by one, between said atmospheric transferring device and said vacuum transferring chamber and a second lock chamber in which said substrates are carried in and carried out, one by one, between said atmospheric transferring device and said vacuum transferring chamber; and

opening and closing devices for opening and closing one of the first and second lock chambers each time a substrate is carried into said one of the first and second lock chambers, one by one, and each time a substrate is carried out of said one of the first and second lock chambers, one by one,

wherein the method comprises the steps of;

taking out, one by one, said substrates from said cassette at said position, by said atmospheric transferring device;

carrying in a substrate taken out from the cassette, to one of said first and second lock chambers in air;

closing off said one of said first and second lock chambers, from said atmospheric transferring device, by using the opening and closing devices;

evacuating said one of said first and second lock chambers;

transferring said substrate to any one of said plural vacuum processing chambers from said one of said first and second lock chambers in a vacuum, through said vacuum transferring chamber;

processing said substrate in said one of said plural vacuum processing chambers;

transferring said substrate, which has beensubjected to processing, to one of said first and second lock chambers in the vacuum through said vacuum transferring chamber;

closing said one of said first and second lock chambers, to which the substrate is transferred after the processing, from said vacuum transferring chamber, by using the opening and closing devices, and, after that, opening the one of the first and second lock chambers, having the substrate therein, to air, by using the opening and closing devices; and

taking out said substrate in said one of said first and second lock chambers, to which the substrate is transferred after the processing, by said atmospheric transferring device and receiving said substrate in said cassette.

2. A method of transferring a substrate according to claim 1, wherein an opening and closing at an air side and a vacuum side of said first lock chamber, by using the opening and closing devices, and an opening and closing at an air side and a vacuum side of said second lock chamber, by using the opening and closing devices, are controlled independently, respectively.

3. A method of transferring a substrate according to claim 2, wherein said substrate which has been subjected to processing is returned to a cassette from which it originated.

4. A method of transferring a substrate according to claim 1, wherein said substrate which has been subjected to processing is returned to a cassette from which it originated.

5. A method of transferring a substrate according to claim 2, wherein after a processing of a substrate, the processed substrate is transferred through said vacuum transferring chamber and said substrate is processed in another vacuum processing chamber.

6. A method of transferring a substrate according to claim 5, wherein said one of said plural vacuum processing chambers, and said another vacuum processing chamber, perform different processing of the substrate.

7. A method of transferring a substrate according to claim 1, wherein said one of said plural vacuum processing chambers, and said another vacuum processing chamber, perform different processing of the substrate.

8. A method of transferring a substrate according to claim 1, wherein said one of said plural vacuum processing chambers, and said another vacuum processing chamber, perform different processing of the substrate.

9. Method of using a conveyor system for processing substrates in plural vacuum processing chamber installation portions, the conveyor system including:

an atmospheric loader;

a vacuum loader; and

two lock chambers, which are separately disposed, each 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 two lock chambers via the another valve gate,

(2) conveyor structure, and

(3) plural vacuum processing chamber installation portions,

the method comprising the steps of;

transferring substrates to be processed, one by one, separately from said atmospheric loader to a lock chamber of the two lock chambers, in a state of keeping only one substrate in each of said two lock chambers;

providing a vacuum in each of said two lock chambers;

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

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

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

keeping the processed substrates in the lock chambers, and transferring the processed substrate from the lock chambers to said atmopheric loader.