Vacuum processing system, substrate transfer fixing device and vacuum gate valve used in vacuum processing system, and operation method of substrate used in vacuum processing system

摘要

The vacuum processing system of the present invention for manipulating and processing rectangular glass panels used as flat panel displays has a group of configurations. The vacuum processing system is provided with a plurality of processing chambers, stacking fixtures, and shipping fixtures, which are arranged around the buffer chamber and connected to the buffer chambers through respective gate valves, together with a central buffer chamber. have. The buffer chamber includes a rotating table rotatable about a vertical axis. The vacuum processing system also includes a plurality of substrate supports that support the substrate in a vertical state when the substrate is transferred through the vacuum processing system. The rotary table is provided with two substrate support position positions which are rotated to align with a predetermined processing member or shipping or stacking fixing device. Multiple substrates can be manipulated and processed simultaneously to provide high productivity. The vacuum treatment system of the present invention is particularly useful for sputter deposition of ITO films and metal films on glass substrates.;On the other hand, the vacuum gate valve of the present invention includes a valve body having an opening penetrating through the opening and a valve seat surrounding the opening, and a rotatable gate assembly rotatable about a pivot axis between an open position and a closed position. . The rotary gate assembly includes a rotary body, an elastic sealing gasket mounted on the rotary body in sealingly contact with the valve seat in the closed position, and a spreader for flattening the elastic sealing gasket in direct contact with the valve seat. It includes. The gate valve further includes an actuator for rotating the rotatable gate assembly between the open and closed positions. In a preferred embodiment, the sealing gasket consists of an elastic tube in which the spreader is located. The rotary gate assembly may include a mechanism for adjusting the spreader to adjust the tension applied to the sealing gasket.