Vacuum processing operating method with wafers, substrates and/or semiconductors

• US RE39,756 E1
• Filed: 02/01/2002
• Issued: 08/07/2007
• 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:
  US10/062,087
• Time in Patent Office: 2,013 Days
• Field of Search: 344/06, 34/92, 342/28, 342/29, 414/222, 414/225, 414/226, 414/331, 414/939, 414/940, 134/21, 134/31, 134/32, 134/40, 134/105, 134/902
• US Class Current: 34/406
• 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 21/67748 horizontal transfer of a single workpiece

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 treating a sample in a vacuum processing chamber, comprising the steps of:

providing a cassette table, for mounting a cassette in which plural samples are stored, disposed under atmospheric pressure;

supplying said cassette to said cassette table using one of a mechanical transfer and a manual transfer ;

carrying in the sample from said cassette to the vacuum processing chamber through a lock chamber;

treating the sample in said vacuum processing chamber; and

carrying out said treated sample to said cassette through said lock chamber.

2. A method of treating a sample in a vacuum processing chamber according to claim 1, wherein said mechanical transfer is performed by a mechanical transferring means.

3. A method of treating a sample in a vacuum processing chamber according to claim 1, wherein:

said treating in the vacuum processing chamber is carried out by processing the sample in the vacuum processing chamber according to one of recognition of product information which is given to said cassette, information which is sent from an upper rank control apparatus, and an order which is inputted manually;

after completion of processing of all of the samples in said cassette, said all of the samples are stored in said cassette;

said cassette is exchanged with another cassette in which unprocessed samples are stored; and

while carrying out the exchange of said cassette with said another cassette, a processing of samples in a third cassette is carried out.

4. A method of treating a sample in a vacuum processing chamber according to claim 1, wherein said treated sample is carried out to a position of said cassette occupied by the sample before the sample was carried from the cassette to the vacuum processing chamber to be treated.

5. A method of treating a sample in a vacuum processing chamber according to claim 4, wherein the sample is carried in and is treated one by one.

6. A method of treating a sample in a vacuum processing chamber according to claim 3, wherein the sample is carried in and is treated one by one.

7. A method of treating a sample in a vacuum processing chamber according to claim 1, wherein the sample is carried in and is treated one by one.

8. A method of treating a sample in a vacuum processing chamber, comprising the steps of:

placing a cassette containing plural samples on a cassette table which disposed under atmospheric pressure, by one of a mechanical transfer and a manual transfer;

carrying out vacuum processing treating of said sample in the vacuum processing chamber according to one of recognition of product information which is given to said cassette, information which is sent from an upper tank control apparatus, and an order which is inputted manually;

after completing the vacuum processing treating of all of the plural samples in the cassette, storing said all of the plural samples in said cassette;

exchanging said cassette with another cassette in which unprocessed samples are contained; and

while exchanging said cassette with said another cassette, carrying out processing of samples in a third cassette.

9. A method of treating a sample in a vacuum processing chamber according to claim 8, wherein the processing of the samples in said another cassette is carried out in said vacuum processing chamber.

10. A method of treating a sample in a vacuum processing chamber according to claim 8, wherein said mechanical transfer is performed by a mechanical transferring means.

11. A method of treating a sample in a vacuum processing chamber according to claim 8, wherein the treated sample is carried out to a position of said cassette occupied by the sample when the cassette was placed on the cassette table.

12. A method of treating a sample in a vacuum processing chamber according to claim 11, wherein the sample is carried into the vacuum processing chamber and is treated therein one by one.

13. A method of treating a sample in a vacuum processing chamber according to claim 8, wherein the sample is carried into the vacuum processing chamber and is treated therein one by one.

14. A method of treating a sample contained in a cassette using plural vacuum processing chambers, comprising the steps of:

mechanically placing a transferred cassette on a cassette table which is disposed under a cassette transferring atmospheric pressure;

carrying said sample into a respective vacuum processing chamber;

vacuum treating the respective carried-in sample using said respective vacuum processing chamber;

after completing vacuum treating of all samples in the transferred cassette, removing the transferred cassette; and

mechanically transferring the removed transferred cassette to another position.

15. A method of treating a sample contained in a cassette using plural vacuum processing chambers according to claim 14, wherein the plural vacuum processing chambers comprise an etching chamber, a post-processing chamber, and a film-forming chamber.

16. A method of treating a sample contained in a cassette using plural vacuum processing chambers according to claim 14, wherein after vacuum treating the respective carried-in sample using said respective vacuum processing chamber, the treated sample is then vacuum treated in another one of the plural vacuum processing chambers.

17. A method of treating a sample contained in a cassette using plural vacuum processing chambers according to claim 16, wherein the sample is vacuum treated in at least two of the plural vacuum processing chambers in sequence.

18. A method of treating a sample contained in a cassette using plural vacuum processing chambers according to claim 14, wherein the plural vacuum processing chambers include at least one of an etching chamber, a post-processing chamber and a film-forming chamber.

19. A method of treating a sample contained in a cassette using plural vacuum processing chambers according to claim 14, wherein the sample is vacuum treated independently in the respective vacuum processing chambers.