EP1483773A2 - Dispositif d'activation de gaz dans le vide - Google Patents

Dispositif d'activation de gaz dans le vide

Info

Publication number
EP1483773A2
EP1483773A2 EP03743795A EP03743795A EP1483773A2 EP 1483773 A2 EP1483773 A2 EP 1483773A2 EP 03743795 A EP03743795 A EP 03743795A EP 03743795 A EP03743795 A EP 03743795A EP 1483773 A2 EP1483773 A2 EP 1483773A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
hollow cathode
gas
housing
interior
glow discharge
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP03743795A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Thomas Jung
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Angewandten Forschung eV
Original Assignee
Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Angewandten Forschung eV
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Angewandten Forschung eV filed Critical Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Angewandten Forschung eV
Publication of EP1483773A2 publication Critical patent/EP1483773A2/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
    • H01J37/32—Gas-filled discharge tubes
    • H01J37/32009—Arrangements for generation of plasma specially adapted for examination or treatment of objects, e.g. plasma sources
    • H01J37/32018—Glow discharge
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05H—PLASMA TECHNIQUE; PRODUCTION OF ACCELERATED ELECTRICALLY-CHARGED PARTICLES OR OF NEUTRONS; PRODUCTION OR ACCELERATION OF NEUTRAL MOLECULAR OR ATOMIC BEAMS
    • H05H1/00—Generating plasma; Handling plasma
    • H05H1/24—Generating plasma
    • H05H1/4697—Generating plasma using glow discharges
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J2237/00—Discharge tubes exposing object to beam, e.g. for analysis treatment, etching, imaging
    • H01J2237/32—Processing objects by plasma generation
    • H01J2237/33—Processing objects by plasma generation characterised by the type of processing
    • H01J2237/335—Cleaning

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a device and a method for activating gases in a vacuum which, when used in conjunction with a vacuum coating method, leads to improved layer properties or, in conjunction with a surface treatment method in a vacuum, to improved surface properties of the treated object.
  • the substances used are often let into the vacuum chamber in gaseous form as so-called reactive gases.
  • reactive gases For example, oxygen is let in during the reactive vapor deposition of silicon oxide from evaporated silicon, or oxygen is let in when cleaning aluminum surfaces from hydrocarbon deposits, or phosphine is let in as a gas for doping silicon with phosphorus.
  • the effectiveness of the reactive gases is largely determined by their chemical state, in which they are present in the treatment zone, which is located within the vacuum chamber.
  • molecular gases it is particularly advantageous if they exist as radicals, as unbound atoms in the ground state or in the excited state or as ions, that is to say as activated particles.
  • a known device for activating gases is described by A. Beikind in Surface and Coatings Technology, Volume 76-77 (1995), p. 738. It consists of a housing into which the gas to be activated is introduced, with numerous bores through which the gas flows out. An electrical voltage is applied to the housing, so that hollow cathode discharges occur in the holes, which activate the gas as it flows through the holes.
  • This device has been successfully used for surface cleaning of aluminum sheets using activated oxygen.
  • the particular advantage of this device over other devices for activating gases is the use of a hollow cathode discharge. This is a particularly intensive type of gas discharge that enables very efficient activation.
  • the volume in which the hollow cathode discharge burns is the sum of the volumes of the individual holes and is therefore very small, and therefore the activation rate is low.
  • Use for activating reactive vapor deposition processes is generally not possible, since a hollow cathode discharge requires a relatively high gas pressure (at least approx. 0.1 bar), but vapor deposition can only be carried out in a high vacuum
  • the device has the decisive disadvantage that other gases, which are also required for the coating, penetrate into the hollow cathodes by diffusion.
  • other gases such as argon, which is very often used as a working gas in plasma processes, the hollow cathode
  • the discharge primarily an ionization of the noble gas and not the desired activation of the reactive gas.
  • layer-forming gases such as, for example, volatile hydrocarbons or silanes
  • the discharge may prefer the layer-forming gas over the reactive gas. This is especially true when the layer-forming gas contains hydrogen.
  • a device for activating a gas flowing through the device in which the activation takes place by means of a hollow cathode glow discharge.
  • the device consists of a housing provided with at least one gas supply line and at least one opening for the gas outlet, a hollow cathode and an interior space delimited by the housing with an anode arranged therein.
  • the dimensioning of the at least one opening for the gas outlet in relation to the wall thickness of the hollow cathode is chosen such that the hollow cathode glow discharge onto the
  • Interior is limited and does not extend to the openings for the gas outlet.
  • the hollow cathode glow discharge is effectively separated from the gas atmosphere in the surrounding vacuum space. It burns only in the reactive gas atmosphere and thus leads to a very efficient activation of the reactive gas. Furthermore, undesirable effects such as a coating of the hollow cathode, which lead to a progressive Degradation leads to be avoided.
  • the diameter of the holes can be chosen so that there is a large pressure difference between the interior and the surrounding vacuum space.
  • the optimum pressure for the surface treatment can be maintained in the vacuum space, and yet a sufficiently high pressure can be set in the interior for an optimally designed, very intensive and thus effective hollow cathode glow discharge.
  • the dimensions of the interior can be set completely free of other conditions so that an optimally pronounced hollow cathode glow discharge is formed in the interior at a certain pressure resulting from the size of the openings and the gas flow.
  • the total surface area of the hollow cathode can be selected to be practically unlimited, whereby a very high-energy hollow cathode plasma can be generated and intensive contact with the reactive gas can be established. Due to the effective separation of the hollow cathode surface and the surface to be treated, as well as the large cross-section of the hollow cathode, which leads to a low gas flow velocity within the hollow cathode, dusted cathode material is transported to the substrate surface only in extremely small quantities.
  • the hollow cathode is insulated from the housing and arranged in the interior of the housing.
  • the anode is accordingly arranged in the hollow cathode, the hollow cathode being additionally surrounded by a housing which has the corresponding openings for the Has gas supply and the gas outlet.
  • the housing is designed as a hollow cathode. In terms of device technology, this is implemented in such a way that a voltage is applied to the housing so that it functions as a hollow cathode.
  • the hollow cathode can be designed as a tube with an inner diameter between 0.5 and 200 mm. It is also possible to use a hollow cathode made of at least two parallel or inclined plates with a plate spacing between 0.5 and 200 mm. A third alternative provides that the hollow cathode is designed as a fine-mesh metal mesh.
  • the hollow cathode preferably has a metallic surface.
  • the metallic surface can again be covered with a dielectric layer, e.g. be coated as the intrinsic oxide of the metallic cathode material.
  • the hollow cathode is provided with a cooling device.
  • the hollow cathode can preferably be connected to the cooling device via a thermal resistor.
  • the opening for the gas outlet in the housing and / or the hollow cathode is preferably designed as a thin screen, as a bore or as an opening. Round, angular or slit-shaped geometries can be considered for the cross-section.
  • DC voltage with an excitation voltage between 10 and 2000 V, a pulsed DC voltage, and low, medium or high frequency excitation can take place. It is also possible to use microwaves for the excitation.
  • the at least one opening for the gas outlet and the hollow cathode is preferably arranged such that at least one deflection of the gas flowing through the device takes place between the hollow cathode and the gas outlet opening. In this way, it is possible for the discharge of cathode material to be completely suppressed through the openings for the gas outlet.
  • Another measure to prevent the discharge of cathode material is to arrange the anode as a flow resistance for the gas flowing through the device in such a way that the gas flowing through the device is deflected around the anode.
  • a further advantageous development of the device is based on the fact that the device is provided with a magnet for generating a magnetic field to support the hollow cathode glow discharge.
  • a method for activating a gas by means of a hollow cathode glow discharge is also provided. This is based on the following process steps: a) First, the gas is introduced into an interior of the housing via a gas inlet,
  • the gas is activated in the housing by a hollow cathode glow discharge which is ignited by an anode located in the interior, and
  • the dimensioning of the gas outlet opening is chosen such that the hollow cathode glow discharge is limited to the interior and does not extend to the openings in the housing.
  • a variant of the method provides that a voltage is applied to the housing and thus the housing represents the hollow cathode.
  • the method can also be carried out in such a way that the hollow cathode is electrically insulated from the housing, the hollow cathode being arranged in the interior of the housing.
  • the device according to the invention is used above all in the activation of gases for PVD and CVD processes.
  • the physical vapor deposition processes include, for example, cathode sputtering using magnetron or gas flow sputtering, vapor deposition using an electron beam evaporator, arc vaporization, jet vaporization of chemical compounds, for example oxides, nitrides, carbides or doped semiconductors, with layer-forming agents Gases or doping gases can be activated.
  • the device can also be used for the chemical deposition of Layers from the gas phase, for example of carbon-containing or silicon-containing layers or of semiconductor layers, are used, the layer-forming gases or doping gases being activated.
  • Another alternative use is based on cleaning surfaces with plasma activated gases, e.g. the combustion of hydrocarbon documents with activated oxygen or the reduction of oxide documents with hydrogen.
  • the device can also be used to activate plastic surfaces for better adhesion of layers, e.g. Paints, can be used by treatment with activated gases.
  • FIG. 1 shows the sectional drawing of a variant of the device according to the invention, in which the housing acts as a hollow cathode
  • FIG. 2 shows the sectional drawing of a variant of the device according to the invention, in which the hollow cathode is insulated from the housing and arranged in the interior of the housing,
  • FIG. 3 shows the sectional drawing of a variant of the device according to the invention with a heat sink and an applied magnetic field
  • FIG. 4 shows the sectional drawing of a device analogous to FIG. 2, the hollow cathode is designed as a metal network and
  • FIG. 5 shows the sectional drawing of a variant of the device according to the invention, in which the cathode consists of plates aligned parallel to one another.
  • a cylindrical hollow cathode 1 which functions as a housing, is shown in cross section.
  • a voltage is applied to the housing so that the housing and the hollow cathode can be realized in one component.
  • An anode 2 is arranged in the interior 3 delimited by the hollow cathode.
  • the device has in this case a channel-shaped gas supply line 4 and one
  • Opening 5 for the gas outlet In this variant, the hollow cathode glow discharge is limited to the interior 3, spreading to the opening 5 is excluded.
  • FIG. 2 Another variant is shown in FIG. 2.
  • the hollow cathode 1 is arranged in the interior of the housing 6.
  • An anode 2 and a gas feed line 4 are arranged in the center of the hollow cathode.
  • the hollow cathode glow discharge takes place only in the interior 3.
  • the hollow cathode has two openings through which the activated gas can escape from the interior 3 of the hollow cathode 1 into the space of the housing 6 surrounding the hollow cathode.
  • the two openings are arranged perpendicular to the gas outlet opening 5 of the housing 6. The purpose of this is to deflect the gas flow in order to prevent the discharge of cathode material through the openings for the gas outlet.
  • FIG. 3 shows the cross section of a variant of the device with a rectangular base.
  • a hollow cathode consisting of two plates 1, 1 'arranged parallel to one another is arranged in the housing 6.
  • the two plates 1, 1 ' are provided with a cooling 7, which are connected to the plates via two thermal resistors 8, 8'.
  • a gas feed line 4 is arranged in the center of the hollow cathode.
  • An anode 2 is arranged on the open side of the hollow cathode in such a way that it represents a flow resistance for the activated gas flow, so that the gas flow is conducted around the anode to the gas outlet opening 5. In this way the discharge of cathode material is prevented.
  • the device also has two magnets 9, 9 'which generate a magnetic field to support the hollow cathode glow discharge.
  • FIG. 4 shows a device comparable to FIG. 2, the hollow cathode 1 being designed as a metal net.
  • the activated gas can flow through the metal net into the space of the housing 6 surrounding the hollow cathode 1 evenly distributed in all spatial directions and then leave the housing 6 through the gas outlet opening 5.
  • the gas flow is also deflected here, which prevents cathode material from being discharged through the gas outlet opening 5.
  • FIG. 5 A further variant of the device according to the invention is shown in FIG. 5.
  • the housing 6 has a rectangular base area.
  • the hollow cathode here consists of three plates 1, 1 and 1 '' arranged parallel to one another. Two gas supply lines 4, 4 'are arranged between the plates. The plates of the hollow cathode are in turn connected via a cooling device 7. connected to each other.
  • the anode 2 is arranged as a flow resistance between the hollow cathode and the gas outlet opening 5.

Landscapes

  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Plasma & Fusion (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Analytical Chemistry (AREA)
  • Spectroscopy & Molecular Physics (AREA)
  • Chemical Vapour Deposition (AREA)
  • Physical Or Chemical Processes And Apparatus (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un dispositif permettant d'activer un gaz le traversant, au moyen d'une décharge luminescente par cathode creuse. Ce dispositif est constitué d'un logement comprenant au moins une conduite d'alimentation en gaz et au moins une ouverture d'évacuation de gaz, d'une cathode creuse ainsi que d'une chambre interne délimitée par le logement et contenant une anode. Les dimensions de la/des ouverture(s) d'évacuation de gaz sont sélectionnées par rapport à l'épaisseur de la paroi de la cathode creuse de façon que la décharge luminescente par cathode creuse n'ait lieu que dans la chambre interne.
EP03743795A 2002-03-14 2003-01-09 Dispositif d'activation de gaz dans le vide Withdrawn EP1483773A2 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE10211332A DE10211332B4 (de) 2002-03-14 2002-03-14 Vorrichtung und Verfahren zur Aktivierung von Gasen im Vakuum sowie Verwendung der Vorrichtung
DE10211332 2002-03-14
PCT/EP2003/000152 WO2003077279A2 (fr) 2002-03-14 2003-01-09 Dispositif d'activation de gaz dans le vide

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1483773A2 true EP1483773A2 (fr) 2004-12-08

Family

ID=27797776

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP03743795A Withdrawn EP1483773A2 (fr) 2002-03-14 2003-01-09 Dispositif d'activation de gaz dans le vide

Country Status (3)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1483773A2 (fr)
DE (1) DE10211332B4 (fr)
WO (1) WO2003077279A2 (fr)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE10352516B4 (de) * 2003-11-04 2011-08-11 Samsung Mobile Display Co. Ltd., Gyeonggi Verfahren und Vorrichtung zur Abscheidung dünner Schichten auf einem organischen Substrat

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5069770A (en) * 1990-07-23 1991-12-03 Eastman Kodak Company Sputtering process employing an enclosed sputtering target
DE19722056A1 (de) * 1997-05-27 1998-12-03 Roland Dr Gesche Verfahren und Anordnung zum Herstellen dünner Schichten mittels Niederdruck-Gasentladung in einer Hohlkathode
DE19902146C2 (de) * 1999-01-20 2003-07-31 Fraunhofer Ges Forschung Verfahren und Einrichtung zur gepulsten Plasmaaktivierung
US6246059B1 (en) * 1999-03-06 2001-06-12 Advanced Ion Technology, Inc. Ion-beam source with virtual anode
DE10060002B4 (de) * 1999-12-07 2016-01-28 Komatsu Ltd. Vorrichtung zur Oberflächenbehandlung

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
See references of WO03077279A2 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE10211332A1 (de) 2003-10-02
WO2003077279A3 (fr) 2004-03-25
DE10211332B4 (de) 2009-07-02
WO2003077279A2 (fr) 2003-09-18

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