Electric heating – Metal heating – By arc
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-28
2004-03-02
Van, Quang T. (Department: 3742)
Electric heating
Metal heating
By arc
C219S121430, C219S121520, C156S345270
Reexamination Certificate
active
06700089
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a plasma processing device, and a maintenance method and an installation method thereof.
BACKGROUND ART
Plasma processing devices are widely used during the process of manufacturing semiconductor devices in the prior art. A plasma processing device includes an upper electrode and a lower electrode facing opposite each other inside an air-tight processing chamber. During the process, high-frequency power is applied to the upper electrode to generate plasma from a processing gas induced into the processing chamber. Thus, a specific type of plasma process is implemented on a workpiece placed on the lower electrode.
An upper electrode unit at which the upper electrode is provided assumes a complex structure having a shield box in which a power supply member such as a power supply rod for supplying the high-frequency power to the upper electrode is housed, a matching box in which a matcher and the like are housed, a processing gas supply system and the like assembled as an integrated unit. Accordingly, the upper electrode unit as a whole becomes large and heavy.
This necessitates the operator to perform maintenance work such as cleaning the upper electrode and the inside of the processing chamber after disassembling the upper electrode unit into members with weights and in sizes that allow for easier handling. In addition, when the maintenance work is completed, the individual members must be reassembled into the upper electrode unit.
As described above, the device must be disassembled and reassembled each time maintenance work is performed in the prior art. This poses a problem of lowered device operating efficiency. In addition, the disassembled members must be accurately aligned during the reassembly process. Such a process is bound to be complicated and time-consuming. The shield box and the matching box are normally set at high positions that are hard for the operator to access. As a result, the operator is forced to assume an uncomfortable posture when mounting or dismounting the members. Thus, there is a problem in that a great onus is placed on the operator.
In addition, numerous piping systems and wirings such as a processing gas supply system, and an evacuating system, a cooling water circulating system and a power supply system are usually connected to the processing device. When installing such a processing device at a semiconductor manufacturing plant or the like, it is crucial to reduce the length of time required for the installation work by efficiently connecting the piping systems and the wirings. However, the pipings and the wirings are connected after delivering the device to the installation site.
The present invention has been completed by addressing the problems of the prior art discussed above. An object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved plasma processing device that addresses the problems discussed above and problems other than those discussed above and a maintenance method and an installation method thereof.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In order to achieve the object described above, in a first aspect of the present invention, a plasma processing device having a processing chamber in which a plasma process is implemented on a workpiece and an upper electrode unit constituting the upper wall of the processing chamber, which is characterized in that the upper electrode unit is capable of vacuum-locking the processing chamber by using its own weight and the difference between the pressure inside the processing chamber and the pressure outside the processing chamber without having to employ a means for locking, is provided.
According to the present invention, the upper electrode unit vacuum locks the processing chamber without utilizing a means for locking. When this structure is adopted, the processing chamber can be opened by simply removing the upper electrode unit. In addition, by placing the upper electrode unit on the processing chamber and reducing the pressure inside the processing chamber to a pressure lower than the pressure outside the processing chamber, the upper electrode unit is placed in air-tight contact with the wall of the processing chamber due to the weight of the upper electrode unit and the difference between the pressure inside the processing chamber and the pressure outside the processing chamber. As a result, a high degree of air-tightness is assured inside the processing chamber. As described above, the processing chamber can be opened and then sealed easily and quickly. Consequently, the onus on the operator is reduced and, in addition, the length of time required for performing maintenance inside the processing chamber is reduced as well.
In a second aspect of the present invention, a plasma processing device having a processing chamber in which a plasma process is implemented on a workpiece and an upper electrode unit constituting the upper wall of the processing chamber, which is characterized in that the upper electrode unit is constituted of a plurality of assemblies including, at least, one assembly capable of vacuum-locking the processing chamber by using its own weight and the difference between the pressure inside the processing chamber and the pressure outside the processing chamber without having to employ a means for locking and another assembly on which the one assembly can be placed, is provided.
According to the present invention, the upper electrode unit is constituted of a plurality of members to facilitate work performed by the operator. Thus, the heavy upper electrode unit can be disengaged in separate parts. This structure further reduces the onus placed on the operator. In addition, the one assembly is placed on the other assembly. As a result, the weight of the one assembly in addition to the difference between the pressure inside the processing chamber and the pressure outside the processing chamber allows the one assembly to be placed in air-tight contact with the other assembly. Consequently, the degree of air-tightness between the one assembly and the other assembly is improved.
It is desirable to include a first assembly having an electrode for supplying high-frequency power into the processing chamber or a grounded electrode, a second assembly that holds the first assembly and a third assembly having a high-frequency power supply path or a grounding path in the upper electrode unit. In this structure, the upper electrode unit is constituted of integrated assemblies that facilitate work performed by the operator. As a result, the upper electrode unit can be mounted and dismounted with ease and its maintenance is facilitated as well.
In addition, it is desirable to constitute the one assembly as the first assembly and the other assembly as the second assembly. This structure allows maintenance on the electrode to be performed with ease.
Under normal circumstances, the third assembly weighs more than the first assembly or the second assembly. For this reason, it is desirable to constitute the one assembly as the third assembly and the other assembly as the first assembly. When this structure is adopted, the processing chamber can be vacuum-locked with a higher degree of reliability by using the weight of the third assembly.
In a third aspect of the present invention, a plasma processing device having a processing chamber in which a plasma process is implemented on a workpiece and an upper electrode unit constituting the upper wall of the processing chamber, which is characterized in that a removing mechanism utilized to disengage the upper electrode unit from the processing chamber is provided, in that the upper electrode unit is constituted of a plurality of assemblies and in that the removing mechanism is capable of disengaging at least one assembly among the plurality of assemblies by itself and also capable of disengaging at least two assemblies among the plurality of assemblies together as an integrated member, is provided.
In this structure, an assembly that is harder for the operator to work on, for instance, can be disengaged by
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP
Tokyo Electron Limited
Van Quang T.
LandOfFree
Plasma processing device, its maintenance method, and its... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Plasma processing device, its maintenance method, and its..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Plasma processing device, its maintenance method, and its... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3258147