JPH0444613Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention mainly relates to a film forming apparatus that forms a thin film on a substrate while introducing a reactive gas into a vacuum chamber.

[Conventional technology] In recent film formation by vacuum evaporation or sputtering, the purpose of forming a thin film of oxide or compound on a substrate is to create a film in a vacuum chamber during film formation.
Actively introducing reactive gases such as O ₂ is being carried out.

When carrying out such reactive vacuum deposition, etc., the vacuum chamber is first evacuated to a high vacuum, and then a reactive gas is continuously introduced into the chamber from the outside, while being controlled at an appropriate rate from the exhaust port. The chamber must be continuously evacuated to maintain the reactive gas within the chamber at a predetermined film-forming pressure level. For this reason, in reactive vacuum evaporation equipment and reactive sputtering equipment that introduce reactive gases to form films, conductance is added to the exhaust system so that the exhaust speed within the chamber can be freely adjusted depending on the purpose and timing of the exhaust. A variable mechanism is added.

To explain this specifically, first, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the conductance of the main valve 10 is inserted into the exhaust path 9 that connects the exhaust port 8 of the vacuum chamber 1 to the vacuum pump (not shown). The case where a variable adjustment valve is used is shown. In this case, main valve 1
When chamber 1 is evacuated to a high vacuum before the start of film deposition, the valve opening is fully opened, and during film formation when reactive gas is introduced into chamber 1, it is appropriately narrowed down, and further operation is performed. This is fully closed when stopped.

Furthermore, in the system shown in FIG. 5, a bypass path 11 is provided in the exhaust path 9, and a switching valve 12 and a regulating valve 13 are interposed in this bypass path 11. In this case, the exhaust system is The main valve 7 is provided with full-open and full-close functions, and the regulating valve 13 in the bypass path 11 is provided with the ability to adjust the exhaust speed.

Furthermore, in the one shown in FIG. 6, a regulating valve 13 is provided on the downstream side of the main valve 10 in the exhaust passage 9, and the exhaust speed of the exhaust passage 9 is varied by this regulating valve 13. In each figure, 6 indicates a gas introduction path for introducing a reactive gas into the vacuum chamber 1 from an external supply source, and 7 indicates a gas introduction valve interposed in this gas introduction path 6.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, all of the conventional exhaust systems listed above have the following drawbacks or problems.
First, in the case of the one shown in Fig. 4, the main valve 10 must have a fine flow rate adjustment function in addition to the fully closed and fully open functions, and for this reason, a large and structurally complex valve is used for the main valve 10. There are things you have to do. On the other hand, in the one shown in FIG.
etc. can be installed in a circuit with a small flow path area such as a small-diameter duct, so the regulating valve 13 etc. can be made smaller, but on the other hand, it is still complicated due to the addition of the bypass path 11 and the increase in the number of valves used. be. Furthermore, in the system shown in Fig. 6, the exhaust path 9 (a large-diameter duct, etc. is used because it is necessary to ensure the exhaust speed when fully opened) is similar to the system shown in Fig. 4.
Since the regulating valve 13 is interposed between the two, the regulating valve 13 becomes large and complicated, and it is difficult to control the conductance. As described above, the exhaust system attached to the current reactive vacuum evaporation apparatus and the like inevitably becomes larger and more complicated in terms of the structure of valves, the number of valves, the number of circuits, etc.

In consideration of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has been developed to improve the exhaust system of film deposition equipment, such as reactive vacuum evaporation equipment, which requires a mechanism to vary the exhaust speed from the vacuum chamber, into a smaller and simpler structure. This is what I am trying to do.

[Means for Solving the Problems] As a means for achieving the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a movable adhesion-preventing baffle at the exhaust port of the vacuum chamber that changes the exhaust speed of the exhaust port. It is characterized by

In this type of film forming apparatus, for example, a vacuum evaporation apparatus, as shown in FIG. In order to prevent evaporated matter from adhering to the inner circumference of the chamber 1 and its exhaust port 8, an anti-adhesive plate 4 is installed on the former and an anti-adhesive bumper 5 is installed on the latter, in order to prevent evaporated matter from adhering to the inner wall of the chamber and the piping of the exhaust system. It is customary to keep it. Therefore, in this invention, we focused on the existence of the existing adhesion prevention buttful 5 installed at the exhaust port 8 of the vacuum chamber 1, and made it movable so that the conductance of the exhaust port 5 could be adjusted. I have to.

[Function] In other words, in a film forming apparatus equipped with a movable anti-adhesive buffle according to the present invention, when the anti-adhesive baffle at the exhaust port is operated to increase the angle of inclination with respect to the exhaust port, this protection is prevented. The evacuation resistance of the flow path created by the exhaust gas increases, and the evacuation speed from the vacuum chamber can be reduced. Further, by operating the anti-adhesive buffle so as to reduce its inclination angle with respect to the exhaust port, the exhaust resistance of the flow path is reduced and the exhaust speed from the vacuum chamber can be increased. and,
During film formation in a vacuum chamber, where it is necessary to reduce the pumping speed to a small level, the slope of the anti-fouling buffle relative to the exhaust port is set to be large, so the anti-fouling buffle prevents the deposition particles from diffusing into the exhaust system. The effect will also be ensured.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an outline of a reactive vacuum evaporation apparatus shown in comparison with that of FIG. 7, and in the figure, 1 indicates a vacuum chamber. This vacuum chamber 1
An evaporation source 2 and a substrate 3 are disposed facing each other inside the chamber, and an anti-adhesion plate 4 is installed on the inner periphery of the chamber, and an anti-adhesion buffle 5 is installed on the exhaust port 8. and,
A gas introduction path 6 for introducing a desired reactive gas into one side of the vacuum chamber 1 is connected via a switching valve 7.

As shown in FIG. 2, the adhesion-preventing baffle 5 includes a large number of buffle elements 14 arranged in parallel at equal intervals and arranged in an overlapping manner so as to cover the front side of the exhaust port 8. It will be done. The angle of inclination of each buff-full element 14 with respect to the exhaust port 8 can be varied simultaneously by the mechanism shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. That is, in this case, each buttful element 14 supports a plate-shaped buttful body 14a on its base end side by supporting shaft 14.
b, and one end of each of these support shafts 14b is rotatably supported by a bearing 15, while a pinion 16 is provided at the other end of each support shaft 14b, and the pinion row 16 formed by the buttful elements 14... …
... are engaged with a movable rack 17 provided within the exhaust port 8 so as to be able to reciprocate. The movable rack 17 is operated via a rod 19 that is hermetically inserted into the exhaust port 8 from a drive source 18 (or a manual lever, etc.) such as an air cylinder disposed outside.

This reactive vacuum evaporation apparatus has the same exhaust system configuration as that of the conventional vacuum evaporation apparatus, except that a movable anti-deposition baffle 5 is installed at the exhaust port 8. It consists of a simple mechanism that only requires a main valve 10.

If the vacuum evaporation apparatus is equipped with a movable anti-adhesion baffle 5 that extends over the exhaust port 8 of the vacuum chamber 1, it will be difficult to adjust the exhaust speed during film formation.
The movable rack 17 may be moved downward to give each buffling element 14 an appropriate inclination angle with respect to the exhaust port 8, as shown in FIG. 3a. That is, by doing this, the Batsuful elements 14, 14
The evacuation resistance of the flow path 20 created between the two is increased, the evacuation speed can be appropriately suppressed, and the film forming pressure within the chamber 1 into which the reactive gas is introduced can be arbitrarily adjusted and set. During film formation, the deposition prevention baffle 5 makes the exhaust port 8 optically opaque when viewed from the inside of the vacuum chamber 1, as shown in FIG. The anti-adhesion effect is also effectively exhibited.

On the other hand, as at the start of evacuation of vacuum chamber 1,
When high pumping speed is required, moveable rack 1
7 upward to adjust each buffful element 14 to a position parallel to the axial direction of the exhaust port 8 as shown in FIG. 3b. Then, at this time, the exhaust resistance of the flow path 20 created between the buffing elements 14, 14 is reduced, and the necessary exhaust speed can be ensured.

As described above, according to the reactive vacuum evaporation apparatus provided with the movable deposition-preventing buffle 5 according to the present invention, the downstream side of the exhaust path 9 can be The exhaust speed can be varied in the same manner as by adjusting the opening degree of the regulating valve provided in the valve. Therefore, the exhaust system attached to the vacuum chamber 1 only needs to be equipped with the main valve 10, similar to conventional vacuum evaporation equipment that does not require variable exhaust speed, and requires no additional valves or circuits. This makes it possible to avoid increasing the size and complexity of the exhaust system.

In the above embodiment, a pinion/lack mechanism is used as a movable mechanism for the buffle element 14, but any other suitable mechanism may be used as long as the inclination angle of the buffle element 14 can be freely changed. be able to.

In addition, although the vacuum evaporation equipment was explained as an example,
The present invention can be similarly applied to a reactive sputtering device or the like that introduces a reactive gas into a vacuum chamber. Furthermore, although it is particularly effective in the case of a film forming apparatus that introduces a reactive gas, it is also possible to extend the application to film forming apparatuses in general, not limited to this type of apparatus. This means that, in general, the stricter the anti-adhesive baffle in a film forming apparatus, the greater the exhaust resistance, which is effective as a solution to the problem that has been a hindrance to high vacuum evacuation before film forming. In other words, by applying the anti-stick baffle according to the present invention, it is possible to move it to a fully open position when necessary to ensure sufficient exhaust conductance.

[Effects of the invention] As explained above, in the present invention, a movable adhesion-preventing baffle is installed at the exhaust port of the vacuum chamber, and its exhaust resistance can be freely changed. It is applied to a film forming apparatus that introduces a reactive gas, and is effective in simplifying the exhaust system.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a vacuum evaporation apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an enlarged view taken in the direction of arrow A in Fig. 1, and Figs. 3 a and b show the operation of the same essential parts. This is an enlarged view. FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6 are all explanatory diagrams showing the exhaust system structure of the reactive film forming apparatus. FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an outline of a vacuum evaporation apparatus in which no reactive gas is introduced. 1... Vacuum chamber, 5... Anti-fouling, 8
...Exhaust port, 9...Exhaust route, 10...Main valve, 1
4... Bought full element, 14a... Bought full body, 14b... Support shaft, 16... Pinion, 17
... Movable rack, 18 ... Drive source, 20 ... Channel.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A film forming apparatus characterized in that a movable adhesion-preventing buffle is provided at an exhaust port of a vacuum chamber to vary the pumping speed of the exhaust port.