CA2177986A1

CA2177986A1 - Stacked-type component and method for the manufacture of same

Info

Publication number: CA2177986A1
Application number: CA002177986A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Ronan Stephan; Franck Callebert
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Compagnie Europeenne de Composants Electroniques LCC CICE
Priority date: 1993-12-03
Filing date: 1994-12-01
Publication date: 1995-06-08
Also published as: FI962294A0; JPH09505944A; EP0731975B1; ATE176080T1; FR2713389B1; DE69416163T2; KR960706684A; WO1995015571A1; ES2129796T3; FR2713389A1; FI962294A; EP0731975A1; DE69416163D1

Abstract

Method for the manufacture of a stacked-type capacitor and/or resistance consisting of alternating dielectric layers and conducting layers. The dielectric layers are deposited by polymerization of the elements derived from the dissociation. by remove nitrogen plasma, of an organo-siliceous or organo-germanium gas. The conducting layers are formed simultaneously by the deposition of a conducting polymer derived from the dissociation by remote nitrogen plasma, of hydrogen sulphide or sulphur dichloride. The dielectric and conducting layers are deposited on a dielectric substrate placed on the surface of a rotating drum, the rotation being such that the same portion of dielectric substrate is successively opposite at least one dielectric deposition device and at least one conducting polymer deposition device. each dielectric or conducting deposition being preceded by masking of the areas where no layer is to be deposited.

Description

`~ --The present invention relates to capacitive and/or resistive components of the stacked type, as well as to a process for fabricating a component of the stacked type.
The invention will more particularly be described for the fabrication of capacitors of the stacked type. However, as will be indicated hereafter, the invention also relate8 to the fabrication of resistors .
Capacitors of the stacked type can be fabricated in various ways. One of these ways consists in using metallized flexible plastic films.
The flexible plastic films then generally have a me~l l; 7e~ zone and an unmetallized side margin and are obtained by cutting a wide reel of metallized f lexible plastic f ilm.
One of the steps of the fabrication process consists in winding at least one pair of metallized flexible plastic films on a wheel which has a large diameter. The winding is carried out in such a way that the unmetallized margins of two films which are superposed lie on opposite sides.
This produces a capacitive strip of desired thickness according to the number of turns made. Each of the flanks of the capacitive strip is then covered with a metal or metal alloy.
This is the shooping operation intended to create the output plates of the future capacitors. The capacitor strip thus obtained is called a mother capacitor. The mother capacitor is then cut into unitary blocks called semifinished capacitors.
3 5 Another way of producing capacitors of the stacked type consists in assembling metallized dielectric sheets . The me~1 1 i 7e~1 dielectric sheets are assembled by sintering af ter the sheets have been " 2177~8~

stacked flat on one another.
It is then nprp~s~ry to cut the assemblies thus constituted and to produce the plates of the elementary capacitors .
It is also known to produce capacitors on a glaæs substrate, these capacitors consisting of two metal electrodes framing a dielectric layer formed in a discharge plasma.
The drawback of such procesæes consist9, on the one hand, in their large number of steps and, on the other hand, in that the rr~mrrnPnt~ obtained have relatively limited capacitances per unit volume because of the nature and the thickness of the dielectrics used .
By way of example, the dielectrics used for producing the plastic films involved in the composition of capacitors with metallized flexible plastic films are polyester, polycarbonate, phenylenepolysulphide or else polypropylene The capacitance per unit volume obtained does not exceed lO nanofarads per cubic millimetre .
The invention does not have these drawbacks.
The present invention relates to a novel capacitor ~tructure with high capacitance per unit volume. As will become apparent hereafter, it is unexpectedly possible to orm resistors of the stacked type by modifying this novel structure.
The invention thereore proposes a capacitor of the stacked type, consisting of an alternation Qf dielectric layers of odd and even rank and of conductive layers of odd and even rank, the said stacked capacitor constituting a structure having two opposite side faces covered with conducting materLal, characterized in that t~e ~l;plPr~ric layers are obtained by thin-film deposits of dielectric elements and the conductive layers are obtained by thin-film deposits of conducting Pl PmPn~, the covering of a first side face with conducting material being obtalned by the said deposits of conducting elements so as to " 2177~8~

connect together electrically the conductive layers of even rank, and the covering of the side face opposite the said first face with conducting material being obtained by the said deposits of conducting elements so 5 as to connect together electrically the conductive layers of odd rank.
The invention also proposes a resistor, characterized in that it i9 formed by the successive stacking of dielectric thin films and conductive thin 10 films, the conductive thin films constituting superposed elementary resistive element6 connected in series with one another during the stacking.
More precisely, the resistor according to the invention is characterized in that it consists of an 15 alternation of dielectric layers of odd and even rank and of conductive layers of odd and even rank, the said alternation constituting a structure having two opposite side faces covered with conducting material, the dielectric layers being obtained by thin-film 20 deposits of dielectric elements and the conductive layers being obtained by thin-film deposits of conducting elements, each conductive layer having a first end located on a first side face and a second end located on a second side face, opposite the first side 25 face, a conductive layer of odd rank having its first end electrically connected to the first end of the conductive layer of even rank immediately above r and a conductive layer of even rank having its second end electrically connected to the second end of the 30 conductive layer of odd rank immediately above, the electrical connections between the said ends being produced during the deposition of the conductive layers .
The invention also relates to the combination 3 5 in series or in parallel of at least one resistor and of at least one capacitor such as those mentioned above.
The invention also relates to a process for the fabricating of a capacitor of the stacked type, 217~7981~

consisting of a succession of dielectric layers and conductive layers, characterized in that the dielectric and conductive layers are made respectively by thin-film deposition of dielectric elements and by thin-film deposition of ~onducting elements.
An important advantage of this process for fabricating a capacitor is that it makes it possible, during the deposition of the conducting elements, to cover with conducting material the two opposite side faces intended to become the plates of the capacitor.
The invention also relates to a process for fabricating a resistor, characterized in that it consists in forming a succession of dielectric layers and of conductive layers by respective thin- f ilm depo-sitions o~ dielectric eleménts and thin-film depo-sitions of conducting elements.
An important advantage of this process of fabricating a resistor is that it makes it possible to connect the t~nnr7l7n7-;ve layers in series with one another during the deposition of the conducting elements .
According to the preferred Pmhn~7imF~n~ of the invention, the dielectric and conductive thin films are deposited in the presence of a re~mote nitrogen plasma, the dielectric layers are then deposited by poly-merization of elements resulting from the remote nitrogen plasma dissociation of an organosilicon or organogermanium gas, and the conductive layers are produced by depositing conducting elements resulting from the remote nitrogen plasma dissociation o~ a precursor gas of these conducting elements. I~he precursor gas of the conducting elements may be a metal complex or else hydrogen sulphide or sulphur dichloride .
According to an important aspect of the invention, the process for depositing the alternately dielectric and conductive thin films is implemented in a reactor which comprises at least two deposition cavities: one is reserved for the deposition of `. 21779~

dielectric layers and the other is reserved for the deposition of conductive layers, the deposition operations being carried out simultaneously on the same substrate advancing cyclically through the two 5 cavities.
Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge on reading a preferred embodiment given with reference to the appended figures, in which:
- Figure 1 is an outline representation of a 10 flowing discharge plasma as employed according to the invention;
- Figure 2 is a block diagram of the device according to the invention;
- Figure 3 is a detail view of the block diagram in Figure 2;
- Figure 4 is a sectional view of a capacitive structure obtained according to the invention;
- Figure 5 is a sectional view of a resistive structure obtained according to the invention;
- Figure 6 is a sectional view of a resistive and capacitive structure obtained according to the invention;
- Figure 7 is a sectional view of a masking device used according to the invention.
25 -The same references denote the same Pl~--^ntq throughout the f igures ~
Figure 1 is an outline representation of a f lowing discharge plasma as employed according to the invention .
A nitrogen supply source 2 i6 sent via a tube 3 into a microwave cavity 4.
The nitrogen pressure inside the tube 3 is between 1 and 20 hPa. Under the effect c~f the wave generated by the microwave generator, a discharge is sustained in the cavity 4. The frequency of the wave output by the microwave generator 5 is~ for example, equal to 2450 MHz, to 433 MHz or to 915 MHz. The flow produced by a vacuum pump (not represented in Figure 1) is established along the z axis. The hatched zones 2177~8~

symbolically represent the distribution of ions and electrons present i~ the discharge plasma exit zones situated between the output of the discharge cavity and the vacuum pump.
Zone Z1 ie a first post-discharge zone in which the concentration of ions and electrons decreases continuously between the output of the discharge cavity and a highly localized extinction zone represented by the point P.
The zone Z2, which follows zone Zl, is a second ion post-discharge zone in which the concentration of ions and electrons is not negligible. It i8 more extended than zone Z1.
The zone Z3, which follows zone Z2, is a zone intermediate between zone Z2 and zone Z4, which contains subst~nt~ally no electrons and ions. The con-centration of ions and electrons decreases continuously between the second part of zone Z2 and zone Z4.
Zone Z4 is a post-discharge zone which may have a wide spatial extent.
In zone Z4, the effective lifetime of the energy carriers, in particular vibrationally excited nitrogen, iB advantageously long. Lifetimes of the order of 10 seconds have been measured. Advantageously, it is therefore the flowing remote plasma located in this extended post-discharge zone which is used accor-ding to the invention. By way of example, it has been measured that the distance separating the output of the cavity 4 from the start of zone Z4 may be greater than 3 o or equal to 1 metre .
Figure 2 is a block diagram of the device according to the invention.
A dielectric substrate 1 is arranged on a drum 2 which rotates at angular velocity Q. This substrate, the function o~ which is to serve as a support, may be made of any material whose electrical characteristics do not i~terfere with the electrical characteristics of the components resulting from the process.
According to the prior art, discharge plasma-" 21779~6 ..

enhanced depositions are carried out on heated substrates . Another advantage of deposition by f lowing remote cold plasma i9 that it is not n~r~qpilry to heat the substrate on which the deposits are made. The 5 mechanical cha~acteristics of the substrate are there-fore not degraded and the reliability of the, ,-nl~nt~
resulting from the process of the invention is improved compared to that of components resulting from processes of the prior art.
According to the preierred embodiment of the invention, the same portion of the dielectric material 1 successively faces a first masking device DM1, a f irst cavity C1 in which the f irst dielectric deposition takes place, a second masking device DM2, a 15 second cavity C2 in which the first conducting polymer depo~ition takes place, a third masking device DM3, a third cavity C3 in which the second dielectric deposition takes place, a fourth masking device DM4, and a fourth cavity C4 in which the second conducting 20 polymer deposition takes place.
The drum 2, cavities C1, C2, C3 and C4, as well as the masking devices, are located inside the same reactor 6.
The masks deposited by the masking devices DM1, 25 DM2, DM3 and DM4 will be described hereafter, as will the masking devices themselves (cf Figures 3, 4 and 5) .
According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the dielectric layers deposited in the 30 cavities C1 and C3 are obtained by polymerization of elements resulting from the remote nitrogen plasma dissociation of a precursor gas of the deposit, such as an organosilicon or organogermanium gas.
The remote plasma used is a flowing remote cold 35 plasma. The flowing remote cold plasma is obtained at a pressure of a few hPa, by extraction and relaxation in a reactor, outside the electric :Eield, of the active species formed in a discharge plasma.
As previously described, the flowing remote 2177~

cold plasma according to the invention ~-nnt~;nc practically no electrons or ions~ The reactive species are Pss~nt;~7ly atoms, free radicals and electrically and vibrationally excited molecular species. Such a 5 remote cold plasma can only be obtained in regions relatively far from the cavity 4. The result of this is that the distance separating the output of the cavity 4 from the surface 1 where the depositions take place should be selected accordingly. By way of example, this 10 distance may be greater than or equal to 1 metre.
In the present case, a nitrogen supply source 3 i8 sent into a microwave cavity 4, via a tube 19. The nitrogen Fressure inside the tube 19 is between 1 and 20 hPa~ Under the effect o the wave generated by the 15 microwave generator 5, a discharge is sustained in the cavity 4~ The frequency of the wave output by the microwave generator 5 is, for example, equal to 2450 Mhz, 433 Mhz, or 915 MHz~ The nitrogen, excited at the output of the microwave cavity 4, is sent via tubes 20 9 into cavities C1 and C3 where the dielectric depositions are to take place. The percentage of nitrogen dissociated is, by way of example, between 0 5 and 3 per cent.
The organosLlicon-containing or organo-25 germanium-cnnr~;ning gas output by the source 1~7 is introduced into the cavities Cl and C3 via a device 8, the diagram of which will be detailed in Figure 3. The f lared end 7 of the device 8 allows the gas to spread over the surface on which the dielectric deposit is to 3 0 be made .
The excited nitrogen is therefore mixed with the precursor gas .of the deposit in the zone situated between the flared end 7 of the device 8 and the surface where the polymerization takes place. This 35 flared e~d is situated in the ~oYt~nr~ nonionic post-discharge zone of the 10wing nitrogen plasma. The flow is produced using a vacuum pump 14. For reasons of convenience, the vacuum pump 14 has been represented symbolically in Figure 2. It is preferably arranged 21 77~
g along a generatric of the drum 2 and is divided on either s; (l.o of the flared end 7 . As mentioned above, the precursor gas of the deposit may be an organogermanium compound. It may also be an 5 organosilicon - compound chosen from alkoxysilanes, siloxanes or s~ 1 A7:~n~ . According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is tetramethyldisiloxane .
The use of a remote plasma in the F~ n~l~d 10 post-discharge zone is an advantage of the invention.
Indeed, in comparison with conventional discharge or post-discharge plasmas, remote plasmas in the extended post-discharge zone are active media deprived of electrQns and free of energetic radiation over a large 15 spatial extent . The absence of an electric f ield promotes the deposition of heavy elements on the conductive layers and improves the deposition rate.
Furthermore, as already mentioned above, the effective lifetime of the energy carriers is advantageously long 2 0 therein According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the devices 8 for injecting the gaseous organosllicon compound are connected to the same oxygen source 11. The introduction of oxygen into the cavities 25 C1 and C3 at the same time as the organosilicon compound advantageously accelerates the rate of formation of the dielectric layer on the conductive layer. Another advantage of the presence Qf oxygen is the i~Qrmation of polar groups, guch as OH groups, in 30 the dielectric layers deposited. This results in an improvement of the dielectric constant of the material.
The oxygen content is of the order of a few per cent of the gas mixture present in the cavities C1 and C3. It may reach values of lD to 15~ for large deposition 3 5 chambers .
Another dopant 12 may be introduced into the reactor by the injection devices 3. This may, for example, be a gas from the tetrakisdialkylamidotitanium Iv family. This second dopant then makes it possible to formation of polar group6. In this case, the polar groups are based on titanium oxide.
An advantage of the invention is the deposition of a dielectric layer which has excellent qualities of 5 adhe6ion and homogeneity and the thickness of which obtained can vary, as required, from 0 . 05 micron to a f ew mi cror s The organosilicon compounds introduced into the reactor may be: -an alkoxysilane of formula Rl I
o Rl-O- [Si-O] n~R3 with n less than or equal to 5 H

a siloxane of formula I

R - [Si-O] -R with n less than or equal to 4 l n 3 H

or s;l~37~nPq of formula Rl- [Si-NH]n-Si-Rl with n less than 4 H H
The relative dielectric constant of the deposits obtained may reach values of more than 30.
According to the in~enti~n, the oxygen source ll or the dopant of the precursor gas 12 may contain titanium ` ~ 217~

oxide, for example titanium (IV) isopropylate, in order to enhance further the value of the relative dielectric constant of the deposit. It is a priori already known to the person skilled in the art that dielectrics 5 having high relative dielectric constants of ten have high losses, as well as poor thermal stability.
In the present case, it was observed that the dielectric deposit accordins to the invention did not have these drawbacks.
The thermal stability is improved, and the maximum working temperature may reach of the order of 300OC.
The breakdown voltages of the dielectrics are also greatly improved and may reach, for e~campler 2, 000 15 volts per micro.
In general, the process according to the invention relates to variou~3 precursor gase~3 of the deposit (organogermanium, alkosysilane, siloxane or silazane compound).
The process accordlng to the invention thus makes it possible advantageously to polymerize various dielectrics on the conductive layers.
sy way of example, when a silazane is introduced into the cavities Cl and C3, a dielectric layer formed by the following compounds is obtained:
-si -NH-Si -si -o -si -si-c -si When a siloxane is introduced, a dielectric layer formed by the following compounds is obtained:
crosslinked (Si-o-Si) polymer -Si- (CH3) -Si -OH
-Si-NH-Si for a very low oxygen content 217798~

or else:
crosslinked (Si-O-Si~ polymer -Si- (CH3) 2 -Si- (CH3) 2 -Si -OH_ -SI -NH-Si for a higher oxygen content.
According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the dopant gas is oxygen. According to other embodiments, it may, more generally, be a gaseous compound rrnt~; n; nr oxygen .
As mrntirnPri above, the same portion of material is subjected to a deposition of conducting elements after having been subjected to a dielectric deposition. This deposition of conducting elements takes place in cavities C2 and C4.
According to a f irst embodiment of the invention, the conducting elements are conducting polymers deposited by polymerization of e~mf~ntq resulting from the remote nitrogen plasma dissociation o~ a precursor gas of the deposit, such as hydrogen sulphide or sulphur dichloride. By radical recombination of the SN radical, the conducting polymers are -sulphur polynitrides of chemical formula S4Nq or (SN) x, x being an integer greater than 4 .
According to another embodiment of the invention, the conducting elements deposited result from the remote nitrogen plasma dissociation of a metal compl ex .
This metal complex may be a ~netal carbonyl such as, f or e~ample, iron carbonyl or nickel carbonyl, or else an acetyl acetonate or a fluroacetyl acetonate.
The remote plasma is a flowing remote cold plasma analogous to that produced for the deposition of 3 5 the dielectric .
A nitrogen supply source 15 18 sent into a cavity 16 via a tube 20. The nitrogen pressure inside the tube 20 is between 1 and 20 hPa. Under the effect Qf the wave generated by the microwave generator 17, a ` 2177~8&

discharge iB sustained in the cavity 16. The frequency of the wave output by the microwave generator 17 is, for e~ample, equal to 2450 MHz, 433 MHz or 915 MHz. The nitrogen, excited at the output of the microwave cavity 16, i3 sent via tubes 28 into the cavities C2 and C~
where the conducting polymers are to be deposited. The quantity of sulphur is preferably slightly in excess relati~e to the quantity of nitrogen, so that the conducting polymer has better conductivity 10 performances.
The hydrogen sulphide or sulphur dichloride produced by the source 13 is introduced into the cavities C2 and C4 via a device a, the diagram of which will be rlPt~ in Figure 2. The flared end 7 of the device 8 makes it possible for the gas to spread over the surface where the conducting polymer is to be deposited .
The exc~ted nitrogen is therefore mixed with the precursor gas of the deposit in the zone situated between the flared end 7 of the device 8 and the surface where the polymerization is to take place. This flared end is sltuated in the nonionic P~t,~nr~Pr~ post-discharge zone o~ the flowing nitrogen plasma. The flow is produced using a vacuum pump 14.
Advantageously, the process according to the invention makes it possible to produce conducting polymer layers having smaller thicknesses. These thicknesses may actually be of the order of ~ . 05 llm.
According to the preferred ~ n~ described in Figure 2, two dielectric layers and two conducting polymer layers are depos~ted on each revolution of the drum 2.
The invention relates, however, to other embodiments, ~or example tEle embodiment in which a single dielectric layer and a single conductive layer are deposited, and also the embodiments in which more than two dielectric layers and more than two conducting polymer layers are depoelted. The dielectric layers, as well as the conducting polymer layers, may then be of ~ ~ - 14 - 2~7798~i different nature. To this end, it is suficient to increase the number of deposition cavities according to the deposits desired.
Figure 3 is a detailed view of the block diagram in Figure 2.
This view represents the injection device 8. A
set of inj ection tubes 22 is contained in a sleeve 21 which comprises a flared part 7 at its end. Each injection tube 22 opens into an orifice 23 in the flared part of the sleeve.
As mF~nt;~n~ above, the injection devices s are used both for the deposition o~ dielectrics and for the deposition of conducting polymers.
Thus, the injection tubes 22 which are connected to the sources 10, 11 and 12 convey gases required for depositing the dielectric layers.
Similarly, the injection tubes 22 which are connected to the source 13 convey the gas required or depositing the conducting polymer layers.
Figure 3 represents the injection device 8 according to the pref erred embodiment . In general, the injection device 8 may be any system which is known to the person skilled in the art and makes it possible to distribute the precursor gases of the deposit uniformly over the sur~ace where the deposition takes place.
Figure 4 is a sectional view of a capacitive structure obtained according to the preerred embodiment Qf the process, described in Figure 2 Figure 4 also symbolically represents the masks MA1, MA2, MA3, MA4 associated with the respective masking devices DMl, DM2, DM3, DM4.
The various masks MAi ( i = 1, 2, 3, 4 ) are preerably produced by oil deposition on the zones where the dielectric and conducting polymer depositions are not allowed. The devices making it possible to produce these masks will be described in Figure 7.
Mask MA1 is produced by oil depositions H1 on the zones to be protected from dielectric deposition.
The oil produced by the masking device DM1 is deposited ` ,~ 2177986 along the surface 1 as a result of the rotation of the drum 2. Each oil deposit H1 has a width 11 whose value is preferably of the order of 50 to lOo ~m. The oil deposlts H1 are arranged parallel to one another and pre~erably equidistant. Their distance may, for example, be of the order of 1 to 2 mm.
The mask MA2 is produced by oil deposits H2 on the zones to be protected from the conducting polymer deposition. The oil produced by the device DM2 is o deposited according to the same principle as the one described above. The width 12 of the oil deposits H2 is greater than the above width 11. The width 12 is . preferably greater than the width 12 by 20 to 30~. The oil deposits Hl and H2 are produced along parallel axes. The deposits H2 are thus arranged in such a way that each of the axes defi~ed by a deposit H2 is juxtaposed with an axis defined by a deposit H1, the distance separating the axes defl~led by two neighbouring deposits H2 being twice that separating the axes defined by two neighbouring deposits H1.
The mask MA3 is produced by oil deposits H3.
This third mask MA3 is identical to the first mask MA1.
The oil deposits H3 are ;~ nti~-~l in width and in position to the oil deposits H1.
The mask MA4 ic produced by oil deposits H4.
Each deposit H4 has a width ;~nt;~l to the width of the deposits H2. Two neighbouring deposits H4 are separated by the same distance as two neighbouring deposit~ H2. However, the axis which a deposit H4 defines is not superposed with the axis which a deposit H2 defines, but is equidistant between the axes defined by two neighbouring deposits H2.
As mentioned above, the formation of the capacitive structure according to the preferred embodiment of the invention results from the deposition, on each revolution of the drum 2, o~ two dielectric layers and two conducting polymer layers.
The capacitive structure in Figure 4 comprises, for reasons of convenient representation, six dielectric " 2177986 layers and six conductive layers. This structure thus corresponds to three revolutions of the drum 2. More generally, the number of revolutions of the drum 2 may be much larger and the number of layers may reach 5 several thousands.
The capacitive structure according to the invention is in the form of a set o N elementary capacitive structures Si (i = 1, 2, . . ., N) in parallel These structures are advantageously separated from one 10 another by wells Pi (i = 1, 2, , N-l) . These wells are as many zones as and make it possible to facilitate the cutting of the capacitive structure into elementary capacitive structures.
The cutting can then be ~arried out by any means known to the person skilled in the art.
Advantageously, accordlng to the invention, it may also be carried out by a cutting system compatible with the masking devices, ag will be indicated hereafter (cf.
Figure 7 ) .
AccordLng to the invention, the side walls of each elementary capacitive structure are conductive. It is then sufficient either to pass each elementary capacitive structure through a molten alloy wave or to deposit a soldering alloy or soldering cream on the side walls of each elementary capac~tive structure, in order to produce the plates of the future capacitors.
The shooping operation which was necessary, according to the prior art, for fabricating capacitors with metalli~ ed plastic f ilm sheets is no longer necessary according to the process of the invention.
More generally, the process of the invention advantageously reduces the number o successive steps making it possible to produce capacitors o the stacked type .
3 5 Once the plates have been produced, the process according to the invention comprises a step of cutting the elementary capacitive structures in order to produce elementary capacitors.
The capacitors thus produced are advantageously 17- 2~7~8~
~nmrnnF~l~tS with very small volume, the capacity per unit volume of which may reàch, for example, 20, 000 nF
per mm3.
Figure 5 represents the sectional view of a 5 resistive 8tructure obtained according to the invention .
As mentioned above, the invention generally relates to a process making it possible to deposit a succession of dielectric layers and conducting polymer 10 layers on a rotating substrate.
The invention thus relates to a f abrication process making it possible to produce a resistive structure as represented in Figure 5. Like the capacitive structure described above, the resistive 15 structure according to the invention is in the form of a set of N elementary resistive structures Ri (i = 1, 2, ..., N) in parallel, separated from one another by wel l s Pi ( i = 1 , 2 , . . ., N- l ) . Each elementary resistive structure Ri has its side walls metallized 2 0 The succession of masks used to def ine such a structure is then adjusted in such a way that the side walls of the same elementary resistive structure are electrically connected together and the side walls of two neighbouring elementary structures are connected together by at least one conducting polymer deposit.
As for the case of the capacitors described above, the wells Pi are as nlany zones as make it possible to facilitate the cutting of the resistive structure into elementary resistive structures.
3 0 The process according to the invention then comprises a step of cutting the elementary resistive structures into elementary resistors.
According to the invention, the side walls of each elementary resistive structure are conductive It is then sufficient either to pass each el~ -~t~y resistive structure through a molten alloy wave or to deposit a soldering alloy or ~301dering cream on the side walls of each elementary resistive structure in order to produce the connections of the future 3 - 21 77~8~
resistors .
Figure 6 represents the sectional view of a resistive and capacitive structure obtained according to the invention. For reasons of convenience, only one 5 elementary resistive structure R and one elementary r~r~r~;ve structure S have been represented. However, the invention relates to structures composed of a plurality of elementary capacitive structures and a plurality of elementary resistive structures. The 10 elementary capacitive structure S is separated from the elementary resistive structure R by a well Pu.
Figure 7 is a sectional view of a masking device u6ed according to the invention.
An enclosure 25 contains oil in the liquid 15 phase 24. Heating elements (not reprPsented in the figure) allow the oil to partially evaporate. The oil in the vapour phase f ills the notches 27 of the printing roller 26 integral with the enclosure 25. The width of the notches 27 defines the width o the 20 masking zones such as 11 and 12 defined above. The distance between two neighbouring notches def ines the distance between the axes of two neighbouring masking zones. The printing roller ls fixed. The oil is deposited on the substrate which rotates at the angular 25 velocity n of the drum 2. This deposition is due to the condensation of the oil on the substrate, the temperature of which is lower than the temperature of the oil.
In order to ensure optimum conditions fo~ the 3 0 deposition of oil on the substrate, the distance 6eparating the printing roller 26 from the substrate is kept virtually constant, for example of the order of a few microns, throughout the process. The quantity of oil transferred is controlled by adjus~ing the heating 35 power of the heating elements.
In general, all ty~oes of patterns are envisageable for producing the notches which define a given mask.
The notches 27 which define a given mask are - 19 - 2177g~
preferably aligned on the same generatrics of the printing roller 26. It is then possible to define the masking patterns o different masks on the same printing roller. The masking patterns to be placed in 5 front of the_ substraté are then chosen simply by rotating the printing roller.
Similarly, the notches 2'7 which define a given mask can be adjugted in such a way that a structure produced according to the process of the invention 10 consists of a succession of alternately capacitive and resistive elementary structures. The subsequent cutting of such a structure can then advantageously lead to the fabrication of components consisting of a resistor and a capacitor ~ n series .
The connections of such components are produced in the same way as that described above for the capacitors or the resistors.
Advantageously, a printing roller 26 can also be used as a support for various cutting elements, so 20 as to make it possible to cut the capacitor structure and/or the resistive structure into elementary structures.
According to the process of the invention, the roller 26 can also make it possible to mark various 25 logos on the components.
According to the prior art, discharge plasma-enhanced depositions are carried out on heated substrates. An advantage of deposition by flowing remote cold plasma according to the invention is that 30 it is not necessary to heat the substrate on which the dielectric and conducting deposits are made. The mechanical characteristics of the substrate are there~ore~ not degraded, and the reliability of the con~ron~n~.~ produced by the process of the invention is 35 improved in comparison with that of components produced by proce~ses of the prior art.

Claims

- 20 -

1. Process for fabricating a capacitive or resistive component, of the stacked type, consisting of a stack of a plurality of dielectric layers alternated with a plurality of conductive layers, the conductive layers successively including layers of odd rank alternated with layers of even rank, characterized in that the dielectric layers and the conductive layers are respectively produced by thin-film deposition of dielectric material and by thin-film deposition of conducting material.

2. Fabrication process according to Claim 1, characterized in that the conducting deposits are made in such a way as to come into contact on one single side with a conductive layer previously deposited, and in that juxtaposed stacks (Si or Ri), separated by wells (Pi) are produced on a substrate, each stack having side faces turned towards the wells, these faces being covered with conducting material as the successive steps of conductor deposition performed in order to produce the stack proceed.

3. Fabrication process according to Claim 2, characterized in that the successive conducting deposits of the layers of even rank come into direct contact at one end of the layers with the conducting deposits of even rank previously deposited, and the layers of odd rank come into direct contact at another end of the layers, with the layers of odd rank previously deposited, in order to produce a stacked capacitor.

4. Fabrication process according to. Claim 2, characterized in that a conducting deposit of even rank comes into direct contact, at one of its ends, with the deposit of odd rank which immediately precedes it, and in that the conducting deposit of odd rank which immediately follows it comes into direct contact at the other end with the deposit of even rank, in order to other end with the deposit of even rank, in order to produce a stacked capacitor.

5. Fabrication process according to one of Claims 3 and 4, characterized in that both a capacitor and a resistor, in series or in parallel with this capacitor, are produced on the same substrate.

6. Process according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the deposition of at least one conductive layer takes place simultaneously with the deposition of at least one dielectric layer.

7. Process according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the dielectric thin films are deposited by the polymerization of elements resulting from the remote nitrogen plasma dissociation of an organosilicon or organogermanium gas, and in that the conductive thin films are deposited by depositing conducting elements resulting from the remote nitrogen plasma dissociation of a precursor gas of these elements .

8. Process according to Claim 7, characterized in that the said remote nitrogen plasma is a flowing remote cold plasma situated in an extended post-discharge zone containing practically no electrons or ions.

9 Process according to either one of Claims 7 or 8, characterized in that the organosilicon compound is chosen from alkoxysilanes of the formula:
with n less than or equal to 5 siloxanes of formula with n less than or equal to 4 or silazanes of formula with n less than 4

10. Process according to Claim 9, characterized in that the organosilicon compound is tetramethyldi-siloxane.

11. Process according to any one of Claims 7 to 10, characterized in that the precursor gas of the conducting elements is a metal complex.

12. Process according to Claim 11, characterized in that the metal complex is a metal carbonyl.

13. Process according to Claim 11, characterized in that the metal complex is an acetylacetonate or a fluoroacetylacetonate.

14. Process according to any one of Claims 7 to 10, characterized in that the precursor gas of the conducting elements is hydrogen sulphide.

15. Process according to any one of Claims 7 to 10, characterized in that the precursor gas of the con-ducting elements is sulphur dichloride.

16. Process according to any one of Claims 7 to 15, characterized in that the nitrogen pressure is between 1 hPa and 20 hPa.

17. Process according to any one of Claims 7 to 16, characterized in that it comprises the presence of oxygen during the deposition of the dielectric layers.

18. Process according to any one of Claims 6 to 17, characterized in that the deposition of the dielectric layers and of the conductive layers takes place on a dielectric substrate (1) placed on the surface of a rotating drum (2), the said rotation taking place in such a way that the same portion of the dielectric substrate (1) is located successively facing at least one device (C1, 8, 7) for dielectric deposition and at least one device (C2, 8, 7) for deposition of conducting elements, each dielectric or conductor deposition being preceded by masking of the zones where the said deposition is not allowed.

19. Process according to Claim 18, characterized in that the said masking is carried out by oil deposition.

20. Process according to Claim 19, characterized in that the said oil deposition is produced by a masking device consisting of a printing roller on which notches are formed, the said notches being filled with oil in vapour phase, the said oil in vapour phase being deposited by condensation.

21. Process according to Claim 20, characterized in that the masking of the zones where the depositions of dielectric and of conducting polymer are not allowed leads to the fabrication of a capacitive structure consisting of N elementary capacitive structures (Si, i = 1, 2, ... N) in parallel, separated from one another by wells (Pi, i = 1, 2, ..., N-1), each elementary capacitive structure having its side walls conductive.

22. Process according to Claim 21, characterized in that it comprises a step of cutting the said capacitive structure into the said N elementary capacitive structures, the said cutting being produced by cutting elements integral with the printing roller.

23. Process according to Claim 22, characterized in that each elementary capacitive structure resulting from the said cutting is passed through a molten alloy wave in order to form the plates of the future capacitors.

24. Process according to Claim 22, characterized in that it comprises the deposition of a soldering alloy on the side walls of each elementary capacitive structure resulting from the said cutting, in order to constitute the plates of the future capacitors.

25. Process according to either one of Claims 23 or 24, characterized in that it comprises the cutting of the elementary capacitive structures into elementary capacitors

26. Process according to Claim 20, characterized in that the masking of the zones where the depositions of dielectric and of conducting polymer are not allowed leads to the fabrication of a resistive structure consisting of N elementary resistive structures (Ri, i = 1, 2, ..., N) which are separated from one another by wells (Pi, i = 1, 2, ... N - 1), each elementary resistive structure having its side walls conductive and electrically connected to one another.

27. Process according to Claim 26, characterized in that it comprises a step of cutting the said resistive structure into the said N elementary resistive structures, the said cutting being produced by cutting elements integral with the printing roller.

28. Process according to Claim 27, characterized in that each elementary resistive structure (Ri, i = 1, 2, ..., N) resulting from the said cutting is passed through a molten alloy wave in order to form the connections of the future resistors.

29. Process according to Claim 27, characterized in that it comprises the deposition of a soldering alloy on the side walls of each elementary structure resulting from the said cutting, in order to constitute the terminals of the future resistors.

30. Process according to Claim 28 or 29, charac-terized in that it comprises the cutting of each elementary resistive structure into elementary resistors.

31. Process according to Claim 20, characterized in that the masking of the zones where the depositions of dielectric and of conducting polymer are not allowed leads to the fabrication of a structure consisting of a succession of capacitive and resistive elementary structures, each capacitive and resistive elementary structure having its side walls conductive, each resistive elementary structure having its side walls electrically connected to one another.

32. Process according to Claim 31, characterized in that it comprises a step of cutting the said structure into elementary structures each consisting of a capacitive elementary structure and a resistive elementary structure.

33. Process according to Claim 32, characterized in that each elementary structure is passed through a molten alloy wave in order to form the connections of the future components.

34. Process according to Claim 33, characterized in that it comprises the deposition of a soldering alloy on the side walls of the said elementary structures.

35. Process according to Claim 34, characterized in that it comprises the cutting of the elementary structures so as to constitute components formed by a capacitor and a resistor in series.

36. Capacitor of the stacked type, consisting of an alternation of dielectric layers of odd and even rank and of conductive layers of odd and even rank, the said stacked capacitor constituting a structure having two opposite side faces covered with conducting material, characterized in that the dielectric layers are obtained by thin-film deposits of dielectric elements and the conductive layers are obtained by thin-film deposits of conducting elements, the covering of a first side face with conducting material being obtained by the said deposits of conducting elements so as to connect together electrically the conductive layers of even rank, and the covering of the side face opposite the said first face with conducting material being obtained by the said deposits of conducting elements 80 as to connect together electrically the conductive layers of odd rank.

37. Resistor characterized in that it consists of an alternation of dielectric layers of odd and even rank and of conductive layers of odd and even rank, the said alternation constituting a structure having two opposite side faces covered with conducting material, the dielectric layers being obtained by thin-film deposits of dielectric elements and the conductive layers being obtained by thin-film deposit of conducting elements, each conductive layer having a first end located on a first side face and a second end located on a second side face, opposite the first side face, a conductive layer of odd rank having its first end electrically connected to the first end of the conductive layer of even rank immediately above, and a conductive layer of even rank having its second end electrically connected to the second end of the conductive layer of odd rank immediately above, the electrical connections between the said ends being produced during the deposition of the conductive layers.

38. Electronic component, characterized in that it consists of at least one capacitor according to claim 36 and at least one resistor according to Claim 37.