EP0266288A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Vacuum processing method and apparatus
Assignee: Ulvac Inc
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Filing: 1987-10-28
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2007-10-28
Abstract
Abstract A vacuum processing method and apparatus in which a DC bias to be produced on the surfaces of substrates which are to be processed in a vacuum chamber (1) can be mechanically and easily controlled by adjusting the position of a susceptor (11) in respect to an electrode body (12), and the susceptor (11) and other components in the vacuum chamber (1) can be easily cleaned while maintaining a desired evacuated condition and a desired processing performance in the vacuum chamber (1).
Inventors
- 👤 Izumi Nakayama
- 👤 Akitoshi Suzuki
- 👤 Hiroyuki Nawa
- 👤 Motohiro Kaneko
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 02:40
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01J; H01J37/00; H01J37/32; H01J37/32431; H01J37/32798; H01J37/32853; H01J37/32862; C; C23; C23C; C23C16/00; C23C16/44; C23C16/50; C23C16/505; C23C16/509; C23C16/5096; C23C16/54; H01J37/32623; H10; H10P; H10P72/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 19
Claim 1
Independent Claim
95 words
1 - A vacuum processing method comprising changing the distance between an electrode member (12) which is electrically insulated from a wall of a vacuum chamber (1) and supplied with an AC voltage (V) for generating a plasma (P) by a glow discharge in said vacuum chamber (1) and a member (11) for supporting at least one substrate (S) to be processed by said plasma (P), thereby controlling a DC bias to be generated on the surface of said supporting member (11) or the surface of the substrate (S) in respect to said AC voltage.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
95 words
1 - A vacuum processing method comprising changing the distance between an electrode member (12) which is electrically insulated from a wall of a vacuum chamber (1) and supplied with an AC voltage (V) for generating a plasma (P) by a glow discharge in said vacuum chamber (1) and a member (11) for supporting at least one substrate (S) to be processed by said plasma (P), thereby controlling a DC bias to be generated on the surface of said supporting member (11) or the surface of the substrate (S) in respect to said AC voltage.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
22 words
2 - A method according to claim 1, wherein said electrode member (12) and said substrate supporting member (11) are relatively movable.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
35 words
3 - A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said AC voltage (V) is applied only to said electrode member (12) or to said electrode member (12) and said substrate supporting member (11).
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
140 words
4 - A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the surface of said supporting member (11) and the portions in the vicinity thereof are cleaned by the bombardment of the plasma (P) produced on the surface of said supporting member (11) or the substrate (S) when the distance (d) between said electrode member (12) and said supporting member (11) is set to be smaller than a predetermined value, and the rear portion of said supporting member (11), said electrode member (12) and the portions positioned in the vicinity thereof are cleaned by the bombardment of the plasma (P) produced in the space between said supporting member (11) and said electrode member (12) when the distance (d) between said electrode member (12) and said supporting member (11) is set to be larger than said predetermined value.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
155 words
5 - A vacuum processing apparatus comprising an electrode member (12) which is electrically insulated from a wall of a vacuum chamber (1) and is supplied with an AC voltage (V) for generating a plasma (P) by a glow discharge in said vacuum chamber (1), a drive shaft (19) which is arranged to slidably pass through said chamber wall or said electrode member (12), a supporting member (11) fixed to the end portion of said driving shaft (19) positioned in said vacuum chamber (1) and intended to support at least one substrate (S) to be processed by said plasma, and a mechanism (28, 42, 43) for driving said drive shaft (19) along the axis thereof, the distance between said electrode member (12) and said supporting member (11) being adjusted so that a DC bias generated on the surface of said supporting member (11) or said substrate (S) is varied in respect to said AC voltage.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
155 words
5 - A vacuum processing apparatus comprising an electrode member (12) which is electrically insulated from a wall of a vacuum chamber (1) and is supplied with an AC voltage (V) for generating a plasma (P) by a glow discharge in said vacuum chamber (1), a drive shaft (19) which is arranged to slidably pass through said chamber wall or said electrode member (12), a supporting member (11) fixed to the end portion of said driving shaft (19) positioned in said vacuum chamber (1) and intended to support at least one substrate (S) to be processed by said plasma, and a mechanism (28, 42, 43) for driving said drive shaft (19) along the axis thereof, the distance between said electrode member (12) and said supporting member (11) being adjusted so that a DC bias generated on the surface of said supporting member (11) or said substrate (S) is varied in respect to said AC voltage.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
40 words
6 - An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said drive mechanism comprises means (42, 43) for linearly driving said drive shaft (19) along the axis thereof and means (28) for rotating said driving shaft (19) around the axis thereof.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
23 words
7 - An apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, wherein said electrode member (12) and said supporting member (11) are relatively movable.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
37 words
8 - An apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the AC voltage (V) is applied only to said electrode member (12) or to the electrode member (12) and said supporting member (11).
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
138 words
9 - An apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the surface of said supporting member (11) and the portions in the vicinity thereof are cleaned by the bombardment of the plasma (P) produced on the surface of said supporting member (11) or the substrate (S) when the distance between said electrode member (12) and said supporting member (11) is set to be smaller than a predetermined value, and the rear portion of said supporting member (11), said electrode member (12) and the portions positioned in the vicinity thereof are cleaned by the bombardment of the plasma (P) produced in the space between said supporting member (11) and said electrode member (12) when the distance between said electrode member (12) and said supporting member (11) is set to be larger than said predetermined value.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
32 words
10 - An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said driving shaft (19) is hollow, through which a cooling medium and/or a heating medium are circulated by a rotary joint mechanism (45).
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
158 words
11 - A CVD apparatus comprising an electrode member (12) fixed to a wall of a pressure reduced chamber (1), a drive shaft (19) adapted to slidably and rotatably pass through said electrode member (12), a substrate holder (11) mounted on the end portion of said drive shaft (19) positioned in said pressure reduced chamber (1), a first linear drive means (42, 43) for moving said drive shaft (19) along the axis thereof, a rotary drive means (28) for rotating said drive shaft (19), a plurality of pins (46) being arranged to be slidably inserted into a plurality of holes (12b) provided on said electrode member (12) for lifting each substrate, a second linear drive means (48, 49) for driving the substrate lifting pins (46) along the axes thereof, and a plurality of openings (11a) provided on said substrate holder (11) to align with said holes (12b) and into which said substrate lifting pins (46) can be inserted.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
158 words
11 - A CVD apparatus comprising an electrode member (12) fixed to a wall of a pressure reduced chamber (1), a drive shaft (19) adapted to slidably and rotatably pass through said electrode member (12), a substrate holder (11) mounted on the end portion of said drive shaft (19) positioned in said pressure reduced chamber (1), a first linear drive means (42, 43) for moving said drive shaft (19) along the axis thereof, a rotary drive means (28) for rotating said drive shaft (19), a plurality of pins (46) being arranged to be slidably inserted into a plurality of holes (12b) provided on said electrode member (12) for lifting each substrate, a second linear drive means (48, 49) for driving the substrate lifting pins (46) along the axes thereof, and a plurality of openings (11a) provided on said substrate holder (11) to align with said holes (12b) and into which said substrate lifting pins (46) can be inserted.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
35 words
12 - A CVD apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said rotary drive means (28) is fixed on a vacuum seal member (20) for sealing in vacuum tight and rotatably supporting said drive shaft (19).
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
53 words
13 - A CVD apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, wherein said first and second linear drive means (42, 43 ; 48, 49) are provided on a common base plate (36) which is coupled with said electrode member (12) or the wall of said pressure reduced chamber (1) by guide members (37).
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
28 words
14 - A CVD apparatus according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein said each guide member (37) is slidably supported on linear bearings (39, 40).
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
36 words
15 - A CVD apparatus according to any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein said drive shaft (19) is hollow, through which a cooling or heating medium is circulated via a rotary joint mechanism (45).
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
97 words
16 - A CVD apparatus according to claim 11 wherein it further comprises supporting arms (66) each of which has one end mounted perpendicularly on the one end of the associated lifting pin (64), and the other end (66a) of the each supporting arm (66) is extended into a slot (57a) formed on the outer peripheral portion of said electrode member (57) and is moved through the associated one of slote (67a) formed on the outer peripheral portion of said substrate holder (67) and positioned in alignment with the other end (66a) of said supporting arms (66).
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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