JPH0734011Y2 - Moving film forming equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial application] The present invention relates to a moving film forming apparatus for forming a film on a substrate by a sputtering method or the like.

[Conventional technology]

For example, in a moving film forming apparatus such as sputtering, a moving film forming method is used to attach a substance from a target to a large-area substrate. This transfer film formation method is
While moving the substrate to a position facing the target, electric discharge is caused between the target and the substrate to form a film on the substrate.

At this time, a transfer mechanism is used to move the substrate. The transport mechanism is usually a roller provided in the chamber,
It is composed of a drive system including a motor and a gear mechanism for driving the rollers, and a substrate cart on which a substrate is placed and moves on the rollers.

[Problems to be solved by the device]

In the moving film forming apparatus for carrying out the above-mentioned moving film forming,
In order to make the film thickness distribution formed on the substrate uniform, it is necessary to make the moving speed of the substrate, that is, the carrying speed uniform. However, in the conventional transfer mechanism using rollers, the transfer speed of the substrate changes due to friction and sliding of the rollers, and it is difficult to make the film thickness distribution uniform.

Therefore, it has been proposed that the roller on the chamber side is composed of a pinion, and a rack that meshes with this is provided on the substrate cart side so that slippage during transport is eliminated by meshing the rack and pinion to make the substrate transport speed uniform. But,
Since the drive system such as the motor and the gear mechanism is provided for each chamber, when the substrate cart is moved between the adjacent chambers, the phase of the gear system does not match, and the transfer at the time of movement is not smooth, There was also the problem that mistakes occurred.

Therefore, a mechanism for synchronizing each drive system of the adjacent chambers is required, but these mechanisms usually require a clutch and a synchronizing mechanism for synchronization, which makes the apparatus very complicated. There was a problem.

An object of the present invention is to transfer a substrate cart using a rack and a pinion, and to provide a moving film forming apparatus equipped with a substrate transfer mechanism capable of smoothly transferring between adjacent chambers with a simple mechanism. To provide.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

A moving film forming apparatus according to the present invention is a film forming apparatus for forming a film on a moving substrate by providing a substrate transfer mechanism for sequentially moving the substrate to each chamber for film formation. Is a transport mechanism installed in each chamber for transporting a substrate using a rack and a pinion, and a driving force introduction shaft for driving the transport mechanism provided between adjacent chambers in each chamber. , Each driving force introduction gear fixed to each driving force introduction shaft,
The first position provided between the drive force introducing gears of the adjacent chambers is in a meshing relationship with both gears, and the first position is in a meshing relationship with one gear while always meshing with one gear. It is composed of an idle gear that is swingably arranged so as to be able to take the position and a swing means for swinging the idle gear. Specifically, in FIG. 1 showing the basic configuration of this substrate transfer mechanism, a driving force introducing shaft 7 is provided which is provided on the adjacent chamber side of each chamber 1 and 2 and drives the transfer mechanism in the chamber. , 8, the driving force introducing gears 3,4 fixed to the driving force introducing shafts 7,8, the idle gear 5 provided between the driving force introducing gears 3,4, and the idle gear 5 And a swinging means for swinging the.

The idle gear 5 has a first position (a position shown by a solid line in FIG. 1) which is in a meshing relationship with the driving force introducing gears 3 and 4, and one gear always meshes with the other gear. It is swingably arranged so as to be able to take a second position (a position shown by a chain double-dashed line in FIG. 1) in which the meshing relationship is released.

[Action]

In this invention, for example, a rack on the substrate cart side meshes with a pinion in the chamber, and the pinion is externally driven by a motor or the like, whereby the substrate is transported in the chamber and between adjacent chambers.

When carrying in the chamber, as shown in FIG. 1, the idle gear 5 swings around the center O ₁ of the driving force introducing gear 3 and moves with the driving force introducing gear 4 on the chamber 2 side. The mesh is released. As a result, only the driving force introducing gear 3 on the chamber 1 side rotates, and the substrate cart moves in the chamber 1.

Further, when the substrate cart is transferred from the chamber 1 to the chamber 2, the idle gear 5 is driven by the driving force introducing gears 3 and 4.
It is swung to a position where it meshes with the position (solid line position in FIG. 1). As a result, the driving force introducing gear 4 on the chamber 2 side
However, the substrate cart rotates in synchronization with the drive system on the chamber 1 side, and the substrate cart is smoothly transported from the chamber 1 side to the chamber 2 side.

〔Example〕

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a substrate transfer mechanism which is a feature of the moving film forming apparatus of the present invention. In this example, a substrate cart (not shown) is transported to the inlet chamber 10 and heated to a predetermined temperature, then film formation such as sputtering is performed in the film forming chamber 11, cooled in the outlet chamber 12 and taken out to the outside. It is like this. Although not shown in the figure, an inlet valve is provided on the atmosphere side of the inlet chamber 10 (left side in FIG. 2). Also,
Gate valves are provided between the inlet chamber 10 and the film forming chamber 11 and between the film forming chamber 11 and the outlet chamber 12, respectively. Further, an outlet valve is provided on the atmosphere side of the outlet chamber 12 (on the right side in FIG. 2). These valves are shown in Fig. 3 as G1, G2, G3, G respectively.
Shown in 4. Further, the heating mechanism, the target, and the cooling mechanism are omitted.

The entrance chamber 10 is provided with a driving force transmission mechanism 13. The drive force transmission mechanism 13 has a left drive shaft 14 and a right drive shaft 18 provided on the left and right of the inlet chamber 10 (upper and lower in FIG. 2). Bevel gears 15, 16 and 17 are fixed to the left drive shaft 14 at predetermined intervals. Further, bevel gears 19 and 20 are fixed to the right drive shaft 18. The drive shafts 14 and 18 are rotatably supported by a support member provided in the inlet chamber 10. The left drive shaft 14 and the right drive shaft 18 are connected by a connection shaft 25. Bevel gear 15 of left drive shaft 14 is installed on both sides of connecting shaft 25.
Bevel gear 23 that meshes with the right drive shaft 18 bevel gear 19
And a bevel gear 26 that meshes with the. Further, bevel gears 21 and 28 mesh with the bevel gears 16 and 20 of the drive shafts 14 and 18, respectively, and these are rotatably supported by a support member provided in the inlet chamber 10. This bevel gear 21 and 28
Are connected to pinions 22 and 29, respectively, and pinions 24 and 27 are fixed to both left and right sides of the connecting shaft 25. Then, these pinions 22, 24, 27, 29 mesh with a rack (not shown) on the side of the substrate cart to convey the substrate cart in the direction of arrow A in FIG.

Similarly, a driving force transmission mechanism 30 is also provided in the film forming chamber 11. The drive force transmission mechanism 30 has the drive shafts 31 on the left and right sides and the bevel gears 32, 33, 34 mounted on the drive shafts 31 at predetermined intervals, as described above. In addition, the left and right drive shafts 31
Is the connecting shaft 39 and the bevel gears 35, 3 fixed to both ends thereof.
Connected by 7. The board cart is moved by the pinions 36 and 38 fixed to the connecting shaft 39.

The same applies to the outlet chamber 12, and the driving force transmission mechanism 40 provided in the outlet chamber 12 has left and right drive shafts 41, 45, and the drive shaft 41 is provided with bevel gears 42, 43, 44. The drive shaft 45 is provided with bevel gears 46 and 47. The bevel gears 44 and 47 of the left and right drive shafts 41 and 45 mesh with the bevel gears 48 and 50 at both ends of the connecting shaft 52, respectively. The pinion 49, 51 and the like are engaged with the rack on the side of the substrate cart to convey the substrate cart.

A drive force introduction shaft 55 for introducing a drive force to the drive force transmission mechanism 13 (hereinafter referred to as an inlet chamber transmission mechanism) in the entrance chamber 10 is provided on the film formation chamber 11 side of the entrance chamber 10. . Further, on the inlet chamber 10 side of the film forming chamber 11, a driving force introducing shaft for introducing a driving force to a driving force transmitting mechanism 30 (hereinafter referred to as a film forming chamber transmitting mechanism) in the film forming chamber 11 in the same manner. 56 are provided. A bevel gear 59 is fixed to an end portion of the driving force introduction shaft 55 on the inner side of the inlet chamber 10, and the bevel gear 59 meshes with the bevel gear 17 of the inlet chamber transmission mechanism 13. A gear 57 for introducing a driving force is fixed to the outside of the inlet chamber 10. A bevel gear 60 is fixed to an end portion of the driving force introducing shaft 56 on the inner side of the film forming chamber 11, and the bevel gear 60 meshes with the bevel gear 32 of the film forming chamber transmission mechanism 30. A gear 58 for introducing a driving force is fixed to the outer end of the film forming chamber 11.

A drive force introducing shaft 61 is provided on the outlet chamber 12 side of the film forming chamber 11. A bevel gear 65 that meshes with the bevel gear 34 of the film forming chamber transmission mechanism 30 is fixed to one end of the driving force introduction shaft 61, and a driving force introduction gear 63 is fixed to the other end side. A drive force introduction shaft 62 is provided on the film formation chamber 11 side of the outlet chamber 12, and a bevel gear 42 of the drive force transmission mechanism 40 (hereinafter referred to as the outlet chamber transmission mechanism) of the outlet chamber 12 is provided at one end thereof. Bevel gear 66 that meshes with the other end is a gear for introducing driving force.
64 is fixed.

Next, the mechanism for introducing the driving force will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Gear 57 on the inlet chamber 10 side and gear 58 on the film forming chamber 11 side
Idle gears 70 and 71 are provided between and.
The idle gear 71 is rotatably supported by a support member (not shown) and always meshes with the gear 58 on the film forming chamber 11 side. Further, a swing member 72 is attached to a member supporting the idle gear 71 so as to be swingable around O ₂ . The idle gear 70 is rotatably supported by the swing-side tip portion 2 of the swing member 72. The idle gears 71 and 70 are always in mesh with each other. Further, the tip of the swing member 72 on the swing side is connected to the tip of the rod of the cylinder 73. Therefore, by advancing and retracting the rod of the cylinder 73, the idle gear 70 can take a position where it meshes with the gear 57 on the inlet chamber 10 side and a position where the meshing is released.

Further, an idle gear 74 is provided between the gear 63 of the film forming chamber 11 and the gear 64 on the outlet chamber 12 side. A swing member 75 is swingably provided around O ₂ on the driving force introduction shaft 61 to which the gear 63 is attached. An idle gear 74 is rotatably attached to the tip of the swing member 75 on the swing side. The idle gear 74 always meshes with the gear 63. The rod of the cylinder 76 is connected to the tip of the swing member 75 on the swing side. Therefore, by advancing and retracting the rod of the cylinder 76, the idle gear 74 can take both a position where it meshes with the gear 64 of the outlet chamber 12 and a position where it disengages.

The motor M1 is connected to the driving force introduction shaft 55 of the inlet chamber 10, and the motor M2 is connected to the driving force introduction shaft 62 of the outlet chamber 12.

FIG. 4 shows a cross section taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. This 4th
As shown in the drawings and FIG. 2, guides 81, 82 are provided on the left and right sides of each chamber 10, 11, 12. Then, the roller 83 on the substrate cart side fits into the guide 81 without any gap, and the roller 84
Are provided in the guide 82 with a predetermined gap. These guides 81, 82 and the rollers 83, 84 on the substrate cart side prevent the substrate cart from meandering during transportation, and the pinions 36, 38 on each chamber side and the racks 85, 86 on the substrate cart side mesh with each other. It is provided to adjust the meshing height position so that the normal operation is performed.

Next, the operation will be described.

First, when loading the board cart into the entrance room 10 from the outside,
Open the entrance room G1. Then, the rod of the cylinder 73 is retracted to release the meshing between the idle gear 70 and the gear 57.
In this state, the motor M1 is rotated to operate the entrance chamber transmission mechanism 13 to convey the substrate cart into the entrance chamber 10.

Next, when the substrate cart is transported from the inlet chamber 10 to the film forming chamber 11 side, the gate valve G2 is opened. Then, as shown in FIG.
The rod of the cylinder 73 is projected, the swinging member 72 is swung clockwise, and the idle gear 70 meshes with the gear 57.
At this time, the cylinder rod of the cylinder 76 is retracted, and the meshing between the idle gear 74 and the gear 64 is released. When the motor M1 is rotated in this state, the gear
57 rotates in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and the idle gears 70, 71 and the gear 58 rotate in the direction of the arrow in the figure. This causes the gears 57 and 58 to rotate in synchronization. Therefore, the rack of the substrate cart being transported by the transfer mechanism on the inlet chamber 10 side and the pinion of the transfer mechanism 30 on the film forming chamber 11 side are in phase, and the substrate cart moves from the inlet chamber 10 to the film forming chamber.
Smoothly transported to the 11 side.

Next, when the substrate cart is transported from the film forming chamber 11 to the outlet chamber 12, the gate valve G3 is opened. Then, the rod of the cylinder 76 is projected to swing the swinging member 75 counterclockwise. As a result, the idle gear 74 and the gear 64 mesh with each other. At this time, the rod of the cylinder 73 is retracted, and the swing member 72
Swings counterclockwise and the idle gear 70 and gear 57 are disengaged. Therefore, the driving force from the motor M1 is not transmitted to the transmission mechanism 30 of the film forming chamber 11.

When the motor M2 is rotated in such a state, the rotation is transmitted to the gear 64, the idle gear 74, and the gear 63, and they rotate in the directions of the arrows in FIG. 3, respectively, and the gear 63 and the gear 64 are synchronized. It will rotate. As a result, the rack of the substrate cart on the film forming chamber 11 side and the pinion of the transmission mechanism 40 on the outlet chamber 12 side are in phase, and the substrate cart can be transported smoothly.

Next, a case where the substrate cart is taken out of the outlet chamber 12 to the outside atmosphere side will be described. In this case, the outlet valve G4 is opened. When the transfer of the substrate cart from the film forming chamber 11 to the outlet chamber 12 is completed, the rod of the cylinder 76 retracts and the idle gear
74 and gear 64 are out of mesh. Therefore, if the motor M2 is rotated in this state, only the gear 64 rotates, the outlet chamber transmission mechanism 40 operates, and the substrate cart is carried out to the outside.

In this embodiment, by engaging the idle gear with the gear between the adjacent chambers and releasing the engagement, the power transmission is performed and the transmission mechanism between the chambers is synchronized. Therefore, when the substrate cart is transferred between the chambers, the rack and the pinion are smoothly meshed with each other during the movement, and the transfer speed is made uniform. Further, since it is not necessary to provide a motor for each chamber, the structure for power transmission and synchronization becomes very simple.

[Other Examples]

(A) In the above-described embodiment, the drive shafts are provided on both the left and right sides of each chamber and the pinions are rotated on both sides. Good. A schematic diagram of the transport system in this case is shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, the first
The same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 4 to 4 denote the same or corresponding portions.

(B) In the above-described embodiment, the driving force introduction shaft 55 of the inlet chamber 10,
Although a motor is connected to each of the driving force introducing shafts 62 of the outlet chamber 12, the shafts for connecting the motors are not limited to these shafts, and may be connected to the introducing shaft on the film forming chamber 11 side, or It may be connected to an idle gear.

(C) In the above-described embodiment, the idle gear 7 is provided by the meshing structure of the bevel gears of the transmission mechanism inside each chamber.
Although 0 and 71 and the idle gear 74 are provided, if the meshing structure of the bevel gear is changed, for example, one of the idle gears 70 and 71 can be omitted.

[Effect of device]

Since the moving film forming apparatus provided by the present invention is as described above, it is possible to uniformly and synchronously transfer the substrates in the respective chambers with a simple transfer mechanism, and the moving film forming apparatus is highly accurate and inexpensive. Can be provided. In particular,
Since the idle gear always meshes with one of the driving force introducing gears of the adjacent chambers, the transmission relationship between the two driving force introducing gears is established immediately when the idle gear engages with the other gear. However, the synchronization between the chambers is smoothly obtained, and the substrate is uniformly and synchronously transferred to each chamber during the entire process. Therefore, it is possible to provide a moving film forming apparatus capable of performing excellent film formation without causing unevenness (striped pattern) of film formation caused by a conventional substrate being temporarily (temporarily) stopped in the chamber. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the basic structure of a substrate transfer mechanism in the moving film forming apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the structure of the substrate transfer mechanism in the moving film forming apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a view showing the driving force introducing mechanism portion, and FIG. 4 is IV-I in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line V, showing another embodiment of the present invention. 10 …… Inlet chamber, 11 …… Film forming chamber, 12 …… Outlet chamber, 13,30,40
...... Driving force transmission mechanism, 22,24,27,29,36,38,49,51 …… Pinion, 55,56,61,62 …… Driving force introduction shaft, 57,58,63,64…
… Gear for driving force introduction, 70,71,74 …… Idle gear, 72,7
5 …… Rotating member, 73,76 …… Cylinder, 85,86 …… Rack.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A film forming apparatus in which a substrate transfer mechanism for sequentially moving a substrate to each chamber for film formation is provided to perform film formation on a moving substrate, wherein the substrate transfer mechanism is provided in each chamber. A transport mechanism installed in the chamber for transporting the substrate using a rack and a pinion, each driving force introduction shaft for driving the transport mechanism in the chamber, which is provided on the adjacent chamber side of each chamber, and each drive The respective driving force introducing gears fixed to the force introducing shaft and the first position and one of the gears provided between the driving force introducing gears of the adjacent chambers are in mesh with each other and always mesh with each other. At the same time, the idle gear is arranged so as to be swingable so as to take the second position in which the meshing with the other gear is released, and the swinging means for swinging the idle gear. Moving deposition apparatus characterized by being made.