CN-121992381-A - Transmission channel and vacuum treatment equipment

Abstract

The invention provides a transmission channel and vacuum treatment equipment, wherein the vacuum treatment equipment comprises at least one chamber which can be vacuumized, the transmission channel penetrates through the side wall of the chamber and is used for conveying a rectangular substrate to a base in the chamber, the outer surface of the transmission channel comprises an outer top surface and an outer bottom surface, the outer top surface is an upwardly-protruding arc-shaped curved surface, and/or the outer bottom surface is a downwardly-protruding arc-shaped curved surface. The invention has the advantages that the requirement of conveying a large-size thick substrate into the cavity of the vacuum processing equipment can be met, the stress concentration of the conveying channel can be effectively relieved under the condition of not expanding the volume of the cavity, and the deformation of the conveying channel is reduced.

Inventors

• ZOU YUSHEN
• ZHOU NING
• LI HAONAN
• ZHU BAN

Assignees

• 中微半导体设备(广州)有限公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20241107

Claims (18)

1. 1. A transfer passage for a vacuum processing apparatus, characterized in that, The vacuum processing apparatus comprises at least one chamber that can be evacuated; the transmission channel penetrates through the side wall of the cavity and is used for transmitting a rectangular substrate to the base in the cavity; The outer surface of the transmission channel comprises an outer top surface and an outer bottom surface, wherein the outer top surface is an upwardly convex arc-shaped curved surface, and/or the outer bottom surface is a downwardly convex arc-shaped curved surface.
2. 2. The transfer channel of claim 1, wherein the interior surface of the transfer channel comprises an interior top surface and an interior bottom surface, wherein the interior top surface is an upwardly convex curved surface and/or the interior bottom surface is a downwardly convex curved surface.
3. 3. The transfer channel of claim 2, wherein the interior surface of the transfer channel comprises an interior top surface and an interior bottom surface, wherein the interior top surface and the interior bottom surface are both horizontal surfaces.
4. 4. The transfer channel of any one of claims 2 or 3, wherein the inner surface further comprises two inner sides disposed opposite each other in a horizontal direction, the inner sides being perpendicular to a horizontal plane, and wherein rounded corners are formed between the inner top surface and the inner sides, and between the inner bottom surface and the inner sides.
5. 5. The transfer channel of claim 4, wherein the radius of the rounded corners ranges from 20mm to 55mm.
6. 6. The transmission channel according to claim 1, wherein said outer surface further comprises two outer side surfaces disposed opposite each other in a horizontal direction, said outer side surfaces being perpendicular to the horizontal plane, and wherein rounded transitions are provided between said outer top surface and said outer side surfaces, and between said outer bottom surface and said outer side surfaces.
7. 7. The transmission channel according to claim 4, wherein the extending direction defining the central axis of the transmission channel is a Y-axis direction, the vertical direction is a Z-axis direction, and the X-axis direction is perpendicular to the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction, and the curvature of the curved surface is kept constant as the distance between the curved surface and the central axis of the transmission channel increases gradually in the X-axis direction.
8. 8. The transmission channel according to claim 4, wherein the extending direction defining the central axis of the transmission channel is a Y-axis direction, the vertical direction is a Z-axis direction, and the X-axis direction is perpendicular to the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction, and the curvature of the curved surface in the X-axis direction gradually increases as the distance between the curved surface and the central axis of the transmission channel gradually increases.
9. 9. The transfer channel of claim 8 wherein the arcuate curved surface has a minimum curvature of zero.
10. 10. The transmission channel according to claim 1, wherein the maximum vertical distance and the minimum vertical distance between the outer top surface and the outer bottom surface are denoted Hmax, hmin, respectively, and the difference between Hmax and Hmin ranges from 50 to 80mm.
11. 11. The transfer channel of claim 8, wherein the maximum vertical distance and the minimum vertical distance between the inner top surface and the inner bottom surface are referred to as hmax and hmin, respectively, and wherein the difference between hmax and hmin ranges from 35 mm to 55mm.
12. 12. The transmission channel according to claim 11, wherein the distance between the two inner sides in the X-axis direction is defined as the width of the transmission channel, the width being denoted as L, and the ratio of hmin to L is in the range of 0.1 to 0.25.
13. 13. The transfer channel of claim 8, wherein the transfer channel extends out of the chamber 55 mm-75 mm in the Y-axis direction.
14. 14. The transfer channel of claim 1, wherein the transfer channel is integrally formed with a sidewall of the chamber.
15. 15. The transfer channel of claim 1, wherein the transfer channel is in sealing contact with a sidewall of the chamber.
16. 16. The transfer channel of claim 1, wherein the short side edges of the substrate are greater than or equal to 2 meters.
17. 17. A vacuum processing apparatus comprising a plurality of chambers, the side walls of which are provided with a transfer channel as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 16.
18. 18. The vacuum processing apparatus of claim 17, wherein the chamber comprises at least one of a process chamber, a transfer chamber, and an airlock chamber.

Description

Transmission channel and vacuum treatment equipment Technical Field The invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor equipment, in particular to a transmission channel and vacuum processing equipment. Background In the field of flat panel display manufacturing, a PECVD (PLASMA ENHANCED CHEMICAL Vapor Deposition) process is widely used to deposit thin films of desired materials on the surface of large-sized substrates (e.g., solar panels, optical glass, etc.). The PECVD process is typically performed in a vacuum chamber of a vacuum processing apparatus, with a substrate transfer port formed in a sidewall of the chamber, through which a robot arm transfers a substrate to a susceptor in the chamber. The substrate transfer port has a slit shape because of its large size and large horizontal width. In the process, the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the chamber is large, so that the stress of the substrate transmission port is concentrated and is easy to collapse and deform. Deformation of the substrate transfer port will cause a gap between the chamber sidewall and the chamber lid, resulting in leakage of process gases within the chamber. For thicker substrates, it is also desirable to further increase the size of the substrate transfer port in the vertical direction so that the substrate transfer port is more easily deformed. The substrate transfer port deformation may also be reduced by increasing the chamber volume, but this results in a series of process problems and significant economic costs. How to reduce the deformation of the substrate transfer port without enlarging the chamber volume and meet the requirement of transferring large-size thick substrates is a problem to be solved at present. Disclosure of Invention The invention aims to provide a transmission channel and vacuum processing equipment, which can meet the requirement of transmitting a large-size thick substrate into a cavity of the vacuum processing equipment, and can effectively relieve stress concentration of the transmission channel and reduce deformation of the transmission channel under the condition of not expanding the volume of the cavity. In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a transfer passage for a vacuum processing apparatus including at least one chamber that can be evacuated; the transmission channel penetrates through the side wall of the cavity and is used for transmitting a rectangular substrate to the base in the cavity; The outer surface of the transmission channel comprises an outer top surface and an outer bottom surface, wherein the outer top surface is an upwardly convex arc-shaped curved surface, and/or the outer bottom surface is a downwardly convex arc-shaped curved surface. Optionally, the inner surface of the transmission channel comprises an inner top surface and an inner bottom surface, wherein the inner top surface is an upwardly convex arc-shaped curved surface, and/or the inner bottom surface is a downwardly convex arc-shaped curved surface. Optionally, the inner surface of the transmission channel comprises an inner top surface and an inner bottom surface, and the inner top surface and the inner bottom surface are horizontal surfaces. Optionally, the inner surface further comprises two inner side surfaces which are oppositely arranged in the horizontal direction, the inner side surfaces are perpendicular to the horizontal plane, and rounded corners are formed between the inner top surface and the inner side surfaces and between the inner bottom surface and the inner side surfaces. Optionally, the radius range of the round angle is 20 mm-55 mm. Optionally, the outer surface further comprises two outer side surfaces which are oppositely arranged in the horizontal direction, the outer side surfaces are perpendicular to the horizontal plane, and rounded corners are formed between the outer top surface and the outer side surfaces and between the outer bottom surface and the outer side surfaces. Optionally, the extending direction of the central axis of the transmission channel is defined as a Y-axis direction, the vertical direction is a Z-axis direction, the X-axis direction is perpendicular to the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction, and in the X-axis direction, the curvature of the curved surface is kept unchanged along with the gradual increase of the distance between the curved surface and the central axis of the transmission channel. Optionally, the extending direction of the central axis of the transmission channel is defined as a Y-axis direction, the vertical direction is a Z-axis direction, the X-axis direction is perpendicular to the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction, and in the X-axis direction, the curvature of the curved surface gradually becomes larger along with the gradual increase of the distance between the curved surface and the central axis of the transmission channel. Optionally, the minimum curvature of the