JPH0931641A - Sputtering device and sputtering method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To continuously treat varous kinds of substrates by a simple constitu tion. SOLUTION: The adhering part 7a of a substrate holder 7 is formed into a shape by which it is coincident with the upper edge face 1a of a vacuum tank 1, and the substrate holder 7 and the vacuum tank 1 are made capable of adhering to and separating from the adhering part 7a and the uppe end face 1a, respectively. At the time of allowing the substrate holder 7 and the vacuum tank 1 to adhere, the space surrounded by the substrate holder 7 and the vacuum tank 1 is constituted as a vacuum treating chamber 10 separated from the outside air, a film is formed on a substrate mounted on the substrate holder 7, and after that, the substrate holder 7 is separated from the vacuum tank 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a sputtering apparatus and a sputtering method for forming a film on a substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a continuous sputtering apparatus has been used to cope with mass production of disks. These are basically aimed at shortening the tact time on the premise of mass production of small varieties. For example, JP-A-5-18
The configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4903 has a first station for inserting / removing a substrate such as a disk into / from a substrate holder, and a second station for forming a film, and each station is a common transfer chamber. A substrate transfer having an opening toward the inside and two substrate holders in the transfer chamber, the substrate holders being alternately movable to a position directly facing the opening and being movable in the radial direction of the opening. It has a structure with a device. Then, the substrate is attached / detached to / from the substrate holder at the first station, while the film is formed at the second station, and each time the processing is completed, the position of each substrate holder is changed to the first position by the substrate transfer device.
Between the second station and the second station.

[0003]

However, in recent years, there has been an increasing need for high-mix low-volume production of a wide variety of products, and there is a need for processing in a small lot in the film forming technique. However, since the conventional continuous film forming apparatus is designed on the assumption that a substrate of a certain size is processed,
The shape of the substrate holder is also designed to be the optimum shape for the particular substrate, and the shape of the film forming chamber is also designed correspondingly. Therefore, there is no hardware freedom for processing a wide variety of substrates.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to propose a sputtering apparatus and a sputtering method capable of continuously processing a wide variety of substrates with a simple structure.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has the following constitution. According to a first aspect of the present invention, a part of the substrate holder is formed in a shape that matches the end surface of the vacuum chamber, and the substrate holder and the vacuum chamber can be brought into close contact with and separated from each other in the matching region. When the above was closely contacted with the above-mentioned site, the space surrounded by the substrate holder and the vacuum chamber was configured as a vacuum processing chamber separated from the outside air.

In the sputtering method according to the second aspect of the present invention, after the substrate is mounted on the substrate holder, the substrate holder is transferred to the vacuum chamber, and a part of the substrate holder and the end face of the vacuum chamber are brought into close contact with each other to perform the vacuum treatment. After forming the chamber, the substrate mounted on the substrate holder was subjected to film formation, and then the substrate holder was separated from the vacuum chamber and transferred to the next step.

According to the structure of claim 1, a part of the substrate holder is shaped so as to match the end face of the vacuum chamber, and both end faces can be closely adhered to each other so as to be separated from the part of the substrate holder. The shape of the part can be designed so that the board can be held corresponding to the board of various shapes. Therefore, the vacuum processing chamber can be configured regardless of the shape of the substrate. That is, it is possible to cope with film formation on various types of substrates with one fixed sputtering apparatus.

Further, in the above-mentioned structure of the present invention, a vacuum processing chamber is formed by adhering a substrate holder on which a substrate is mounted to a vacuum chamber, and a film is formed on the substrate in the vacuum processing chamber. Since the completed substrate holder can be separated from the vacuum chamber and transferred to the next step, continuous processing becomes possible.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of a sputtering apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a portion for performing vacuum processing according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The vacuum chamber 1 is formed in a cylindrical shape having an opening at the top, and is provided with a gas introduction port 2 and an exhaust port 3. The gas inlet 2 is connected to a cylinder (not shown) via a flow valve (not shown), and the exhaust port 3 is connected to a pump (not shown) via an exhaust valve (not shown). A target 4 directed toward the opening is supported in the vacuum chamber 1 while being electrically insulated from the vacuum chamber 1, and is electrically connected to a power source 5. Since the supporting portion of the target 4 is out of the scope of the present invention, the detailed structure is conceptually shown (not shown), but may be the same as the structure of a known sputtering apparatus. The upper end surface 1a of the vacuum chamber 1 is processed into a flat surface, and an annular groove 1b is formed on the upper end surface 1a, and the annular groove 1b is formed.
The O-ring 6 is arranged so as to be fitted in.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the substrate holder 7 of the sputtering apparatus according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a plan view showing one side of the substrate holder 7. The substrate holder 7 is made of SUS, has a thickness of 1 cm, and has an outer diameter of a disk shape slightly larger than the diameter of the O-ring 6 of the vacuum chamber 1. For the chuck made of a flexible plastic at the center thereof. Claws 8 are provided. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the claw 8 is formed on the circumference of the substrate holder 7 centered on the circumference of the claw 8.
The shape is formed in such a manner that the tip of the root provided at four places at intervals of 0 ° is slightly thicker toward the outside. Four
The outer diameter of the base portion formed by the individual claws 8 is set so as to correspond to the inner diameter of the hole in the central portion of the substrate intended to be held by the substrate holder 7, and the outer diameter of the tip portion is the inner diameter of the hole. It is set to be larger so that it does not fall off when the substrate is held by the claw 8. That is, the substrate holder 7
Is to hold the disk substrate 9 by setting the disk substrate 9 in the substrate holder 7 by bending the claw 8 inward and inserting it into a hole of a substrate having a hole in the center such as an optical disk. Shows. In addition, a contact portion 7a that is in close contact with the upper end surface 1a of the vacuum chamber 1 is provided in the peripheral portion of the substrate holder 7 on the side where the claws 8 are provided, and this contact portion 7a corresponds to the upper end surface 1a of the vacuum chamber 1. And then processed into a flat surface.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a state in which the substrate holder 7 is placed on the upper end surface 1a of the vacuum chamber 1 so as to close the opening of the vacuum chamber 1 and the vacuum processing chamber 10 is formed. The contact portion 7b of the vacuum chamber 1 and the upper end surface 1a of the vacuum chamber 1 are in close contact with each other, and the O-ring 6 is interposed therebetween,
The vacuum chamber 1 is made airtight, and the vacuum processing chamber 10 is formed in the internal space surrounded by the substrate holder 7 and the vacuum chamber 1. And the replacement of the substrate holder 7 is
When the vacuum processing chamber 10 is exposed to the atmosphere and the substrate holder 7 is separated from the vacuum chamber 1 and another substrate holder 7 is used, the contact portion 7a of the substrate holder 7 and the upper end surface 1a of the vacuum chamber 1 are brought into contact with each other. In this state, the inside of the vacuum processing chamber 10 is evacuated by the vacuum pump through the exhaust port 3 so as to be replaced.

The above structure is an embodiment corresponding to claim 1, and the operation and effect thereof is designed in such a shape that only the contact portion 7a of the substrate holder 7 can be in airtight contact with the upper end surface 1a of the vacuum chamber 1. The portion of the claw 8 for the substrate holding chuck provided in the central portion can hold the disk-shaped substrate 8 having a hole in the central portion while facing the target 4. Therefore, the sputtering apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention can perform the sputtering process on the disk substrate 8 having the hole as described above. further,
If the substrate has a size that can be stored in the vacuum processing chamber 10,
The size of the substrate is not limited, and the substrate can be held by the substrate holder 7.

As is well known, sputtering is performed in a vacuum processing chamber 10 in which an aluminum target 4 is set.
After being evacuated by a vacuum pump, argon gas is introduced from the gas inlet 3 and RF power or the like is input from the power source 5 to the target 4 to sputter aluminum. The materials to be sputtered and the sputtering gas are not limited to the above,
It goes without saying that various materials and gases may be used, and the sputtering conditions such as gas pressure and input power can be set appropriately.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a substrate holder provided in the sputtering apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which the substrate is held, and FIG. 7 is a plan view showing one side of the substrate holder. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in the substrate holder, and therefore only that point will be described, and other configurations will not be illustrated and described. In the following description, the numbers in FIG. 1 will be used as necessary.

The substrate holder 15 is made of SUS, has a thickness of 1 cm, and an outer diameter of a disk shape slightly larger than the diameter of the O-ring 6 of the vacuum chamber 1, and is formed on the side forming the wall surface of the vacuum processing chamber 10. A chuck claw 16 made of flexible plastic is provided. As shown in FIG. 7, the claws 16 are circumferentially fixed with screws 18 at four positions at intervals of 90 ° corresponding to the outer diameter of the large-diameter lens substrate 17 intended to be held by the substrate holder 15. As shown in FIG. 6, the tip of the root is formed to be slightly thicker toward the inside, and the outer peripheral portion of the large-diameter lens substrate 17 is claw 16
It can be held so that it is surrounded by. That is, the inner peripheral diameter of the root portion formed by the four claws 16 is
It is set so as to correspond to the outer diameter of the large-diameter lens substrate 17 held by the substrate holder 15, and the inner peripheral diameter of the tip portion is set smaller than the outer diameter of the large-diameter lens substrate 17, and the claw 16
Therefore, the large-diameter lens substrate 17 is prevented from falling off while being held. In addition, a contact portion 15a that is in close contact with the upper end surface 1a of the vacuum chamber 1 is provided in the peripheral portion of the substrate holder 15 on the side where the claw 16 is provided, and this contact portion 15a corresponds to the upper end surface 1a of the vacuum chamber 1. And then processed into a flat surface.

The above-described structure is an embodiment corresponding to claim 1, and its function and effect are designed in such a shape that only the contact portion 15a of the substrate holder 15 can be in airtight contact with the upper end surface 1a of the vacuum chamber 1. Thus, the claw 16 for the substrate holding chuck can hold the large-diameter lens substrate 17 in a state of facing the target 4. Therefore, the large-diameter lens as described above can be sputtered by the sputtering apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a substrate holder provided in the sputtering apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which the substrate is held, and FIG. 9 is a plan view showing one side of the substrate holder. The third embodiment differs from the first embodiment only in the substrate holder, and therefore only that point will be described, and the other configurations will not be shown or described. In addition, in the following description, FIG.
Shall be used.

The substrate holder 20 is made of SUS, has a thickness of 1 cm, and an outer diameter of a disk shape slightly larger than the diameter of the O-ring 6 of the vacuum chamber 1. Five chuck claws 21 made of flexible plastic are provided. As shown in FIG. 8, each claw 21 is composed of a disk portion 21a and a claw portion 21b.
Corresponds to the outer diameter of the small-diameter lens substrate 22 intended to be held by the substrate holder 20, and is 90 ° on the outer peripheral portion of the disc portion 21a.
Four pieces are erected at intervals. The claw portion 21b is formed in a shape in which the front end is slightly thicker toward the inside, and the outer peripheral portion of the small-diameter lens substrate 22 is formed on the claw portion 21b.
It can be held so as to be surrounded by b. That is, the inner peripheral diameter of the root portion formed by the four claw portions 21 b is set so as to correspond to the outer diameter of the small diameter lens substrate 22, and the inner peripheral diameter of the tip portion is set to the outer diameter of the small diameter lens substrate 22. It is set smaller than the diameter, and the small-diameter lens substrate 2 is
It does not fall off when holding 2. As shown in FIG. 9, a total of five claws 21 are provided in and around the central portion of the substrate holder 20, and are fixed to the substrate by bolts 23. Further, a contact portion 20a that is in close contact with the upper end surface 1a of the vacuum chamber 1 is provided in the peripheral portion of the substrate holder 20 on the side where the claws 21 are provided, and this contact portion 20a corresponds to the upper end surface 1a of the vacuum chamber 1. And then processed into a flat surface.

The present configuration is an embodiment corresponding to claim 1, and its function and advantage are that the substrate holder 20 has the contact portion 2
Only 0a is designed to be in airtight contact with the upper end surface 1a of the vacuum chamber 1, and the claws 21 of the substrate holding chuck can hold five small-diameter lens substrates 22 facing the target 4. It is like this. Therefore, the sputtering apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention can perform the sputtering process on the small-diameter lens as described above.

A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. 10 is a sectional view showing a sputtering apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a state seen from the opening side of the substrate holder. In addition,
Since the present embodiment has the same basic configuration as that of the above-described first embodiment, the same components as those of the above-mentioned first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and only different points will be described.

Side wall portion 1 of vacuum chamber 1 in the present embodiment
The height of b is lower than that of the first embodiment.

The substrate holder 7 is made of a SUS plate having a thickness of 1 cm.
It is formed in a cylindrical shape having an upper surface portion 7c connected to b, the outer diameter of the opening side is equal to the outer diameter of the upper end surface 1a of the vacuum chamber 1, and the end surface of the side wall portion 7b is the upper end surface of the vacuum chamber 1. 1a
Is processed into a flat surface as a contact portion 7a. The close contact portion 7a is in close contact with the upper end surface 1a of the vacuum chamber 1 and the vacuum processing chamber 1
Form 0. A chuck claw 8 made of flexible plastic is provided at the center of the upper surface 7c of the substrate holder 7 facing the vacuum processing chamber 10. The claws 8 are fixed by four screws 25 at intervals of 90 ° on the circumference centered on the center of the upper surface portion 7c of the substrate holder 7, and the front of the root fixed with the screws 25 is inward. The lens substrate 2 is formed in a shape that is slightly thicker toward the lens substrate 2.
The outer peripheral portion of 6 can be held so as to be surrounded by the claw 8. That is, the inner diameter of the base portion formed by the four claws 8 is set so as to correspond to the outer diameter of the lens substrate 26 intended to be held by the substrate holder 7, and the inner diameter of the tip portion is set to the lens substrate 26. The outer diameter of the lens substrate 26 is smaller than the outer diameter of the lens substrate 26 so that the lens substrate 26 does not drop when the lens substrate 26 is held by the claw 8.

According to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the vacuum chamber 1 and the substrate holder 7 are provided.
Since the inner wall of the vacuum processing chamber 10 formed by the substrate holder 7 is mostly occupied by the substrate holder 7, the film-forming substance attached to the inner wall of the vacuum processing chamber 10 is attached to the substrate holder 7 side, so that the attached substance is removed. Makes maintenance easier. That is, the substrate holder 7 should be removed and cleaned.

The fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 12 is a cross section showing a substrate holder equipped with a sputtering apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 shows a state in which the substrate is held, and FIG. 13 is a plan view seen from the opening side. The fifth embodiment is different from the above-mentioned fourth embodiment only in the substrate holder, and therefore only that point will be described, and other configurations will not be shown and described.
In the following description, the numbers in FIG. 10 will be used as necessary.

The substrate holder 7 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a side wall portion 7b made of a polycarbonate plate having a thickness of 1 cm and having one side opening and an upper surface portion 7c connected to the side wall portion 7b. The outer diameter is equal to the outer diameter of the upper end surface 1a of the vacuum chamber 1, and the end surface of the side wall portion 7b is processed into a flat surface as a contact portion 7a with the upper end surface 1a of the vacuum chamber 1. The close contact portion 7a is in close contact with the upper end surface 1a of the vacuum chamber 1 to form the vacuum processing chamber 10. In the central portion of the upper surface portion 7c of the substrate holder 7 facing the vacuum processing chamber 10, chuck claws 30 made of flexible plastic are formed in three places integrally with the substrate holder 7 so as to face each other in parallel. . The claw 30 is composed of two claw portions 30a opposed to each other and having different lengths corresponding to the outer diameter of the rectangular prism 31 intended to be held by the substrate holder 7, and each claw portion 30a is more forward than the root. Protrusions having a slightly thicker shape facing inward are provided in parallel to each other so that two opposite sides of the prism 31 can be held so as to be surrounded by the claws 30. That is, the distance between the facing claw portions 30 a is set so as to correspond to the length of the prism 31, and the distance between the protrusions is set to the prism 31.
The length of the prism 3 is smaller than the length of
It is designed not to fall off when holding 1.

According to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the fourth embodiment, if the substrate holder 7 is made inexpensively by resin molding or the like and is made disposable, cleaning of the vacuum processing chamber 10 becomes almost unnecessary. You can

A sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This embodiment is a sputtering method. FIG. 14 is a side view with respect to the moving direction of the substrate holder, and FIGS. 15 and 16 are views drawn from the moving direction of the substrate holder.

First, as shown in FIG. 14, the lens 26, which is a substrate, is attached to the claw 8, and the lens 26 is attached to the substrate holder 7.
Set.

After that, as shown in FIG. 15, the substrate holder 7 is placed on the guide rail 32 and moved to a position right below the vacuum chamber 1. At this time, the substrate holder 7 is open upward. The movement of the substrate holder 7 to directly below the vacuum chamber 1 is performed by a rack 7d provided on the outer surface of the side wall portion 7b of the substrate holder 7 and a pinion 33 meshing with the rack 7d. A handle (not shown) is coupled to the shaft 33a of the pinion 33, and a person turns the handle with his / her left and right hands. At that time, the left eye and the right eye are aligned and positioned visually by a person. When the substrate holder 7 comes directly under the vacuum chamber 1, the surface of the upper surface portion (lower surface portion in the figure) 7c of the substrate holder 7 is driven by the drive rod 34a of the linear actuator 34.
Supported by

Next, as shown in FIG. 16, the linear actuator 34 operates and the drive rod 34a rises, whereby the substrate holder 7 itself rises, and the contact portion 7a of the substrate holder 7 and the upper end surface of the vacuum chamber 1 ( The vacuum processing chamber (sputtering chamber) 10 is formed in close contact with the lower end surface 1a in the figure. The sputtering chamber 10 is evacuated by a pump (not shown) through the exhaust port 3, and when the sputtering is completed, the sputtering chamber 10 is vented, and then the drive rod 34a of the linear actuator 34 is lowered to lower the substrate holder 7 and the vacuum chamber 1. The substrate holder 7 is transferred to the next step such as cleaning by manually turning the pinion 33 with the handle again.

According to the sputtering method having the above structure,
Since the vacuum chamber 1 that has completed the sputtering process is in a standby state, it is possible to prepare a plurality of substrate holders 7 and arrange them in a line like a flow work by a belt conveyor so that they are sequentially transferred as described above. Various processing is possible. As a result, it becomes possible to cope with small-lot production of a wide variety of products, and the target substrate can be continuously processed.
Further, since the substrate is set on the bottom surface of the substrate holder 7, there is an effect that the structure of the substrate setting is simplified.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, a wide variety of substrates can be processed with a simple structure.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a vacuum chamber according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a substrate holder of the sputtering device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a view of the substrate holder of FIG. 2 as viewed from below.

FIG. 4 shows the substrate 9 in the substrate holder according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
It is sectional drawing which shows the state which set.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a sputtering device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a substrate holder of a sputtering apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a view of the substrate holder of FIG. 6 as viewed from below.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a substrate holder of a sputtering device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a view of the substrate holder of FIG. 8 as viewed from below.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a substrate holder of a sputtering apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a view of the substrate holder of FIG. 10 as viewed from below.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing a substrate holder of a sputtering apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

13 is a diagram of the substrate holder of FIG. 12 viewed from the lower side.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing one step in a sputtering method according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing one step in a sputtering method according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing one step in a sputtering method according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Vacuum tank 1a Upper end surface 7,15,20 Substrate holder 7a, 15a, 20a Adhesion part 8,17,22,26 Substrate 10 Vacuum processing chamber 31 Prism

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Ken Kawamata Ken 43, 2-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Toshiaki Ikumizu 2-43 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo No. Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Ikeda 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Yoshiki Nitta 2-43 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo No. 2 Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Toshiaki Suzuki 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A part of the substrate holder is formed in a shape that matches the end face of the vacuum chamber, and the substrate holder and the vacuum chamber can be adhered and separated at the matching portion, and the substrate holder and the vacuum chamber are formed by A sputtering apparatus characterized in that a space surrounded by a substrate holder and a vacuum chamber is configured as a vacuum processing chamber separated from the outside air when they are brought into close contact with each other. 2. After mounting the substrate on the substrate holder, the substrate holder is transferred to a vacuum chamber, a part of the substrate holder and the end face of the vacuum chamber are adhered to each other to form a vacuum processing chamber, and then the substrate holder is mounted on the substrate holder. A sputtering method characterized in that a film is formed on the mounted substrate, and then the substrate holder is separated from the vacuum chamber and transferred to the next step.