Vacuum processing apparatus and operating method therefor

• US 6,904,699 B2
• Filed: 03/10/2004
• Issued: 06/14/2005
• 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): Esquvel, Denise L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): O MALLEY, KATHRYN S
• Application Number:
  US10/796,207
• Publication Number:
  US 20040187338A1
• Time in Patent Office: 461 Days
• Field of Search: 414/939, 414/940, 134/902, 34/60, 34/92, 342/16, 342/28, 342/29, 342/32, 34/23
• 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

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 vacuum processing apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of vacuum processing chambers for processing substrates;

cassette mount tables in an atmosphere for mounting cassettes each storing a plurality of substrates to be processed or which have been processed;

an atmospheric transfer device for transferring said substrates in the atmosphere being capable of moving at least vertically and of being controlled such that substrates to be processed can be taken out of any location in said cassettes mounted on said cassette mount tables; and

control means (a) for transferring substrates to be processed from any location in any one of the cassettes mounted on the cassette mount tables in the atmosphere to at least one of the vacuum processing chambers via said atmospheric transfer device and (b) for transferring processed substrates from said vacuum processing chambers to respective original positions within original cassettes, in which the substrates were stored prior to processing, via said atmospheric transfer device.

2. A vacuum processing apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of vacuum processing chambers for processing substrates;

cassette mount tables in an atmosphere for mounting cassettes each storing a plurality of substrates to be processed or which have been processed;

an atmospheric transfer device for transferring substrates in the atmosphere being capable of moving at least vertically and of being controlled such that substrates to be processed can be taken out of any location in said cassettes mounted on said cassette mount tables; and

control means (a) for transferring substrates to be processed one by one from any location in any one of the cassettes mounted on the cassette mount tables in the atmosphere to at least one of the vacuum processing chambers via said atmospheric transfer device and (b) for transferring processed substrates from said vacuum processing chambers to respective original positions within original cassettes one by one, in which the substrates were stored prior to processing, via said atmospheric transfer device.

3. A vacuum processing apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of vacuum processing chambers for processing substrates;

a plurality of cassette mount tables in an atmosphere for mounting at least one cassette each storing at least one of substrates and at least one cassette storing at least one of dummy substrates;

an atmospheric transfer device for transferring substrates and dummy substrates in the atmosphere, being capable of moving at least vertically and of being controlled such that substrates and dummy substrates can be taken out of any location in said cassettes mounted on said cassette mount tables; and

a control means (a) for transferring substrates and dummy substrates from any location in any one of said cassettes mounted on the cassette mount tables in the atmosphere to at least one of the vacuum processing chambers via said atmospheric transfer device, and (b) for transferring said substrates and said dummy substrates from said vacuum processing chambers to respective original positions within original cassettes, in which the substrates and dummy substrates were stored prior to processing, via said atmospheric transfer device.

4. A vacuum processing apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of vacuum processing chambers for processing substrates;

a plurality of cassette mount tables in an atmosphere for mounting at least one cassette each storing at least one of substrates and at least one cassette storing at least one of dummy substrates;

an atmospheric transfer device for transferring substrates and dummy substrates in the atmosphere, being capable of moving at least vertically and of being controlled such that substrates to be processed and dummy substrates can be taken out of any location in said cassettes mounted on said cassette mount tables; and

control means (a) for transferring substrates and dummy substrates one by one from any location in any one of said cassettes mounted on the cassette mount tables in the atmosphere to at least one of the vacuum processing chambers via said atmospheric transfer device, and (b) for transferring said substrates and said dummy substrates from said vacuum processing chambers to respective original positions within original cassettes one by one, in which substrates were stored prior to processing, via said atmospheric transfer device.