JPH0248424Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Field of industrial application] This invention is based on the application of aluminum or gold to the front and back surfaces of silicon wafers used in semiconductor integrated circuits such as MOS integrated circuits and LSIs, and metal film low resistance devices. The present invention relates to the structure of an apparatus for forming metal coatings by vacuum evaporation of metals such as metals.

[Conventional technology]

The apparatus is arranged approximately horizontally in a vacuum deposition chamber as a device for simultaneously vacuum evaporating a large number of thin, approximately disk-shaped wafers used for semiconductor integrated circuits, etc., and forming a uniform metal coating on the surface of each wafer. Support bodies having a paraboloid of revolution (hereinafter referred to as planetary bodies) are disposed at appropriate intervals along the revolution orbit on a revolution frame that revolves along a circular orbit rail provided, A structure is known in which each planetary body is configured to rotate and revolve around the rotation axis of its paraboloid of rotation, and a large number of wafers are mounted approximately along the inner surface of each planetary body.

In this case, the prior art Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 53-60381 discloses that the inner surface of the planetary body is designed to lock the edge of a large number of approximately disk-shaped wafers at each location. A pair of locking pawls are provided, and a longitudinal groove is bored in the planetary body so that it approaches between the pair of locking pawls, and the back surface (outer surface) side of the planetary body is bent in a zigzag shape when viewed from above. One end of the formed flat spring body is fixed to the planetary body, the hook portion of the other end of the spring body is made to face the groove, and the hook portion of the other end is locked to one side edge of the wafer. A configuration is disclosed in which the wafer is biased toward the locking claw by a spring force.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] By the way, when replacing a wafer that has been vacuum-deposited with a wafer that has not yet been processed, in order to remove the processed wafer, first move the free end hook of the spring to the outer periphery of the wafer. After pulling the processed wafer radially outward so as to keep it away from the planetary body, and removing the processed wafer in that state, place the unprocessed wafer on the inner surface of the planetary body, and then pull the spring body free of the spring body on the outer periphery of the wafer. It performs the task of locking the end hook.

In this case, in the prior art, the free end hook of the spring body could only move within the longitudinal groove bored in the planetary body, so after removing the processed wafer, the free end hook of the spring body When the tensile force on the part is released, the free end hook part moves in the direction of the radial center of the wafer along the groove. The wafer must be placed on the planetary body again with the free end hook of the spring body stretched along the longitudinal direction of the groove, and this spring tensioning process is performed twice per wafer exchange. This is very troublesome because the tensioning process is repeated several times, and the number of tensioning operations is increased more than necessary, resulting in a shortened lifespan of the spring body.

Furthermore, when the free end hook approaches the fixed side of the spring (so-called free state), the spring body has no elastic force, so the free end hook easily falls off from the groove to the back side of the planetary body. Become,
It is necessary to take measures such as shaping the tip of the free end hook so that it does not slip out of the groove.If the free end hook should slip out of the groove,
There was also the problem that the efficiency of the wafer mounting work was extremely poor because it took time and effort to insert the wafer by wrapping one's hand around the back side of the large planetary body.

The present invention aims to solve these conventional problems.

[Means to solve the problem]

To achieve this objective, the present invention provides an apparatus for performing vacuum deposition on a thin plate-shaped wafer used for electronic components such as semiconductor integrated circuits, with the wafer placed on the inner surface of the planetary body. A plurality of support stands are mounted on the inner surface with appropriate gaps, and locking parts for locking the edge of the wafer at appropriate intervals are provided on the front side of each support stand having a shape larger than the outer diameter of the wafer. , each support is provided with a guide groove that is open on one side of the outer periphery of the support and is elongated in the direction approaching the locking portion, while a guide groove is provided on the back side of each support and is provided at the proximal end. The strands of the spring body with fixed parts are bent on a plane substantially parallel to the back surface of each of the supports so as not to overlap with each other, and the free end hook part of the spring body faces the guide groove. The structure is configured to elastically urge the wafer in the direction of the stop part, and a holding part is provided on the outer periphery of each of the support stands in the vicinity of the guide groove to temporarily lock the free end hook part of the spring body. The configuration is as follows.

〔Example〕

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, reference numeral 2 denotes a vacuum deposition chamber 3 in which a large number of thin, approximately disk-shaped wafers 1 used for semiconductor integrated circuits, etc. are simultaneously processed. An apparatus for forming a uniform metal coating on the surface of each wafer 1 by vacuum deposition is shown, and the apparatus 2 includes an annular revolving orbit rail 4 disposed approximately horizontally in a vacuum evaporation chamber 3, and the revolving orbit. A revolution frame 5 is placed on the rail 4 via a rotating roller 6 and revolves horizontally along it, and a revolution frame 5 is arranged on the inner diameter side of the revolution track rail 4 at appropriate intervals in the revolution frame 5. It consists of a plurality of planetary bodies 7.

The legs 8 (in the embodiment, three legs are provided 120 degrees apart from each other in plan view) projecting downward and diagonally outward from the revolving frame 5 at appropriate intervals.
Each of the rotating rollers 6 is attached so as to be in oblique contact with a corner of the revolution track rail 4 having an upwardly U-shaped cross section at a position near the outer diameter.

The inner surface of each planetary body 7, which is detachably attached to the rotating shaft 9 of each rotating roller 6, is formed into a paraboloid of revolution about the axis of the rotating shaft 9. Therefore, the paraboloid of revolution, which is the inner surface of each planetary body 7, is formed on the inner diameter side of the revolution track rail 4 so as to surround the revolution axis 12 and face diagonally downward.

Further, when the revolution frame 5 is horizontally revolved by the crank arm 11 protruding from the drive shaft 10 disposed above, each of the rotating rollers 6 rolls while contacting the revolution track rail 4, so that each rotation Each planetary body 7 attached to the roller 6 is connected to the revolution axis 1
2, and at the same time rotates around the rotation axis 9 of the rotating roller 6 (see Fig. 3).

On the inner surface of each planetary body 7, support stands 13 are mounted at appropriate intervals for removably mounting a large number of wafers 1 approximately along the paraboloid of revolution of the planetary body 7. A plurality of support columns 14, which are formed into a substantially circular plate shape and protrude from the back surface of each support stand 13, are fixed with screws 15 from the back surface of the planetary body 7.

Each of the support stands 13 is formed to be larger than the outer diameter of the wafer 1 to be placed, and each support stand 13 has a longitudinal guide groove 16 that is open at the outer peripheral edge of one side and extends in the inner diameter direction of the support stand 13. Furthermore, on the surface side of the support table 13 on which each wafer 1 is placed, a plurality of hook-shaped locking parts 17, 17 are provided at the edge facing the guide groove 16. to protrude.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a spring body disposed on the back side of each of the support stands 13 (in the gap between the inner surface of the planetary body 7), and the base end 20 of the spring body 18 is connected to the support stand 13.
The free end hook portion 2 of the spring body 18 is fixed to the back surface or the planetary body 7 with a set screw 19 or the like.
1 facing the guide groove 16, the wafer 1 is elastically biased toward the locking portion 17.

As shown in the plan view of FIG. 6, the spring body 18 is formed by bending the wires in the middle from the base end portion 20 to the free end hook portion 21 alternately in a substantially U-shape on substantially the same plane. . Therefore, as shown in FIG.
0 and the free end hook portion 21, even in their free states, their strands do not overlap with each other and do not become entangled with each other.

The middle portion of the spring body 18 may be bent in a shape in which the wires do not overlap and get entangled with each other in a plan view, for example, in an S-shape or a Z-shape in a plan view.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a free hook portion 21 of the spring body 18 during the work of attaching and detaching the wafer 1 from the support table 13.
The holding part 22 is a holding part for temporarily hanging the free end hook part 21 on the support stand 13, and a recess is formed in the holding part 22 so that the free end hook part 21 can be removably locked and prevent the free end hook part 21 from shifting. ing.

In this configuration, the planetary body 7 removed from the revolving frame 5 is placed on a workbench with its inner surface facing upward, and the free end hook portion 21 of the spring body 18 is picked with tweezers or the like to remove it from the processed wafer 1 and removed from the holding portion. After temporarily hooking on 22,
A wafer 1 to be subjected to vacuum evaporation treatment (a part of the disk is cut out in a straight line) is placed on the support table 13 so that appropriate parts of its circumferential edge are in contact with the locking parts 17, 17 on the surface. Then, the free end hook portion 21 of the spring body 18 is picked again with tweezers and the wafer 1 is placed along the guide groove 16 in the support base 13.
When the wafer 1 is locked to one side edge, the elasticity of the spring body 18 presses the wafer 1 in the direction of the locking parts 17, 17, and in the embodiment, the edge of the disc-shaped wafer 1 is
Can be locked at a point.

After the wafer 1 is mounted on each support stand 13 in this way, the planetary body 7 is fitted from below onto the rotating shaft 9 of each rotating roller 6 in the revolving frame 5, and is fixed here with a locking pin or the like so that it cannot be removed. After the preparation is completed, a predetermined metal is evaporated while the planetary body 7 revolves and rotates in the vacuum deposition chamber 3, and a metal coating is formed on the surface of each wafer 1.

In this way, the spring body 18 for holding the wafer 1 in position is connected to the inner surface of the planetary body 7 and to each support table 1.
Since it is located in the gap between 3 and the back side, the spring body 1
8 is not exposed on the back surface side of the planetary body 7, and therefore, even if the back surface of the planetary body 7 inadvertently comes into contact with a mating member when the planetary body 7 is attached to and detached from the revolving frame 5, The spring body 18 is the wafer 1
Accidents such as the spring body 18 coming off or damaging the spring body 18 itself are also eliminated.

[Functions and effects of the invention]

As described above, according to the present invention, the spring body 18 for holding the wafer 1 in position is connected to the planetary body 7.
Since the spring body 18 is located in the gap between the inner surface and the back surface of each support stand 13, the spring body 18 is not exposed to the back surface side of the planetary body 7, and therefore, the wafer 1 can be placed on the inner surface side of the planetary body 7 with an appropriate gap. When vacuum evaporation is performed while the planetary body 7 is placed on the surface of the supporting base 13 mounted at a distance, when the planetary body 7 is attached to and detached from the revolution frame 5, the back surface of the planetary body 7 may inadvertently come into contact with the other member. Therefore, accidents such as the spring body 18 coming off from the wafer 1 or damage to the spring body 18 itself can be eliminated.

Further, the wires at the bent portions of the spring body 18 disposed on the back surface of the support base 13 are connected to the support base 13.
3.Since the wires are bent so as not to overlap each other on a plane substantially parallel to the back surface, the wires do not become bulkier than the diameter of the wires like helical springs or coil springs, and even when the spring body 18 expands and contracts. Since it is sufficient to have a gap approximately the diameter of the strands on the back side of the support base, there is no need to increase the gap size between the support base 13 and the member supporting it, and a large number of support bases 13 can be rotated freely. When supported by the planetary body 7 having an object surface, the spacing between adjacent support stands 13 can be narrowed, and as a result, the planetary body 7 can be made smaller and the entire apparatus can be made more compact.

Also, when the free end hook portion 21 of the spring body 18 is pinched to expand and contract against the elasticity of the bent portion during the operation of attaching and detaching the thin plate-like wafer 1 on the support table 13 as described above, the spring body 18 The strands of wires do not get entangled with each other.

Moreover, when removing the processed wafer 1 from the support stand 13, the free end hook portion 2 of the spring body 18 is
1 to the outer periphery of the support base 13 along the guide groove 16, the free end hook portion 21 is attached to the holding portion 22 near the guide groove 16 on the outer periphery of the support base 13.
If the spring body 18 is temporarily locked, the spring body 18 is always in a tensioned state, and the wires of the spring body 18 do not become entangled with each other, so there is no need to untangle them.

Furthermore, since the holding portion 22 for temporarily holding the free end hook portion 21 of the spring body 18 in position is always located outside the outer edge of the wafer 1 placed on the surface of the support table 13, the spring body 18 The free end hook portion 21 of the spring body 18 can immediately place the unprocessed wafer 1 on the surface of the support table 13 without moving the free end hook portion 21 again.
The number of times the wafer is moved can be reduced, and there is no need to perform unstable work such as replacing the wafer 1 with one hand while holding the free end hook 21 in position with one hand.

Therefore, according to the present invention, there is no need for unnecessary work in handling the spring body during wafer attachment/detachment work, the durability of the spring body can be improved, and the efficiency of wafer attachment/detachment work can be greatly improved. This has the remarkable effect of improving performance.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a plan view of a support base on which a wafer is placed, FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view, FIG. 5 is a plan view of the planetary body, and FIG. 6 is a plan view of the spring body in its free state. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Wafer, 2... Apparatus, 3... Vacuum deposition chamber, 4... Revolution orbit rail, 5... Revolution frame, 6...
... Rotating roller, 7 ... Planetary body, 13 ... Support stand, 14 ... Support column, 15 ... Screw, 16 ... Guide groove, 17, 17 ... Locking part, 18 ... Spring body, 1
9... Set screw, 20... Base end portion, 21... Free end hook portion, 22... Holding portion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In an apparatus that vacuum evaporates thin plate-shaped wafers used for electronic components such as semiconductor integrated circuits while being placed on the inner surface of a planetary body, a plurality of supports are provided at appropriate intervals on the inner surface of the planetary body. Each support stand having a shape larger than the outer diameter of the wafer is provided with locking portions for locking the edge of the wafer at appropriate intervals on the front side of each support stand, and each support stand has a
A spring body is provided with a longitudinal guide groove that is open on one side outer peripheral edge of the support base and extends in a direction approaching the locking portion, and is disposed on the back side of each support base to fix the base end. The strands are bent so as not to overlap each other on a plane substantially parallel to the back surface of each of the support tables, and the free end hook portion of the spring body is made to face the guide groove, and the wafer is elastically moved in the direction of the locking portion. While the support base is constructed to be biased, a holding portion is provided on the outer periphery of each of the support stands in the vicinity of the guide groove to temporarily lock the free end hook portion of the spring body. Wafer support device in vacuum evaporation equipment for electronic components.