EP1799879A1 - -vorrichtung und verfahren zur plasmaunterstützten cvd - Google Patents
-vorrichtung und verfahren zur plasmaunterstützten cvdInfo
- Publication number
- EP1799879A1 EP1799879A1 EP04784214A EP04784214A EP1799879A1 EP 1799879 A1 EP1799879 A1 EP 1799879A1 EP 04784214 A EP04784214 A EP 04784214A EP 04784214 A EP04784214 A EP 04784214A EP 1799879 A1 EP1799879 A1 EP 1799879A1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- electrodes
- processing system
- substrate
- substrate processing
- deposition chamber
- 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- Withdrawn
Links
Classifications
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- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
- C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
- C23C16/00—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes
- C23C16/44—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the method of coating
- C23C16/54—Apparatus specially adapted for continuous coating
-
- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
- C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
- C23C16/00—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes
- C23C16/22—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the deposition of inorganic material, other than metallic material
- C23C16/24—Deposition of silicon only
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- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
- C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
- C23C16/00—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes
- C23C16/44—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the method of coating
- C23C16/455—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the method of coating characterised by the method used for introducing gases into reaction chamber or for modifying gas flows in reaction chamber
- C23C16/45563—Gas nozzles
- C23C16/45578—Elongated nozzles, tubes with holes
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- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
- C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
- C23C16/00—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes
- C23C16/44—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the method of coating
- C23C16/50—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the method of coating using electric discharges
- C23C16/505—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the method of coating using electric discharges using radio frequency discharges
- C23C16/509—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the method of coating using electric discharges using radio frequency discharges using internal electrodes
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- 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
-
- 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
- H01J37/32431—Constructional details of the reactor
- H01J37/32532—Electrodes
- H01J37/32541—Shape
Definitions
- PECVD Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition
- Conventional PECVD systems include a deposition chamber with two or three electrodes that, when excited by a voltage, ionize the reactant gas between the electrodes to create a plasma.
- the reactant gas is supplied directly into the high intensity plasma region through one of the electrodes, which is commonly referred to as a "showerhead" electrode.
- PECVD has proven to be a useful process
- the present inventors have determined that conventional PECVD processes are susceptible to improvement. More specifically, the present inventors have determined that the deposition rates of conventional PECVD processes must be kept relatively low in order to produce acceptable film quality and, given the fact that the cost of conventional PECVD systems is comparable to the cost of deposition systems such as sputtering systems that have higher deposition rates, the per unit area cost of films produced by conventional PECVD processes is relatively high.
- the present inventors have also determined that conventional PECVD processes consume reactant materials (e.g. silane) inefficiently because the concentration of the silane in the reactant gas (e.g. silane and hydrogen) is only marginally higher than the concentration of the reactant material in the exhaust.
- reactant materials e.g. silane
- the present inventors have also determined that silicon particles can form in the plasma unless conventional PECVD processes are operated at low gas pressures, low reactant material concentrations, and low excitation power, all of which result in low deposition rates.
- the formation of silicon particles is problematic, thereby necessitating the low deposition rates, because the particles can damage the vacuum pumps that draw exhaust gasses from the deposition chamber and can also damage the devices being formed.
- the vacuum pumps must also be relatively large so that the slightly used gas within the deposition chamber can be rapidly withdrawn before the silane concentration becomes too low or the silane distribution becomes non-uniform.
- the present inventors have also determined that conventional PECVD processes require the reactant gas to flow through the length (or width) of the entire chamber before the reactant gas is exhausted. This results in a long dwell time for silane molecules within the chamber that exacerbates the formation of silicon particles and also increases the formation of higher order silanes (e.g. SiaH ⁇ ). A significant concentration of higher order silanes results in very poor device quality. Therefore, the flow rates are kept high to exhaust the higher order silanes quickly and avoid their accumulation. As a result, most of the silane flows through the system and is exhausted rather than used efficiently in the reaction to deposit silicon.
- FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a PECVD apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of a present invention.
- Figure 2 is a perspective, cutaway view of a deposition chamber in accordance with an embodiment of a present invention.
- Figure 3 is a section view taken along line 3-3 in Figure 2.
- Figure 4 is a side view of rod electrodes in accordance with an embodiment of a present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS
- the inventions also have application in the deposition of silicon carbide (SiC), amorphous silicon Si(H), micro-crystalline silicon Si(H), silicon germanium (SiGe) and other semiconductor materials, all with hydrogen (H) incorporated.
- Doped semiconductor materials can also be fabricated. The dopant is most easily input to the system as a gas, but could also be introduced by including a solid piece of doped silicon in the plasma region.
- Gas sources for doping materials include, for example, tri-methyl borane (B(CH 3 )3) and phosphine (PH 3 ).
- a PECVD system 100 in accordance with one embodiment of a present invention includes a deposition chamber 102 with an electrode assembly 104 between a pair of substrate carriers 106a and 106b.
- the substrate carriers 106a and 106b position substrates on opposite sides of the electrode assembly 104.
- the electrode assembly 104 in the exemplary implementation performs a number of functions.
- the electrode assembly 104 creates one or more high intensity plasma regions between the substrate carriers 106a and 106b when excited by a voltage, e.g. radio frequency (RF) or direct current (DC), provided by a power supply 108.
- RF radio frequency
- DC direct current
- the electrode assembly 104 is also used to deliver reactant gas to the deposition chamber 102 and is connected to a reactant gas source 110 by way of a manifold 112a.
- a reactant gas source 110 by way of a manifold 112a.
- material from the reactant gas e.g. silicon from silane
- the electrode assembly 104 is used to evacuate exhaust from the deposition chamber 102 and, to that end, is connected to an exhaust device 114, such as vacuum pump, by way of the manifold 112b. Operation of the PECVD system 100 is monitored and controlled by a controller 116, based at least in part on data from sensors 118.
- the substrates 120a and 120b enter the exemplary deposition chamber 102 by way of inlets 122a and 122b and travel in the direction indicated by arrows A. Similar outlets (not shown) are provided at the opposite end of the deposition chamber 102.
- the substrates 120a and 120b are in the form of individual sheets of substrate material that are each fed into the deposition chamber 102.
- the substrates may also be a continuous web of substrate material that is pulled from a supply roll to a take-up roll. Suitable substrate materials include, but are not limited to, soda-lime glass, polyimide, and stainless steel.
- the substrate carriers 106a and 106b position the substrates 120a and 120b parallel to each other on opposite sides of the deposition chamber 102 and on opposite sides of the electrode assembly 104.
- the substrate carriers 106a and 106b also include a plurality of rollers units 124 and the edges of the substrates 120a and 120b pass between the rollers in the associated roller units.
- the rollers in the roller units 124 may be free spinning rollers, which merely guide the substrates 120a and 120b through the deposition chamber 102 and ensure that they are properly positioned within the chamber.
- the rollers units 124 may include driven rollers that drive the substrates 120a and 120b through the deposition chamber 102, in addition to insuring that they are properly positioned.
- suitable substrate carriers include conveyor systems and chain drives.
- the substrates could be loaded into the chamber by a robot arm, held in place by sliding or roller guides and then removed from the chamber by the robot arm after the deposition is complete.
- Still another alternative is to employ rollers that engage the top and bottom edges of the substrates 120a and 120b and rotate about axes that are perpendicular to the direction indicated by arrows A.
- the interior of the deposition chamber 102 in the exemplary embodiment is relatively narrow. More specifically, the distance between the substrates 120a and 120b is substantially less than the length of the chamber (measured in the direction of arrows A) and the height of the chamber (measured in the direction perpendicular to arrows A). For example, the distance between substrates 120a and 120b may be one-tenth or less of the length and height dimensions.
- the substrates 120a and 120b also preferably extend from end to end in the length dimension of the deposition chamber 102 and from top to bottom in the height dimension. As a result, the substrates 120a and 120b are between the electrode assembly 104 (and the plasma created thereby) and the large interior surfaces of the chamber and cover the vast majority of the interior surface of the deposition chamber 102.
- the deposition chamber 102 is not limited to any particular size. Nevertheless, in one exemplary implementation of the deposition chamber 102 that is suitable for commercial applications and is oriented in the manner illustrated in Figure 2, the interior of the deposition chamber 102 is about 100 cm in length (measured in the direction of arrows A) and about 60 cm in height (measured in the direction perpendicular to arrows A). There is also about 7 cm between the substrates 120a and 120b and 3.5 cm between the central plane CP of the deposition chamber interior ( Figure 3) and each of the substrates 120a and 120b. Additionally, the substrate carriers 106a and 106b are positioned and arranged such that the substrates 120a and 120b lie in vertically extending planes. Such orientation reduces the likelihood that particulates fall onto the substrates.
- the relatively small spacing between the substrates 120a and 120b, as compared to the relatively large dimension in the direction of substrate travel and the dimension perpendicular to substrate travel increases the percentage of the plasma generated silicon that is deposited onto the substrates and decreases the amount that is deposited onto the chamber walls, as compared to conventional deposition chambers.
- the reactant materials are consumed more efficiently.
- the downtime and expense associated with deposition chamber cleaning and maintenance is also reduced.
- the close spacing between the electrode assembly 104 and the substrates 120a and 120b also facilitates rapid diffusion in the smallest dimension to be the dominant process for transporting atomic hydrogen created at the center of the deposition chamber 102 to the substrates, where the atomic hydrogen can react with silane to create the pre-cursors that result in the deposition of good quality semiconductor material onto the substrates.
- the configuration of the deposition chamber 102 also allows rapid diffusion to equalize the concentrations of all species throughout the plasma, including the rapid diffusion of the input reactant gas, to obtain a uniform concentration.
- the exemplary electrode assembly 104 illustrated in Figures 2-4 includes a plurality of spaced rod electrodes 126 arranged such that their respective longitudinal axes are co-planar, perpendicular to the direction of substrate travel (indicated by arrows A), and equidistant from the substrate carriers 106a and 106b (as well as substrates 120a and 120b).
- the rod electrodes 126 also extend from one end of the deposition chamber 102 to the other (top to bottom in the orientation illustrated in Figure 2).
- the exemplary rod electrodes 126 are cylindrical in shape and are relatively close together.
- the spacing between adjacent rod electrodes 126 in the illustrated embodiment is about equal to the diameter of the rod electrodes (i.e. two times the diameter measured from longitudinal axis to longitudinal axis).
- the electrode assembly 104 may be used to create high intensity plasma between the substrate carriers 106a and 106b (as well as substrates 120a and 120b).
- the high intensity plasma is created when the rod electrodes 126 are energized by power such as, for example, RF or DC power from the power supply 108.
- the energy is supplied in alternating phases from one rod electrode 126 to the next adjacent rod electrode, as is represented by the alternating series of "+" and "-" signs in Figures 3 and 4.
- the application of power in this manner creates regions of high intensity electric field between adjacent rod electrodes 126 and, accordingly, regions of intense plasma 128 between adjacent rod electrodes.
- Low intensity electric fields and low intensity plasma regions 130 are created near the substrates 120a and 120b.
- the intensity of the electric fields between the rod electrodes are significantly greater than ten times the intensity of the electric field near the substrates 120a and 120b.
- the rod electrodes 126 may, alternatively, be driven in phase with each other.
- the substrates 120a and 120b are held at ground potential or at ground with a small DC bias. This creates a relatively uniform electric field and plasma in each of the two areas between the central plane CP and the substrates 120a and 120b.
- each rod electrode 126 is preferably electrically driven at both longitudinal ends in order to reduce amplitude variations of the excitation signal along the length of the electrode. This minimizes the effects of standing waves at high RF frequencies and provides a relatively even plasma intensity along the length of each electrode.
- electrical contacts may be provided to connect substrates 120a and 120b to the system ground, or to bias the substrates positive or negative with respect to the system ground, to control the plasma properties and the amount of electron/ion bombardment at the surface of the substrates.
- Magnetic fields may also be used to control plasma properties, i.e. confine the plasma and direct the movement of ions and electrons within the plasma.
- the rod electrodes 126 illustrated in Figures 2-4 may be formed from a variety of materials that are relatively high in thermal and electrical conductivity to achieve a uniform electrical field and uniform temperature along the length of the rod.
- Material that is inert in a hydrogen plasma such as titanium or stainless steel, may be used.
- the rod electrodes 126 may be formed from a material, such as titanium or doped silicon that is very, very slowly etched by the hydrogen plasma and deposited in minute quantities along with the silicon.
- This technique may be employed to introduce catalyst material such as titanium (Ti) that improves the growth rate or quality of the silicon and/or to introduce dopants such as boron (B) or phosphorous (P) without the need for toxic input gasses like phosphine (PH 3 ).
- the rod electrodes 126 in one implementation that is suitable for commercial applications are cylindrical in shape, are about 1.2 cm in diameter and about 60 cm in length.
- the rod electrodes 126 are positioned parallel to one another about every 2 cm (i.e. 2 cm between the longitudinal axes of adjacent rod electrodes) in the direction of substrate travel and in the central plane CP of the deposition chamber interior.
- the central plane CP is also the electrode plane. So configured and arranged there are forty-six (46) of the rod electrodes 126 in a 100 cm long deposition chamber that has small electrode-free areas near the inlets and outlets.
- smaller rod electrodes that are about 0.6 cm in diameter and about 60 cm in length are positioned parallel to one another about every 1 cm (i.e. 1 cm between the longitudinal axes of adjacent rod electrodes) in the direction of substrate travel and in the central plane CP of the deposition chamber interior. So configured and arranged, there are ninety-two (92) of the smaller rod electrodes 126 in a 100 cm long deposition chamber that has small electrode-free areas near the inlets and outlets. It should also be noted that, for both rod electrode 126 sizes, the spacing between adjacent rod electrodes is less than one twenty-fifth (1/25) of the length and the height of the interior of the deposition chamber 102 and relatively short as compared to the distance over which silicon particles and higher order silanes form.
- the rod electrodes 126 are not, however, limited to these configurations and arrangements.
- the rod electrodes may be other than circular in cross- sectional shape, as are the exemplary cylindrical rod electrodes 126.
- the spacing between the rod electrodes 126 vary, where some or all of the rod electrodes are slightly offset from the central plane CP and/or where some of the rod electrodes are not parallel to others.
- the cross-sectional size of the rod electrodes (e.g. the diameter where the rod electrodes are cylindrical) may also be varied from electrode to electrode to suit particular applications.
- the arrangement of the plurality of closely spaced rod electrodes 126 allows higher RF frequencies to be used to excite the plasma in the present PECVD system 100, as compared to the frequencies that can be used in conventional PECVD systems, when the systems are of commercial production size (i.e. where the substrates are relatively long and at least 0.5 m wide).
- the series of parallel rod electrodes 126 with alternating phases of applied RF power, forms a series of well characterized electronic transmission lines capable of supporting high frequency RF excitation in the range of 27-81 MHz. It has been shown in laboratory experiments that RF power in the 27-81 MHz excitation frequency range can provide higher deposition rates (i.e.
- the present electrode assembly 104 produces well controlled standing waves and only minor variations in plasma intensity when excited to a frequency of 80 MHz over relatively long substrates that are at least 0.5 m wide.
- high intensity plasma regions 128 along the central plane CP ( Figure 3) of the deposition chamber 102 and low intensity plasma regions 130 near the substrates 120a and 120b are associated with advantages.
- the high intensity plasma regions 128 generate abundant atomic hydrogen, which is known to encourage the formation of silicon with good semiconducting properties, and the distance from the central plane CP of the deposition chamber 102 to the substrates 120a and 120b is relatively short as compared to the diffusion length for atomic hydrogen.
- Atomic hydrogen generated in the central plane CP diffuse easily to the substrates and unlike experimental systems that have been reported in PECVD-related literature, does not have to flow through a tube or other apparatus through which much of the atomic hydrogen would react and be lost.
- the high intensity plasma regions 128 in the central plane CP between the rod electrodes 126 also generate intense UV photons that can easily flow to the substrates 120a and 120b. Unlike other experimental systems that have been reported in PECVD-related literature, the UV photons can flow to substrate without passing from outside the deposition chamber through a window or other apparatus that decreases the photon intensity and creates a significant maintenance issue.
- the creation of low intensity plasma regions 130 near the substrates 120a and 120b reduces the electron/ion bombardment of the substrates and potential damage to the deposited silicon by electrons and/or ions.
- a series of rod electrodes that are arranged in the manner described above does not create a uniform electric field and plasma in the substrate travel direction indicated by arrows A and, instead create an electric field and plasma that varies periodically in the travel direction from the area closet to a rod electrode to the midpoint between two rod electrodes.
- the deposition rate and semiconducting properties of the deposited material could, therefore, vary periodically in the travel direction.
- the illustrated embodiment eliminates this periodic variation in electric field and plasma intensity in a variety of ways. Periodic variations are reduced to a large extent by insuring that the distance between adjacent rod electrodes 126, as well as the distance between the rod electrodes and the substrates 120a and 120b, is within a diffusion length.
- the spacing between adjacent rod electrodes 126 is less than half of the distance from the central plane CP to the substrates.
- the spacing between adjacent rod electrodes 126 and from the rod electrodes to the substrates 120a and 120b should be minimized so that rapid diffusion can further reduce variations in the deposition rate.
- the substrates 120a and 120b can be moved relatively rapidly in the non-uniform direction (i.e. the direction indicated by arrows A) to average out any small, remaining variations in the deposition rate.
- the electrode assembly 104 may, in some implementations of the present inventions, also be used during the deposition process to deliver reactant materials to the deposition chamber 102 and to evacuate exhaust from the deposition chamber.
- the rod electrodes 126 include interior lumens 132 that are connected to the manifold 112a (or 112b) and apertures 134 that connect the interior lumens to the interior of the deposition chamber 102.
- Each rod electrode 126 includes two sets of apertures 134, one set that faces the substrate 120a and another set that faces the substrate 120b.
- the interior lumens 126 in the illustrated embodiment are connected to the manifolds 112a and 112b such that, in the direction of substrate travel (i.e.
- the rod electrodes 126 alternate from one rod electrode to the next between delivering reactant materials and evacuating exhaust.
- the reactants are represented by arrows R in Figures 3 and 4, while the exhaust is represented by arrows E.
- the manifold 112a connects the lumens 132 of the rod electrodes 126 that are delivering reactant material to the reactant gas source 110 and the manifold 112b connects the lumens of the rod electrodes that are evacuating exhaust to the exhaust device 114.
- the manifolds 112a and 112b are also connected to both longitudinal ends of each of the associated rod electrodes 126. As such, reactant materials enter both longitudinal ends of each of the rod electrodes 126 that are delivering reactant materials, and the exhaust exits both longitudinal ends of each of the rod electrodes that are evacuating exhaust.
- the exemplary lumens 132 in the illustrated embodiment are slightly smaller than the rod electrodes 126.
- the lumen 132 would be about 1.0 cm in diameter in a cylindrical rod electrode 126 that is itself 1.2 cm in diameter, and about 0.5 cm in diameter in a cylindrical rod electrode that is itself 0.6 cm in diameter.
- the apertures 134 which are about 350 ⁇ m in diameter in the larger rod electrodes 126 and about 200 ⁇ m in diameter in the smaller rod electrodes, are positioned about every 0.5 cm along the length of the rod electrodes 126.
- the rod electrodes 126 delivering reactant materials and the rod electrodes evacuating exhaust
- the apertures 134 may also be aligned with one another from one rod electrode 126 to the next, or staggered, as applications require.
- supplying energy in alternating phases from one rod electrode 126 to the next adjacent rod electrode creates high intensity plasma regions 128 and low intensity plasma regions 130.
- the apertures 134 are positioned so that they do not face the high intensity plasma regions 128 and, instead, face the low intensity plasma regions 130.
- the apertures 134 face in directions that are perpendicular to the central plane CP and are positioned on the portions of the rod electrodes 126 that are closest to the substrates 120a and 120b.
- the angle of the apertures 134 relative to the central plane CP may, however, be adjusted as applications require.
- the angle may be up to forty-five (45) degrees from perpendicular. Because the reactant material, i.e. silane in the exemplary implementation, is introduced into the low intensity plasma regions 130, the silane rapidly diffuses and dilutes itself into the hydrogen atmosphere inside the chamber before encountering regions of intense plasma 128. This reduces the formation of higher order silanes and/or silicon particles within the plasma.
- the reactant material i.e. silane in the exemplary implementation
- the reactant gas source 110 may be used to fill the deposition chamber 102 with hydrogen, or a mixture of hydrogen and argon (Ar), at the desired pressure (e.g. 300 mTorr) prior to the excitation of the rod electrodes 126 and the introduction of the silane or other reactant material.
- the rod electrodes 126 are then excited to initiate the plasma.
- the reactant gas source 110 supplies pure or highly concentrated silane (rather than the dilute 5-10% silane in hydrogen associated with conventional devices) to the rod electrodes 126 that are supplying reactants by way of the manifold 112a.
- the apertures 134 direct the pure silane into the low intensity plasma regions 130 and the silane diffuses rapidly (i.e.
- the diffusion occurs before the silane reaches the high intensity plasma regions 128 where the silane is consumed by the decomposition into silicon and hydrogen (SiH 4 - ⁇ > Si + 2H 2 ).
- the rapid diffusion and dilution into the hydrogen atmosphere with the deposition chamber 102 prior to encountering high intensity plasma regions 128, as well as the relatively short rod electrode to adjacent rod electrode distance that the silane travels and correspondingly short residence time within the deposition chamber also reduces the formation of higher order silanes (Si2H 6 , Si 3 H 8 , etc.) and/or silicon particles within the plasma.
- the silicon is deposited onto the substrates 120a and 120b, while the hydrogen and a very small amount of unused silane is removed by the apertures 134 in the other rod electrodes 126 and the exhaust device 114.
- Another advantage associated with the supply of pure silane through some of the rod electrodes 126 and the evacuation of exhaust through others is that it facilitates much lower gas flow rates than conventional PECVD systems.
- the input flow rate for conventional PECVD systems (7% silane in hydrogen) is 100n
- the exhaust flow rate (6% silane in hydrogen) is 100n and, accordingly, the net consumption of silane is (7% - 6%) x 10On.
- the input flow rate is 1.128n (100% silane)
- the exhaust flow rate is 2.128n (6% silane in hydrogen) and, accordingly, the net consumption of silane is (1.128n x 100%) - (2.128n x 6%).
- the input flow rate of the present PECVD system is almost 100 times less than conventional PECVD systems and the output flow rate is almost 50 times less.
- the lower flow rates allow for a much lower capacity exhaust device 114 (e.g. vacuum pump) to be used to evacuate the reaction products from the deposition chamber 102 and maintain a constant chamber pressure.
- the very short travel distance from a rod electrode 126 that is supplying reactant to a rod electrode that is evacuating exhaust e.g. substantially less than one-twentieth (1/20) of the length and/or height of the deposition chamber 102 in the illustrated embodiment) ensures that the dwell time for silane in the reaction chamber 102 is short even though the flow rates are low.
- the short dwell time minimizes the formation of high order silanes and/or silicon particles.
- the rod electrodes 126 are driven in phase with each other, and the substrates 120a and 120b held at ground potential (or at ground with a small DC bias), to create a relatively uniform electric field and plasma in each of the two areas between the central plane CP and the substrates.
- the rod electrodes 126 may be rotated ninety (90) degrees from the orientation illustrated in Figure 3 so that the apertures 134 are facing adjacent rod electrodes and reactant is supplied to, and exhaust is evacuated from, the region where the electrical field is minimized.
- This implementation of the inventions also benefits from the very short travel distance from a rod electrode 126 that is supplying reactant to a rod electrode that is evacuating exhaust in that the dwell time for silane in the reaction chamber 102 is short, even though the flow rates are low, and the short dwell time minimizes the formation of high order silanes and/or silicon particles.
- the reactant gas source 110 which may be used to supply the deposition chamber 102 with hydrogen (or hydrogen and argon) prior the initiation of the deposition process and pure silane during the deposition process, includes a plurality of storage containers G 1 -G N .
- Other gasses that may be stored include argon, hydrogen, silane, methane, germane, and silane with dopant gasses such as tri-methyl borane or phosphine.
- the gasses may be stored under pressure and, to that end, the reactant gas source 110 includes a plurality of valves 136 that control the flow rate of the gasses from the storage containers GI-GN.
- the present inventions are not limited to gaseous reactant material. Sources of liquid and/or solid reactants may also be provided if required by particular processes.
- the controller 116 may be used to control a variety of aspects of the deposition process. For example, the rate at which pure silane is supplied to the deposition chamber 102 and the rate at which exhaust is evacuated from the deposition chamber may be controlled based upon data from the sensors 118. As noted above, the silane input rate should be slightly greater than the rate at which the silane is consumed (i.e. the deposition rate) because only a small amount of the silane is wasted. Thus, for a particular deposition rate and power level applied to the rod electrodes 126 by the power supply 108 (or "plasma power"), the input flow rate may be adjusted by feedback from the sensors 118 to achieve the desired concentration of silane in the exhaust gas.
- the exhaust gas concentration of silane can be about 5-6%.
- the input flow rate of the silane is adjusted to be equal to the rate consumed in the deposition and the concentration of silane in the exhaust gas approaches zero.
- the exhaust rate is also controlled by feedback to maintain the pressure in the deposition chamber 102 at the desired pressure (e.g. about 300 mTorr).
- the temperature of the substrates 120a and 120b and the frequency and power level of the plasma excitation are typically controlled to achieve the desired quality of silicon at the desired deposition rate.
- the sensors 118 may include a gas concentration sensor associated with the exhaust device 114, a pressure sensor within the deposition chamber 102, and a temperature sensor associated with the substrates 120a and 120b.
- a sensor that detects the presence of a plasma to verify correct operation may also be provided.
- Controlling the PECVD process in the manner described above allows the present PECVD system to perform continuous deposition processes at a stable, steady state with stable temperature, gas flow, gas concentrations, deposition rates, etc.
- the controller 116 can use feedback from the sensors 118 to adjust the parameters of the stable, steady state and achieve the desired material properties.
- the combination of steady state operation and parameter adjustment, based on sensors within the system as the deposition process proceeds, together with rapid diffusion to reduce any non-uniformity allows the manufacture of the present system to be much less precise in mechanical tolerances, and less uniform in gas flow. As a result, the present system can be manufactured much less expensively than conventional "batch mode" systems which deposit material with comparable uniformity and semiconducting properties.
- the present PECVD system 100 may be used to produce a variety of material layers.
- the PECVD system 100 may be used to form high quality amorphous or nano-crystalline silicon semiconductor layers on very large substrates (e.g. 1 m x 0.5 m) that may be utilized in silicon photovoltaic cells and other large area, low cost devices.
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PCT/US2004/030275 WO2006031234A1 (en) | 2004-09-14 | 2004-09-14 | Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition apparatus and method |
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EP1799879A1 true EP1799879A1 (de) | 2007-06-27 |
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EP04784214A Withdrawn EP1799879A1 (de) | 2004-09-14 | 2004-09-14 | -vorrichtung und verfahren zur plasmaunterstützten cvd |
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EP (1) | EP1799879A1 (de) |
JP (1) | JP2008513978A (de) |
CN (1) | CN101018887A (de) |
AU (1) | AU2004323359A1 (de) |
CA (1) | CA2553122A1 (de) |
WO (1) | WO2006031234A1 (de) |
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JP6407694B2 (ja) * | 2014-12-16 | 2018-10-17 | 株式会社日立ハイテクノロジーズ | プラズマ処理装置 |
KR101931692B1 (ko) | 2017-10-11 | 2018-12-21 | 주식회사 유진테크 | 배치식 플라즈마 기판처리장치 |
JP6950956B2 (ja) * | 2017-12-28 | 2021-10-13 | 国立研究開発法人産業技術総合研究所 | アッセイ装置 |
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US4462333A (en) * | 1982-10-27 | 1984-07-31 | Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. | Process gas introduction, confinement and evacuation system for glow discharge deposition apparatus |
US4520757A (en) * | 1982-10-27 | 1985-06-04 | Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. | Process gas introduction, confinement and evacuation system for glow discharge deposition apparatus |
CA2060917A1 (en) * | 1991-03-12 | 1992-09-13 | Milam Pender | Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition device |
DE4421103A1 (de) * | 1994-06-16 | 1995-12-21 | Siemens Solar Gmbh | Verfahren und Vorrichtung zur plasmagestützten Abscheidung dünner Schichten |
US6135053A (en) * | 1997-07-16 | 2000-10-24 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Apparatus for forming a deposited film by plasma chemical vapor deposition |
JP3844274B2 (ja) * | 1998-06-25 | 2006-11-08 | 独立行政法人産業技術総合研究所 | プラズマcvd装置及びプラズマcvd方法 |
-
2004
- 2004-09-14 CA CA002553122A patent/CA2553122A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2004-09-14 AU AU2004323359A patent/AU2004323359A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2004-09-14 EP EP04784214A patent/EP1799879A1/de not_active Withdrawn
- 2004-09-14 CN CNA2004800432156A patent/CN101018887A/zh active Pending
- 2004-09-14 JP JP2007531149A patent/JP2008513978A/ja active Pending
- 2004-09-14 WO PCT/US2004/030275 patent/WO2006031234A1/en active Application Filing
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WO2006031234A1 (en) | 2006-03-23 |
CN101018887A (zh) | 2007-08-15 |
JP2008513978A (ja) | 2008-05-01 |
CA2553122A1 (en) | 2006-03-23 |
AU2004323359A1 (en) | 2006-03-23 |
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