JP2000323549A - Vacuum processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a vacuum processing apparatus which can improve throughput and moreover can suppress size enlargement. SOLUTION: This vacuum processing apparatus includes a cooling mechanism 200, which cools a plurality of wafers W accommodated within first and second preliminary vacuum chambers 110 and 120 respectively. The cooling mechanism 200 has a plurality of cooling bases 210 for cooling the wafers W mounted thereon and a hoisting and lowering mechanism 220 for relatively hoisting or lowering the wafers W mounted on the cooling bases 210 with respect to the bases 210. Since the plurality of wafers W after processed can be collectively cooled on the plurality of cooling bases 210, the time for cooling the wafers W can be reduced and its throughput can be improved. Furthermore, since the cooling mechanism 200 is provided within the preliminary evacuation chambers, the size enlargement of the apparatus can be suppressed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vacuum processing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, miniaturization of semiconductor devices,
With the integration, higher performance is also required for semiconductor manufacturing equipment. For example, in a vacuum processing apparatus, a multi-chamber system has been developed that can easily cope with a change in a process and the like, and that shortens the process. A general multi-chamber system includes a plurality of vacuum processing chambers, a pre-vacuum chamber for pre-processing and post-processing of vacuum processing, a space between a load port on which a cassette is mounted and a pre-vacuum chamber, and a pre-vacuum chamber. It comprises a transfer chamber provided with a transfer device for exchanging an object to be processed, for example, a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as “wafer”), between the vacuum processing chamber and the vacuum processing chamber. This multi-chamber system is also called a cluster tool.

In a cluster tool, a processed wafer is taken out after being cooled. this is,
(1) Since a general cassette is made of resin, it is necessary to cool the wafer to a temperature below the heat-resistant temperature (about 80 ° C.) of the cassette, and (2) it is necessary to prevent the occurrence of cracks and deformation of the wafer due to stress. (3) It is necessary to prevent the reaction with the atmosphere and to stabilize the film quality on the wafer surface. For this reason, conventionally, in a cluster tool, a wafer cooling mechanism is provided side by side in a vacuum processing chamber.

The wafer cooling mechanism includes a single wafer cooling mechanism for cooling each wafer and a batch cooling mechanism for cooling each lot with 25 wafers as one lot. The single-wafer cooling mechanism includes a fixed cooling table, and cools a wafer by flowing a cooling gas or a cooling liquid into the cooling table. Also,
In a batch cooling mechanism, a plurality of wafers are transferred into a processing chamber, and a plurality of wafers are simultaneously cooled by introducing a cooling gas under a predetermined pressure.

[0005]

However, the single-wafer cooling mechanism can cool only one wafer at a time, so that the object to be processed cannot be cooled efficiently. On the other hand, in the batch-type cooling mechanism, since the cooling capacity of the cooling gas is low, it takes time to cool the wafer. As described above, in the conventional vacuum processing apparatus, it takes a long time to cool the wafers regardless of whether a single-wafer cooling mechanism is provided or a batch-type cooling mechanism, and the throughput is reduced. There was a problem of inviting. Furthermore, there is also a problem that the provision of this cooling mechanism in a vacuum processing chamber increases the size of the apparatus.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the conventional vacuum processing apparatus, and a first object of the present invention is to improve a cooling mechanism of an object to be processed and to improve throughput. It is to provide a new and improved vacuum processing apparatus capable of performing the above. A second object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved vacuum processing apparatus capable of suppressing an increase in the size of the apparatus.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first preliminary vacuum chamber and a second preliminary vacuum chamber, and a first preliminary vacuum chamber and a second preliminary vacuum chamber. A first transfer chamber, which is air-tightly connected to the chamber and includes a first pre-vacuum chamber, a second pre-vacuum chamber, and a first transfer device for transferring the object to be processed among the plurality of vacuum processing chambers And a first pre-vacuum chamber and a second pre-vacuum chamber, which are air-tightly connected to each other to transfer the object between the first pre-vacuum chamber, the second pre-vacuum chamber, and the object accommodating means. Second equipped with a second transport device
A first pre-vacuum chamber and a second pre-vacuum chamber are provided with a cooling mechanism for accommodating and cooling a plurality of objects to be processed, and the cooling mechanism comprises: And a plurality of cooling tables for cooling the object to be processed mounted thereon, and elevating means for raising or lowering the object to be processed mounted on the cooling table relative to the cooling table. A vacuum processing apparatus is provided.

According to this configuration, the advantages of both the conventional single-wafer type cooling mechanism and the conventional batch-type cooling mechanism can be incorporated. That is, since a plurality of processed objects can be collectively cooled in a plurality of cooling stands, the cooling time of the processed objects can be reduced, and the throughput can be improved. It should be noted that the effect of the improvement of the throughput is described in claim 4.
As described in (1), when the cooling time of the object to be processed in the cooling mechanism is 50 seconds or more, it is particularly remarkably exhibited.

Further, since the cooling mechanism is provided in the preliminary vacuum chamber, it is not necessary to provide the cooling mechanism in the vacuum processing chamber, and the size of the vacuum processing apparatus can be suppressed.

Furthermore, depending on the manufacturing process, there is a case where the object to be processed is not desired to be held in the air atmosphere for a long time. According to the above configuration of the present invention, since a plurality of objects to be processed can be temporarily stored in the preliminary vacuum chamber, the plurality of objects to be processed before processing can be held in a vacuum atmosphere. It is possible.

Further, the cooling table can be configured to rise or fall relatively to the lifting / lowering means. According to this configuration, it is possible to easily control the transfer of the object to be processed between the cooling table and the transfer device.

[0012] More preferably, a projection is formed on the surface of the cooling table on which the object to be processed is mounted to reduce the contact area between the object and the cooling table. According to such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the back surface of the processing object from being damaged when the processing object is transferred between the cooling table and the transfer device.

[0013]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.
A preferred embodiment of the vacuum processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail. In this specification and drawings,
For components having substantially the same functional configuration,
Repetitive description will be omitted by giving the same reference numerals.

A vacuum processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.
Will be described with reference to FIG. Vacuum processing device 100
As shown in FIG. 1, a first preliminary vacuum chamber 110 and a second preliminary vacuum chamber 120, which are characteristic components of the present embodiment, and a first preliminary vacuum chamber 110 and a second preliminary vacuum chamber 110 A gate valve G1,
A first transfer chamber 130 hermetically connected via G2,
A first transfer chamber 130, and four vacuum processing chambers 132, 134, 136, and 138 airtightly connected to the first transfer chamber 130 via gate valves G3, G4, G5, and G6. It is mainly constituted by a second transfer chamber 140 airtightly connected to the first pre-vacuum chamber 110 and the second pre-vacuum chamber 120 on the atmosphere side via gate valves G7 and G8.

The first transfer chamber 130 is a semiconductor which is an example of an object to be processed between the first preliminary vacuum chamber 110, the second preliminary vacuum chamber 120, and the plurality of vacuum processing chambers 132, 134, 136 and 138. Wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as "wafer")
A first transfer device 150 for transferring W is provided. In the illustrated example, the first transfer device 150 has two wafers W
So that the wafers W can be held at the same time, and the wafers W can be transported separately and independently.
a, 150b. Although the first transfer device 150 employs a scalar-type transfer arm in the illustrated example, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a frog-leg-type transfer arm may be employed.

The second transfer chamber 140 is provided between the first pre-vacuum chamber 110, the second pre-vacuum chamber 120, and a plurality of load ports 160 on which a cassette 165, which is an example of an object storing means, can be placed. And a second transfer device 170 for transferring the wafer W. In the illustrated example, the second transfer device 170 includes holding units 170a and 170b for the wafers W so that the two wafers W can be transferred separately and independently. Although the second transfer device 170 employs a frog-type transfer arm in the illustrated example, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a scalar transfer arm may be employed. Also, the second transfer chamber 140
The orienter 1 for aligning the wafer W
80 are juxtaposed.

The configuration of the vacuum processing apparatus described above is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. The design of the configuration of the transfer device and the number and arrangement of the vacuum processing chambers and load ports can be changed as appropriate. In addition, the design of non-illustrated components such as the drive system of the transport device can be changed as appropriate.

Next, the first preliminary vacuum chamber 110 and the second preliminary vacuum chamber 120, which are characteristic components of the present embodiment, will be described in detail. Since the first preliminary vacuum chamber 110 and the second preliminary vacuum chamber 120 have substantially the same configuration, typically, the first preliminary vacuum chamber 110
Will be described with reference to FIGS.

The first pre-vacuum chamber 110 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 2, a batch-type cooling mechanism 200 for accommodating and cooling a plurality of wafers W is provided. This cooling mechanism 2
00 denotes a plurality of cooling stands 210 and 215 as described later.
And a plurality of lifting / lowering means 220 and 225. As shown in FIG. 2, the cooling mechanism 200 moves the first transfer device 130 from the first transfer chamber 130 in a vacuum atmosphere.
The transfer of the wafer W is performed, and the transfer of the wafer W is performed by the second transfer device 170 from the second transfer chamber 140 in the air atmosphere.

The structure of the cooling mechanism 200 is shown in FIG.
A description will be given with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the cooling mechanism 200 includes a plurality of cooling tables 210 and 215 on which the wafer W is mounted and cools the wafer W.
And elevating means 220 and 225 for raising or lowering the wafer W placed on the cooling tables 210 and 215 relative to the cooling tables 210 and 215. In the illustrated example, the cooling table and the lifting / lowering means are provided in two stages vertically, but the present invention is not limited to this, and three or more stages can be provided. The number of wafers W to be cooled at the same time is determined by the supply / exhaust time of the preliminary vacuum chamber 110, the transfer time of the wafer W, the vacuum processing time, and the like, and the number of stages of the mounting surface of the cooling table is determined accordingly. However, this will be further described later.

(Cooling Table) Each of the cooling tables 210 and 215 has a circular mounting surface, and the wafer W is mounted on a concentric circle with the mounting surface. A coolant such as a cooling gas or a cooling liquid flows into the mounting surfaces of the cooling tables 210 and 215 to cool the mounted wafer W. Also, the cooling tables 210 and 21
On the mounting surface of No. 5, convex portions 210a and 215a for reducing the contact area between the wafer W and the mounting surface are formed. By forming the convex portions 210a and 215a, the cooling tables 210 and 215 and the first transfer device 150,
When transferring the wafer W to and from the second transfer device 170,
Scratches on the back surface of the wafer W are prevented, and the transfer of the wafer W by the first transfer device 150 and the second transfer device 170 is facilitated. The projection 21 formed on the mounting surface
The arrangement and shape of 0a and 215a are not limited to the illustrated example.

The ends of each of the cooling tables 210 and 215 are connected to a common cooling table shaft 230. Cooling stand shaft 2
30 is connected to a drive mechanism comprising a motor 240 and a ball screw 250, and
5 is driven by this drive mechanism and moves up and down in conjunction with it.
In the example shown in the figure, a support portion 2 for supporting the mounting surface inside the mounting surface is provided.
10b and 215b are buried, and the support portions 210b and 2b
15b is connected to the cooling stand shaft 230 so that the cooling stand 2
10, 215 goes up and down. The cooling stand shaft 230 is connected to the first preliminary vacuum chamber 110 via a sealing member, for example, an O-ring O.
Airtightly connected to the side wall.

(Elevating means) The elevating means 220 and 225
The cooling units 210 and 215 are provided corresponding to the cooling units 210 and 215, respectively, and have support units 220a and 220b and support units 225a and 225b for supporting the peripheral portion of the wafer W placed on the cooling units 210 and 215, respectively. are doing. Lifting means 2
Reference numerals 20, 225 denote support portions 220a, 220b, and support portion 2
By pressing the peripheral portions of the wafers W placed on the cooling tables 210 and 215 by 25a and 225b, the wafers W are raised and lowered relatively to the cooling tables 210 and 215. The elevating mechanisms 220 and 225 are provided with the cooling tables 210 and 215.
The configuration is not limited to a configuration in which the peripheral portion of the wafer W is pressed as long as the wafer W placed on the wafer W can be moved up and down relatively to the cooling tables 210 and 215.

In the illustrated example, the support portion 220a is formed on the mounting surface of the cooling table 210 at a position facing the cooling table shaft 230, and the support portion 220b is formed on the mounting surface of the cooling table 210. On the same side as the cooling stand shaft 230,
Is formed at a position penetrating through. Similarly, the support 22
5 a is formed on the mounting surface of the cooling stand 215 at a position facing the cooling stand shaft 230, and the support portion 225 b is provided on the same side of the mounting surface of the cooling stand 215 as the cooling stand shaft 230. ,
It is formed at a position penetrating the cooling table 215.

The ends of the lifting means 220, 225 are connected to a common lifting means shaft 260. The shaft 260 for the elevating means includes a motor 270 and the ball screw 28.
0 is connected to a drive mechanism comprising
0 and 225 are driven by this drive mechanism and move up and down in conjunction with each other. The elevating means shaft 260 is air-tightly connected to the side wall of the first preliminary vacuum chamber 110 and the cooling stand shaft 230 via a sealing member such as an O-ring O.

Next, the operation of transferring the wafer W between the first transfer device 150, the cooling table 210, and the elevating means 220 will be described with reference to FIG. First, an operation when the first transfer device 150 receives the wafer W will be described. The wafer W is cooled in the state shown in FIG. That is, when cooling the wafer W, the wafer W is mounted on the mounting surface of the cooling table 210, and the elevating means 220 is located at a position lowered with respect to the mounting surface of the cooling table 210.

Next, when the cooling of the wafer W is completed, FIG.
As shown in (B), the elevating means 220 rises to press the wafer W, and raises the wafer W with respect to the mounting surface of the cooling table 210. The wafer W is supported by the elevating means 220, and at least the holding unit 150a (or the holding unit 150) of the first transfer device 140 is provided between the wafer W and the mounting surface.
A space in which b) can enter is formed. Then, the holding unit 150a (or the holding unit 150) of the first transfer device 150 is used.
b) enters the space between the wafer W and the mounting surface to receive the wafer W.

When the first transfer device 150 places the wafer W on the placement surface, the operation in the reverse order to the above is performed.
That is, as shown in FIG. 4B, the first transfer device 150 places the wafer W on the elevating unit 220 with the elevating unit 220 raised with respect to the mounting surface of the cooling table 210. . Next, the lifting / lowering means 220 descends, and FIG.
As shown in (2), the wafer W is mounted on the mounting surface of the cooling table 210.

In the above operation example, the first transfer device 1
Although the operation for exchanging the wafer W between the cooling unit 210, the cooling table 210, and the elevating means 220 has been described, the operation for exchanging the wafer W by the second transfer device 170 is substantially the same. Further, the cooling table 215, the elevating means 225
The operation is substantially the same.

According to the vacuum processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment described above, a plurality of wafers W after processing can be collectively cooled in the plurality of cooling tables 210 and 215, so that the cooling time of the wafers W is reduced. It is possible to reduce the time and improve the throughput.

Further, the cooling mechanism 200 is connected to the preliminary vacuum chamber 11.
0, 120, it is possible to suppress an increase in the size of the apparatus.

Further, when it is not desired to hold the wafer W before processing in the air atmosphere for a long time, the preliminary vacuum chamber 11
It is possible to temporarily accommodate a plurality of wafers W in 0 and 120 and keep them in a vacuum atmosphere.

Further, since the cooling tables 210 and 215 are configured to move up and down relative to the elevating means 220 and 225, the cooling tables 210 and the transfer devices 150 and 1 are arranged.
It is possible to easily control the transfer of the wafer W to and from the wafer W.

Next, the vacuum processing apparatus 1 having the above configuration
An example of the vacuum processing step at 00 will be described with reference to the timing charts of FIGS. The timing charts in FIGS. 5 to 9 show an example of a case where the wafers W are processed one by one (single wafer type). In the description of this processing step, an example in which vacuum processing is performed only in the two vacuum processing chambers 132 and 138 will be described for easy understanding.

First, reference numerals shown in the timing charts of the processing steps shown in FIGS. 5 to 9 will be described. (A) L-Port: one of the load ports 160 (b) L-Arm: second transfer device 170 (holding portions 170a and 170b of two wafers W are indicated by P1 and P2, respectively) (C) Ort: object positioning device (d) LL1: first preliminary vacuum chamber 110 (e) LL2: second preliminary vacuum chamber 120 (f) T-Arm: first transfer device 150 (2) (G) PM1: vacuum processing chamber 132 (h) PM2: vacuum processing chamber 138 (i) wafers # 1 to #n: wafers W serial number (j) Door Open: open the door of the cassette (k) Door Cls: close the door of the cassette (l) Map: mapping of the wafer W in the cassette L-Arm Of the extent and the T-Arm process XXX-
YYY indicates that the wafer W is transferred from XXX to YYY. For example, the LP-P1 transfers the wafer W from one of the load ports 160 to the first substrate holding unit 124a.
Is transported. After the processing starts, 35
Since the same operation is repeated in the processing steps from 0 second to 1917 second, they are omitted as shown in FIG.

The processing by the vacuum processing apparatus 100 is shown in FIGS.
Since the transfer is performed sequentially as shown in FIG.
The operation of each component such as 170 and the preliminary vacuum chambers 110 and 120 will be described.

When the cassette 165 is placed in the load port 160, a mapping (not shown) provided in the second transfer device 170 is used to check the number and arrangement of the wafers W accommodated in the cassette 165. The mapping is performed by the sensor. And after the mapping is over, the second
Of the wafer W in the cassette 165 by the transfer device 170 of FIG.
Is transferred to the orienter 180 and the wafer W is aligned. The wafer W, which has been aligned by the orienter 180, is transferred to the first transfer device 170 by, for example, the first transfer device 170.
Is transported into the preliminary vacuum chamber 110. At this time, the first preliminary vacuum chamber 110 is maintained substantially in the atmosphere because the gate valve G7 on the atmosphere side is opened and the gate valve G1 on the vacuum side is closed. Cassette 1 above
The transfer of the wafer W from 65 to the first preliminary vacuum chamber 110 is repeated a plurality of times when a plurality of wafers W are processed collectively (batch type).

Thereafter, the gate valve G7 on the atmosphere side is closed and the inside of the first preliminary vacuum chamber 110 is evacuated, and the pressure atmosphere is substantially the same as the pressure atmosphere in the first transfer chamber 130, for example, 1.
Reduce to 00 mTorr. In addition, Oriental 18
Substantially the same process is performed when the wafer W that has been aligned with 0 is transferred into the second preliminary vacuum chamber 120.

After the inside of the first preliminary vacuum chamber 110 reaches a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere, the gate valve G1 on the vacuum side is opened and the first preliminary vacuum chamber 1 is opened by the first transfer device 150.
The wafer W inside the wafer 10 is unloaded and transferred into the vacuum processing chamber 132. A predetermined process is performed on the wafer W in the vacuum processing chamber 132. After the processed wafer W is unloaded from the vacuum processing chamber 132 by the first transfer device 170,
For example, it is transferred into the second preliminary vacuum chamber 120. The transfer of the wafer W from the first preliminary vacuum chamber 110 to the vacuum processing chamber 132, the vacuum processing in the vacuum processing chamber 132,
Further, the transfer of the wafer W from the vacuum processing chamber 132 to the second preliminary vacuum chamber 120 is repeated a plurality of times when a plurality of wafers W are processed collectively (batch type).

Thereafter, the wafer W transferred into the second preliminary vacuum chamber 120 is subjected to a cooling process. At this time, the second preliminary vacuum chamber 120 is maintained in a substantially reduced-pressure atmosphere because the gate valve G2 on the vacuum side is opened and the gate valve G8 on the atmospheric side is closed. Thereafter, the gate valve G2 is closed, air is supplied into the second preliminary vacuum chamber 120, and the pressure atmosphere in the second preliminary vacuum chamber 120 is raised to substantially the same atmospheric atmosphere as the second transfer chamber 140. Let it. Note that substantially the same process is performed when the wafer W after the vacuum processing is transferred into the first preliminary vacuum chamber 110.

Thereafter, after the inside of the second preliminary vacuum chamber 120 reaches the atmospheric atmosphere and the wafer W is cooled to a predetermined temperature, the gate valve G8 on the atmospheric side is opened. And
By the second transfer device 170, the second preliminary vacuum chamber 12
After unloading the wafer W in the second transfer chamber 140 into the second transfer chamber 140,
It is transported into the cassette 165. The transfer of the wafers W from the second preliminary vacuum chamber 120 to the cassette 165 is repeated a plurality of times when a plurality of wafers W are collectively processed (batch type).

The vacuum processing apparatus 10 according to the above embodiment
In examining the effect of 0, the throughputs of the single-wafer type cooling mechanism and the batch type cooling mechanism are compared.

First, the throughput of a vacuum processing apparatus having a single-wafer cooling mechanism will be considered. As shown in FIG. 5, the air supply time of the auxiliary vacuum chamber is 26 seconds, and the cooling of the wafer is performed simultaneously with the air supply of the auxiliary vacuum chamber.
As shown in FIG. 9, the processing time for 50 wafers is 2178 seconds.

If the wafer cooling time is less than 26 seconds, that is, less than the air supply time of the preliminary vacuum chamber, the wafer cooling time does not affect the throughput. Therefore, the processing time per 50 wafers is 2178 seconds, and the throughput is about 82.6 (wafers / hour).

If the cooling time of the wafer is 26 seconds or more, and the cooling time is C seconds,
C-26 seconds processing time increases. Therefore, wafer 5
The increase time per zero sheet is 50 × (C-26) seconds.
Therefore, the processing time for 50 wafers is 2180 + 50 ×
(C-26) seconds, and the throughput is 50 × 360.
0 / {2178 + 50 × (C-26)} (sheets / hour). FIG. 10 shows the relationship between the cooling time C and the throughput (sheets / hour). The throughput of the vacuum processing apparatus provided with the above-described single-wafer cooling mechanism is as shown by the symbol A in FIG.

Next, the throughput of a vacuum processing apparatus having a batch type cooling mechanism will be considered. In the present embodiment, as an example, it is assumed that a cooling mechanism for accommodating and cooling 13 wafers in a preliminary vacuum chamber is provided.
One lot consists of 25 wafers. In addition, during the transfer of the wafer to one of the preliminary vacuum chambers and the vacuum processing of the wafer, that is, while the gate valve on the vacuum atmosphere side of the one preliminary vacuum chamber is open, the supply and exhaust of the other preliminary vacuum chamber are performed. And the replacement of the wafer is performed.

Therefore, the steps which affect the throughput can be roughly classified into two steps: (a) supply / exhaust of the preliminary vacuum chamber, replacement of the wafer, (b) transfer of the wafer to a vacuum atmosphere, and vacuum processing of the wafer. Since the steps (a) and (b) are repeated in the two preliminary vacuum chambers,
The throughput is determined in any one of the steps (a) and (b) having a long processing time.

(A) Supply / Exhaust of Preliminary Vacuum Chamber, Replacement of Wafer In the case of a batch-type cooling mechanism, it is considered that the size of the prevacuum chamber is increased in accordance with the number of wafers stored, and the time of supply / exhaust of the prevacuum chamber is lengthened. Here, in order to simplify the description, the supply / exhaust time for one wafer is set to 30 seconds (supply 15 seconds, exhaust 1
5 seconds). Therefore, the supply / exhaust time for 13 sheets is
30 × 13 = 390 seconds. Further, the cooling of the wafer is started at the same time as the supply of air, as in the case of the single-wafer cooling mechanism. Cooling time is air supply time (15 seconds x 13 sheets = 1
If it is shorter than (95 seconds), the throughput is not affected.

The time during which the air supply to the preliminary vacuum chamber is completed and the atmospheric gate valve G3 (G4) for replacing the wafer is open is calculated. While the atmosphere-side gate valve is open, the second transfer device 170
Transfer of wafers W between the pre-vacuum chambers 110 and 120,
The transfer of the wafer W with the load port 160 and the transfer of the wafer W with the orienter 180 are performed. This repetition time (cycle) is assumed to be 35 seconds. It should be noted that the 13th wafer takes 12 seconds to exchange only with the preliminary vacuum chamber. It is assumed that the alignment of the first wafer transferred to the preliminary vacuum chamber has been completed in advance. Also, since the alignment by the orienter is shorter than the repetition period of 35 seconds, it does not affect the wafer replacement time. Therefore, the replacement time of 13 wafers is 35 × 12 + 12 = 432 seconds. From the above, the total time of (a) the supply / exhaust of the preliminary vacuum chamber and the wafer replacement process is 390 + 432 = 822 seconds.

(B) Transfer of Wafer to Vacuum Atmosphere / Vacuum Processing of Wafer Referring to the case of single wafer processing, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the processing time of wafers other than the first and last of a lot (Cycle) is 80 seconds. Further, assuming that the transfer time of the first and last wafers of a lot takes 24 seconds each, the processing time of 13 wafers is 80 × (13 + 1) / 2 + 24 ×
2 = 608 seconds.

From the above calculation result, ((a) supply / exhaust time of the preparatory vacuum chamber, wafer replacement time)> ((b) supply / exhaust time of the preparatory vacuum chamber, wafer replacement time).
The throughput is determined by (a) the supply / exhaust time of the preliminary vacuum chamber and the wafer replacement time. If 25 wafers are taken as one lot and 13 wafers are processed twice, the processing time per 25 wafers is 822 × 2 = 1644.
Second, and the throughput is 25 × 3600 / 54.7.
(Sheets / hour). The throughput of the vacuum processing apparatus having the above-described batch-type cooling mechanism is as indicated by reference numeral B in FIG.

From the above results, comparing the throughput of the vacuum processing apparatus provided with the single-wafer type cooling mechanism and the batch type cooling mechanism, as shown in FIG. 10, the cooling time at the intersection X in FIG. If the time C is exceeded, the vacuum processing apparatus provided with a batch-type cooling mechanism has higher throughput. The cooling time C at this intersection X is 50 × 3
600 / {2178 + 50 × (C-26)} = 54.7
It is about 48.3 seconds. Therefore, the cooling time is about 4
If it is 8.3 seconds or more, preferably 50 seconds or more, it is determined that the throughput of the vacuum processing apparatus having the batch-type cooling mechanism is higher.

Although the preferred embodiment of the vacuum processing apparatus according to the present invention has been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to such an example. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can conceive various changes or modifications within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims, and those modifications naturally fall within the technical scope of the present invention. It is understood to belong.

For example, the number of stages of the cooling base of the cooling mechanism is not limited to the case of the above embodiment, and the design can be changed as appropriate. The optimum number of workpieces to be cooled at the same time is determined according to changes in the vacuum processing time in the vacuum processing chamber, changes in the transport time of the workpieces by the transport device, or changes in the cooling time of the workpieces. The number of stages of the cooling unit of the cooling mechanism can be determined accordingly.

The shape of the cooling table and the elevating means can be changed as appropriate according to the shape and material of the object to be processed.

Further, in the above embodiment, 2
Although an example of the configuration employing the first transfer device and the second transfer device capable of holding a plurality of wafers has been described, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and holds three or more workpieces. The present invention can be implemented even if a possible transport device is adopted.

[0057]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The cooling time of the object to be processed can be reduced, and the throughput can be improved. Further, the size of the apparatus can be suppressed. Furthermore, a plurality of objects to be processed before processing can be held in a vacuum atmosphere.

In particular, according to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily control the transfer of the object to be processed between the cooling table and the transfer device.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the back surface of the object from being damaged when the object is transferred between the cooling table and the transfer device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a vacuum processing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a preliminary vacuum chamber.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the cooling mechanism, wherein FIG. 4A shows the time of wafer cooling and FIG. 4B shows the time of wafer transfer.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing processing steps of the vacuum processing apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing processing steps of a vacuum processing apparatus provided with a single-wafer cooling mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a timing chart showing processing steps of a vacuum processing apparatus having a single-wafer cooling mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a timing chart showing processing steps of a vacuum processing apparatus having a single-wafer cooling mechanism.

FIG. 9 is a timing chart illustrating processing steps of a vacuum processing apparatus having a single-wafer cooling mechanism.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for comparing a single-wafer type cooling mechanism with a batch type cooling mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 100 vacuum processing chamber 110 first preliminary vacuum chamber 120 second preliminary vacuum chamber 130 first transfer chamber 132, 134, 136, 138 vacuum processing chamber 140 second transfer chamber 150 first transfer device 150a, 150b holding Unit 160 Load port 165 Cassette 170 Second transfer device 170a, 170b Holding unit 180 Orienter 200 Cooling mechanism 210, 215 Cooling stand 210a, 215a Convex portion 210b, 215b Support unit 220, 225 Elevating means 220a, 220b, 225a, 225b Support Part 230 Cooling stand axis 240 Motor 250 Ball screw 260 Elevating means axis 270 Motor 280 Ball screw W Wafer G1, G2, ..., G8 Gate valve O O-ring

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5F031 CA02 DA17 FA01 FA03 FA07 FA11 FA12 FA15 GA37 GA43 GA47 GA48 GA50 MA04 MA07 MA09

Claims (4)

[Claims] A first preliminary vacuum chamber, a second preliminary vacuum chamber, and an airtight connection with the first preliminary vacuum chamber and the second preliminary vacuum chamber; A first transfer chamber provided with a second pre-vacuum chamber and a first transfer device for transferring the object between the plurality of vacuum processing chambers, the first pre-vacuum chamber and the second pre-vacuum chamber; A first preliminary vacuum chamber, a second preliminary vacuum chamber,
And a second transfer chamber having a second transfer device for transferring the object to be processed between the object storage means, and the first preliminary vacuum chamber and the second 2
The pre-vacuum chamber includes a cooling mechanism for accommodating and cooling the plurality of objects to be processed, the cooling mechanism comprising a plurality of cooling tables on which the objects to be processed are mounted and for cooling the objects to be processed, A vacuum processing apparatus, comprising: elevating means for raising or lowering the object to be processed placed on the cooling table relative to the cooling table. 2. The cooling table according to claim 1, wherein the cooling table moves up and down relative to the lifting means.
The vacuum processing apparatus according to item 1. 3. The cooling table according to claim 1, wherein a convex portion for reducing a contact area between the object and the cooling table is formed on a surface of the cooling table on which the object is mounted. Item 1
Or the vacuum processing apparatus according to 2. 4. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a cooling time of the object to be processed in the cooling mechanism is 50 seconds or more.