Vacuum valve and substrate processing device including the same

Abstract

To provide a vacuum valve which can prevent a pressing force from being applied to a guide roller for guiding movement of a shutter to contribute to improvement of durability with a compact and simple structure, and to provide a substrate processing device including the vacuum valve.SOLUTION: A vacuum valve 1 includes: a shutter 40; a shutter ring 50; a guide roller 61 which rolls along a guide groove 17 provided at a valve housing 10; a support shaft 70 which rotatably supports the guide roller 61 at a predetermined position on an axis directed in a passage direction and contacts with an inner wall surface 12a of the valve housing 10 with a downstream side end formed as a free end; and a shaft holding member 80 which is fastened to an upstream side surface 40a of the shutter 40 so as to be movable in the passage direction relative to the support shaft 70 while holding an upstream side end of the support shaft 70.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vacuum valve and a substrate processing apparatus including the vacuum valve, and more particularly, to a vacuum valve including a shutter for opening and closing a flow port of a valve housing and a shutter ring for pressing the shutter toward the flow port, and a substrate processing apparatus including the vacuum valve.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a valve in an exhaust system of a substrate processing apparatus such as a semiconductor wafer, a liquid crystal substrate, or a substrate for a solar cell panel is provided with a shutter that moves in a substantially L shape to open and close a flow port of a valve housing. This shutter is moved parallel to the flow port and is pressed toward the flow port side by a shutter ring at a position facing the flow port to seal the flow port. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a substrate processing apparatus including an exhaust pump for exhausting gas in a substrate processing space of a process chamber, a first flow path portion connected to the process chamber and communicating with the substrate processing space, and a second flow path portion coupled to the exhaust pump, and a valve module disposed between the first flow path portion and the second flow path portion for opening and closing a flow path through which gas flows. In the valve module described in Patent Document 1, a blade portion (corresponding to a shutter) having both side portions connected to a reinforcing frame portion is moved back and forth while being guided by guide rollers provided on the reinforcing frame portion. When the blade portion is pressed toward the flow port by a blocking ring portion (corresponding to a shutter ring), the blade portion moves relatively toward the flow port with respect to the reinforcing frame, so that the guide rollers provided on the reinforcing frame can hold a predetermined position.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a reinforcing frame is provided in a region outside the blade portion that does not interfere with the blade portion in the flow path direction, and a guide roller is provided on this reinforcing frame. As a result, the portion that moves in parallel with the flow path opening together with the blade portion becomes large as a whole, and as a result, there is a problem that the apparatus dimensions increase. Further, when the blade portion is pressed by the blocking ring portion, the reinforcing frame is provided in two parts, a first coupling block and a second coupling block, so that the blade portion moves relative to the reinforcing frame. Since a part of the blade portion is disposed between the two coupling blocks and a guide roller is disposed, there is a problem that the apparatus configuration becomes complicated.

[0005] The present invention has been developed to solve the conventional problems, and its object is to contribute to the improvement of durability by preventing a pressing force from being applied to a guide roller that guides the movement of a shutter with a compact and simple configuration. An object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum valve and a substrate processing apparatus including the vacuum valve.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 includes a shutter provided movably parallel to a flow port formed in a valve housing within the valve housing, and a shutter ring provided movably forward and backward along the flow path direction within the valve housing. When the shutter is open, the front end surface abuts against the inner wall surface of the valve housing to form an airtight flow path connected to the flow port. When the shutter is closed, the front end surface presses the shutter against the inner wall surface to airtightly close the flow port. A guide roller that rolls along a guide groove provided parallel to the flow port in the valve housing, a support shaft that rotatably supports the guide roller at a predetermined position on the axis facing the flow path direction and whose downstream end abuts against the inner wall surface with the free end, and a shaft holding member fixed to the upstream surface of the shutter so as to be movable relative to the support shaft in the flow path direction while holding the upstream end of the support shaft. It is a vacuum valve having these components.

[0007] The invention according to claim 2 is a vacuum valve that holds the upstream end of the support shaft in an inserted state.

[0008] The invention according to claim 3 is a vacuum valve in which the guide roller is held by the support shaft so that a part thereof overlaps the shutter when viewed from the surface side of the shutter. The shutter has a notch portion that notches the overlapping portion with the guide roller when viewed from the surface side of the shutter, and is pressed against the inner wall surface to avoid interference with the guide roller by this notch portion.

[0009] The invention according to claim 4 is a vacuum valve in which the support shaft has a downstream locking portion that prevents the guide roller from moving downstream and an upstream locking portion that prevents the guide roller from moving upstream, and an elastic member is disposed between the upstream locking portion of the support shaft and the holding member so as to be stretchable and contractible in the flow path direction.

[0010] The invention according to claim 5 is a vacuum valve in which the vacuum valve according to claim 1 is a round gate valve.

[0011] The invention according to claim 6 is a substrate processing apparatus in which the vacuum valve according to claim 1 or 3 is interposed between an exhaust connection portion of a chamber for processing a substrate and an exhaust passage connected to a vacuum pump.

Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the invention according to claim 1, there are provided a support shaft that rotatably supports a guide roller at a predetermined position on the axis facing the flow path direction and has a downstream end in contact with the inner wall surface as a free end, and a shaft holding member that holds the upstream end of the support shaft and is fixed to the upstream surface of the shutter so as to be movable relative to the support shaft in the flow path direction. Therefore, when the shutter moves parallel to the flow path opening and when it is pressed against the inner wall surface by the shutter ring, the downstream end of the support shaft contacts the inner wall surface and the guide roller is held in the guide groove. Therefore, when the shutter is pressed by the shutter ring and moves in the flow path direction, the shutter can close the flow path opening while holding the guide roller in the guide groove parallel to the flow path opening. In addition, since the shaft holding member that holds the support shaft of the guide roller is fixed to the upstream surface of the shutter, that is, since it is fixed to the surface of the shutter rather than in the outer region of the shutter where the shaft holding member does not interfere with the shutter, the dimensions of the portion that moves parallel to the flow path opening together with the shutter can be suppressed. In addition, since the support shaft has only its upstream end held by the shaft holding member and the downstream end is a free end, it is not necessary to hold the downstream end by a member different from the shaft holding member. Therefore, with a compact and simple configuration, it is possible to prevent the guide roller that guides the movement of the shutter from being damaged by being pressed against the guide groove, and as a result, with a compact and simple configuration, it is possible to contribute to improving the durability by preventing a pressing force from being applied to the guide roller that guides the movement of the shutter.

[0013] According to the invention according to claim 2, since the shaft holding member holds the upstream end of the support shaft in an inserted state, it can be provided in a simple configuration so as to be movable relative to the support shaft in the flow path direction.

[0014] According to the invention according to claim 3, the guide roller is supported by a support shaft such that a part thereof overlaps the shutter when viewed from the surface side of the shutter, and the shutter has a notch portion that notches a portion overlapping the guide roller when viewed from the surface side of the shutter, and the shutter is pressed against the inner wall surface of the valve housing while avoiding interference with the guide roller by this notch portion. Therefore, the guide roller can be arranged close to the shutter up to a position overlapping the shutter, and as a result, the device can be made more compact.

[0015] According to the invention according to claim 4, the support shaft has a downstream locking portion that prevents the guide roller from moving downstream and an upstream locking portion that prevents the guide roller from moving upstream, and an elastic member is disposed between the upstream locking portion of the support shaft and the shaft holding member so as to be elastically expandable and contractible in the flow path direction. Thereby, the elastic member applies a force to bias the support shaft against the inner wall surface of the valve housing via the upstream locking portion, and the support shaft is maintained in a state of being in contact with the inner wall surface of the valve housing, and the guide roller is held at a predetermined position in the flow path direction with respect to the inner wall surface of the valve housing by the support shaft. As a result, the guide roller is stably held in the guide groove. Further, when the shutter is pressed against the inner wall surface of the valve housing by the tip surface of the shutter ring to airtightly close the flow port, the shaft holding member moves toward the inner wall surface side of the valve housing while compressing the elastic member together with the shutter. When the pressing of the shutter by the shutter ring is stopped from this state, the compressed elastic member is elastically restored, so that the shaft holding member is moved in a direction away from the inner wall surface of the valve housing relative to the support shaft, and the shutter to which the shaft holding member is fixed is in an open state away from the inner wall surface of the valve housing. Therefore, the guide roller can be stably held in the guide groove with a simple configuration, and the shutter can be opened and closed.

[0016] According to the invention according to claim 5, since the vacuum valve is a round gate valve, it can have a compact and simple structure and guide the shutter by guide rollers to open and close a circular flow port.

[0017] According to the invention according to claim 6, by interposing the vacuum valve according to claim 1 or 3 between the exhaust connection part of the chamber for processing the substrate and the exhaust path connected to the vacuum pump, an effect similar to the above-described effect of the vacuum valve is achieved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Figure 15

Figure 16

Figure 17

Figure 18

[0019] Hereinafter, embodiments of the vacuum valve and the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 14. Note that the present disclosure is not limited by the embodiments described below. Also, the drawings are schematic, and it should be noted that the dimensional relationships between elements, the ratios of the elements, etc. may be different from the actual ones. Furthermore, there may be parts where the dimensional relationships and ratios between the drawings are different from each other. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a substrate processing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a vacuum valve 1 according to the embodiment as viewed from the upstream side. (b) is a perspective view of the vacuum valve 1 according to the embodiment as viewed from the downstream side. FIG. 3 is a perspective cross-sectional view of the vicinity of a guide roller 61 of the vacuum valve 1. FIG. 4 is a view showing a part of the vacuum valve 1 extracted. FIG. 6 is a view showing a part of the vacuum valve 1 with the shutter 40 in the closed state extracted. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the shutter 40 with the shutter guide mechanism 60 attached as viewed from the downstream side. (b) is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the shutter guide mechanism 60 shown in (a). FIG. 8 is a view of a part of the vacuum valve 1 seen through from one side surface side of the valve housing 10. FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the guide roller 61 shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is a view showing a part of the vacuum valve 1 with the shutter 40 in the open state extracted. FIG. 11 is a view of a part of the vacuum valve 1 seen through from one side surface side of the valve housing 10. FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the guide roller 61 shown in FIG. 11. FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the guide roller 61 shown in FIG. 11. FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of the shutter guide mechanism 60. FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the downstream wall 12 of the valve housing 10 to which the exhaust side connection flange 30 is connected as viewed from the upstream side. FIG. 15 is a view for explaining the operation of the vacuum valve 1. FIG. 16 is a view for explaining the operation of the shutter guide mechanism 60. FIG. 17 is a view for explaining a modified example of the shutter guide mechanism 60. FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the shutter guide mechanism 90 shown in FIG. 17 as viewed from the downstream surface of the shutter 42.

[0020] The vacuum valve 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is used, for example, as a valve in the exhaust system of a substrate processing apparatus 100 such as a semiconductor wafer, a liquid crystal substrate, or a substrate for a solar cell panel. In this embodiment, a round gate valve is used. This vacuum valve 1 is interposed between an exhaust connection portion 112 of a chamber 110 (hereinafter referred to as a process chamber), which is a vacuum processing chamber for processing a substrate using a gas, and an exhaust passage 220 connected to a vacuum pump 210, and the exhaust passage 220 is communicated or blocked by opening and closing a flow port 32 with a shutter 40.

[0021] <Regarding the substrate processing apparatus 100> As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 100 includes a process chamber 110, a gas introduction system (not shown) for introducing a gas necessary for substrate processing into the process chamber 110, an exhaust system 200 for exhausting the gas in the process chamber 110, and a control device 300 for controlling each part of the substrate processing apparatus 100. In this embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus 100 having one process chamber 110 is illustrated. However, the substrate processing apparatus 100 may include a plurality of process chambers 110, or other components such as a vacuum preliminary chamber may be added.

[0022] <Regarding the process chamber 110> The process chamber 110 is configured to be depressurized to a predetermined vacuum pressure inside and to be able to introduce gas. The process chamber 110 has, for example, a box shape made of a metal containing Al (aluminum), Y (yttrium), etc., a chamber body 111 through which a substrate is carried in and out, a gas introduction connection part (not shown) connected to the gas introduction system, and an exhaust connection part 112 connected to the exhaust system 200.

[0023] The exhaust connection part 112 forms a flange part that connects to the chamber-side connection flange 20 of the vacuum valve 1.

[0024] <Regarding the exhaust system 200> The exhaust system 200 includes a vacuum pump 210, and a vacuum valve 1 interposed between the exhaust connection part 112 of the process chamber 110 and an exhaust path 220 connected to the vacuum pump 210.

[0025] <Regarding the vacuum valve 1> As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, a round gate valve is used as the vacuum valve 1. The vacuum valve 1 includes a valve housing 10 that houses each part of the valve, a chamber-side connection flange 20 that is provided so as to be connectable to an exhaust connection portion 112 of the process chamber 110, an exhaust-side connection flange 30 that is provided so as to be connectable to an exhaust passage 220 leading to a vacuum pump 210, a shutter 40 that is provided movably in parallel with a flow port 32 within the valve housing 10, a shutter ring 50 that is provided so as to be movable forward and backward along the flow path direction within the valve housing 10, and a shutter guide mechanism 60 that guides the movement of the shutter 40 within the valve housing 10.

[0026] <Regarding the valve housing 10 of the vacuum valve 1> The valve housing 10 is formed in a box shape having a plurality of surfaces for the accommodation space in which each part of the vacuum valve 1 is accommodated. Specifically, the valve housing 10 includes a wall provided facing the flow path direction, an upstream wall 11 and a downstream wall 12 in which upstream and downstream flow ports 22 and 32 are respectively formed, a pair of side walls 13 and 14 provided on both sides of the upstream wall 11 and the downstream wall 12, and a front wall 15 and a rear wall 16 provided facing each other in the direction in which the shutter 40 moves in parallel with the flow port 32. This valve housing 10 movably accommodates a drive arm 18 in a space where the shutter 40 retracted from the flow port 32 is disposed, that is, a space for accommodating the shutter 40 in the open state.

[0027] Further, on the inner wall surfaces of the pair of side walls 13 and 14 of the valve housing 10, guide grooves 17 for guiding guide rollers 61 described later are formed in a straight line parallel to the flow port 32. The width of this guide groove 17 is set slightly larger than the width of the guide roller 61.

[0028] <Regarding the chamber-side connection flange 20 of the vacuum valve 1> As shown in FIG. 3, the chamber-side connection flange 20 is connected to the valve housing 10 by fitting an annular protrusion 21 into the inner diameter side of a flow port 11b formed in the upstream wall 11. The end face 21a of this annular protrusion 21 is aligned with the inner wall surface 11a of the upstream wall 11. That is, in the present embodiment, the end face 21a of the chamber-side connection flange 20 forms a part of the inner wall surface 11a of the upstream wall 11 of the valve housing 10. In addition, since the inner peripheral surface 20a of the chamber-side connection flange 20 forms the inner peripheral surface of the flow port 11b, in the present embodiment, on the upstream side of the valve housing 10, a flow port 22 is formed by the chamber-side connection flange 20.

[0029] In addition, inside the chamber-side connection flange 20, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of air cylinders 19 are dispersedly arranged along the circumferential direction, and by these plurality of air cylinders 19, the shuttering 50 is pushed downstream while suppressing inclination. The chamber-side connection flange 20 is formed with an air supply hole 23 for receiving air from an air supply source, and can supply driving air to each air cylinder 19 through a flow path 24 formed inside. More specifically, an annular air chamber 25 is formed inside the chamber-side connection flange 20, and the air cylinders 19 are arranged along the circumferential direction of an annular member 26 that partitions this air chamber 25. When air is supplied from the air supply source to the air chamber 25 through the flow path 24, the annular member 26 moves in the downstream direction, so that the plurality of air cylinders 19 together with the annular member 26 push the shuttering 50 downstream. Note that in the present embodiment, an example is shown in which the chamber-side connection flange 20 is constituted by one member, but the chamber-side connection flange 20 may be constituted by a plurality of members for easy assembly.

[0030] <Regarding the exhaust-side connection flange 30 of the vacuum valve 1> As shown in FIG. 3, the exhaust-side connection flange 30 is connected to the valve housing 10 by fitting an annular protrusion 31 on the inner diameter side of a flow port 12b formed in the downstream wall 12. The end face 31a of this annular protrusion 31 is aligned with the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12. That is, in the present embodiment, the end face 31a of the exhaust-side connection flange 30 forms a part of the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12 of the valve housing 10. Further, since the inner peripheral surface 30a of the exhaust-side connection flange 30 forms the inner peripheral surface of the flow port 12b, in the present embodiment, on the downstream side of the valve housing 10, the flow port 32 is formed by the exhaust-side connection flange 30.

[0031] Also, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 14, a resin annular member 35 is provided on the end face 31a of the annular protrusion 31 of the exhaust-side connection flange 30 to prevent metal contact with the shutter 40. In the present embodiment, the resin annular member 35 uses polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), but other resins may also be used.

[0032] <Regarding the shutter 40 of the vacuum valve 1> As shown in FIG. 6, the shutter 40 has a plate shape large enough to at least close the flow port 32, and a drive arm 18 that moves the shutter 40 parallel to the flow port 32 is connected to one end. Further, when viewed from the surface 40a side facing the flow path direction, the shutter 40 has a notch portion 41 in which a portion overlapping the guide roller 61 is cut out (see FIG. 7). The later-described support shaft 70 and guide roller 61 of the shutter guide mechanism 60 do not interfere with the shutter 40 in the flow path direction through the notch portion 41. In the present embodiment, the guide roller 61 is arranged inside the shutter 40 such that approximately half of the guide roller 61 overlaps the shutter 40 when viewed from the surface side. And a part of the shutter 40 is cut out in a semicircular shape so that the guide roller 61 does not interfere.

[0033] <Regarding the shutter ring 50 of the vacuum valve 1> When the shutter 40 is open, the shutter ring 50 abuts against the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12 of the valve housing 10, more specifically, the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12 including the end face 31a of the exhaust-side connection flange 30, with its front end face 52a, to hermetically form a flow path connected to the flow port 32. When the shutter 40 is closed, the front end face 52a presses the shutter 40 against the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12, more specifically, the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12 including the end face 31a of the exhaust-side connection flange 30, to hermetically close the flow port 32. As shown in FIGS. 3, 6, and 10, this shutter ring 50 includes a sliding cylindrical portion 51 that is slidably fitted via an annular seal member 53 to the inner peripheral surface 20a of the chamber-side connection flange 20, and a flange portion 52 that is provided in a flange shape at the tip of this sliding cylindrical portion 51 and whose front end face 52a abuts against the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12 of the valve housing 10 or presses the shutter 40.

[0034] As described above, the sliding cylindrical portion 51 is slidably fitted to the inner peripheral surface 20a of the chamber-side connection flange 20 through the flow port 22 formed by the chamber-side connection flange 20 inside the flow port 11b of the upstream wall 11. Further, the sliding cylindrical portion 51 is provided with an annular seal member 53 on its outer peripheral surface so that it can slide in the flow path direction while sealing the flow path with respect to the chamber-side connection flange 20. That is, the shutter ring 50 is connected to the chamber-side connection flange 20 so as to be able to move forward and backward in the downstream direction.

[0035] Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an annular seal member 54 is provided on the front end face 52a of the flange portion 52 to take countermeasures against back pressure. For example, when the downstream side becomes atmospheric pressure with respect to the closed shutter 40 and the upstream side becomes negative pressure with respect to the shutter 40, although the shutter 40 is pushed toward the process chamber 110 side by the differential pressure and separated from the exhaust-side connection flange 30, the sealing performance is maintained by contacting the annular seal member 54 provided on the front end face 52a of the shutter ring 50.

[0036] <Regarding the shutter guide mechanism 60> As shown in FIG. 13, the shutter guide mechanism 60 includes a guide roller 61 that rolls along a guide groove 17 provided in the valve housing 10, a support shaft 70 that rotatably supports the guide roller 61 at a predetermined position on the axis facing the flow path direction, and a shaft holding member 80 that holds the upstream end of the support shaft 70.

[0037] <Regarding the support shaft 70 of the shutter guide mechanism 60> The support shaft 70 rotatably supports the guide roller 61 at a predetermined position on the axis facing the flow path direction, and includes a shaft body 71 and a tip contact portion 72 provided at the tip of the shaft body 71 to form the downstream end of the support shaft 70.

[0038] The shaft body 71 has a downstream locking portion 71a that prevents the guide roller 61 from moving downstream and an upstream locking portion 71b that prevents the guide roller 61 from moving upstream. The downstream locking portion 71a is provided in a flange shape with an enlarged diameter at the downstream end of the shaft body 71, and is a portion that prevents the guide roller 61 from moving downstream along the shaft. The upstream locking portion 71b is a portion that prevents the guide roller 61 from moving upstream along the shaft by a C-shaped ring 71d fitted and fixed in an annular groove 71c formed on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft body 71. The guide roller 61 is arranged to fit in a predetermined position on the support shaft 70 by these downstream locking portion 71a and upstream locking portion 71b. Also, a retaining ring 71e is attached to the upstream end of the shaft body 71 to prevent the support shaft 70 from detaching from the shaft holding member 80.

[0039] The tip contact portion 72 is a portion that contacts the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12 of the valve housing 10, and in this embodiment, it is made of a polyimide material having excellent low friction and low wear characteristics. This tip contact portion 72 has a contact head portion 72a forming an enlarged outer diameter portion and a columnar fitting portion 72b fitted into the shaft body 71 from the end face side of the downstream locking portion 71a, and is connected to the shaft body 71. As shown in FIG. 13, the contact head portion 72a is formed in a tapered shape with the outer peripheral edge portion having a reduced diameter toward the tip, and is adapted to slide smoothly on the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12.

[0040] <Regarding the shaft holding member 80 of the shutter guide mechanism 60> The shaft holding member 80 is provided by being fixed to the upstream surface 40a of the shutter 40 while holding the shaft 70 movably relative to the shaft 70 in the flow path direction by inserting the upstream end portion of the support shaft 70. This shaft holding member 80 has a block shape, and an enlarged diameter recess 81 and a reduced diameter recess 82 having different inner diameters are continuously formed coaxially from downstream to upstream. And a shaft through hole 82b through which the upstream end portion of the support shaft 70 penetrates is formed in the bottom surface 82a of the reduced diameter recess 82.

[0041] The enlarged diameter recess 81 is formed with a diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the guide roller 61. As shown in FIG. 12, its depth D1 is set larger than the moving distance D2 in the flow path direction required for the shutter 40 to be pressed by the shutter ring 50 and come into contact with the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12 of the valve housing 10. Therefore, even if the shaft holding member 80 moves downstream together with the shutter 40 relative to the support shaft 70 when the shutter 40 is pressed by the shutter ring 50, the shaft holding member 80 does not interfere with the guide roller 61. That is, the enlarged diameter recess 81 forms a space that allows the shaft holding member 80 to move in the flow path direction relative to the support shaft 70 without interfering with the guide roller 61.

[0042] The reduced diameter recess 82 is a portion that holds the spring 83 as an elastic member so as to be expandable and contractible in the axial direction of the support shaft 70. The spring 83 is held so as to be stretchable between the upstream locking portion 71b of the support shaft 70 and the bottom surface 82a of the reduced-diameter concave portion 82. And, on the bottom surface 82a of the reduced-diameter concave portion 82, a shaft through-hole 82b through which the upstream end portion of the support shaft 70 penetrates is formed. This shaft through-hole 82b holds the upstream end portion of the support shaft 70 inserted into the hole so as to be freely insertable.

[0043] <Regarding the control device 300> The control device 300 is realized by, for example, a microcomputer, and includes a controller (not shown) that includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. and controls each part of the substrate processing apparatus 100, a user interface (not shown) realized by a display or the like, and a storage unit (not shown) in which various programs such as a control program are stored. The control device 300 controls the vacuum valve 1 and the like based on a control program and the like stored in the storage unit. As shown in FIG. 1, the control device 300 is connected to various drive systems of the process chamber 110, and controls them by driving a drive motor that drives the drive arm 18 of the shutter 40 of the vacuum valve 1, supplying drive air to a plurality of air cylinders 19 that move the shutter ring 50 by an air compressor 19a, and connecting to the motor 210a of the vacuum pump 210 via a driver.

[0044] <Regarding the operation of the vacuum valve 1 in substrate processing> Next, with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16, the operation of the vacuum valve 1 in substrate processing will be described. Here, before starting substrate processing, as shown in FIG. 15(a), the shutter 40 and the shutter ring 50 of the vacuum valve 1 are in an open state. In this state, the shutter 40 is disposed at an open position that does not interfere with the flow port of the downstream wall 12, more specifically, the flow port 32 formed by the exhaust-side connection flange 30. Further, when the shutter 50 moves parallel to the flow path opening 32 toward the position facing the flow path opening 32 from the open position, the shutter 50 is arranged away from the flow path opening 32 so as not to interfere with the shutter 40.

[0045] In the state shown in FIG. 15(a), evacuation of the process chamber 110 is performed using the vacuum pump 210.

[0046] When the evacuation of the process chamber 110 is completed, the vacuum valve 1 closes the shutter 40 as shown in FIG. 15(b). First, the shutter 40 moves parallel to the flow path opening 32 from the open position to the position facing the flow path opening 32 by the drive arm 18. When the shutter 40 moves parallel to the flow path opening 32 from the open position to the position facing the flow path opening 32, the shutter guide mechanism 60 moves from the open position (see FIG. 16(a)) to the position facing the flow path opening (see FIG. 16(b)) together with the shutter 40 with the tip contact portion 72 of the support shaft 70 in contact with the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12. Thereby, the support shaft 70 is maintained at a predetermined position in the flow path direction with respect to the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12 while the shutter 40 moves from the open position to the position facing the flow path opening 32. Since the guide roller 61 is held at a predetermined position on the axis of the support shaft 70, the guide roller 61 is maintained at a predetermined position in the flow path direction with respect to the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12. Therefore, the guide roller 61 guides the movement of the shutter 40 while being stably accommodated in the guide groove 17.

[0047] Further, when the shutter 40 moves parallel to the flow path opening 32 and the tip contact portion 72 of the support shaft 70 tries to separate from the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12 and the spring 83 is compressed between the upstream locking portion 71b and the shaft holding member 80, the spring 83 applies an elastic force to each of the upstream locking portion 71b and the shaft holding member 80. Note that since the shaft holding member 80 is fixed to the shutter 40, the shaft holding member 80 is held at a predetermined position in the flow path direction by the drive arm 18 that drives the shutter 40. Therefore, even when the tip contact portion 72 of the support shaft 70 attempts to move away from the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12, that is, even when the support shaft 70 attempts to move upstream through the axial through-hole 82b of the shaft holding member 80, the elastic force of the spring 83 compressed between the upstream locking portion 71b and the shaft holding member 80 acts as a force pressing the upstream locking portion 71b of the support shaft 70 toward the downstream side, enabling the tip contact portion 72 of the support shaft 70 to maintain contact with the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12.

[0048] Then, as shown in FIG. 15(b), when the shutter 40 moves to a position facing the flow port 32, the shutter ring 50 presses the shutter 40 toward the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12 by the front end surface 52a, more specifically, the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12 including the end surface 31a of the exhaust-side connection flange 30. When the shutter ring 50 presses the shutter 40 toward the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12, since the tip contact portion 72 of the support shaft 70 is in contact with the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12, as shown in FIG. 16(c), the support shaft 70 does not move, and the shutter 40 moves relative to the support shaft 70 toward the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12. At this time, the shaft holding member 80 fixed to the upstream surface 40a of the shutter 40 moves together with the shutter 40. Here, as shown in FIG. 16(c), the shaft holding member 80 moves relatively downstream with respect to the support shaft 70 so as to increase the exposed width of the upstream end portion of the support shaft 70 from the axial through-hole 82b upstream by the amount of its movement X1. When the shaft holding member 80 thus moves relatively downstream with respect to the support shaft 70, the spring 83 is compressed between the upstream locking portion 71b of the support shaft 70 and the bottom surface 82a of the reduced-diameter recess 82 of the shaft holding member 80. In this embodiment, the spring 83 is compressed between the washer 71f disposed on the upstream side of the C-ring 71d of the upstream locking portion 71b and overlapping the C-ring 71d and the bottom surface 82a of the reduced-diameter recess 82.

[0049] When the shutter 40 pressed by the shutter ring 50 moves to a position where it contacts the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12 as shown in FIG. 15(b), the shutter 40 is in a closed state. That is, the flow port 32 is hermetically closed by the shutter 40. When the shutter 40 is in the closed state, as shown in FIG. 16(d), the spring 83 is in a compressed state between the upstream locking portion 71b of the support shaft 70 and the shaft holding member 80, and elastic force by the spring 83 is applied to each of the upstream locking portion 71b and the shaft holding member 80.

[0050] After closing the shutter 40 in this way, a substrate is conveyed into the process chamber 110.

[0051] After the substrate is conveyed into the process chamber 110, as shown in FIG. 15(c), the shutter 40 moves to the open position and the shutter ring 50 moves to the closed position, thereby hermetically forming a flow path connected to the flow port 32. More specifically, the shutter 40 is disposed at an open position where it does not interfere with the flow port 32, and the shutter ring 50 is pushed downstream by a plurality of air cylinders 19 provided on the chamber side connection flange 20. Then, the shutter ring 50 pushed downstream abuts the inner wall surface 12a of the valve housing 10 with its front end surface 52a, more specifically, the inner wall surface 12a of the valve housing 10 including the end surface 31a of the exhaust side connection flange 30, to hermetically form a flow path connected to the flow port 32. That is, the shutter ring 50 connects the downstream flow port 32 formed by the exhaust side connection flange 30 and the upstream flow port 22 formed by the chamber side connection flange 20 with an airtight flow path isolated from other regions in the valve housing 10.

[0052] After connecting the upstream and downstream flow ports 32 and 22 of the valve housing 10 with an airtight flow path by the shutter ring 50 in this way, processing of a substrate (not shown) is started in the process chamber 110 using the gas introduced from the gas introduction system.

[0053] When the processing of the substrate in the process chamber 110 is completed, as shown in FIG. 15(d), the shutter ring 50 is moved to the open position, and then the shutter 40 is moved to the closed position. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 15(b), the shutter ring 50 presses the shutter 40 toward the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12 by the front end surface 52a, more specifically, the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12 including the end surface 31a of the exhaust-side connection flange 30, to airtightly close the flow port 32. Then, the substrate is carried out of the process chamber 110 to complete the processing of the substrate.

[0054] <Effects of the Embodiment> As described above, according to the vacuum valve 1 according to the embodiment, the guide roller 61 is rotatably supported at a predetermined position on the axis facing the flow path direction, and the support shaft 70 whose downstream end is a free end and abuts against the inner wall surface 12a of the valve housing 10, and the shaft holding member 80 fixed to the upstream surface 40a of the shutter 40 so as to be movable relative to the support shaft 70 in the flow path direction while holding the upstream end of the support shaft 70. Therefore, when the shutter 40 moves parallel to the flow port 32 and when the shutter 40 is pressed against the inner wall surface 12a of the valve housing 10 by the shutter ring 50, the downstream end of the support shaft 70 abuts against the inner wall surface 12a and the guide roller 61 is held in the guide groove 17. Therefore, when the shutter 40 is pressed by the shutter ring 50 and moves in the flow path direction, the flow port 32 can be closed by the shutter 40 while the guide roller 61 is held in the guide groove 17 parallel to the flow port 32. In addition, since the shaft holding member 80 that holds the support shaft 70 of the guide roller 61 is fixed to the upstream surface 40a of the shutter 40, that is, since the shaft holding member 80 is fixed to the surface 40a of the shutter 40 rather than in the outer region of the shutter 40 where the shaft holding member 80 does not interfere with the shutter 40, the dimension of the portion that moves parallel to the flow port 32 together with the shutter 40 can be suppressed. In addition, since the support shaft 70 is only held at its upstream end by the shaft holding member 80 and the downstream end is a free end, it is not necessary to hold the downstream end with a member different from the shaft holding member 80. Therefore, with a compact and simple configuration, it is possible to prevent the guide roller 61 that guides the movement of the shutter 40 from being damaged by being pressed against the guide groove 17. As a result, with a compact and simple configuration, it is possible to contribute to improving the durability by preventing a pressing force from being applied to the guide roller 61 that guides the movement of the shutter 40.

[0055] Also, according to the vacuum valve 1 according to the embodiment, since the shaft holding member 80 holds the upstream end of the support shaft 70 in an inserted state, it can be provided to be relatively movable in the flow path direction with respect to the support shaft 70 with a simple configuration.

[0056] Also, according to the vacuum valve 1 according to the embodiment, when viewed from the surface 40a side of the shutter 40, the guide roller 61 is supported by the support shaft 70 so that a part thereof overlaps the shutter 40. When the shutter 40 is viewed from the surface 40a side of the shutter 40, the shutter 40 has a notch portion 41 that notches a portion overlapping the guide roller 61, and the shutter 40 is pressed against the inner wall surface 12a of the valve housing 10 by avoiding interference with the guide roller 61 by this notch portion 41. Therefore, the guide roller 61 can be arranged close to the shutter 40 to a position overlapping the shutter 40, and as a result, the device can be made more compact.

[0057] Also, according to the vacuum valve 1 according to the embodiment, the support shaft 70 has a downstream locking portion 71a that prevents the guide roller 61 from moving downstream and an upstream locking portion 71b that prevents the guide roller 61 from moving upstream, and a spring 83 is arranged between the upstream locking portion 71b and the shaft holding member 80 so as to be stretchable and contractible in the flow path direction. As a result, the spring 83 applies a force to bias the support shaft 70 against the inner wall surface 12a of the valve housing 10 via the upstream-side locking portion 71b, and the support shaft 70 is maintained in a state of being in contact with the inner wall surface 12a of the valve housing 10. The guide roller 61 is held at a predetermined position in the flow path direction with respect to the inner wall surface 12a by the support shaft 70. As a result, the guide roller 61 is stably held in the guide groove 17. Also, when the shutter 40 is pressed by the tip surface 52a of the shutter ring 50 against the inner wall surface 12a of the valve housing 10, more specifically, the inner wall surface 12a of the valve housing 10 including the end surface 31a of the exhaust-side connection flange 30 to airtightly close the flow port 32, the shaft holding member 80 moves toward the inner wall surface 12a side of the valve housing 10 while compressing the spring 83 together with the shutter 40. When the pressing of the shutter 40 by the shutter ring 50 is stopped from this state, the compressed spring 83 is elastically restored, so that the shaft holding member 80 is moved in a direction away from the inner wall surface 12a of the valve housing 10 relative to the support shaft 70, and the shutter 40 to which the shaft holding member 80 is fixed is in an open state away from the inner wall surface 12a of the valve housing 10. Therefore, the guide roller 61 can be stably held in the guide groove 17 with a simple configuration, and the shutter 40 can be opened and closed.

[0058] Further, since the vacuum valve 1 according to the embodiment is a round gate valve, the shutter 40 can be guided by the guide roller 61 with a compact and simple configuration to open and close the circular flow port 32.

[0059] According to the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment, by interposing the vacuum valve 1 between the exhaust connection portion 112 of the process chamber 110 for processing the substrate and the exhaust path 220 connected to the vacuum pump 210, the same effects as the above-described effects of the vacuum valve 1 are achieved.

[0060] As described above, the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit thereof.

[0061] In addition, in this embodiment, the guide roller 61 of the shutter guide mechanism 60 is illustrated as being arranged at a position where a part thereof interferes with the shutter 40 in the flow path direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this. As in the shutter guide mechanism 90 shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, the guide roller 61 may be arranged outside the shutter 42 where it does not interfere with the shutter 42.

[0062] Further, in this embodiment, the exhaust side connection flange 30 and the valve housing 10 are provided separately, and the shutter 40 or the shutter ring 50 abuts against the inner wall surface 12a of the downstream wall 12 including the end surface 31a of the exhaust side connection flange 30 is illustrated. However, the exhaust side connection flange and the valve housing may be integrally provided, and the shutter or the shutter ring may abut against the inner wall surface of the valve housing integrally formed with the exhaust side connection flange. Further, the upstream side surface of the exhaust side connection flange may not be exposed to the inner wall surface side of the valve housing so that only the inner wall surface of the valve housing abuts against the shutter or the shutter ring.

[0063] Also, in this embodiment, the shutter ring 50 is illustrated as being driven by the air cylinder 19. However, the shutter ring 50 may be operated using other actuators. For example, an electric cylinder may be used to move the shutter ring 50 forward and backward without using the spring 83.

[0064] Further, in this embodiment, the shaft holding member 80 is illustrated as holding the upstream end portion of the support shaft 70 in a state where it is inserted therethrough. However, other configurations may be used as long as the support shaft 70 can be provided to be movable relative to the flow path direction. For example, the upstream end portion of the support shaft may not be inserted through the shaft holding member, and the shaft support member may be provided to be movable relative to the support shaft in the flow path direction by interposing an elastic member between the shaft holding member and fitting it into a recess provided in the shaft support member.

[0065] In addition, in this embodiment, the vacuum valve 1 is exemplified as a round gate valve. However, the vacuum valve may be any other valve as long as it has a shutter provided in the valve housing so as to be movable parallel to the flow path opening formed in the valve housing, a shutter ring that presses the shutter against the inner wall surface of the valve housing with its tip surface to airtightly close the flow path opening when the shutter is closed, and a guide roller that rolls along a guide groove provided in the valve housing parallel to the flow path opening, and the shutter moves in an L shape to open and close the flow path opening.

[0066] Each of the embodiments disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The above embodiments may be omitted, substituted, or changed in various forms without departing from the scope and gist of the appended claims.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0067] 1 Vacuum valve 10 Valve housing 11 Upstream wall 11a Inner wall surface 11b Flow path opening 12 Downstream wall 12a Inner wall surface 12b Flow path opening 13, 14 Side walls 15 Front wall 16 Rear wall 17 Guide groove 18 Drive arm 18a Drive motor 19 Air cylinder 19a Air compressor 20 Chamber side connection flange 20a Inner peripheral surface 21 Annular protrusion 21a End face (inner wall surface of upstream wall) 22 Flow path opening 23 Air supply hole 24 Flow path 25 Air chamber 26 Annular member 30 Exhaust side connection flange Inner circumferential surface of 30a Annular protrusion 31 End face of 31a (inner wall surface of valve housing) Flow port 32 Resin annular member 35 Shutters 40 and 42 Surface of 40a Notch portion 41 Shuttering 50 Sliding cylindrical portion 51 Flange portion 52 Tip end face of 52a Annular seal member 53 Annular seal member 54 Shutter guide mechanism 60 and 90 Guide roller 61 Support shaft 70 Shaft body 71 Downstream side locking portion 71a Upstream side locking portion 71b Annular groove 71c C-ring 71d Retention ring 71e Washer 71f Tip contact portion (downstream end) 72 Contact head portion 72a Columnar fitting portion 72b Shaft holding member 80 Diameter-expanded recess 81 Diameter-reduced recess 82 Bottom surface of 82a Axial through hole 82b Spring (elastic member) 83 Substrate processing apparatus 100 Process chamber 110 Chamber body 111 Exhaust connection portion 112 Exhaust system 200 Vacuum pump 210 Motor of 210a Exhaust passage 220 Control device 300

Claims

1. A shutter provided movably parallel to a flow port formed in a valve housing within the valve housing, a shutter ring provided movably forward and backward along the flow path direction within the valve housing, and in a state where the shutter is open, the front end surface abuts against the inner wall surface of the valve housing to form an airtight flow path connected to the flow port, and in a state where the shutter is closed, the front end surface presses the shutter against the inner wall surface to airtightly close the flow port, a guide roller that rolls along a guide groove provided in the valve housing parallel to the flow port, a support shaft that rotatably holds the guide roller at a predetermined position on the axis facing the flow path direction, and the downstream end is a free end that abuts against the inner wall surface, a shaft holding member that is fixed to the upstream surface of the shutter so as to be movable relative to the support shaft in the flow path direction while holding the upstream end of the support shaft, A vacuum valve characterized by comprising the above.

2. The vacuum valve according to claim 1, wherein the shaft holding member holds the upstream end of the support shaft in a state of being inserted therethrough.

3. When viewed from the surface side of the shutter, the guide roller is supported by the support shaft so that a part thereof overlaps the shutter, The shutter has a notch portion that notches a portion overlapping the guide roller when viewed from the surface side of the shutter, and is pressed against the inner wall surface by the notch portion to avoid interference with the guide roller. The vacuum valve according to claim 1.

4. The support shaft has a downstream locking portion that prevents the guide roller from moving downstream and an upstream locking portion that prevents the guide roller from moving upstream, The vacuum valve according to claim 1, wherein an elastic member is disposed between the upstream locking portion of the rotating shaft and the shaft holding member so as to be expandable and contractible in the flow path direction.

5. The vacuum valve according to claim 1, wherein the vacuum valve is a round gate valve.

6. A substrate processing apparatus having the vacuum valve according to claim 1 or 3 interposed between an exhaust connection portion of a chamber for processing a substrate and an exhaust path connected to a vacuum pump.

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