Vacuum processing method
View Patent ↗A vacuum processing apparatus and method includes at least one vacuum processing chamber, at least one carriage for carrying the sample from a given cassette into and out of the vacuum processing chamber. A controller performs carriage control for carrying the sample taken out of the given cassette into the vacuum processing chamber, and for carrying the processed sample out of the vacuum processing chamber. A waiting cassette support supports a waiting cassette in which an unprocessed sample from the given cassette or a processed sample from the given cassette after vacuum processing is placed so as to prevent the processed and unprocessed sample from being mixed with each other.
1. A vacuum processing method comprising the steps of:
taking out a sample from an original position in a given cassette placed on a cassette supporting means;
carrying the sample from the given cassette into a vacuum processing chamber via a switchable chamber capable of being switched between atmosphere and vacuum;
subjecting the sample from the given cassette to vacuum processing in the vacuum processing chamber;
putting unprocessed samples from the given cassette in a waiting cassette so that processed and unprocessed samples do not mix in the waiting cassette or the given cassette;
carrying the processed samples back to the original position thereof in the given cassette in which no unprocessed samples are present in the given cassette;
vacuum processing the samples so as to prevent the unprocessed samples or the processed samples from being mixed with each other in the given cassette or the waiting cassette; and
vacuum processing the unprocessed samples taken out of the waiting cassette, and returning the processed samples to the original position thereof in the given cassette.
2. The vacuum processing method according to claim 1 , wherein at least the given cassette and the waiting cassette are capable of housing a plurality of samples.
3. A vacuum processing method comprising the steps of:
taking out a sample from an original position in a given cassette placed on a cassette supporting means;
carrying the sample from the given cassette into a vacuum processing chamber via a switchable chamber capable of being switched between atmosphere and vacuum;
subjecting the sample from the given cassette to vacuum processing in the vacuum processing chamber;
putting processed samples from the given cassette, after vacuum processing in the vacuum processing chamber, in a waiting cassette so that processed samples and unprocessed samples do not mix in the waiting cassette or the given cassette;
carrying the processed samples back to the original position thereof in the given cassette in which no unprocessed samples are present in the given cassette;
vacuum processing the samples so as to prevent the unprocessed samples or the processed samples from the given cassette from being mixed with each other in the given cassette or the waiting cassette; and
returning the processed samples from the waiting cassette to the original position thereof in the given cassette.
4. The vacuum processing method according to claim 3 , wherein at least the given cassette and the waiting cassette are capable of housing a plurality of samples.