Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6235171?ie=ISO-8859-1&dq=6,373,753
Timestamp: 2014-07-25 10:25:47
Document Index: 255242992

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 1', 'art 2', 'art 1', 'art 13', 'art 13', 'art 13', 'art 13', 'art 13', 'art 131', 'art 131', 'art 2', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 1', 'art 2', 'art 1']

Patent US6235171 - Vacuum film forming/processing apparatus and method - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign in<nobr>Advanced Patent Search</nobr>PatentsDisclosed is a vacuum film forming/processing apparatus and method which is hardly influenced by dusts and contamination on a substrate and moreover has a reduced exhaust volume. A substrate chamber for housing and holding a substrate and target chambers for housing and holding a target and an etching...http://www.google.com/patents/US6235171?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6235171 - Vacuum film forming/processing apparatus and methodAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS6235171 B1Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 09/417,021Publication dateMay 22, 2001Filing dateOct 12, 1999Priority dateOct 13, 1998Fee statusPaidPublication number09417021, 417021, US 6235171 B1, US 6235171B1, US-B1-6235171, US6235171 B1, US6235171B1InventorsTakahiro YamamotoOriginal AssigneeTdk CorporationExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (2), Referenced by (9), Classifications (28), Legal Events (4) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetVacuum film forming/processing apparatus and methodUS 6235171 B1Abstract Disclosed is a vacuum film forming/processing apparatus and method which is hardly influenced by dusts and contamination on a substrate and moreover has a reduced exhaust volume. A substrate chamber for housing and holding a substrate and target chambers for housing and holding a target and an etching chamber are moved relatively. Any one of the target chambers, etching chamber and the substrate chamber are selectively coupled and communicated with each other, thereby creating a film forming chamber. In the film forming chamber, a film forming process to the substrate is performed and a multilayered film is formed. A conveying chamber which is conventionally provided is consequently made unnecessary. A problem of dusts and contamination occurring when the substrate passes through the conveying chamber is eliminated, so that the film quality and its stability are improved.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention has been achieved in consideration of the problems and it is an object of the invention to provide a vacuum film apparatus and method which exerts little influence of dusts on a substrate and moreover can reduce the exhaust volume.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the outside construction of an entire vacuum film forming/processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the invention will be described in detail hereinafter making reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the vacuum film forming/processing apparatus comprises a target side mechanism part 1 and a substrate side mechanism part 2. The target side mechanism part 1 has three target chambers 11 a to 11 c each for housing a sputtering target, an etching chamber 12, and a movement mechanism part 13. On the front sides of the target chambers 11 a to 11 c and the etching chamber 12, gate valves 14 a to 14 d, driven to close/open the target chambers 11 a to 11 c and the etching chamber 12 from/to the outside space, are provided, respectively. The target chambers 11 a to 11 c and the etching chamber 12 are fixedly provided on a moving plate 130 of the movement mechanism part 13, and the chambers and the moving plate 130 can be integrally moved linearly in the direction of X in the diagram by the movement mechanism part 13. Each of the target chambers 11 a to 11 c and the etching chamber 12 corresponds to an example of �a second vacuum chamber� in the invention. Especially, each of the target chambers 11 a to 11 c corresponds to an example of �a vacuum chamber for sputtering� as �a vacuum chamber for a film formation material� in the invention. The etching chamber 12 corresponds to an example of �a vacuum chamber for etching� in the invention. The movement mechanism part 13 corresponds to a part of an example of �moving means� in the invention.
The movement mechanism part 13 has a base plate 131 fixedly provided on a base 17, rails 132 a and 132 b fixedly provided on the base plate 131, and a motor 133 attached to a shoulder part 131 a formed so as to be risen from the top face at one end of the base plate 131. The rails 132 a and 132 b are fit in rail grooves (not shown) on the under face of the moving plate 130 having the function of guiding the moving plate 130. The rotary shaft (not shown) of the motor 133 is coupled to one end of a ball screw 134 provided so as to penetrate the shoulder part 131 a. The other end of the ball screw 134 is screwed in a ball screw hole of the moving plate 130. When the motor 133 rotates, the ball screw 134 rotates and the moving plate 130 carries the target chambers 11 a to 11 c and the etching chamber 12 and moves in the X direction being guided by the rails 132 a and 132 b. The substrate side mechanism part 2 has a substrate chamber 21; a substrate housing chamber 22, which is provided below the substrate chamber 21 and can house a number of substrates; a gate valve 23 provided between the substrate chamber 21 and the substrate housing chamber 22; a gate valve 24 provided on the front side of the substrate chamber 21; and a movement mechanism part 25. The gate valve 24 is used to close/open the substrate chamber 21 from/to the external space. The substrate housing chamber 22, the gate valve 23, and the substrate chamber 21 are fixedly provided on a moving plate 250 of the movement mechanism part 25 also serving as a base, and can be integrally moved linearly by the movement mechanism part 25 in the Y direction in the diagram. The gate valve 23 is used to open/close the substrate chamber 21 to/from the substrate housing chamber 22. The substrate chamber 21 corresponds to an example of �a first vacuum chamber� in the invention and the movement mechanism part 25 corresponds to an example of another part of the �moving means� in the invention.
Exhaust pipes 115 a to 115 c are connected to the back side of the chamber body 110. The exhaust pipes 115 a, 115 b, and 115 c are connected to a cryopump, a turbo molecular pump, and a rotary pump, respectively, (which are not shown) exclusive to the target side mechanism part 1. By selectively sequentially driving the pumps or variably combining and driving the pumps, the chamber body 110 can be maintained under high vacuum state. The cryopump is a vacuum pump of a type which forms a solid surface of an extremely low temperature by driving a refrigerator and condenses a gas on the solid surface to thereby remove gaseous molecules from the space. The cryopump can obtain extreme vacuum. The turbo molecular pump is a vacuum pump in which a fixed impeller (stator) and a rotary impeller (rotor) having angles in opposite directions are arranged alternately, for obtaining an exhaust action by using the fact that the probability of passage of the gaseous moleculars through the structure differs according to the direction of the passage. The turbo molecular pump can obtain extreme vacuum of 1.33�10−7 Pa or lower. The rotary pump is a vacuum pump of a type which mechanically pushes air by rotating the rotor and can obtain atmospheric pressure to vacuum up to about 1.33 Pa.
A series of operations, when a substrate housed in the substrate housing chamber 22 is conveyed and set in the substrate chamber 21 and a film forming process is performed onto the substrate by using a target held in the target chamber 11 a as a film forming material, will be described as an example. Assuming now that the substrate 221 is already housed in the substrate housing chamber 22 in the substrate side mechanism part 2, and each of the substrate chamber 21 and the substrate housing chamber 22 is maintained at a predetermined degree of vacuum (for example, about 5.32 Pa). It is also assumed that the target chamber 11 a in the target side mechanism part 1 is maintained at a predetermined high vacuum (about 1.33�10−3 Pa).
As shown in the graphs, with respect to the target chamber 11 a, first, the air is exhausted to a point C1 (about 9.31�10−1 Pa) by the rotary pump and then exhausted to about 1.33�10−4 Pa by the cryopump. The operation takes about 40 minutes. As for the substrate chamber 21, first, the air is exhausted to a point C2 (about 9.31�10−1 Pa) by the rotary pump and then exhausted to a high degree of vacuum of 1.33�10−4 Pa or higher by the cryopump. The operation takes about 20 minutes. At time points S1 and S2 after the elapse of about 40 minutes, the target chamber 11 a and the substrate chamber 21 are connected to each other and, further, argon gas is introduced to set the degree of vacuum to about 1.33�10−1 Pa. In such a state, the sputtering is started. After the sputtering is started, the air is exhausted by using the turbo molecular pump in addition to the cryopump.
Patent CitationsCited PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS5364219 *Jun 23, 1992Nov 15, 1994Tdk CorporationApparatus for clean transfer of objectsJPH02282474A Title not available* Cited by examinerReferenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS6536452 *Apr 27, 2000Mar 25, 2003Tokyo Electron LimitedProcessing apparatus and processing methodUS6635330 *Sep 9, 2002Oct 21, 2003Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.Thin films with a uniform thickness can be formed on substrates as objects such as spheroids, even when the films are formed by conventional film-formation methods using an incident particle beam coming from a specific directionUS6641702 *Sep 26, 2001Nov 4, 2003Data Storage InstituteSputtering deviceUS6726816 *Sep 9, 2002Apr 27, 2004Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.Method for forming thin film, spheroid coated with thin film, light bulb using the spheroid and equipment for film formationUS6895979Feb 6, 2003May 24, 2005Tokyo Electron LimitedProcessing apparatus and processing methodUS7413639 *May 26, 2004Aug 19, 2008Applied Materials Gmbh & Co. KgEnergy and media connection for a coating installation comprising several chambersUS7862694 *May 27, 2004Jan 4, 2011Shimadzu CorporationComposite coating device and method of forming overcoat on magnetic head using the sameUS8097084 *Jan 19, 2007Jan 17, 2012Vat Holding AgVacuum chamber system for semiconductor processingUS20110062023 *Feb 5, 2010Mar 17, 2011Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.Sputtering device* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification204/298.25, 204/192.12, 118/719, 204/298.27, 414/217, 204/298.23, 204/298.28, 204/298.35, 204/298.29, 118/729International ClassificationH01F41/14, C23F4/00, H01L21/302, H01F41/30, H01L21/3065, C23C14/50, H01L21/203, C23C14/56Cooperative ClassificationC23C14/566, B82Y40/00, B82Y25/00, H01F41/302, C23C14/568European ClassificationB82Y25/00, B82Y40/00, C23C14/56F, C23C14/56D2, H01F41/30DLegal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionSep 28, 2012FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 12Oct 23, 2008FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 8Oct 20, 2004FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Oct 12, 1999ASAssignmentOwner name: TDK CORPORATION, JAPANFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:YAMAMOTO, TAKAHIRO;REEL/FRAME:010314/0908Effective date: 19990818Owner name: TDK CORPORATION 13-1, NIHONBASHI 1-CHOME, CHUO-KURotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services©2012 Google