KR20140095032A - Method for producing door plate and door plate produced by the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a door plate, and more particularly, to a method of manufacturing a door plate that can be used in a vacuum chamber to improve the durability of the door plate and at the same time improve the sealing function. A method of manufacturing a door plate includes determining a flatness of one surface in contact with a seal plate; Anodizing at least a portion of the illuminated surface; And adjusting the roughness by polishing the surface subjected to anodizing.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a door plate,

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a door plate and a door plate manufactured thereby, and more particularly, to a method of manufacturing a door plate, which can improve the durability of a door plate and at the same time, To the door plate.

Processes associated with precision instruments to prevent malfunctions due to fine particles can proceed in a vacuum chamber. Also, for example, manufacturing processes associated with semiconductor wafers in which chemicals or other hazardous materials are used in the process can also be conducted in a vacuum chamber. In the case of a process proceeding in a vacuum chamber, for example, a plasma may be used in the process of depositing a film required in a wafer. Specifically, a multi chamber including a transfer chamber and a process chamber disposed around the transfer chamber may be used for the plasma deposition process. The deposition film is formed on the wafer by the plasma in the process chamber and the wafer to be processed in the transfer chamber and the processed and unloaded wafer can be performed. The gate of each chamber must be opened or closed in the process of transferring the wafer from the transfer chamber to the process chamber or vice versa. When the gate is closed, the gate needs to be completely sealed. Thus, a sealing plate and a door plate are used for sealing the gate.

A sealing ring, such as an o-ring, may be used to seal the gate in a vacuum state by the door plate. The sealing ring is generally formed on the inner surface of the door plate in contact with the vacuum chamber, and the sealing ring is pressed against the surface of the seal plate by the pressure applied to the door plate to seal the gate. In this case, a small gap may be formed between the seal plate and the door plate in the inner region of the sealing ring, so that the plasma can be brought into contact with the sealing ring of the door plate when the plasma is used in the wafer deposition process. This can damage the sealing ring, such as the o-ring, thereby shortening the life of the door plate.

Patent Publication No. 2008-0073465 discloses a prior art for preventing the damage of the O-ring by the plasma. The prior art described above can delay the O-ring damage of the gate door, which is the passage through which the wafer is loaded / unloaded, thereby extending the useful life, thereby enabling a more economical maintenance of the facility. And to provide a sealing apparatus for the same. For this purpose, the prior art includes a process chamber in which a process is performed using plasma; A transfer chamber for performing wafer loading / unloading into the process chamber; A gate door configured to shield a slit gate of the wafer being loaded / unloaded between the process chamber and the transfer chamber; And an O-ring is coupled to one side of the gate door so as to be in close contact with an outer circumferential edge of the slit gate on the side of the process chamber, and a groove is extended to one side of the ring hole into which the O- And a sealing device for a gate door for a plasma processing apparatus.

Another prior art for preventing damage to the O-ring by the plasma is Patent Registration No. 0970443, 'Gate door vacuum sealing device of semiconductor manufacturing equipment'. In the prior art, a bonded O-ring having a height lower than that of a conventional O-ring is provided on one surface of a door plate that closes the chamber, and a plasma is provided on one surface of the O- The distance between the door plate and the seal plate is maintained at a level of 5 to 8 mm, so that even when RF RF power is applied, the plasma leakage increases or the bias voltage And to provide a gate door vacuum sealing apparatus of a semiconductor manufacturing equipment capable of preventing a sudden drop of the gate door. For this purpose, the prior art includes a chamber in which a wafer is loaded and a plasma processing process is performed; A plate having a center through which the wafer is to be loaded and forming an inlet of the chamber, a blocking ring groove having a predetermined depth inward along the periphery of the gate is formed on a surface facing the door plate, A seal plate having a blocking ring protruding to a certain extent from the outside to be coupled to the blocking ring groove; A door plate which is placed on the front surface of the seal plate and seals the gate, the seal plate having an O-ring groove formed on the outer surface of the face facing the seal plate; And a bonded O-ring installed in the O-ring groove and uniformly distributing the pressure applied at the time of pressing to the front surface of the door plate so as to closely contact the gap between the seal plate and the door plate, and discloses a gate door vacuum sealing apparatus for semiconductor manufacturing equipment have.

In the prior art, when the O-ring is installed so as to be detachable, it may affect the degree of vacuum. If the blocking ring is formed on the seal plate, it is difficult to maintain or repair the blocking ring when the blocking ring itself is damaged. On the other hand, it is difficult to appropriately set the relation between the O-ring and the blocking ring. On the other hand, the portion of the door plate that is in contact with the plasma in the process step may induce the generation of various types of surface charges due to the charge of the plasma, thereby affecting the electronic device, Can be reduced. Further, it is necessary to adjust the flatness or roughness of the door plate in order to prevent the leakage of the vacuum degree or the plasma of the door plate which is in contact with the seal plate. However, this problem is not disclosed in the prior art.

The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the prior art and has the following purpose.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a door plate that improves physical properties of the door plate so that durability can be improved.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a door plate having improved flatness and surface roughness and improved physical properties.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method of manufacturing a door plate includes determining a flatness of one surface in contact with a seal plate; Anodizing at least a portion of the illuminated surface; And adjusting the roughness by polishing the surface subjected to anodizing.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the polishing process includes a sanding process for improving the adhesion and is performed in a plurality of steps.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, at least a part of the surface exposed to the vacuum chamber is anodized and the exposed surface has a flatness and an illuminance of 100/1000 to 1/1000 mm and 0.05 to 0.5 (Ra) The door plate being a mirror-surface coating layer.

The method according to the invention has the advantage that the durability is improved by changing the physical properties of the door plate. In addition, the method according to the present invention has an advantage in that the airtightness is improved through the anodizing process or the polishing process, and the surface characteristics are improved, so that contaminants that may be generated during the process such as the attachment of the fine particles can be removed.

Figure 1 schematically shows the process sequence for applying the method according to the invention.
Figure 2 shows an embodiment of a door plate made according to the method of the present invention.
FIG. 3 shows an embodiment in which a door plate manufactured according to the present invention is applied to a vacuum chamber.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In the following description, components having the same reference numerals in different drawings have similar functions, so that they will not be described repeatedly unless necessary for an understanding of the invention, and the known components will be briefly described or omitted. However, It should not be understood as being excluded from the embodiment of Fig.

Figure 1 schematically shows the process sequence for applying the method according to the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a method of manufacturing a door plate according to the present invention includes: determining a flatness of one surface contacting a seal plate; Anodizing at least a portion of the flatness determined surface; And adjusting the roughness by polishing the anodized surface.

The door plate manufactured by the method according to the present invention can be applied to all vacuum chambers in which a process is performed in a vacuum state, including a process for vacuum deposition of a semiconductor wafer. The shape of the door plate may be appropriately deformed depending on the structure of the seal plate or the vacuum chamber. Therefore, the production method according to the present invention is not limited by the kind of the product to be produced or the kind of the process.

A mold must first be prepared for the manufacture of the door plate (P11). The mold may be, but is not limited to, a structure having curved edges as a whole being a cuboid, as described below. The mold of the door plate can be made of any material known in the art and can be made of various metal materials.

When the mold is ready (P11), the flatness can be determined (P12). Flatness refers to the level at which a contact surface is brought into contact with a surface in contact with the seal plate or with a surface in contact with the vacuum chamber. The flatness can be determined, for example, through a mechanical cutting process or through a sanding process. Determination of the flatness through mechanical cutting involves determining the flatness through the lathe work. The sanding operation can also be carried out, for example, through a grinder wheel. On the other hand, if the mold for the door plate has a predetermined range of flatness, the process for determining the flatness may not proceed. However, the sanding process can be carried out to improve the adhesion. The flatness may have a value of, for example, 100/1000 to 1/1000 mm.

When the flatness is determined (P12), the anodizing process may proceed (P13). The anodizing process generally refers to a process for forming an aluminum film, but it can be anodized in various ways depending on the material of the mold according to the present invention. For example, anodizing may include a method such as plasma electrolytic oxide coating (Plasma Electrolyzer Coating). The plasma electrolytic oxidation film treatment has an advantage that the limitation on the kind of the metal is small and the surface strength is strengthened. In the process according to the invention, the anodizing can be carried out on the basis of the portion in contact with the chemical or plasma in the vacuum chamber. For example, the anodizing can be performed entirely with the exception of the circumferential surface of a certain size based on the central portion of the door plate. Alternatively, an anodized metal plate may be attached. The anodizing of the door plate is intended to improve the durability of the portion to be contacted with the plasma or chemical substance while at the same time preventing the generation or transfer of the surface charge. This makes it possible to improve the durability of the entire door plate while maintaining an electrically stable structure.

Anodizing can be accomplished by applying electrochemical methods to the surface of a metal, such as for example hard anodizing, to increase functional properties such as hardness, corrosion resistance, abrasion resistance or electrical insulation of the metal surface. The thickness can be appropriately adjusted according to the alloy component by hard anodizing, and for example, the thickness of the anodizing can be 5 to 200 mu m. For example, the anodizing can be aluminum and the hard anodizing can form a coating in the form of alumina ceramics. Anodizing or hard anodizing may be performed according to methods known in the art.

When the anodizing process is completed (P13), the polishing process can proceed (P14). Polishing is a process for determining surface roughness, which can be carried out using an abrasive and can be carried out in a plurality of processes. The abrasive may be a natural abrasive such as diamond, feldspar, quartz or talc, or may be used, but not limited to, silicon carbide, boron carbide, titanium carbide, tungsten carbide or metal nitride. For grinding, the abrasive may be dispersed in the form of particles in a solvent such as distilled water or alcohol and may have an average diameter of 100 nm to 100 탆, for example. Polishing can be carried out in multiple steps and the diameter of the abrasive can be controlled at each step. On the other hand, the strength of the abrasive used in each step can be controlled. Specifically, the polishing may be performed in three to five steps, and the polishing process may be performed while improving the adhesion through the sanding process at each step. The roughness (RA) is controlled through the polishing process so that the final roughness is 0.05 to 0.5 (Ra) to form a mirror coating layer. Polishing can be carried out in various processes and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown.

When the polishing process is completed (P14), the process for forming the sealing ring can proceed (P15). The sealing ring can be formed by forming a bonding groove with an O-ring structure and can be formed into an annular rim shape surrounding the central portion. The sealing ring can be made, for example, in such a way that it has an overall circular cross section and is inserted into a bonding groove having a semicircular shape. This allows the semicircle to protrude above the surface. The sealing ring may be made of a material such as perfluorocarbons (FFKM) rubber of the fluororubber type, but is not limited thereto. Further, the process of forming the bonding grooves may be performed at any stage such as after the planarity is determined (P12), after the anodizing process is completed (P13), or after the polishing process is completed (P15). However, the sealing ring can be completed and attached to the polishing process. The sealing ring can be formed in various shapes and structures, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown.

When the sealing ring is formed, the door plate according to the present invention is completed and the performance test can be performed (P16). A door plate manufactured according to the present invention will be described below.

Figure 2 shows an embodiment of a door plate made according to the method of the present invention.

2, the door plate 20 manufactured in accordance with the present invention includes a sealing surface 22 formed at a central portion thereof, a contact surface 21 surrounding the sealing surface 22, and a contact surface 22 Ring 21 or an o-ring or a sealing ring 23 formed at the boundary of the sealing ring 21. The contact surface 21 may be in contact with the circumferential surface of the seal plate or vacuum chamber and the seal surface 22 may be formed in the seal plate or vacuum chamber to block the gate hole, . The sealing ring (23) is in contact with the seal plate to block the inflow of external air so that the vacuum state in the vacuum chamber can be maintained.

The sealing surface 22 may be exposed to plasma or chemicals generated in the vacuum chamber and may quickly become damaged as compared to the contact surface 21. On the other hand, various fine particles generated in the vacuum chamber can be attached. According to the present invention, the sealing surface 22 can be anodized and simultaneously polished to be a mirror surface coating. Thereby reducing the damage caused by the plasma or the chemical so that the adhesion of the fine particles can be prevented at the same time. On the other hand, the insulating properties of such coating layers make it possible to prevent electrical malfunctions of the associated devices. The anodizing or polishing process may be performed on the entire contact surface 21 and the sealing surface 22 or only on the sealing surface 22. However, it is advantageous that the flatness is achieved with respect to the whole.

Door plates having various structures can be manufactured by the manufacturing method according to the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown.

A door plate manufactured in accordance with the present invention will be described below with reference to an application example to a door chamber.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment in which a door plate manufactured according to the present invention is applied to a vacuum chamber.

Referring to FIG. 3, the door plate 20 contacts the seal plate 30 formed in the vacuum chamber PM to seal the vacuum chamber PM during the process of the wafer. A sealing ring 23 is formed on the door plate 20 so that the inflow of air from the outside can be prevented and the door plate 20 can be operated by the cylinder C. A blocking ring 31 may be formed in the seal plate 30 as required. The blocking ring 31 may be made of the same or similar material as the sealing ring 23 and may be made of, for example, The blocking ring 31 may be made of a fluororesin such as, for example, teflon, or may be coated with a fluororesin. Specifically, the blocking ring 31 is made of a material selected from the group consisting of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene copolymer (FEP), tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkylvinylether copolymer (PEA) or polyvinylidene fluoride The blocking ring 31 may be made of a material having a low adhesiveness, an excellent flame retardancy, a low coefficient of friction, or a low water absorbency. The blocking ring 31 may be made of a fluororesin, The sealing ring 31 may be installed to prevent plasma or chemical from contacting the sealing ring 23. The blocking ring 31 may be installed in a structure similar to the sealing ring 23, The blocking ring 31 may have a small height or a small radius as compared to the ring 23. For example, the blocking ring 31 may be 0.8 to 0.98 times the radius of the sealing ring 23, but is not limited thereto.

When the wafer is introduced into the vacuum chamber PM through the gate hole 32, the door plate 20 can be coupled to the seal plate 30 by the operation of the cylinder C and the vacuum chamber PM can be vacuum- . ≪ / RTI > The inflow of outside air can be prevented by the sealing ring 23. Plasma or chemicals generated during the process may be in contact with the door plate 20. The door plate 20 may be a mirror-surface coating as described above, thereby preventing the door plate 20 from being damaged, and preventing adhesion of foreign matter. On the other hand, the plasma or chemical can be blocked by the blocking ring 31 and thereby the damage of the sealing ring 23 can be prevented.

The illustrated embodiment is illustrative and the door plate 20 can be used for opening and closing the vacuum chamber PM in various ways.

The method according to the invention has the advantage that the durability is improved by changing the physical properties of the door plate. In addition, the method according to the present invention has an advantage in that the airtightness is improved through the anodizing process or the polishing process, and the surface characteristics are improved, so that contaminants that may be generated during the process such as the attachment of the fine particles can be removed.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . The invention is not limited by these variations and modifications, but is limited only by the claims appended hereto.

20: door plate 21: contact surface
22: sealing face 23: sealing ring
30: yarn plate 31: blocking ring
32: gate hole

Claims (1)

A sealing surface 22 formed at the central portion, a contact surface 21 surrounding the sealing surface 22 and an o-ring or sealing ring 23 formed at the interface between the sealing surface 22 and the contact surface 21 Wherein the closed surface (21) is an anodized surface, and the flatness and the roughness of the closed surface are 100/1000 to 1/1000 mm and 0.05 to 0.5 (Ra), respectively. Door plate for chamber.

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