Patent ID: 8308440

Claim:
A vacuum processing apparatus including a vacuum chamber, comprising: a gate valve arranged in said vacuum chamber and including a valve body which moves in a direction relative to an exhaust port of said vacuum chamber to open/close the exhaust port, and a driving unit configured to move the valve body; a connecting portion having one end connected to the exhaust port of said vacuum chamber and formed in a direction inclined from a moving direction of said valve body; an exhaust pump connected to an opposite end of said connecting portion and capable of evacuating an interior of said connecting portion; a controller configured to control said exhaust pump and said driving unit; and a sensor configured to detect a position of said valve body and input the position to said controller, wherein said driving unit includes (i) a rod serving as a driving shaft which drives said valve body in a direction to close the exhaust port or a direction to open the exhaust port, and (ii) a cylinder driving said rod, said rod extends parallel to a moving direction of said valve body and supports said valve body at one end of said rod, said connecting portion is connected to the exhaust port of said vacuum chamber in a direction inclined at a predetermined angle from an axial direction of said rod, and said cylinder is arranged outside the connecting portion and connected to an opposite end of said rod, said controller drives said exhaust pump to evacuate an interior of said connecting portion, said controller drives said driving unit to move said valve body based on the position detected by said sensor, and an interior of said vacuum chamber is opened from a vacuum to near an atmospheric pressure.