JP2001181821A - Vacuum film deposition system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum film deposition system capable of depositing a film having highly precise film thickness distribution and excellent in reproducibility. SOLUTION: The system is provided with: a base plate 10 having strength where the deformation due to difference between internal and external air pressures at evacuation becomes negligible; a chamber 11 disposed on the base plate via a sealing member 12 and constituting a vacuum chamber; a substrate holder 16 attached to the base plate 10 via a connecting member and holding a substrate 17 disposed within the vacuum chamber in a manner not to be mechanically constrained to the chamber; and film deposition sources 18 and 23 disposed within the vacuum chamber in a manner to be opposed to the substrate 17 and held parallel to the substrate 17 and attached to the base plate 10 via a sealing member 19.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a vacuum film forming apparatus such as a sputtering apparatus and a vacuum evaporation apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a sputtering apparatus has been widely used as a thin film forming apparatus. In this sputtering apparatus, a target and a substrate are arranged in a sputtering chamber so as to face each other, and a high voltage is applied between the two to strike particles out of the target and form a thin film on the surface of the substrate.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a conventionally known sputtering apparatus, wherein 1 is a chamber constituting a sputtering chamber 2, 3 is a cathode, 4 is a backing plate, 5 is a target, 6 is a substrate holder, and 7 is a substrate. The backing plate 4 is fastened to the cathode 3 by screws or the like, and the target 5 is integrally joined to the surface of the backing plate 4. The cathode 3 closes the opening 1 a of the chamber 1 via an insulating material 8 for a ring, and the cathode 3 is attached to the chamber 1 by screws 9.

[0004]

In the sputtering apparatus having the above structure, the substrate holder 6 and the cathode 3 are directly mounted on the chamber 1.
The following problems exist. (1) When the chamber is evacuated, the relative position or parallelism between the substrate 7 and the cathode 4 (target 5) fluctuates because the chamber 1 is deformed due to a difference in pressure between inside and outside. (2) If the target 5, which is the material of the film, is consumed, it needs to be replaced as needed. Also, if the foreign substance adheres or is damaged, the substrate holder 6 also needs to be replaced as needed. However,
Since there is no reference for positioning the target 5 and the substrate holder 6, the position between the substrate 7 and the cathode 4 is displaced or the degree of parallelism varies every time replacement is performed. (3) The relative position or parallelism between the substrate 7 and the target 5 varies depending on the processing accuracy of the chamber 1. Due to the problems described above, a conventional sputtering apparatus cannot form a film having a highly accurate film thickness distribution and good reproducibility.

An object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum film forming apparatus capable of forming a film with a highly accurate film thickness distribution and good reproducibility.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is an apparatus for forming a film on a substrate in a vacuum, in which the deformation caused by the difference in pressure between the inside and the outside during evacuation is negligible. A base plate having a base plate, a chamber disposed on the base plate via a seal member, and constituting a vacuum chamber, and a chamber mounted on the base plate via a connecting member and disposed in the vacuum chamber so as not to be mechanically restrained with respect to the chamber. A substrate holder for holding the substrate
There is provided a vacuum film forming apparatus comprising: a film forming source disposed in a vacuum chamber so as to face a substrate while maintaining parallelism, and attached to a base plate via a seal member.

[0007] A rigid base plate is provided separately from the vacuum chamber, and components constituting the vacuum film forming apparatus are arranged on the basis of the base plate. Therefore, even if the chamber is deformed due to a difference in pressure between the inside and outside during evacuation, the base plate does not deform, so that the positional relationship between the components does not change, and the positional relationship or parallelism between the substrate and the film forming source may fluctuate. Absent. Similarly, the positional relationship between the substrate and the film formation source does not change due to the processing accuracy of the chamber. Therefore, a film having a highly accurate distribution and good reproducibility can be formed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the connecting member for connecting the base plate and the substrate holder includes a substrate supporting plate for supporting the substrate holder, and a shaft for connecting the substrate supporting plate and the base plate. Is arranged in a non-contact manner in the chamber together with the substrate holder. In this case, since the connecting member and the substrate holder can be arranged in a non-contact manner inside the chamber, the substrate holder is not affected at all even if the chamber is deformed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the connecting member for connecting the base plate and the substrate holder includes a substrate supporting plate for supporting the substrate holder via a connecting shaft, and a shaft for connecting the substrate supporting plate and the base plate. The substrate support plate and the shaft are arranged in a non-contact manner outside the chamber, the connection shaft is inserted through the through hole of the chamber in a non-contact manner, and is provided between the connection shaft and the chamber, between the substrate support plate and the chamber, or between the chamber and the substrate. It is characterized in that the space between the holder and the holder is sealed via sealing means that allows displacement. That is, the substrate support plate and the shaft are arranged outside the chamber, the substrate holder is arranged inside the chamber, and a connection shaft connecting the substrate support plate and the substrate holder is inserted into the chamber. The displacement between the connection shaft and the chamber, between the substrate support plate and the chamber, or between the chamber and the substrate holder is caused by the deformation of the chamber, but the gap between them is sealed by sealing means that allows the displacement. There is no risk of air leakage. Bellows or the like can be used as a sealing means that allows displacement. Also in this case, even if the chamber is deformed, the substrate holder is not affected by the distortion.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, an interval adjusting mechanism for moving one of the substrate holder and the film forming source in the facing direction is provided outside the chamber. In this case, the film-forming conditions can be freely adjusted by adjusting the distance between the substrate and the film-forming source by the interval adjusting mechanism.

[0011]

FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a sputtering apparatus. Reference numeral 10 denotes a base plate, which is a material (for example, heat-resistant metal, ceramics, or the like) having a strength negligible to be deformed due to a difference in pressure between inside and outside during evacuation
It is formed with. A flat upper reference surface 10a is formed on the upper surface of the base plate 10, and this upper reference surface 10a
A lower opening 11a of a box-shaped chamber 11 is placed on the upper part, and is sealed by a seal member 12 such as an O-ring. The top and side surfaces of the chamber 11 are closed.

At the upper reference surface 10a of the base plate 10 and inside the chamber 11, the lower ends of a plurality of shafts 13 are fixed by spigots (high-precision fitting). Connected by spigot. A substrate holder 16 is fixed to the center of the lower surface of the substrate support plate 14 via a connecting shaft 15, and a substrate 17 is detachably held by the substrate holder 16. Note that the substrate holder 16 may be directly attached to the lower surface of the substrate support plate 14 without using the connecting shaft 15. The shaft 13, the substrate support plate 14, and the connecting shaft 15 constitute a connecting member of the present invention,
The parallelism and the positional relationship between the substrate 17 and the upper reference surface 10a of the base plate 10 are kept constant.

A window hole 10 is provided at the center of the base plate 10.
b is formed, and a window hole 10 is formed below the base plate 10.
An annular positioning projection 10c is formed so as to surround b. A flat lower reference surface 1 is provided inside the protrusion 10c.
0d is formed, and the upper reference plane 10a and the lower reference plane 10d are formed.
And are set in parallel. The upper surface of the cathode 18 is closely held to the lower reference surface 10d via a seal member 19 such as an O-ring, and the peripheral surface of the cathode 18 is positioned by the protrusion 10c. A sealed sputtering chamber (vacuum chamber) 20 is formed between the base plate 10, the chamber 11, and the cathode 18. The sputtering chamber 20 is evacuated by a vacuum pump while introducing an inert gas such as argon. By controlling the flow rate of the argon gas and a valve between the pump and the chamber, the sputtering chamber 20 is kept at a certain pressure (〜１０10 to 10).
^-2 Pa). A backing plate 21 facing the window hole 10b of the base plate 10 is mounted on the upper surface of the cathode 18 via an insulating material 22, and a target 23 as a film forming source is mounted on the upper surface of the backing plate 21.

The target 23 is held in parallel with the cathode 18, and the cathode 18 is held horizontally by the lower reference surface 10d of the base plate 10. Therefore, the parallelism is maintained between the lower reference surface 10 d of the base plate 10 and the surface of the target 23. In this way, the parallelism between the substrate 17 and the upper reference surface 10a of the base plate 10 is maintained, the parallelism between the target 23 and the lower reference surface 10d of the base plate 10 is maintained, and the upper reference surface 10a is further maintained.
And the lower reference plane 10d are set in parallel, so that the substrate 17 and the target 23 are also parallel to each other.

Next, the operation of the sputtering apparatus having the above configuration will be described. As is well known, the sputtering chamber 20 is maintained at a predetermined pressure, and the substrate holder 16 and the cathode 1 are maintained.
When a high voltage is applied between the target 2 and the target 2, the ions in the plasma collide with the target 23 serving as the cathode, and the target 2
3 atoms are knocked out, and the sputtered atoms are
To form a thin film. When the sputtering chamber 20 is evacuated to vacuum, the chamber 11 may be deformed due to a difference in pressure between the inside and outside, but the substrate 17, the substrate holder 16, the shaft 13,
The members such as the substrate support plate 14 are all
And is not in contact with the chamber 11, and is not affected by the deformation of the chamber 11 at all. In addition, the substrate 17 and the target 23 are
Since the position is set to 0, the parallelism and the position between the substrate 17 and the target 23 are always kept constant.
Therefore, a film having a highly accurate film thickness distribution and good reproducibility can be formed.

If the target 23, which is a material of the film, is consumed, it is necessary to replace the target 23 as needed. The position of the target 23 is always constant even if the cathode 18 is attached or detached. Therefore, the positional relationship between the substrate 17 and the cathode 18 does not deviate each time it is replaced. Further, the substrate holder 16 needs to be replaced at any time if foreign matter adheres or is damaged. However, the substrate holder 16 is connected to the upper reference surface 10a of the base plate 10 and the shaft
3. Since the positioning is performed by the substrate support plate 14, the position of the substrate 17 is always constant even if the substrate holder 16 is attached or detached. For this reason, the positional relationship between the board 17 and the casette 18 does not shift every time it is replaced.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the sputtering apparatus.
The same parts as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. In this embodiment, the shaft 13 and the substrate support plate 14 are arranged outside the chamber 11 in a non-contact manner,
The substrate holder 16 is disposed in the chamber 11 and has a connection shaft 15 for connecting the substrate holder 16 and the substrate support plate 14.
Is inserted through a through-hole 11 a formed in the ceiling of the chamber 11. In order to seal the insertion portion, a sealing means 24 for allowing displacement is provided between the substrate support plate 14 and the chamber 11. Here, a bellows is used as the sealing means 24. The sealing means 24 may be provided between the connection shaft 15 and the chamber 11, or may be provided between the substrate support plate 14 and the substrate holder 16.

In this embodiment, even if the chamber 11 is deformed due to the difference between the inside and outside pressures, the substrate 17, the substrate holder 16, the shaft 13, the substrate support plate 14, and the connecting shaft 15 are not in contact with the chamber 11. , Are not affected by the deformation of the chamber 11 at all. Moreover, the substrate support plate 1
Sealing means 2 allowing displacement between chamber 4 and chamber 11
Since it is sealed with 4, no air leakage occurs. In this embodiment, since components such as the shaft 13 and the substrate support plate 14 are arranged outside the chamber 11, the internal volume of the sputtering chamber 20 is not reduced, and
1 can be miniaturized. In addition, sputter atoms that have been hit from the target 23 do not adhere to the shaft 13 or the substrate support plate 14.

FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment of the sputtering apparatus.
The same parts as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. This sputtering apparatus has a shaft 13 similar to FIG.
And the substrate support plate 14 is disposed outside the chamber 11 in a non-contact manner, and the substrate holder 16 and the substrate support plate 1
4 is inserted through a through-hole 11 a formed in the ceiling of the chamber 11. On the upper surface of the substrate support plate 14, an interval adjusting drive means 25 for moving the connection shaft 15 in the axial direction is provided, and the substrate holder 16 is moved up and down. Therefore, the interval between the substrate 17 and the target 23 can be freely adjusted to increase the accuracy of the film thickness distribution. Note that, as the driving means 25, any linear motion mechanism such as a linear motor or a combination of a motor and a ball screw can be used.

The cathode 18 is connected to the base plate 10.
Is slidably inserted into a guide shaft 26 protruding from the lower surface of the target 23, and allows the cathode 18 to move up and down in parallel when the target 23 is replaced. for that reason,
The reproducibility of the positioning accuracy of the cathode 18 when replacing the target 23 can be maintained by the guide shaft 26.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. In the above embodiment, the sputtering apparatus has been described as an example, but any apparatus that forms a film on a substrate in a vacuum such as a vacuum evaporation apparatus can be applied. Further, as the sputtering device, a magnetron sputtering device in which a magnet is arranged behind a backing plate may be used. FIG. 4 shows an example in which the substrate holder 16 is moved up and down by the driving means 25. However, the cathode 18 supporting the target 23 may be moved up and down. However, in this case, it is necessary to provide a sealing means for allowing displacement between the cathode 18 and the base plate 10.

[0022]

As is apparent from the above description, claim 1
According to the above, a rigid base plate is provided separately from the vacuum chamber, and the components constituting the vacuum film forming apparatus are arranged with reference to this base plate. The positional relationship between the components does not change, and the positional relationship and parallelism between the substrate and the film forming source can be kept constant. Similarly, the positional relationship between the substrate and the film formation source does not change due to the processing accuracy of the chamber.
Therefore, a film having a highly accurate distribution and good reproducibility can be formed. Further, conventionally, since the deformation of the chamber affects the film accuracy, it was necessary to form the chamber with high rigidity and high precision, but in the present invention, even if the chamber is slightly deformed, the film accuracy is not affected. The chamber can be made lightweight and inexpensive. Therefore, there is an effect that the vacuum film forming apparatus can be configured at low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an example of a conventional sputtering apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of a first embodiment of the sputtering apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of a second embodiment of the sputtering apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view of a third embodiment of the sputtering apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 base plate 11 chamber 16 substrate holder 17 substrate 18 cathode 23 target

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yasuhiko Karasawa 2-26-10 Tenjin, Nagaokakyo-shi, Kyoto F-term in Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. 4K029 DC01 JA01 KA05

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus for forming a film on a substrate in a vacuum, comprising: a base plate having a strength negligible to be deformed due to a difference in pressure between inside and outside during evacuation; and a vacuum chamber formed on the base plate via a seal member. A chamber, a substrate holder attached to the base plate via a connecting member, and holding a substrate placed in a vacuum chamber so as not to be mechanically restrained with respect to the chamber. And a film forming source disposed in a vacuum chamber and attached to the base plate via a seal member. 2. The connecting member comprises a substrate supporting plate for supporting the substrate holder, and a shaft for connecting the substrate supporting plate and the base plate, wherein the substrate supporting plate and the shaft together with the substrate holder are in non-contact with the chamber. The vacuum film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vacuum film forming apparatus is arranged. 3. The connecting member includes a substrate supporting plate that supports the substrate holder via a connecting shaft, and a shaft that connects the substrate supporting plate and the base plate, wherein the substrate supporting plate and the shaft are outside the chamber. Arranged in contact, the connecting shaft is inserted into the through hole of the chamber in a non-contact manner,
2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the space between the connection shaft and the chamber, the space between the substrate support plate and the chamber, or the space between the chamber and the substrate holder is sealed by a seal means allowing displacement. Vacuum film forming equipment. 4. A vacuum according to claim 1, further comprising an interval adjusting mechanism provided outside said chamber to move one of a substrate holder and a film forming source in a facing direction. Film forming equipment.