JPH0413424B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to a gate valve mechanism in a wafer transfer path used in semiconductor manufacturing equipment such as etching equipment and sputtering equipment.

[Background of the invention]

Conventionally, this type of gate valve mechanism has a gate sealing surface 2 with respect to the wafer transfer direction as shown in FIG.
4 was vertical, and the shutter 4 was structured to move perpendicularly to the preliminary vacuum chamber 13. 18
is the main vacuum chamber.

In this structure, the closing operation of the gate valve is as follows. Pre-vacuum chamber 1 via bracket 14
The rod 11 is pushed up via the coupling 15 by the air cylinder 16 attached to the rod 3, and the support 7 is moved upward along the guide 5 via the coupling 10. At this time, from the time when the roller 2 provided on the shutter 4 supported by the link 8 hits the stopper 3 as shown in the figure, the shutter 4 moves perpendicularly to the seal and is pressed against the seal surface.

The opening operation of the gate valve is performed by air cylinder 1.
This is done by lowering the support 7 by pulling down the rod 11 by the lever 6. In the initial state, even if the support 7 is lowered, the torsion spring 9 pushes up the shutter 4 via the pin 20 attached to the support 7. Therefore, the shutter 4 does not descend, but moves vertically away from the sealing surface by a distance commensurate with the inclination of the link 8, and then descends.

The above structure and operation had the following drawbacks.

(1) When transferring wafers in-line between vacuum chambers, the space between the conveyors becomes large and smooth transfer cannot be achieved.

(2) Since the shutter drive mechanism is reciprocating, a welded bellows is used for the vacuum seal, which is expensive.

(3) There are many sliding parts in the vacuum chamber, which may generate dust and reduce product yield.

(4) The mechanism is complex and requires a large amount of man-hours for assembly, adjustment, and maintenance.

[Purpose of the invention]

An object of the present invention is to provide a gate valve mechanism that enables in-line transfer of wafers between vacuum chambers, has a simple and inexpensive mechanism, and has few sliding parts in the vacuum chamber and does not generate dust.

[Summary of the invention]

In the present invention, by changing the shutter opening/closing mechanism from reciprocating to rotating, the gate sealing surface is inclined from a plane perpendicular to the wafer transfer surface in the process of simplifying the mechanism. The dead space on the surface is reduced and the transport ends of the wafer transport means between the vacuum chambers are brought closer together, making it possible to transport wafers in-line.

[Embodiments of the invention]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. Note that FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a gate valve mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a front view of the shutter shown in the figure when it is opened.

2 and 3, a vacuum chamber having a first conveying means, in this case a conveyor, therein;
a main vacuum chamber 34 and another vacuum chamber having a second conveying means, in this case a conveyor, inside;
A gate valve body 33 is placed between the preliminary vacuum chamber 30 and the
is airtightly provided with mounting bolts 21 and 22. The gate valve body 33 is formed with a gate opening 36 through which a wafer (not shown) transferred between the conveyors and transferred between the main vacuum chamber 34 and the preliminary vacuum chamber 30 passes. The main vacuum chamber 34 of the gate valve body 33 has a space portion having a top surface corresponding to the surface of the wafer to be transferred on the belt of the conveyor inside the main vacuum chamber 34 .
Formed from the side. A conveying end of the conveyor inside the main vacuum chamber 34 , in this case a roller around which a belt is wound, is arranged close to the side surface of the space on the side of the main vacuum chamber 34 . A conveying end of the conveyor inside the preliminary vacuum chamber 30, in this case a roller around which a belt is wound, is disposed close to the side surface opposite to the side surface of the main vacuum chamber 34 side space. In other words, the conveying ends of each conveyor are brought close enough to each other to allow wafers to be transferred smoothly and without any problem.
The gate opening 36 is formed at a corner where the top surface and side surface of the main vacuum chamber 34 side space intersect. The gate sealing surface 24 is inclined toward the inside of the gate valve main body 33 with respect to a plane perpendicular to the wafer transfer direction, in this case, it is inclined at about 45 degrees to form a space on the side of the main vacuum chamber 34 including the gate opening 36. It is formed at each part where the top and side surfaces intersect. Shaft 3
9 is provided in a space formed from the preliminary vacuum chamber 30 side of the gate valve body 33 at a position above the main vacuum chamber 34 side space and has a rotation axis parallel to the surface of the wafer to be transferred. There is. Gate seal surface 2
One end of the shutter 25 of No. 4 is attached to the shaft 39 with a mounting bolt 23 so that the rotation locus of the other end does not come into contact with the rollers of the conveyor inside the preliminary vacuum chamber 30. The shutter 25 is provided with an O-ring 26 corresponding to the gate sealing surface 24. Gate seal surface 24 and shutter 2
The seal 5 is not limited to the O-ring 26, but may be a fluororubber sheet or molded product attached to the shutter 25, or a single molded product. The width of the gate seal surface 24 can also be arbitrarily set in consideration of surface pressure. The bearing cases 41 and 50 are O-rings 4 for sealing.
3 and 48, and is securely attached to the gate valve body 33 with a mounting bolt 42. Shaft 39 is held by ball bearings 44 within bearing cases 41 and 50. One end of the shaft 39 is connected to a rotary actuator 45 by a coupling 46. The rotary actuator 45 is for rotating the shaft 39, and may be of any other type as long as it imparts a rotational motion to the shaft 39.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, the wafer is now placed on a conveyor belt inside the pre-vacuum chamber 30. In FIGS. In this state, the rollers of the conveyor are rotated clockwise. Thereby, the wafer is transported within the preliminary vacuum chamber 30 toward the main vacuum chamber 34. On the other hand, by operating the rotary actuator 45, the shaft 39 is partially rotated clockwise, and the shaft 2
5 is rotated using one end as a rotation fulcrum so that the gate seal surface 24 changes from an inclined state to a horizontal state. Thereby, the gate opening 36 is opened to allow the wafer to pass through. The wafers are sequentially separated from the conveyor inside the preliminary vacuum chamber 34,
And the gate opening 3 is supported by the conveyor.
6 is allowed to pass. While passing through the gate aperture 36, one end of the wafer is received by the transport end of the conveyor inside the main vacuum chamber 34. The rollers of the conveyor inside the main vacuum chamber 34 are also rotated in a clockwise direction. As a result, the wafer
From the conveyor inside the preliminary vacuum chamber 30 to the main vacuum chamber 3
0 to the internal conveyor and passed completely through the gate aperture 36. Thereafter, the wafer is transported to a predetermined location within the main vacuum chamber 34 by a conveyor inside the main vacuum chamber 34 . On the other hand, after the wafer has passed, the rotary actuator 45 is actuated to move the shaft 39
is partially rotated in the counterclockwise direction, and the shutter 25 is rotated using one end as a rotational fulcrum so that the gate seal surface 24 returns from the horizontal state to the original inclined state. As a result, the gate opening 36 is closed.

According to this embodiment, a space is formed from the main vacuum chamber side, and the conveyor ends of the conveyors inside the main vacuum chamber and the preliminary vacuum chamber are provided close to each other on the side of the space, and the gate opening is formed as the main vacuum chamber. It is formed at the corner where the top and side surfaces of the space on the vacuum chamber side intersect, and the gate seal surface is inclined at an approximately 45 degree angle toward the inside of the gate valve body with respect to the plane perpendicular to the wafer transfer direction. The shaft is formed in a space formed from the preliminary vacuum chamber side of the gate valve body at a position above the main vacuum chamber side space and has a rotation axis parallel to the surface of the wafer to be transferred; Since the shutter on the gate seal surface is opened and closed by rotating the shaft, the transport ends of the conveyor inside the main vacuum chamber and the preliminary vacuum chamber can be brought closer together, making in-line transfer of wafers easy and smooth. can be done. In addition, the only sliding part in the preliminary vacuum chamber is the shaft part, so the number of sliding parts can be reduced compared to the conventional method, so dust generation can be reduced and product yield can be improved. Furthermore, since the manufacturing process is simple and requires only rotating the shutter, maintenance is easy and costs can be reduced as well as maintenance costs.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, the conveyors between the chambers can be brought closer to each other, thereby facilitating in-line transfer of wafers. Additionally, there are fewer sliding parts in the vacuum chamber, which can reduce dust generation, leading to improved product yield. Furthermore, since the structure is simple, assembly, adjustment, and maintenance are easy, and cost and maintenance costs can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a conventional gate valve mechanism, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a gate valve mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a front view of FIG. 2 when the shutter is open. It is. 24...Gate seal surface, 25...Shutter, 30...Preliminary vacuum chamber, 33...Gate valve body, 34...Main vacuum chamber, 36...Gate opening, 39...Shaft, 41...Bearing Case, 44...ball bearing, 45...rotary actuator, 46...coupling,
50...Bearing case.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. The first vacuum chamber is formed in a gate valve body provided between one vacuum chamber having a first conveying means therein and another vacuum chamber having a second conveying means therein. , a gate valve mechanism in a wafer transfer path having a shutter for opening and closing a gate opening through which a wafer passed between two transfer means and transferred between the vacuum chambers, a space having a corresponding top surface is formed from the first vacuum chamber side of the gate valve body, a transport end of the first transport means is disposed close to a side surface of the space; A conveying end of the second conveying means is disposed close to a side surface opposite to a side surface of the space, and the gate opening is formed at a corner where a top surface and a side surface of the space intersect. , a gate sealing surface is inclined toward the inside of the gate valve body with respect to a plane perpendicular to the wafer transfer direction, and is formed at the corner including the gate opening, and the surface of the wafer transferred by the shaft is The shutter has parallel rotation axes and is provided in a space formed from the other vacuum chamber side of the gate valve body at a position above the space, and one end of the shutter on the gate seal surface is connected to the other end of the shutter. A gate in a wafer transfer path, characterized in that the gate is provided on the shaft so that a moving trajectory does not come into contact with the transfer end of the second transfer means, and includes a drive means for rotating the shaft to open and close the shutter. Valve mechanism.