JPH10308383A - Vacuum processor and driving method for vacuum processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum processor capable of preventing the damage on a pressure gage and improving a working rate. SOLUTION: In a vacuum processor 1 provided with a vacuum processing chamber 11 and a pressure gage 12 for measuring a pressure inside the vacuum processing chamber 11, a comparison pressure gage 13 is provided in the vacuum processing chamber 11 through a stop valve 17, a leakage means 19 is provided between the stop valve 17 and the comparison pressure gage 13, and an inert gas introduction pipe 20 is connected between the stop valve 17 and the comparison pressure gage 13. To the pressure gage 12 and the comparison pressure gage 13, an alarm part such as an alarm lamp 14d and an alarm buzzer 14e, etc., for annunciating an alarm in the case that the difference pressure of the pressure measured by the pressure gage 12 and the pressure measured by the comparison pressure gage 13 exceeds a set value is connected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a vacuum processing apparatus and a method for driving the vacuum processing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an etching apparatus used for manufacturing a semiconductor device, the kind of gas introduced into a vacuum processing chamber, the gas flow rate,
Quantitative etching of the non-processed substrate is performed by optimizing parameters such as gas pressure and applied voltage in the vacuum processing chamber. In particular, control of gas pressure in a vacuum processing chamber is an important parameter for performing etching with good reproducibility.

[0003] Therefore, in a vacuum processing apparatus such as the above-mentioned etching apparatus which requires accurate pressure control in a vacuum processing chamber, a pressure gauge for measuring the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber is provided. In order to perform accurate pressure control in the vacuum processing chamber, periodic inspection of the pressure gauge is indispensable. Therefore, when driving the vacuum processing apparatus, in addition to the step of processing the non-processed substrate in the vacuum processing chamber maintained in a vacuum state at a predetermined pressure using the pressure gauge, the vacuum processing chamber is opened to the atmosphere. The process of checking the above pressure gauge is performed in a state where the pressure gauge is kept.

[0004]

However, in the vacuum processing apparatus, every time the pressure gauge is checked, the vacuum processing chamber changes from a vacuum state to an atmospheric pressure state. For this reason, the pressure gauge is subjected to a large pressure fluctuation, which is a factor that causes a failure of the pressure gauge. Especially,
In a vacuum processing apparatus such as the above-described etching apparatus using a reactive gas in a vacuum processing chamber, a capacitance manometer which is hardly affected by corrosion by the reactive gas is used as a pressure gauge. This capacitance manometer is more susceptible to the above-mentioned pressure fluctuation and more expensive than other pressure gauges. Therefore, in the etching apparatus, a large cost is required for maintenance and management of the pressure gauge.

[0005] When the pressure gauge is inspected, the non-processed substrate cannot be processed in the vacuum processing chamber. In addition, it takes a certain amount of time to reduce the pressure of the vacuum processing chamber opened to the atmospheric pressure again to a predetermined vacuum state. This causes a reduction in the operation rate of the vacuum processing apparatus.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vacuum processing apparatus comprising a vacuum processing chamber and a pressure gauge for measuring a pressure in the vacuum processing chamber. It is characterized by having provided. The comparative pressure gauge is provided in the vacuum processing chamber via an on-off valve, and a leak unit is provided between the on-off valve and the comparative pressure gauge. Further, an inert gas introduction pipe was connected between the on-off valve and the comparative pressure gauge. Further, the pressure gauge and the comparative pressure gauge of the vacuum processing apparatus were connected to an alarm unit for issuing an alarm when the pressure difference between the measured pressures exceeded a set value.

In the vacuum processing apparatus, when the on-off valve is closed and the leak means is opened, the comparative pressure gauge is opened to the atmospheric pressure independently of the vacuum processing chamber provided with the pressure gauge. Is done. For this reason, the calibration of the comparative pressure gauge is performed at atmospheric pressure without affecting the pressure gauge for measuring the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber due to the fluctuation in atmospheric pressure. When the on-off valve is open, the comparative manometer is exposed to the same pressure as in the vacuum processing chamber. For this reason, the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber is measured by the pressure gauge and the comparative pressure gauge. Therefore, the pressure gauge is checked by comparing the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber measured by the accurately calibrated comparative pressure gauge with the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber measured by the pressure gauge.

Further, by connecting the inert gas introduction pipe between the on-off valve and the comparative pressure gauge, the comparative pressure gauge is exposed to the inert gas. When the on-off valve is open, an inert gas is introduced into the vacuum processing chamber from the inert gas introduction pipe. This prevents the gas in the vacuum processing chamber from affecting the comparative pressure gauge. Then, by connecting an alarm unit that issues an alarm when the differential pressure of each pressure measured by the pressure gauge and the comparative pressure gauge exceeds a set value, a measurement abnormality of the pressure gauge or the comparative pressure gauge is alerted. .

Further, a method for driving a vacuum processing apparatus according to the present invention is a method for driving a vacuum processing apparatus having the above configuration. That is,
By opening the leaking means after closing the on-off valve, the comparative pressure gauge is opened to the atmospheric pressure and the comparative pressure gauge is calibrated. By opening the on-off valve, the comparative pressure gauge is exposed to the same pressure state as the vacuum processing chamber, and the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber is measured by the pressure gauge and the comparative pressure gauge. Then, the pressure gauges are checked by comparing the measured pressures.

In the driving method of the vacuum processing apparatus, the calibration of the comparative pressure gauge is performed at the atmospheric pressure without affecting the pressure gauge for measuring the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber. Inspection of the pressure gauge is performed by comparing a measured pressure value with a comparative pressure gauge. Therefore, the pressure gauge is checked without releasing the pressure gauge to the atmospheric pressure.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a vacuum processing apparatus and a method of driving the vacuum processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a vacuum processing apparatus of the present invention applied to an etching apparatus used in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device. Note that the present invention is not limited to application to an etching apparatus, but is widely applied to a vacuum processing apparatus used in a process other than a film forming apparatus or a semiconductor device manufacturing process that requires a pressure gauge to be inspected. You can do it.

As shown in the figure, this vacuum processing apparatus 1
A vacuum processing chamber 11, a pressure gauge 12, a comparative pressure gauge 13,
An inspection panel 14 is provided.

The vacuum processing chamber 11 is used for etching a substrate to be processed inside the vacuum processing chamber 11.
And the reactive gas introducing means 16 are connected. Although not shown here, a preliminary exhaust chamber for carrying the non-processed substrate into the vacuum processing chamber 11 is connected.

The pressure gauge 12 is connected to the vacuum processing chamber 11.
It is provided in communication with the vacuum processing chamber 11 in a state where the internal pressure is measured. As the pressure gauge 12, for example, a capacitance manometer that is hardly affected by corrosion by a reactive gas is used. The control unit of the vacuum processing apparatus 1 not shown here is provided with the pressure gauge 12.
Is configured to be transmitted.

Further, the comparative pressure gauge 13 is provided in a state of measuring the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber 11 and communicating with the vacuum processing chamber 11 via a pipe 18 provided with an on-off valve 17. As the comparative pressure gauge 13, an inexpensive pressure gauge such as a Pirani gauge or another pressure gauge is used. In addition, a pipe 18 between the comparative pressure gauge 13 and the on-off valve 17 is provided with an inert gas introduction pipe 20 through an on-off valve 19.
Is connected. As the gas introduced from the inert gas introduction pipe 20, for example, a nitrogen (N ₂ ) gas is used.

When a corrosive reactive gas is not used for the processing in the vacuum processing chamber 11, it is not always necessary to provide the inert gas introduction pipe 20. Further, here, the on-off valve 19 is a leak means described in the claims.
Therefore, here, the on-off valve 19 is referred to as leak means 19.
However, this leak means 19 is provided with an inert gas introduction pipe 20.
May be provided in the pipe 18 separately from the on-off valve 19.

The inspection panel 14 includes the pressure gauge 1
The pressure gauge 12 is connected to the pressure gauge 12 and the pressure gauge 13 so that the pressure measured by the pressure gauge 2 and the pressure measured by the pressure gauge 13 are received. The inspection panel 14 has display portions 14a and 14b for displaying the received pressures, a differential pressure display portion 14c for displaying the differential pressure between the received pressures, and a pressure difference exceeding a predetermined value. Alarm lamp 1 that issues an alarm in case
4d, an alarm buzzer 14e, and a differential pressure setting dial 14f for setting the predetermined value are provided.

In this case, the alarm lamp 14d and the alarm buzzer 14e constitute an alarm section. This alarm unit may be only one of the alarm lamp 14d and the alarm buzzer 14e, or may be another alarm unit.

In the vacuum processing apparatus 1 having the above configuration, the on-off valve 1
When the pressure gauge 7 is closed and the leak means 19 is opened, the comparative pressure gauge 13 is released from the vacuum state independently of the vacuum processing chamber 11 in which the pressure gauge 12 is provided. For this reason,
The comparative pressure gauge 13 can be removed and the comparative pressure gauge 13 can be calibrated without affecting the pressure gauge 12 for measuring the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber 11 due to the fluctuation of the atmospheric pressure. Also,
When the on-off valve 17 is open, the comparative pressure gauge 13 is exposed to the same pressure as in the vacuum processing chamber 11. For this reason,
The vacuum processing chamber 11 is controlled by the pressure gauge 12 and the comparative pressure gauge 13.
The pressure inside is measured. Therefore, by comparing the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber 11 measured by the accurately calibrated comparative pressure gauge 13 with the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber 11 measured by the pressure gauge 12, the inspection of the pressure gauge 12 is performed. Is performed.

Further, by connecting the inert gas introduction pipe 20 between the on-off valve 17 and the comparative pressure gauge 13, the comparative pressure gauge 13 is exposed to the reactive gas introduced into the vacuum processing chamber 11. And can be protected with an inert gas. For this reason, even if a pressure gauge, such as a Pirani gauge, which is easily affected by corrosion by a reactive gas is used as the comparative pressure gauge 13, the corrosion can be suppressed. An alarm unit such as an alarm lamp 14d or an alarm buzzer 14e for issuing an alarm when the differential pressure of each pressure measured by the pressure gauge 12 and the comparative pressure gauge 13 exceeds a set value is provided.
Is alarmed.

Hereinafter, an example of a method of driving the vacuum processing apparatus having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. First, in the initial state, the vacuum processing chamber 11 is provided with a pressure gauge 12 and a comparison pressure gauge 13 which are verified to be capable of accurately measuring pressure by inspection and calibration.

Next, the non-processed substrate is etched using the vacuum processing apparatus 1. In this case, first, the inside of the vacuum processing chamber 11 is evacuated by the exhaust means 15 and the on-off valve 17 is closed. Then, the non-processing substrate is introduced into the vacuum processing chamber 11 from the pre-evacuation chamber in a reduced pressure state. Next, if necessary, the inside of the vacuum processing chamber 11 is further depressurized to a predetermined vacuum state while measuring the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber 11 using the pressure gauge 12, and then the vacuum is supplied from the reactive gas introducing means 16. A reactive gas is introduced into the processing chamber 11 to etch the non-processed substrate. At this time, while measuring the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber 11 using the pressure gauge 12,
The inside of the vacuum processing chamber 11 is maintained at a predetermined pressure. After the etching process is completed, the non-processed substrate is removed from the vacuum processing chamber 1.
1 to the preliminary exhaust chamber.

Next, the pressure gauge 12 is checked. Here, first, the differential pressure setting dial 14f of the display panel 14
Then, the minimum value (predetermined value) of the differential pressure at which an alarm is generated by the alarm lamp 14d and the alarm buzzer 14e is set. For example,
The set pressure for performing the etching process is 10 Pa,
When the allowable variation is ± 1 Pa, the differential pressure setting dial 1
The predetermined value is set to 1 Pa at 4f. Thereafter, the on-off valve 17 is opened to expose the comparative pressure gauge 13 to the same pressure state as that of the vacuum processing chamber 11, and the vacuum processing chamber 11 is connected to an inert gas introduction pipe (not shown) to perform vacuum processing. An inert gas is introduced into the chamber 11. In addition, piping 18
An inert gas is also introduced from an inert gas introduction pipe 20 connected to the above, so that the reactive gas in the vacuum processing chamber 11 is not supplied to the comparative pressure gauge 13. Then, the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber 11 at a predetermined set pressure state is measured by the pressure gauge 12 and the comparative pressure gauge 13 while adjusting the amount of the inert gas introduced and the amount of exhaust from the exhaust means 15.

If the alarm lamp 14d and the alarm buzzer 14e do not generate an alarm in each set pressure state, that is, if the pressure difference between the pressure gauge 12 and the comparison pressure gauge 13 does not exceed a predetermined value, The pressure gauge 12 is normal and judges that accurate pressure measurement within ± 1 Pa is possible.

On the other hand, the alarm lamp 14d and the alarm buzzer 1
If an alarm is issued at 4e, that is, if the pressure difference between the pressure gauge 12 and the comparison pressure gauge 13 exceeds a predetermined value, the pressure gauge 12 is abnormal and accurate pressure measurement within ± 1 Pa is not possible. Determine that it is possible. At this time, by providing the differential pressure display section 14c, it is confirmed which deviation of the measured pressure occurs at which pressure.

If the pressure gauge 12 is determined to be normal by the above inspection, the non-processed substrate is etched in the vacuum processing chamber 11 using the pressure gauge 12. On the other hand, if the pressure gauge 12 is determined to be abnormal by the above inspection, the pressure gauge 12 is calibrated. In this case, after the inside of the vacuum processing chamber 11 is released to the atmospheric pressure, the pressure gauge 12 is removed from the vacuum processing chamber 11 and the pressure gauge 12 is calibrated.

Next, the comparative pressure gauge 13 is calibrated. Here, first, the comparison manometer 13 is opened to the atmospheric pressure by opening the leak means 19 after the on-off valve 17 is closed, and then the comparison manometer 13 is removed in this state.
Calibration of. At this time, the comparative pressure gauge 13 is replaced as needed.

In the driving method of the vacuum processing apparatus, the calibration of the comparative pressure gauge 13 is performed at the atmospheric pressure without affecting the pressure gauge 12 for measuring the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber 11 due to the atmospheric pressure fluctuation. Inspection of the pressure gauge 12 is performed by comparing a measured pressure value with a comparative pressure gauge 13. For this reason, the pressure gauge 12 is inspected without opening to the atmospheric pressure, and the pressure gauge 12 can be prevented from being damaged due to exposure to atmospheric pressure fluctuation. Therefore, a pressure gauge 1 using a capacitance manometer, which is expensive and vulnerable to atmospheric pressure fluctuation,
2 can be prevented, and only the comparative pressure gauge 13 using an inexpensive Pirani gauge is exposed to the atmospheric pressure fluctuation at the time of calibration, so that the maintenance cost of the pressure gauge 12 and the comparative pressure gauge 13 can be reduced.

Further, in the step of calibrating the comparative pressure gauge 13, the inside of the vacuum processing chamber 11 is kept in a vacuum state. From this, in parallel with the calibration of the comparative pressure gauge 13,
In the vacuum processing chamber 11, the non-processed substrate can be etched. Further, since the number of times of opening the inside of the vacuum processing chamber 11 to the atmospheric pressure is reduced, the time for returning the inside of the vacuum processing chamber 11 to a vacuum state is saved. Therefore, the operation rate of the vacuum processing device 1 can be improved.

FIG. 2 shows a modification of the above embodiment.
In the vacuum processing apparatus 1 ′ shown in this figure, an electromagnetic valve is used as the on-off valve 17 between the vacuum processing chamber 11 and the comparative pressure gauge 13. An on / off switch (not shown) for the on-off valve 17 is provided on the display panel 14, and a pipe 18 is provided.
Is provided with a flow control means (for example, a mass flow controller) 21 in an inert gas introduction pipe 20 connected to the apparatus. Then, an inert gas introduction pipe 20 is provided on the display panel 14.
A control unit (not shown) is provided for controlling the amount of inert gas introduced from the vacuum chamber and the amount of exhaust from the exhaust means 15 of the vacuum processing chamber 11.

In the vacuum processing apparatus 1 'having the above structure,
The on-off valve 17 is automatically opened and closed by one switch on the display panel 14. Even when the vacuum processing chamber 11 is not provided with an inert gas introduction pipe, a predetermined amount of inert gas is supplied from the inert gas introduction pipe 20 connected to the pipe 18 when the pressure gauge 12 is checked. The inside of the vacuum processing chamber 11 can be brought to a predetermined inert gas pressure by introducing a gas.

In the above embodiment and its modifications,
The case where one comparative pressure gauge is provided in one vacuum processing chamber has been described. However, the vacuum processing apparatus of the present invention may have a configuration in which one comparative pressure gauge is shared by a plurality of vacuum processing chambers by connecting pipes.

[0033]

As described above, according to the vacuum processing apparatus of the present invention,
By providing a comparative pressure gauge via an on-off valve separately from the pressure gauge in the vacuum processing chamber, the comparative pressure gauge can be opened to atmospheric pressure while the pressure gauge is kept in a vacuum state, or the pressure gauge and the comparative pressure gauge can be used together. Can be exposed to the pressure state of the vacuum processing chamber. Therefore, according to the vacuum processing apparatus and the method for driving the vacuum processing apparatus of the present invention using the vacuum processing apparatus, the calibration is performed by opening the comparative pressure gauge to the atmospheric pressure while the pressure gauge is kept in a vacuum state. By comparing with the comparative pressure gauge, the pressure gauge can be inspected without imposing a large load of pressure fluctuation.
Therefore, the life of the pressure gauge is improved, and the cost for maintenance and management of the pressure gauge can be reduced by using a comparative pressure gauge which is cheaper than the pressure gauge. Further, even when checking the pressure gauge, the vacuum processing chamber is kept in a vacuum state so that the processing of the non-processed substrate can be performed, and the time required to change the vacuum processing chamber from the atmospheric pressure state to the vacuum state can be saved, so that the vacuum processing apparatus is The operation rate can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a vacuum processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a modified example of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,1 'vacuum processing apparatus 11 vacuum processing chamber 12
Pressure gauge 13 Comparative pressure gauge 14d Alarm lamp (alarm unit) 14e Alarm buzzer (alarm unit) 17 On-off valve 1
9 Leakage means 20 Inlet pipe

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A vacuum processing apparatus comprising: a vacuum processing chamber; and a pressure gauge for measuring a pressure in the vacuum processing chamber, wherein the vacuum processing chamber is provided with a comparative pressure gauge via an on-off valve; A vacuum means provided between the valve and the comparative manometer. 2. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an inert gas introduction pipe is connected between the on-off valve and the comparative pressure gauge. 3. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a differential pressure between a pressure measured by the pressure gauge and a pressure measured by the comparison pressure gauge is set in the pressure gauge and the comparative pressure gauge. A vacuum processing device, characterized in that an alarm unit for issuing an alarm when the value is exceeded is connected. 4. A vacuum processing chamber, a pressure gauge for measuring a pressure in the vacuum processing chamber, a comparative pressure gauge provided in the vacuum processing chamber via an on-off valve, the on-off valve and the comparative pressure gauge. A method for driving a vacuum processing apparatus having a leak unit provided between the control unit, wherein the comparative manometer is opened to the atmospheric pressure by opening the leak unit after closing the on-off valve, Performing a calibration, exposing the comparative pressure gauge to the same pressure state as the vacuum processing chamber by opening the on-off valve, and measuring the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber with the pressure gauge and the comparative pressure gauge. A step of comparing the pressures in the vacuum processing chamber measured by the pressure gauge and the comparative pressure gauge to check the pressure gauge, and performing a check.