JP2002531695A - Thin film manufacturing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] A thin-film manufacturing apparatus (100) is fixed to a reaction chamber (101) having a hollow inside at a predetermined position inside the reaction chamber (101) with a predetermined interval therebetween. The plasma carrier (102) includes a pair of electrode means (103, 104) and a plasma carrier (102) removably disposed between the electrode means (103, 104). (115) is assembled, and together with the substrate, surrounds the region (120) where the glow discharge occurs, and has a number of gas inlet holes (108b) and gas exhaust holes (108a) connecting the region (120) where the glow discharge occurs to the outside. Is formed. According to the present invention, since the glow discharge region is separated by the plasma carrier in the plasma chemical vapor deposition apparatus, the cleaning process is simplified, the productivity is improved, and the advantages of the box carrier type plasma chemical vapor deposition apparatus are also exhibited.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thin film manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly, to a plasma chemical vapor deposition (plasma chemical vapor deposition) apparatus in a thin film manufacturing apparatus, in which a glow discharge region (space) is formed by a plasma carrier. The present invention relates to a thin-film manufacturing apparatus which has the advantage of the box carrier system by separating it, and has a structure capable of coping with an increase in production while facilitating cleaning.

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition apparatus has advantages that all processes are performed at a relatively low temperature and a uniform thin film having a large area can be easily manufactured. Element (Thin Film Transistor Liquid Crystal Display, T
Widely used to manufacture semiconductor or insulator thin films for FT LCD) and solar cells.

As a plasma chemical vapor deposition apparatus used in a mass production process, a box carrier system, a roll-to-roll system, and an in-line system are used.
Various methods such as e) method and plasma box method have been developed. Among these methods, the box carrier method is a batch method, which is superior to other methods in terms of economy, such as excellent mass productivity, low cost of equipment, and high use efficiency of raw material gas. Very advantageous.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a structure of a conventional thin film manufacturing apparatus having the above-described box carrier system.

[0005] The box carrier 10 of the conventional thin film manufacturing apparatus is roughly classified into RF (radio frequency).
cy) A glow discharge region 14 surrounded by the electrode 11 and the ground electrodes 12, 13, a region 15 for injecting a source gas (plasma gas) into the glow discharge region 14, and a region for discharging a reaction gas from the glow discharge region 14. 16

The substrate 17 on which the thin film is to be grown is mounted on the both side surfaces of the RF electrode 11 and on both inner side surfaces of the ground electrodes 12 and 13, respectively, in a state where the ground electrodes 12 and 13 are opened. You. When the substrate 17 is mounted as described above, the ground electrodes 12 and 13 are closed and fixed, and the box carrier 10 is pushed into a reaction chamber (not shown).

The inside of the reaction chamber is maintained at a constant temperature and pressure, and a raw material gas and RF power are supplied to the box carrier 10.

As an example, in the case of a solar cell, amorphous silicon p, i and n layers are continuously grown. SiH ₄ is mainly used as a source gas for the amorphous silicon thin film, and p
In manufacturing each of the layer and the n-layer, B ₂ H ₆ and PH ₃ are added as doping gases, respectively.

13.56 M is applied to the RF electrode 11 while injecting the source gas into the box carrier 10.
When a high frequency (RF) power of Hz is applied, a glow discharge occurs in the glow discharge region 14, and a thin film grows inside the box carrier 10 in the glow discharge region 14 including the substrate 17. When the reaction is completed, the box carrier 10 is taken out of the reaction chamber, the ground electrodes 12 and 13 are opened, and the substrate 17 is taken out.

At this time, the thin film coated on the inside of the box carrier 10 is peeled off and drifts in the form of particles, and adheres to the substrate 17 on which the thin film is formed, which may cause a defect. Therefore, the used box carrier 10 is disassembled and cleaned. The a-Si thin film coated inside the box carrier 10 is KOH (
It is removed by immersing it in an alkaline aqueous solution such as potassium hydroxide for a long time. The alkaline aqueous solution attached to the box carrier 10 is thoroughly washed with ultrapure water to remove moisture using dry air or nitrogen, and then completely dried in a drying oven.

However, the conventional thin film manufacturing apparatus having the above-described configuration requires not only a lot of manpower and time to disassemble and clean the box carrier, but also utilities such as ultrapure water, nitrogen, and electricity. Utility) and the processing of alkaline aqueous solutions are expensive, and in general, in order to lower the price of products, it is effective to pursue economies of scale by mass production. A typical method for improving the process productivity is to increase the area of the substrate and to automate the process. Conventionally, the box carrier of the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition is the mounting and dismounting of the substrate, the loading of the box carrier, and the box carrier. Disassembly / cleaning / assembly is complicated and not suitable for mass production and automation. Furthermore, in the case of increasing the area of the substrate, the electrodes, which are the main parts of the box carrier, must conduct electricity well, and must be corroded in the process of washing with an alkaline aqueous solution. In order to use and obtain a uniform thin film over the entire substrate, the area of the electrodes must be larger than the area of the substrate and the interval between them must be constant, so of course, the larger the area of the substrate, the larger the area of the electrodes In order to prevent deformation due to heat or force, the thickness must be large. As a result, as the area of the substrate is increased, the size and weight of the box carrier are also increased, so that there is a problem that the handling is considerably difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has a relatively simple structure, low maintenance and management costs, and low cost for mass production. Thin film manufacturing with excellent performance that facilitates automation, reduces production costs by improving productivity, and enables smooth manufacturing processes even when the size and weight of electrodes increase due to the large area of the substrate It is intended to provide a device.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a reaction chamber having a hollow inside, and a pair of electrode means fixed at a predetermined position inside the reaction chamber so as to face each other at a predetermined interval. A plasma carrier removably arranged between the electrode means, wherein at least one or more substrates are assembled on the plasma carrier, and together with the substrates, surround a region where a glow discharge occurs, and define a region where a glow discharge occurs. Provided is a thin film manufacturing apparatus having a plurality of gas inlet holes and gas outlet holes connected to the outside.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings will be described in more detail. Wherever possible, the same reference numerals are used for the same parts throughout the drawings.

FIGS. 2 to 7 show a structure of a thin film manufacturing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The thin film manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present invention includes a reaction chamber 101, a plasma carrier 102, and a pair of electrodes 103 and 104.

The reaction chamber 101 has a box shape having a hollow inside, and electrodes 103 and 104 are provided at predetermined predetermined positions inside the reaction chamber so as to face each other at a predetermined interval, and a gas supply port and a discharge port (not shown) are provided. ) Are connected so as to communicate with each other.

A plasma carrier 10 is provided between the electrode means 103 and 104 in the reaction chamber 101.
2 is detachably interposed, and together with the substrate 115, a region 120 where a glow discharge occurs.
Are formed, and a number of gas inlet holes 108b and gas outlet holes 108a are formed to connect the region 120 where the glow discharge occurs to the outside. The gas inlet 108b and the gas outlet 108a are located opposite to each other, and the cross-sectional area and the number of the gas inlet 108b are preferably the same as the cross-sectional area and the number of the gas outlet 108a.

A part of the plasma carrier 102 is made of a conductive material such as a metal. Preferably, the plasma carrier 102 has a rectangular frame shape of a predetermined size and is formed by a conductor 105 and a pair of insulators 106 and 107. You. The conductor 105 has a portion made of a conductive material in a state where the plasma carrier 102 is mounted between the substrate 115 and the electrode means 103 and 104, and is electrically connected to a grounded electrode in the electrode means 103 and 104. It is connected and electrically insulated from the electrode to which power is applied.

The electrode means 103 and 104 each include an RF (Radio-frequency) electrode 103 and a ground electrode 104, and the electrode means 103 and 104 are arranged in parallel.
It is composed of two flat electrodes.

The insulators 106 and 107 of the plasma carrier 102 are preferably made of one of ceramic, heat-resistant plastic and glass.

The substrate 115 is mounted on the substrate support member 112 so as to face the substrate 115. The substrate 115 is assembled with the plasma carrier 102 and the electrode means 103, 10
It is designed to be attached and detached between the four.

The two substrates 115 are electrically insulated on both sides by the plasma carrier 102 so that they can be used in a capacitively coupled RF plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition apparatus.

The conductor (metal plate) 105 is a flat plate having a predetermined width.
The metal plate 105 includes a plurality of gas inlet holes 108b and gas outlet holes 108a that are fixed to both side surfaces of the
The trapezoidal insulators 106 and 107 are fixed along both ends of the inner side surface of the substrate.

The plurality of gas inlets 108 b and the gas outlets 108 a are each provided with a source gas (
This is for inflow of plasma gas) and discharge of reaction gas, and cations having high energy are present in the plasma region, and the inner surface of the plasma carrier 102 is exposed to collision with the cations. When the chamber 101 is evacuated and evacuated, if oxygen or nitrogen in the air remains in the reactant 101, it has a very bad effect on the characteristics of the thin film as an impurity, and therefore a porous material capable of adsorbing a large amount of gas molecules. Cannot be used for the plasma carrier 102, and the inside of the plasma carrier 102 is in contact with the glow discharge, that is, the plasma.

The source gas supplied through the plurality of gas inflow holes 108 b is SiH ₄ , S
It is preferable to include at least one compound of silicon and a halogen element such as i ₂ H ₆ or SiH ₂ Cl ₂ .

The insulators 106 and 107 have predetermined widths and lengths on both sides of the inner surface of the plasma carrier 102, one ends of which are fixed at right angles to each other, and the inner ends of the ends. Are provided with protrusions 106a and 107b having a predetermined width in the longitudinal direction. As the material of the insulators 106 and 107, Macor (Corning Glasswork Co., Ltd.) and Vespel (Vespel: DuPont Co.) can be used, but they are expensive and relatively fragile. Thus, the inexpensive glass plate 111 can be used instead. That is, a plurality of support members 110 each having a V-shaped recess 109 are fixed to one surface of a predetermined position on the inner surface of the metal plate 105, and one end of each of the glass plates having a predetermined width and length is fixed. Are fixed so as to face each other at right angles along both side edges of the metal plate 105, and one surface of each of the glass plates 111 is tightly fixed to the side surface of the support member 110.

That is, a support member 110 is fixed between the glass plates 111 of the plasma carrier 102 at a predetermined interval to support the glass plate 111. The support member 110 is a hexahedron having a predetermined size. A recess 109 is formed.

As shown in FIGS. 6B and 6C, a substrate supporting member 112 is connected to an end of each glass plate 111 fixed as described above, or a glass having a predetermined width and length. By fixing the plate 113 so as to face the inner surface of the end of each glass plate 111, a substrate supporting structure can be formed.

Each of the substrate supporting members 112 is bent in an h shape so as to be fitted along an edge of the glass plate 111, and a protrusion 112 a having a predetermined width is formed along one edge of the upper surface.
Project upward.

Substrates 115 are inserted and assembled on both sides of the plasma carrier 102 configured as described above. That is, the substrate 115 is inserted into the substrate support of the plasma carrier 102.

Since the RF electrode 103 and the ground electrode 104 are in contact with the outer surfaces of the two substrates 115 facing each other, the plasma carrier 102 should electrically insulate both sides of the substrate. Substrate 115 is typically 3 for plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition.
Since the plasma carrier 102 is heated to a temperature of 00 ° C. or lower, the plasma carrier 102 must be stabilized at a temperature of 300 ° C. or lower. That is, a large change in the distance between the substrates 115 due to severe contraction or expansion at a high temperature, or out-gassing.
) Must not discharge impurities. This is because the distance between the substrates 115 must be uniform and constant in order to manufacture a thin film uniformly over a large area with good reproducibility, and impurities discharged by outgassing adversely affect the physical properties of the thin film. is there.

FIG. 8 shows a plasma carrier as another embodiment of the thin film manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, which is manufactured in consideration of the convenience of manufacturing and using the plasma carrier 130. The frame 131 composed of the plasma carrier 130 is manufactured by extruding aluminum. One end of a glass plate 132 is inserted into concave portions 131a formed at both ends of the frame 131, and the other end of the glass plate 132 is The plasma carrier 130 can be easily formed by connecting the substrate support portions 133 made of Teflon.

The plasma carrier 102 on which the substrate 115 is assembled is shown in FIG. 9 showing a state where the plasma carrier is mounted in the reaction chamber 201.
(Wall) serves as a ground electrode, and the plasma carrier 130 is connected to the grounded reaction chamber 2.
01 and electrically grounded. RF electrode 119 to which RF power is applied
Is a reaction chamber 201 electrically insulated from the reaction chamber 101 by an insulator 118.
Is fixed inside. Since the gas inflow passages 121b and 122b and the gas discharge passages 121a and 121a, which are the internal spaces of the reaction chamber 201 excluding the glow discharge region 120, are surrounded by the grounded reaction chamber 201 and the plasma carrier 130,
No glow discharge occurs and no thin film is deposited.

Meanwhile, an amorphous silicon thin film was manufactured using a plasma carrier and a box carrier, and thickness uniformity was compared. Here, the size of the substrate 115 is 305 mm.
It is × 915 mm × 3 mm (width × length × thickness), using Sodalime glass, and the manufacturing conditions are shown in Table 1 below.

[Table 1] The thickness distribution of a 305 mm × 915 mm × 3 mm sample (substrate) was measured in the short side direction, and the center and both ends were measured in the long side direction of the sample. Both ends were measured at a distance of 20 to 30 mm from the corner. After removing the amorphous silicon thin film at the portion where the thickness is to be measured by using a Nd: YAG laser, the thickness was determined by measuring the height of the cross section with a surface profiler. The measured results are shown in the comparison table of FIG.

In the legend of FIG. 10, the first characters B and P indicate a box carrier and a plasma carrier, respectively, and the second characters L, C and R indicate the left end, the center and the right end of the sample, respectively. Show.

The thickness uniformity of the sample manufactured using the plasma carrier was ± 13%, which was greatly improved from the thickness uniformity of the sample manufactured using the box carrier of ± 34%. This is because, in the case of a plasma carrier, since the electrodes are separately fixed inside the reaction chamber, it is easier to maintain a uniform and constant interval between the electrodes as compared to a box carrier.

FIG. 11 shows that by mounting a plurality of plasma carriers 130 by alternately arranging a plurality of ground electrodes 302 and RF electrodes 119 in a reaction chamber 301, the production capacity can be relatively easily improved. Things.

In the thin film manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention having the above-described configuration and operating state, the plasma carrier and the substrate separate the glow discharge region from the inside of the reaction chamber to the maximum, so that impurities from the inside of the reaction chamber are glowed. Deterioration of the properties of the thin film that flows into the discharge region and grows on the substrate can be suppressed, and instead of cleaning the inside of the reaction chamber of the plasma chemical vapor deposition apparatus, the structure has been simplified and miniaturized as much as possible. By cleaning only the substrate support and transport mechanism, the manpower, materials and time required for the cleaning process can be significantly reduced, and low-cost plasma chemical vapor deposition that can respond to mass production by moving the plasma carrier with the substrate mounted. This has the effect that the device can be manufactured.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed in the drawings and detailed description, and certain terms have been used, these terms are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Instead, the scope of the invention is set forth in the following claims.

[Brief description of the drawings]

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a thin film manufacturing apparatus according to the prior art. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a plasma carrier, a substrate, and an electrode according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a plasma carrier according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a partial cross section cut along the line AA of FIG. FIG. 6a is a partially enlarged perspective view showing another embodiment of the plasma carrier according to the present invention. FIG. 6B is an enlarged sectional view of a portion B in FIG. 6A. FIG. 6c is an enlarged sectional view showing a glass plate according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing an operation state of the thin film manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a plasma carrier according to still another embodiment of the thin film manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a state in which the plasma carrier of FIG. 8 is mounted in a reaction chamber of the thin film manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 10 is a graph showing a result of measuring a thickness of a sample manufactured using a box carrier or a plasma carrier of a thin film manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention from a corner. FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing a state in which a plurality of plasma carriers are mounted in a reaction chamber according to still another embodiment of the thin film manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 4K030 AA03 AA06 EA06 FA03 KA12 KA15 KA30 KA46 5F045 AA08 AB04 AC01 AC02 AC05 AC15 AC19 AD04 AD05 AD06 AF07 BB08 CA13 CA15 DP09 DP20 EB02 EC01 EF01 EF20 EH12 EM03 EM09

Claims (19)

[Claims] 1. A reaction chamber having a hollow inside, a pair of electrode means fixed at a predetermined position inside the reaction chamber so as to face each other at a predetermined interval, and detachably arranged between the electrode means. A plasma carrier, wherein at least one or more substrates are assembled on the plasma carrier, and together with the substrate, surround a region where a glow discharge occurs, and a number of gas inflow holes for connecting a region where a glow discharge occurs to the outside. A thin film manufacturing apparatus, wherein a gas discharge hole is formed. 2. The plasma carrier according to claim 1, wherein a part of the plasma carrier is made of a conductive material such as a metal, and the plasma carrier is made of a conductive material in a state of being mounted between the electrode means together with the substrate. A thin film manufacturing apparatus characterized in that the portion is electrically connected to a grounded electrode of the electrode means and is electrically insulated from an electrode to which power is applied. 3. A thin film manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said substrate is detached between electrode means in a state where said substrate is assembled on a plasma carrier. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said electrode means comprises two plate-shaped electrodes arranged in parallel, and a gas inlet and a gas outlet are located opposite to each other. Thin film manufacturing equipment. 5. The thin film manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional area and the number of the gas inlet holes are the same as the cross-sectional area and the number of the gas outlet holes. 6. The plasma carrier according to claim 1, wherein the plasma carrier has a rectangular frame shape having a predetermined size, is formed of a conductor and an insulator, and one end of the insulator is connected to both ends of the conductor. A thin-film manufacturing apparatus, wherein a projection is formed at the other end, and a substrate is mounted on the projection to face the projection. 7. The substrate according to claim 6, wherein the insulator is a flat plate, one end is coupled to the conductor, the other end is coupled to a substrate support member having a protrusion, and the substrate 115 is disposed on the protrusion 112a side. A thin film manufacturing apparatus characterized in that it is mounted facing each other. 8. The thin film manufacturing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the insulator is a glass plate. 9. The thin film manufacturing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a glass plate having a predetermined width and length is attached to an end of the glass plate. 10. The thin film manufacturing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a support member is fixed at a predetermined interval between the insulators of the plasma carrier to support the insulator. 11. The thin-film manufacturing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the support member is a hexahedron having a predetermined width and size, and a V-shaped recess is formed on one side. 12. The thin film manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the insulator of the plasma carrier has a trapezoidal cross section and is made of one of ceramic, heat-resistant plastic, and glass. 13. The thin film manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein both sides of the substrate are electrically insulated by a plasma carrier so that the substrate can be used in a capacitively coupled RF plasma chemical vapor deposition apparatus. 14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the source gas supplied through the gas inlet is at least one compound of silicon and a halogen element such as SiH ₄ , Si ₂ H ₆ , SiF ₄ or SiH ₂ Cl _2. A thin film manufacturing apparatus characterized by including the above. 15. A reaction chamber having a hollow inside and serving as a ground electrode; an electrode means fixed to the center of the inside of the reaction chamber and provided so as to divide the reaction chamber into two; A plasma carrier having a rectangular frame shape detachably disposed at a predetermined position inside each reactant, wherein at least one or more substrates are assembled on the plasma carrier, and the plasma carrier surrounds a region where a glow discharge occurs. A thin film manufacturing apparatus comprising a plurality of gas inflow holes and gas discharge holes for connecting a region where a glow discharge occurs to the outside. 16. The plasma carrier according to claim 15, wherein a part of the plasma carrier is made of a conductive material such as a metal, and a recess is formed on one side of both ends of the conductive material. One end of a glass plate having an end is inserted, an insulating substrate supporting member is connected to the other end of the glass plate, and a conductive material is supplied between the substrate supporting members in a state where the substrate is assembled facing the reaction chamber. A thin-film manufacturing apparatus electrically connected to the electrode and electrically insulated from an electrode to which power is applied. 17. The thin film manufacturing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the substrate is attached and detached between each of two reaction chambers into which a plurality of plasma carriers are assembled and an electrode means. . 18. The plasma carrier according to claim 15, wherein a gas inlet and a gas outlet are located in the plasma carrier so that the gas inlet and the gas outlet have the same cross-sectional area and number as the gas outlet. A thin film manufacturing apparatus, wherein a gas inflow passage and a gas outflow passage are formed outside the plasma carrier. 19. A plasma carrier on which at least one substrate is mounted is provided with a plurality of ground electrodes and electrode means to which power is applied alternately at predetermined intervals. A thin film manufacturing apparatus characterized in that the thin film manufacturing apparatus is mounted between the two.