Ulvac, Inc.

Osamu Irino

Tsuyoshi Kagami

Nobuyuki Kato

Masanobu Hatanaka

Michio Ishikawa

Harunori Ushikawa

Takakazu Yamada

Provided is a thin film production apparatus that enables cost reduction and improvement of deposition efficiency by employing a common component. In a thin film production apparatus according to the present invention, a volume of a reaction space is optimized by determining the volume of the reaction space with an inner block disposed inside a vacuum tank, that is, by merely altering a size of an inner diameter of the inner block without altering a size of the vacuum tank. Accordingly, film formation on plural kinds of substrates having different sizes becomes possible using the common vacuum tank. Further, increase of the number of apparatus structural components to be prepared for each size of the substrate to be processed can be minimized, whereby the cost of the components can be reduced, and, while simplifying assembling operation, product inspection operation, and adjusting operation, excellent deposition efficiency and stable film formation can be realized.

Thin film production apparatus and inner block for thin film production apparatus

In a film-forming apparatus in which two or more gases are used, a uniform film is formed. In a film-forming apparatus provided with a film-forming chamber and a shower head, the shower head is provided with a material gas diffusion chamber and a reactive gas diffusion chamber. A gas passage which communicates the material gas diffusion chamber and a material gas introduction pipe is constituted into multi-stages of one stage or more. Each stage has a gas passage represented by 2(where n is the number of stages). The first-stage gas passage has connected to the center thereof the material gas introduction pipe. Each of second-stage and subsequent-stage gas passages has connected to the center thereof connection holes which are provided on both ends of the previous-stage gas passages so as to be in communication with the previous-stage gas passages. Each of the final-stage gas passages is connected to the material gas diffusion chamber by connection holes formed on both ends of each of the gas passages.

Film-forming apparatus

In a purge gas assembly provided: in an outer circumference portion of a substrate stage, with a shoulder portion offset downward below a substrate mounting surface on an upper end of the substrate stage; a purge ring enclosing a stepped circumferential surface between the substrate mounting surface and the shoulder portion; and an annular gas ejection passage for ejecting the purge gas, the gas ejecting passage being defined between the stepped circumferential surface and an inner circumferential surface of the purge ring, an arrangement is made such that the purge gas can be ejected uniformly from the gas ejection passage over the entire circumference thereof and that the deposition of a film on an upper surface of the purge ring can also be restricted, and further that the construction is simplified. The purge ring has formed therein an annular groove which recesses from a lower surface thereof upward.

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Susono, Japan

Osamu Irino