Vacuum evaporation device for cleaning closed crystal oscillator
By adding a cleaning device and a backup tester to the buffer chamber of the vacuum evaporation equipment, the problem of the deposition film on the surface of the crystal oscillator affecting the test accuracy was solved, cleaning was achieved without breaking the vacuum, production costs were reduced and the service life of the crystal oscillator was extended.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202520215542.4
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-02-11
- Publication Date
- 2025-12-23
- Estimated Expiration
- 2035-02-11
AI Technical Summary
After multiple coating processes, a thick film layer is deposited on the surface of the crystal oscillator, which affects the testing accuracy and leads to inaccurate monitoring. In addition, it requires frequent cavity opening for maintenance, which increases production costs.
A cleaning device and a backup crystal oscillator tester are added to the buffer chamber of the vacuum evaporation equipment to achieve cleaning of the crystal oscillator without breaking the vacuum. The cleaning device sprays cleaning fluid and blows away the residue with an air knife, and the backup tester is used for exchange.
It extends the service life of crystal oscillators, reduces usage costs, improves target material utilization and coating rate, reduces maintenance frequency, and enables the reusability of crystal oscillators.
Smart Images
Figure CN223705706U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model belongs to the field of vacuum coating technology and relates to a vacuum evaporation device for cleaning a closed crystal oscillator. Background Technology
[0002] In the vapor deposition process, a quartz crystal oscillator (QCM) is typically used to monitor the film thickness in real time. The film thickness controller uses electronic components to induce high-speed vibration of the quartz crystal. During deposition, it measures the change in the number of vibrations per second and calculates the film thickness from the received data. The quartz crystal can perform this calculation multiple times, providing real-time information to the operator about the deposition rate of the film on the crystal and the substrate in the vacuum chamber. However, the sensitivity of the quartz crystal decreases with increasing mass. Therefore, when using the quartz crystal monitoring method (crystal control method) for deposition control, a thicker film can accumulate on the surface of the quartz crystal after multiple depositions. If this film is not removed, the backsplashing caused by ion bombardment can affect the measurement accuracy of the quartz crystal. The deposited film may alter the vibration characteristics of the quartz crystal, leading to inaccurate monitoring. This indicates a decrease in the sensitivity of the quartz crystal, affecting the accuracy of monitoring. This necessitates frequent cavity opening for maintenance and upkeep, and because quartz crystals are extremely expensive, it significantly increases production costs and production cycle time.
[0003] Therefore, how to clean crystal oscillators without opening the cavity, extend their service life, reduce their usage cost, and achieve reusability is a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved. Utility Model Content
[0004] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, the purpose of this invention is to provide a closed-loop vacuum evaporation deposition apparatus for cleaning crystal oscillators. This invention adds a cleaning device and a backup second crystal oscillator tester to the existing buffer chamber. With a relatively low increase in equipment cost, it achieves crystal oscillator cleaning without breaking the vacuum in the process chamber. This not only avoids air contamination of the target material and the deposited film, improving target material utilization and deposition rate, but also extends the lifespan of the crystal oscillator, reduces the frequency of maintenance caused by opening the process chamber due to crystal oscillator lifespan depletion, significantly increases production cycle time, and substantially reduces the cost of using crystal oscillators, enabling reusability.
[0005] To achieve this objective, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:
[0006] This invention provides a vacuum evaporation deposition apparatus for cleaning enclosed crystal oscillator wafers. The vacuum evaporation deposition apparatus includes a process chamber and a buffer chamber that communicates with the process chamber.
[0007] The process chamber is equipped with a first crystal oscillator tester, which is used to detect the thickness of the film layer deposited in the process chamber.
[0008] The buffer chamber is equipped with a second crystal oscillator tester and a cleaning device. The second crystal oscillator tester is used to replace the first crystal oscillator tester with the lower limit of its lifespan, and the cleaning device is used to clean the first crystal oscillator tester with the lower limit of its lifespan.
[0009] This invention adds a cleaning device and a backup second crystal oscillator tester to the existing buffer chamber. With a relatively low increase in equipment cost, it achieves the purpose of cleaning the crystal oscillator without breaking the vacuum in the process chamber. This not only avoids air contamination of the target material and the coating layer, improving the utilization rate of the target material and the coating rate, but also extends the service life of the crystal oscillator, reduces the maintenance frequency caused by opening the process chamber due to the lifespan of the crystal oscillator, greatly increases the production cycle, significantly reduces the cost of using the crystal oscillator, and enables reusability.
[0010] Preferably, the process chamber and the buffer chamber are connected by a gate valve, which serves as a channel for replacing the second crystal oscillator tester and the first crystal oscillator tester with a lower lifespan.
[0011] Preferably, the buffer cavity and the partial process cavity are provided with movable slide rails for the translation of the first crystal oscillator tester and / or the second crystal oscillator tester.
[0012] Preferably, the movable slide rail is suspended along the width direction of the buffer cavity, and the end of the movable slide rail near the process cavity passes through the slide valve to enter the process cavity.
[0013] Preferably, the first crystal oscillator and the second crystal oscillator are exchanged at one end of the moving slide rail near the process cavity.
[0014] Preferably, the first crystal oscillator tester includes a detection mechanism and a first crystal oscillator chip. The detection mechanism is used to measure the frequency change of the first crystal oscillator chip itself and calculate the thickness of the coated film and the corresponding coating rate.
[0015] Preferably, the second crystal oscillator tester includes a detection mechanism and a second crystal oscillator. The detection mechanism is used to measure the frequency change of the second crystal oscillator itself and calculate the thickness of the coated layer and the corresponding coating rate.
[0016] It should be noted that the material of the first or second crystal oscillator is not limited in this invention. For example, it can be a quartz crystal or a ceramic crystal. Quartz crystal has a piezoelectric effect. When an electric field is applied to the two electrodes of a quartz crystal, the crystal will undergo mechanical deformation. Conversely, when the crystal is subjected to mechanical force, it will generate a charge on its surface. In a vacuum evaporation system, this characteristic can be used to accurately monitor the thickness of the coating. Ceramic crystal has good mechanical properties and thermal stability, and can maintain its shape and performance stability in the complex environment of a vacuum evaporation system.
[0017] It should be noted that the lower limit of the lifespan of the first crystal oscillator is ≤ 90% of the initial lifespan.
[0018] It should be noted that during the vacuum coating process, the sensitivity of the crystal oscillator decreases as the surface film quality increases. If this film is not removed, it will severely affect the testing accuracy of the crystal oscillator. The deposited film may alter the vibration characteristics of the crystal oscillator, leading to inaccurate monitoring. Therefore, the first crystal oscillator in the first crystal oscillator tester is generally replaced when its lower limit of lifespan is ≤ 90% of its initial lifespan.
[0019] Preferably, the cleaning device includes a cleaning liquid and a cleaning nozzle, wherein the cleaning nozzle is used to spray the cleaning liquid onto the surface of the first crystal oscillator with the lower limit of its lifespan for cleaning.
[0020] In this invention, the surface of the crystal oscillator is cleaned by spraying, which provides good comprehensive coverage, high cleaning efficiency, and avoids damage to the material surface; at the same time, it allows for flexible control of the cleaning degree, making it convenient and economical.
[0021] Preferably, the buffer cavity is further provided with an air knife for cleaning the first crystal oscillator.
[0022] Preferably, the air knife is located on the side of the cleaning device away from the process chamber, and the vertical distance between the air knife and the moving slide rail is less than the vertical distance between the cleaning device and the moving slide rail.
[0023] In this invention, an air knife is used to blow away the cleaning fluid and material residue on the surface of the first crystal oscillator after cleaning. The high-speed airflow can quickly blow away the cleaning fluid and material residue on the surface of the crystal oscillator, greatly improving cleaning efficiency and ensuring uniform cleaning without localized over- or under-cleaning. Furthermore, while cleaning the cleaning fluid and material residue from the material surface, the air knife can also dry the surface. In addition, the air knife is positioned closer to the moving slide rail, both for rapid drying and to prevent the cleaning fluid from being blown off-center.
[0024] Preferably, the air inlet pressure of the air knife is 0.3-0.8 MPa, for example, it can be 0.3 MPa, 0.4 MPa, 0.5 MPa, 0.6 MPa, 0.7 MPa or 0.8 MPa.
[0025] In this invention, the appropriate air intake pressure of the air knife can generate a sufficiently strong airflow, which can effectively and quickly blow away the cleaning fluid and material residue on the surface of the crystal oscillator. At the same time, the appropriate air intake pressure of the air knife can ensure that the air knife covers a large cleaning area per unit time without damaging the surface of the crystal oscillator.
[0026] Preferably, the air knife is a gas air knife. For example, it could be a nitrogen air knife.
[0027] Preferably, the process chamber is provided with a substrate stage and an evaporation source. The substrate stage is located at the top of the process chamber and is used to support the substrate to be coated. The evaporation source is located at the bottom of the process chamber, so that the material to be coated placed in the evaporation source changes from a solid state to a gaseous state and is deposited on the surface of the substrate to form a thin film.
[0028] This utility model also provides a method for cleaning crystal oscillators, wherein the cleaning method is performed using the vacuum evaporation apparatus described above, and includes the following steps:
[0029] (1) Vacuum evaporation coating is performed in the process chamber.
[0030] (2) When the service life of the first crystal oscillator is less than or equal to 90% of the initial service life, the insert valve is opened to allow the first crystal oscillator to be exchanged with the second crystal oscillator. The first crystal oscillator enters the buffer chamber, while the second crystal oscillator enters the process chamber to continue monitoring the coating thickness and coating rate.
[0031] (3) The first crystal oscillator fixed on the moving slide rail is cleaned by spraying cleaning fluid through the cleaning device.
[0032] (4) Move the first crystal oscillator so that the air knife can blow away the cleaning fluid and material residue on the surface of the first crystal oscillator after cleaning.
[0033] (5) After the service life of the second crystal oscillator in the process cavity is ≤ 90% of the initial service life, repeat steps (2)-(4).
[0034] It should be noted that the cleaning solution in the cleaning device can be selected according to the coating material.
[0035] However, this does not apply to all values listed; other unlisted values within this range also apply.
[0036] The numerical range described in this utility model includes not only the point values listed above, but also any point values within the numerical range not listed above. Due to space limitations and for the sake of brevity, this utility model will not exhaustively list the specific point values included in the range.
[0037] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of this utility model are as follows:
[0038] This invention adds a cleaning device and a backup second crystal oscillator tester to the existing buffer chamber. With a relatively low increase in equipment cost, it achieves the purpose of cleaning the crystal oscillator without breaking the vacuum in the process chamber. This not only avoids air contamination of the target material and the coating layer, improving the utilization rate of the target material and the coating rate, but also extends the service life of the crystal oscillator, reduces the maintenance frequency caused by opening the process chamber due to the lifespan of the crystal oscillator, greatly increases the production cycle, significantly reduces the cost of using the crystal oscillator, and enables reusability. Attached Figure Description
[0039] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the vacuum evaporation apparatus provided in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
[0040] Among them, 1-process chamber; 2-buffer chamber; 3-first crystal oscillator; 4-second crystal oscillator; 5-cleaning device; 6-insertion valve; 7-moving slide rail; 8-air knife; 9-substrate stage; 10-evaporation source. Detailed Implementation
[0041] It should be understood that in the description of this utility model, the terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used solely for the convenience of describing this utility model and for simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this utility model. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," etc., are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, features defined with "first," "second," etc., may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this utility model, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.
[0042] It should be noted that, in the description of this utility model, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "set," "connected," and "linked" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this utility model based on the specific circumstances.
[0043] Those skilled in the art should understand that this utility model necessarily includes the necessary pipelines, conventional valves and general pump equipment for achieving complete process, but the above content is not the main innovation of this utility model. Those skilled in the art can add layouts based on the process flow and equipment structure selection. This utility model does not make any special requirements or specific limitations in this regard.
[0044] The technical solution of this utility model will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.
[0045] Example 1
[0046] This embodiment provides a closed-loop vacuum evaporation deposition apparatus for cleaning crystal oscillators, as shown in the schematic diagram below. Figure 1 As shown, the vacuum evaporation apparatus includes a process chamber 1 and a buffer chamber 2 connected to the process chamber 1. The process chamber 1 is equipped with a first crystal oscillator tester for detecting the thickness of the deposited film in the process chamber 1. The tester includes a detection mechanism and a first crystal oscillator 3. The detection mechanism measures the frequency change of the first crystal oscillator 3 and calculates the thickness of the deposited film and the corresponding deposition rate. The buffer chamber 2 is equipped with a second crystal oscillator tester, a cleaning device 5, and a nitrogen air knife 8. The second crystal oscillator tester includes a detection mechanism and a second crystal oscillator 41. The detection mechanism measures the frequency change of the second crystal oscillator 41 and calculates the thickness of the deposited film and the corresponding deposition rate. The second crystal oscillator tester is used to replace the first crystal oscillator tester with a lower lifespan. The cleaning device 5 is used to clean the first crystal oscillator tester with a lower lifespan.
[0047] The process chamber 1 and the buffer chamber 2 are connected by a slide gate valve 6, which serves as a channel for replacing the second crystal oscillator tester 4 and the first crystal oscillator tester with a lower lifespan. The buffer chamber 2 and a portion of the process chamber 1 are provided with a movable slide rail 7 for translating the first crystal oscillator tester or the second crystal oscillator tester. The movable slide rail 7 is suspended along the width direction of the buffer chamber 2, and one end of the movable slide rail 7 near the process chamber 2 passes through the slide gate valve 6 to enter the process chamber 2, thereby realizing the exchange of the first crystal oscillator tester 3 or the second crystal oscillator tester 4.
[0048] The lower limit of the lifespan of the first crystal oscillator 31 = initial lifespan × 90%.
[0049] The cleaning device 5 includes a cleaning liquid and a cleaning nozzle. The cleaning nozzle is used to spray the cleaning liquid onto the surface of the first crystal oscillator 31 with the lower limit of its lifespan for cleaning. The nitrogen air knife 8 is used to blow away the cleaning liquid and material residue on the surface of the first crystal oscillator 31 after cleaning by the cleaning device. The inlet pressure of the nitrogen air knife 8 is 0.5 MPa.
[0050] The process chamber 1 is provided with a substrate stage 9 and an evaporation source 10. The substrate stage 9 is located at the top of the process chamber 1 and is used to support the substrate to be coated. The evaporation source 10 is located at the bottom of the process chamber 1, so that the material to be evaporated placed in the evaporation source 10 changes from solid to gaseous state and is deposited on the surface of the substrate to form a thin film.
[0051] This embodiment also provides a method for cleaning a crystal oscillator, wherein the cleaning method is performed using the vacuum evaporation apparatus described above, and includes the following steps:
[0052] (1) Vacuum evaporation coating is performed in the process chamber.
[0053] (2) When the service life of the first crystal oscillator drops to 90% of its initial service life, the insert valve is opened to allow the first crystal oscillator to be exchanged with the second crystal oscillator. The first crystal oscillator enters the buffer chamber, while the second crystal oscillator enters the process chamber to continue monitoring the coating thickness and coating rate.
[0054] (3) The first crystal oscillator fixed on the moving slide rail is cleaned by spraying cleaning fluid through the cleaning device.
[0055] (4) Move the first crystal oscillator so that the air knife can blow away the cleaning fluid and material residue on the surface of the first crystal oscillator after cleaning.
[0056] (5) After the lifespan of the second crystal oscillator in the process cavity drops to 90% of the initial lifespan, repeat steps (2)-(4).
[0057] Example 2
[0058] The difference between this embodiment and Embodiment 1 is that a nitrogen air knife is not used.
[0059] The remaining apparatus and cleaning methods are consistent with those in Example 1.
[0060] analyze:
[0061] As can be seen from Examples 1 and 2, if a nitrogen air knife is not installed, the residue on the surface of the crystal oscillator cannot be effectively cleaned, and the drying time of the cleaning solution is long, affecting the production cycle.
[0062] In summary, this invention adds a cleaning device and a backup second crystal oscillator tester to the existing buffer chamber. With a relatively low increase in equipment cost, it achieves crystal cleaning without breaking the vacuum in the process chamber. This not only avoids air contamination of the target material and the deposited film, improving target material utilization and coating rate, but also extends the lifespan of the crystal oscillator, reduces the frequency of maintenance caused by opening the process chamber due to crystal oscillator lifespan depletion, significantly increases production cycle time, and significantly reduces the cost of using the crystal oscillator, enabling reusability. Simultaneously, an air knife is used to blow away cleaning fluid and material residue from the surface of the first crystal oscillator after cleaning. The high-speed airflow can quickly remove cleaning fluid and material residue from the crystal oscillator surface, greatly improving cleaning efficiency and ensuring uniform cleaning without localized over- or under-cleaning. Furthermore, while cleaning cleaning fluid and material residue from the material surface, the surface can also be dried, enabling recycling.
[0063] The applicant declares that the above description is only a specific embodiment of the present utility model, but the protection scope of the present utility model is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art should understand that any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present utility model fall within the protection and disclosure scope of the present utility model.
Claims
1. A closed-loop vacuum evaporation apparatus for cleaning crystal oscillators, characterized in that, The vacuum evaporation apparatus includes a process chamber and a buffer chamber that communicates with the process chamber. The process chamber is equipped with a first crystal oscillator tester, which is used to detect the thickness of the film layer deposited in the process chamber; The buffer chamber is equipped with a second crystal oscillator tester and a cleaning device. The second crystal oscillator tester is used to replace the first crystal oscillator tester with the lower limit of its lifespan, and the cleaning device is used to clean the first crystal oscillator tester with the lower limit of its lifespan.
2. The vacuum evaporation apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The process chamber and the buffer chamber are connected by a gate valve, which serves as a channel for replacing the second crystal oscillator tester and the first crystal oscillator tester with the lower limit of lifespan.
3. The vacuum evaporation apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The buffer cavity and the partial process cavity are provided with movable slide rails for the translation of the first crystal oscillator tester and / or the second crystal oscillator tester.
4. The vacuum evaporation apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that, The movable slide rail is suspended along the width direction of the buffer cavity, and the end of the movable slide rail near the process cavity passes through the slide valve to enter the process cavity.
5. The vacuum evaporation apparatus according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The first crystal oscillator tester includes a detection mechanism and a first crystal oscillator chip. The detection mechanism is used to measure the frequency change of the first crystal oscillator chip itself and calculate the thickness of the coated film and the corresponding coating rate.
6. The vacuum evaporation apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cleaning device includes a cleaning fluid and a cleaning nozzle. The cleaning nozzle is used to spray the cleaning fluid onto the surface of the first crystal oscillator with the lower limit of its lifespan for cleaning.
7. The vacuum evaporation apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that, The buffer cavity is also equipped with an air knife for cleaning the first crystal oscillator.
8. The vacuum evaporation apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that, The air knife is located on the side of the cleaning device away from the process chamber, and the vertical distance between the air knife and the moving slide rail is less than the vertical distance between the cleaning device and the moving slide rail.
9. The vacuum evaporation apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that, The air knife is a gas air knife.
10. The vacuum evaporation apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The process chamber is equipped with a substrate stage and an evaporation source. The substrate stage is located at the top of the process chamber and is used to support the substrate to be coated. The evaporation source is located at the bottom of the process chamber, so that the material to be coated placed in the evaporation source changes from a solid state to a gaseous state and is deposited on the surface of the substrate to form a thin film.