Vacuum processing apparatus

• US 6,499,229 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2001
• Issued: 12/31/2002
• 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): Lazarus, Ira S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): O MALLEY, KATHRYN S
• Application Number:
  US09/781,293
• Publication Number:
  US 20010008050A1
• Time in Patent Office: 686 Days
• Field of Search: 342/07, 342/17, 342/22, 342/25, 342/27, 342/36, 34/92, 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: 34/217
• 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 maeans 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 conveyor system for use in a vacuum processing apparatus, comprising:

a cassette mount table for holding at least one cassette;

a first conveyor structure for transferring a wafer from a cassette held on the cassette mount table; and

at least one lock chamber disposed for loading the wafer from the first conveyor structure to a vacuum loader provided with a vacuum processing chamber,

wherein;

the cassette mount table, the first conveyor structure and the at least one lock chamber are arranged to have a row in tandem to transfer the wafer in a direction of a horizontal line,

the cassette mount table and the cassette are exposed in the atmosphere,

the first conveyor structure is exposed to the air,

the at least one lock chamber is provided with a load lock chamber and an unload lock chamber, and

each of the load lock chamber and the unload lock chamber is provided with both an inlet and an outlet located in a horizontal line and an interior space sufficient to store only one wafer.

2. The conveyor system according to claim 1, wherein the first conveyor structure is provided with a transfer structure on which a first robot is installed.

3. The conveyor system according to claim 2, wherein the first robot is shiftable in a direction perpendicular to inlets of the load lock chamber and the unload lock chamber and in a rotational direction.

4. The conveyor system according to claim 3, wherein the transfer structure is movable in up and down directions.

5. The conveyor system according to claim 1, wherein the cassette mount table is arranged so as to position a set of two cassettes thereon, which are positioned in parallel to the inlets of the load lock chamber and the unload lock chamber.

6. The conveyor system according to claim 5, wherein the first conveyor structure is provided with a transfer structure on which a first robot is installed, wherein the first robot is shiftable in a direction perpendicular to the at least one lock chamber and in a rotational direction, and wherein the transfer structure is movable in up and down directions.

7. A conveyor system for use in a vacuum processing apparatus, comprising:

a cassette mount table for holding at least one cassette;

a first conveyor structure for transferring a wafer from a cassette held on the cassette mount table; and

at least one lock chamber disposed for loading the wafer from the first conveyor structure to a vacuum loader provided with a vacuum processing chamber,

wherein;

the cassette mount table, the first conveyor structure and the at least one lock chamber are arranged to have a row in tandem to transfer the wafer in a direction of a horizontal line,

the cassette mount table, the cassette, and the first conveyor structure are exposed in the atmosphere, and

the at least one lock chamber is provided with two loader chambers which are connected separately to a vacuum chamber of the vacuum loader.

8. The conveyor system according to claim 7, wherein the two loader chambers are a set of load lock chamber and unload lock chamber.

9. The conveyor system according to claim 8, wherein the cassette mount table is adapted to hold two cassettes, and the set of load lock chamber and unload lock chamber are confronted to the two cassettes held on the cassette mount table.

10. The conveyor system according to claim 9, wherein the first conveyor structure includes a first robot for transferring a wafer between a cassette on the cassette mount table and a lock chamber of the at least one lock chamber, and wherein the first robot returns a processed wafer to either of the two cassettes.

11. A conveyor system for use in a vacuum processing apparatus, comprising:

a cassette mount table for holding at least one cassette;

a first conveyor structure for transferring a wafer from a cassette held on the cassette mount table; and

at least one lock chamber disposed for loading the wafer from the first conveyor structure to a vacuum loader provided with a vacuum processing chamber,

wherein;

the cassette mount table, the first conveyor structure and the at least one lock chamber are arranged to have a row in tandem to transfer the wafer in a direction of a horizontal line,

the cassette mount table is arranged so as to position a set of two cassettes adjacent to each other, and

the at least one lock chamber is provided with gate valves respectively at both an inlet and an outlet located in a horizontal line.

12. A conveyor system according to claim 11, wherein the at least one lock chamber is a set of lock chambers confronting to the set of two cassettes.

13. The conveyor system according to claim 11, wherein the cassette mount table is arranged so as to put the set of two cassettes and an additional cassette in an L-shape.

14. The conveyor system according to claim 12, wherein the set of lock chambers is respectively provided with gate valves.