Vacuum processing apparatus and operating method therefor

• US 6,467,187 B2
• Filed: 02/14/2001
• Issued: 10/22/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Itou, Atsushi, Tsubone, Tsunehiko, Kato, Shigekazu, Nishihata, Kouji
• Primary Examiner(s): Wilson, Pamela
• Assistant Examiner(s): O MALLEY, KATHRYN S
• Application Number:
  US09/782,192
• Publication Number:
  US 20010016990A1
• Time in Patent Office: 615 Days
• Field of Search: 34/60, 34/92, 342/18, 342/28, 342/29, 342/32, 134/84, 134/85, 134/902
• US Class Current: 34/92
• 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

A vacuum processing system, including a vacuum processing chamber for processing wafers, provides a controller for controlling a wafer processing mode and a cleaning mode for the processing chamber. The vacuum processing system further provides for a wafer moving mechanism which is controlled by the controller and allows for the transferring of a dummy wafer into the processing chamber when the cleaning mode is started and then returning the dummy wafer when the cleaning mode is finished.

Claims

1. A vacuum processing system having at least one vacuum processing chamber for processing a wafer which is transferred thereto from a cassette in an atmospheric condition, comprising:

a controller for controlling a wafer processing mode and a cleaning mode of said at least one vacuum processing chamber, said cleaning mode being interposed between wafer processing modes, after a predetermined number of wafers in said cassette has been processed in said wafer processing mode; and

a dummy wafer moving mechanism controlled by said controller, for transferring a dummy wafer in an atmospheric condition into said at least one vacuum processing chamber when said cleaning mode is started and returning said dummy wafer therefrom to said atmospheric conditions in which said dummy wafer was located, when said cleaning mode is finished.

2. A vacuum processing system having at least one vacuum processing chamber for processing a wafer which is transferred thereto from a cassette in an atmospheric condition, comprising:

a controller for controlling a wafer processing mode and a cleaning mode of said at least one vacuum processing chamber, said cleaning mode being provided after finishing said wafer processing mode for a predetermined number of wafers in said cassette; and

a dummy wafer moving mechanism controlled by said controller, for transferring a dummy wafer in an atmospheric condition into said at least one vacuum processing chamber when said cleaning mode is started and returning said dummy wafer therefrom to said atmospheric condition in which said dummy was located, when said cleaning mode is finished.

3. A vacuum processing system having a plurality of vacuum processing chambers for processing a wafer which is transferred thereto from a cassette in an atmospheric condition, comprising:

a controller for controlling said vacuum processing chambers so that at least one of said vacuum processing chambers is in a mode of wafer processing while at least another one of said vacuum processing chambers in a mode of plasma cleaning at a same time; and

a dummy wafer moving mechanism controlled by said controller, for transferring a dummy wafer in an atmospheric condition into said at least one vacuum processing chamber when said mode of plasma cleaning is started and returning said dummy wafer therefrom to said atmospheric condition in which said dummy wafer was located, when said mode of plasma cleaning is finished.

4. A vacuum processing system having a plurality of vacuum processing chambers for processing a wafer which is transferred thereto from a cassette in an atmospheric condition, the vacuum processing chambers having a processing mode for processing wafers and a cleaning mode in which a vacuum processing chamber is cleaned, comprising:

a detector for detecting a cleaning timing of each of said vacuum processing chambers which is in a processing mode; and

a cleaning mechanism, responsive to an output of said detector, for executing plasma cleaning in the vacuum processing chambers detected by said detector as needing to be cleaned, said cleaning mechanism including a dummy wafer moving mechanism for transferring a dummy wafer in an atmospheric condition into a vacuum processing chamber when said plasma cleaning is started and returning said dummy wafer therefrom to said atmospheric condition in which said dummy was located, when said plasma cleaning is finished.

5. A vacuum processing system according to claim 4, wherein said detector generates said output when a predetermined number of said wafers have been treated in a same vacuum processing chamber.

6. A vacuum processing system of claim 4, wherein said detector generates said output when all wafers in said cassette have been treated in a same vacuum processing chamber.

7. A vacuum processing system having a plurality of vacuum processing chambers for processing a wafer which is transferred thereto from a cassette in an atmospheric condition, comprising:

a controller for controlling said vacuum processing chambers so that said vacuum processing chambers are plasma cleaned in a predetermined order; and

a dummy wafer moving mechanism controlled by said controller, for transferring a dummy wafer in an atmospheric condition into said vacuum processing chambers in said predetermined order when a cleaning mode is started and returning said dummy wafer therefrom to said atmospheric condition in which said dummy was located, when said cleaning mode is finished.

8. A vacuum processing system having a plurality of vacuum processing chambers for processing a wafer which is transferred thereto from a cassette in an atmospheric condition, comprising:

a controller for controlling said vacuum processing chambers so that the vacuum processing chambers are plasma cleaned in a predetermined order, while skipping cleaning of vacuum processing chambers which do not need to be plasma cleaned; and

a dummy wafer moving mechanism controlled by said controller, for transferring a dummy wafer in an atmospheric condition into a vacuum processing chamber to be cleaned when a cleaning mode is started and returning said dummy wafer therefrom to said atmospheric condition in which said dummy wafer was located, when said cleaning mode is finished.

9. A vacuum processing system having a plurality of vacuum processing chambers for processing a wafer which is transferred thereto from a cassette in an atmospheric condition, comprising:

a detector for detecting, in a vacuum processing chamber of said plurality of vacuum processing chambers, a generation of a condition requiring a plasma cleaning in said vacuum processing chamber;

a controller connected to said detector for controlling said vacuum processing chambers so that the vacuum processing chambers, detected by said detector to require said plasma cleaning, are in a mode of said plasma cleaning, while the vacuum processing chambers not detected, by said detector, to require said plasma cleaning, are not in a mode of plasma cleaning; and

a dummy wafer moving mechanism controlled by said controller, for transferring a dummy wafer in an atmospheric condition into a vacuum processing chamber, to be cleaned, when said plasma cleaning is started, and returning said dummy wafer therefrom to said atmospheric condition in which said dummy wafer was located, when said plasma cleaning is finished.