Claims
- 1. A vacuum processing apparatus including:
an atmospheric loader, exposed to the air; a vacuum loader; and a lock chamber for connecting said atmospheric loader and said vacuum loader, wherein: said atmospheric loader includes a cassette mount unit located outside of said lock chamber, said cassette mount unit has a cassette positioning plane, which is a substantially horizontal plane in which all cassettes, containing samples to be processed, exposed to the air, are positioned in a row in front of a front wall of said lock chamber, said cassette positioning plane is oriented such that a cassette is placed on and removed from said cassette positioning plane so as to maintain a surface of a sample to be processed, of a sample in said cassette, substantially horizontal when the cassette containing the sample is on the cassette positioning plane, the lock chamber is provided with both an inlet and an outlet located in a horizontal line and an interior space sufficient to store one wafer, from said lock chamber sample, which had been disposed under atmospheric pressure, from a cassette in said cassette positioning plane, is carried into a vacuum processing chamber of said vacuum processing apparatus, and said sample is carried out, processed in said vacuum processing chamber, into air, using said lock chamber.
- 2. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said vacuum processing chamber is one of a plurality of vacuum processing chambers of the vacuum processing apparatus.
- 3. A vacuum processing apparatus, comprising:
an atmospheric loader, exposed to the air; a vacuum loader; and a lock chamber for connecting said atmospheric loader and said vacuum loader, wherein: said atmospheric loader includes a cassette mount unit located outside of said lock chamber, said cassette mount unit has a cassette positioning plane which is a substantially horizontal plane in which all cassettes, containing samples to be processed, exposed to the air, are positioned in a row in front of a front wall of said lock chamber, said cassette positioning plane is oriented such that a cassette is placed on and removed from said cassette positioning plane so as to maintain a surface of a sample to be processed, of a sample in said cassette, substantially horizontal when the cassette containing the sample is on the cassette positioning plane, said the lock chamber is provided with gate valves respectively at both an inlet and an outlet located in a horizontal line, a sample, disposed in an atmosphere different than an atmosphere in a vacuum processing chamber, is carried in from said cassette, exposed to the air, into said vacuum processing chamber, by way of the lock chamber, and said sample, processed in said vacuum processing chamber, is carried out into said atmosphere different from the atmosphere in said vacuum processing chamber, by way of the lock chamber.
- 4. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said vacuum processing chamber is one of a plurality of vacuum processing chambers of the vacuum processing apparatus.
- 5. A vacuum processing apparatus, comprising:
at least one wafer holder for storing a wafer which is to be stored in a gas atmosphere, exposed to the air; wafer locking structure for holding the wafer in the gas atmosphere during a first time period and in a vacuum during a second time period; evacuating structure for evacuating said wafer locking structure; gas introduction structure for introducing a gas into said wafer locking structure; a first transfer structure for transferring the wafer between said at least one wafer holder and said wafer locking structure; a plurality of vacuum processing chambers for one by one treating the wafer, which is to be processed in a vacuum; and a second transfer structure for transferring the wafer between said wafer locking structure, while the wafer is maintained in a vacuum, and each of said vacuum processing chambers, wherein the wafer is carried in from said at least one wafer holder, exposed to the air, in said gas atmosphere, into a vacuum processing chamber of said plurality of vacuum processing chambers, directly from the at least one wafer holder to the wafer locking structure, said wafer, processed in said vacuum processing chamber, is carried out to said at least one wafer holder, and the wafer is transferred from the at least one wafer holder to the vacuum processing chambers by two robots in a state that a horizontal line of the wafer is maintained.
- 6. A vacuum processing apparatus, comprising:
at least one cassette holder for storing a wafer which is to be stored in a gas atmosphere, the at least one cassette holder being exposed to the air; wafer locking structure for holding the wafer in the gas atmosphere during a first time period and in a vacuum during a second time period; evacuating structure for evacuating said wafer locking structure; gas introduction structure for introducing a gas into said wafer locking structure; a first transfer structure for transferring the wafer between said at least one cassette holder and said wafer locking structure; a plurality of vacuum processing chambers for one by one treating the wafer, which is to be processed in a vacuum; and a second transfer structure for transferring the wafer between said wafer locking structure, while the wafer is maintained in a vacuum, and each of said vacuum processing chambers, wherein said at least one cassette holder is oriented such that a cassette is placed on and removed from a cassette positioning plane of said at least one cassette holder so as to maintain a surface of a wafer to be processed, of a wafer in said cassette, substantially horizontal when the cassette containing the wafer is on the cassette positioning plane, the wafer, from said at least one cassette holder, exposed to the air, in said gas atmosphere, is carried into a vacuum processing chamber of said plurality of vacuum processing chambers, directly from the at least one cassette holder to the wafer locking structure, said wafer, processed in said vacuum processing chamber, is carried out to said at least one cassette holder, and the wafer is transferred from the cassette on the at least one cassette holder to the vacuum processing chamber by two robots in a state that a horizontal line of the wafer is maintained.
- 7. A vacuum processing apparatus having a plurality of vacuum processing chambers adjacent a common transfer chamber, comprising:
a transfer conveyor for transferring substrates to be processed from a cassette location to double lock chambers, the substrates being carried to the double lock chambers one by one, wherein said substrates, at said cassette location, are contained in at least one cassette which is exposed to the air, said cassette being placed on a cassette table; another transfer conveyor, which is a sole transfer conveyor, for transferring the substrates to be processed from said double lock chambers to said common transfer chamber; and transferring substrates to be processed, one by one, from said common transfer chamber to the plurality of vacuum processing chambers, wherein the transfer conveyor is provided with a robot which faces to a set of substrates disposed in the cassette and transfers the substrates one by one to the double lock chambers in which one substrate is to be disposed, and another robot is disposed in a conveyor chamber of the common transfer chamber so as to be located substantially in the height of the double lock chambers.
- 8. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the substrates to be processed are transferred one by one, in parallel, from the common transfer chamber to the plurality of vacuum processing chambers.
- 9. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the substrates to be processed are transferred one by one, in series, from the common transfer chamber to the plurality of vacuum processing chambers.
- 10. The vacuum processing apparatus to claim 3, wherein said sample, in said cassette, to be carried into said vacuum processing chamber, is exposed to the air.
- 11. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sample is carried directly from the cassette to the lock chamber.
- 12. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said sample is carried directly from said cassette to said lock chamber.
- 13. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the wafer is carried directly from the at least one cassette holder to said wafer locking structure.
- 14. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the substrates are transferred directly from said cassette to said double lock chambers.
- 15. A vacuum processing apparatus, comprising:
a cassette, containing the sample, placed at a position in a single row in front of a front wall of a lock chamber, on a cassette table, the cassette being exposed to the air; said sample being carried into a vacuum processing chamber by way of the lock chamber, and said sample, processed in said vacuum processing chamber, being carried out to said cassette; and transfer conveyor structure for removing said cassette from the cassette table, said transfer conveyor structure maintaining said sample surface substantially horizontal during said carrying in and carrying out the sample, and during sample processing, and said sample surface being maintained substantially horizontal during placing and removing the cassette.
- 16. The vacuum processing apparatus to claim 15, wherein said sample is a semiconductor wafer.
- 17. A vacuum processing apparatus for treating a sample, comprising:
a set of cassettes, containing the sample, placed on a cassette table, the cassettes being exposed to the air; a set of lock chambers for carrying in the sample into a vacuum processing chamber, and for carrying out said sample, processed in said vacuum processing chamber, to said cassettes; and a transfer conveyor for removing said cassettes from the cassette table, wherein after processing of all samples in one of said cassettes, in said vacuum processing chamber, said one of said cassettes is removed and another cassette, containing samples to be processed, is placed on the cassette table.
- 18. The vacuum processing apparatus to claim 17, wherein:
said sample is a semiconductor wafer, a robot faces to a set of wafers disposed in the one of the cassettes and transfers the wafer one by one to a lock chamber, of the set of lock chambers, in which one wafer is to be disposed and a third robot is disposed in a conveyor chamber of a vacuum loader so as to be located substantially in the height of the lock chamber, the transfer conveyor is disposed between a set of two cassettes and the set of the lock chambers which comprises a chamber to take in and to take out a wafer one by one, and another chamber to take in and to take out a processed wafer, each of the lock chambers is provided with both an inlet and an outlet located in a horizontal line and an interior space sufficient to store one wafer, and each of the lock chambers is provided with gate valves respectively at both the inlet and the outlet located in a horizontal line.
- 19. A vacuum processing apparatus, comprising:
a cassette, containing a sample, placed at a position in a single row in front of a front wall of a lock chamber, on a cassette table, disposed under a cassette transferring atmospheric pressure, said cassette table having a cassette positioning plane for orienting the sample at said position, said cassette positioning plane being oriented such that the cassette is placed on and removed from said cassette positioning plane so as to maintain a surface of a sample to be processed, of a sample in said cassette, substantially horizontal when the cassette containing the sample is on the cassette positioning plane, and said sample being carried into a vacuum processing chamber, by way of the lock chamber, and said sample, processed in vacuum processing chambers of the vacuum processing apparatus, being carried out by way of said lock chamber; structure for removing said cassette from the cassette table; a conveyor structure disposed between the cassette and the lock chamber to take in and to take out a sample one by one, and to take in and to take out a processed sample, wherein the lock chamber is provided with both an inlet and an outlet located in a horizontal line and an interior space sufficient to store one wafer, and wherein the lock chamber is provided with gate valves respectively at both the inlet and the outlet located in a horizontal line.
- 20. A vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said sample is a semiconductor wafer.
- 21. A vacuum processing apparatus, comprising:
a wafer storing structure for containing a semiconductor wafer, placed at a position in a single row in front of a front wall of a lock chamber, on a wafer storing structure table, the wafer storing structure being exposed to the air; a lock chamber for carrying in the semiconductor wafer into a vacuum processing chamber, and for carrying out said semiconductor wafer, processed in said vacuum processing chamber, to said wafer storing structure; and a transfer conveyor for removing said wafer storing structure, wherein a same surface of said semiconductor wafer is maintained substantially horizontal during carrying in and carrying out the semiconductor wafer, and during the semiconductor wafer processing, and wherein said surface of the semiconductor wafer is maintained substantially horizontal during placing and removing of the wafer storing structure.
- 22. A vacuum processing apparatus, comprising:
wherein a same surface of a sample is maintained substantially horizontal during carrying in and carrying out the sample, and during sample processing; and said surface of the sample is maintained substantially horizontal during placing and removing a cassette containing the sample.
- 23. A vacuum processing apparatus, comprising:
a cassette containing a sample, placed at a position in a single row in front of a front wall of a lock chamber, on a cassette table, the cassette being exposed to the air; said lock chamber for carrying in the sample into a vacuum processing chamber, wherein the sample is carried directly from the cassette to the lock chamber, samples being transferred one-by-one from the cassette to the lock chamber, and for carrying out said sample, processed in said vacuum processing chamber, to said cassette; and a transfer conveyor for removing said cassette from the cassette table, wherein: a same surface of the sample is maintained substantially horizontal during said carrying in and carrying out the sample, and during sample processing; samples being processed in said vacuum processing chamber are processed one-by-one; and said surface of the sample is maintained substantially horizontal during placing and removing the cassette.
- 24. A vacuum processing apparatus, comprising:
a cassette containing the sample, placed at a position in a single row in front of a front wall of a lock chamber, on a cassette table, the cassette being exposed to air; said lock chamber, for carrying in the sample into a vacuum processing chamber, wherein the sample is carried directly from the cassette to the lock chamber, and for carrying out said sample, processed in said vacuum processing chamber, to said cassette; and a transfer conveyor for removing said cassette from the cassette table, wherein a same surface of said sample is maintained substantially horizontal during said carrying in and carrying out the sample, and during sample processing; and said surface of the sample is maintained substantially horizontal during placing and removing the cassette.
- 25. A vacuum processing apparatus, comprising:
a cassette, containing the sample, placed at a position in a single row in front of a front wall of a lock chamber, on a cassette table, the cassette being exposed to the air; said lock chamber, for carrying in the sample into a vacuum processing chamber, wherein the sample is carried directly from the cassette to the lock chamber, samples being transferred one-by-one from the cassette to the lock chamber, and for carrying out said sample, processed in said vacuum processing chamber, to said cassette; and apparatus for removing said cassette from the cassette table, wherein said a surface of said sample is maintained substantially horizontal during said carrying in and carrying out the sample, and during sample processing, said surface of the sample is maintained substantially horizontal during placing and removing the cassette, and said sample is processed in said vacuum processing chamber, samples being processed in said vacuum processing chamber one-by-one.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
02-225321 |
Aug 1990 |
JP |
|
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application is a Continuation application of Ser. No. 08/882,731, filed Jun. 26, 1997, which is a Divisional application of Ser. No. 08/593,870, filed Jan. 30, 1996, which is a Continuing application of Ser. No. 08/443,039, filed May 17, 1995, which is a Divisional application of Ser. No. 08/302,443, filed Sep. 9, 1994, which is a Continuing application of Ser. No. 08/096,256, filed Jul. 26, 1993, which is a Continuing application of Ser. No. 07/751,951, filed Aug. 29, 1991.
Divisions (3)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09461432 |
Dec 1999 |
US |
Child |
09766597 |
Jan 2001 |
US |
Parent |
08593870 |
Jan 1996 |
US |
Child |
08882731 |
Jun 1997 |
US |
Parent |
08302443 |
Sep 1994 |
US |
Child |
08443039 |
May 1995 |
US |
Continuations (6)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09177495 |
Oct 1998 |
US |
Child |
09461432 |
Dec 1999 |
US |
Parent |
09061062 |
Apr 1998 |
US |
Child |
09177495 |
Oct 1998 |
US |
Parent |
08882731 |
Jun 1997 |
US |
Child |
09061062 |
Apr 1998 |
US |
Parent |
08443039 |
May 1995 |
US |
Child |
08593870 |
Jan 1996 |
US |
Parent |
08096256 |
Jul 1993 |
US |
Child |
08302443 |
Sep 1994 |
US |
Parent |
07751951 |
Aug 1991 |
US |
Child |
08096256 |
Jul 1993 |
US |