JP2007332425A - Surface treatment apparatus and surface treatment method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide surface treatment for forming a film of high quality by uniformly supplying a gas onto a substrate with a simple and inexpensive structure. <P>SOLUTION: In order to supply a gas for the surface treatment onto a substrate 12 which is transported, a facing member 14b, which faces to an outer circumferential surface of the rotor 24 and has a gas outlet 18A and a gas inlet 18B, is placed between the outer circumferential surface of the rotor 24 and the surface of the substrate 12, and the rotor 24 is rotated in the above state. By this rotation, the gas is caught in the outer circumferential surface of the rotor and introduced to a gap 23 between the facing member 14b and the rotor 24. While the gas is supplied to the surface of the substrate 12 through the gas outlet 18A from a near side to the gap 23, the gas in the vicinity of the surface of the substrate 12 is sucked into the outer circumferential surface side of the rotor through the gas inlet 18B by a pressure drop caused by the rotation. Thereby, a stable flow of the gas, which passes through the gas outlet 18A on the surface of the base material and reaches the gas inlet 18B, can be formed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for forming various oxide films on a surface of a base material such as a glass substrate and other surface treatments using a chemical reaction by plasma or the like.

  In recent years, as described in Patent Document 1, as a means for performing processing such as film formation using a chemical reaction, an electrode for plasma generation disposed opposite to a base material has a substantially cylindrical shape, and What has been made to rotate at high speed has been developed. In this method, while rotating the rotating electrode adjacent to the rotating electrode while conveying the substrate, high-frequency power (or DC power) may be applied to the rotating electrode, and the rotating electrode and the substrate are rotated by rotating the rotating electrode. During this process, a surface treatment gas is entrained to generate plasma, and by transporting the substrate while generating the plasma, the thin film is brought to high speed and atmospheric pressure on the substrate surface. It can be formed with close pressure.

On the other hand, a remote plasma CVD method as shown in Patent Document 2 is also known. In this method, a solid dielectric is placed on at least one facing surface of electrodes facing each other, a surface treatment gas is supplied between the electrodes under a pressure near atmospheric pressure, and a pulsed electric field is applied. In this way, a discharge plasma is generated, and this plasma is guided to and brought into contact with the surface of the substrate disposed outside the discharge space, thereby depositing the film on the surface of the substrate.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-104985 (pages 7-8, FIGS. 1-2) JP 2002-237480 A (pages 7-8, FIG. 3)

  In the method described in Patent Document 1, since the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body (rotating electrode) 24 is directly opposed to the surface of the base material 12 as schematically shown in FIG. There is an inconvenience that it is very difficult to manage the size of the formed minute gap 20.

  That is, if the minute gap 20 is too small, a good process may be hindered even if the base material is bounced on the conveyor belt or warped due to an increase in temperature. Therefore, the dimension of the minute gap 20 is somewhat large. Although it is necessary to ensure, the inconvenience that the processing efficiency of the substrate surface decreases as the minute gap 20 increases. In other words, the flow velocity distribution of the gas flow in the minute gap 20 becomes smaller as it moves away from the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 24 as shown by the arrow in FIG. When 20 is set large, the flow for feeding the processing gas to the substrate surface becomes weak and other flows become dominant, and there arises a problem that the surface processing gas cannot be efficiently fed to the substrate surface.

  On the other hand, in the remote plasma CVD method as described in Patent Document 2, it is not necessary to manage the gap size as described above, but how to evenly distribute the surface treatment gas in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate. Distribution is a major issue. Particularly in the film forming process, since the flow of the thin film source gas directly affects the film thickness distribution of the formed film, the uniform gas supply in the direction orthogonal to the substrate transport direction is a very important issue.

  Here, in the conventional process under reduced pressure, since the mean free path of molecules is long, it is relatively easy to form a uniform film by sufficiently mixing gases even by providing gas ejection holes at appropriate intervals. Although it was easy, it is difficult to ensure the uniformity of the gas because the gas flow enters the viscous flow region under a pressure near atmospheric pressure.

  As a countermeasure, FIG. 6 of Patent Document 2 discloses that the pressure loss and the flow velocity are made uniform in the direction orthogonal to the substrate conveyance direction by arranging a swash plate at the gas inlet. Since the actual flow is in the viscous flow region as described above, it is easily affected by operating conditions such as the pressure on the primary side of the gas inlet, the reaction pressure in the surface treatment section, and the type of gas used. It is difficult to always form a uniform gas flow. That is, it is very difficult to design an apparatus suitable for various operating conditions, and this difficulty becomes more prominent as the distance between the substrate and the active source such as plasma becomes larger.

  In view of such circumstances, an object of the present invention is to realize a high-quality and highly efficient surface treatment by enabling uniform gas supply onto a substrate with a simple and low-cost configuration.

  As means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention comprises a base material transport means for transporting a base material in a specific direction, and a gas supply means for supplying a surface treatment gas toward the surface of the base material. In the surface treatment apparatus, the gas supply unit has a cylindrical outer peripheral surface, and is arranged so that a rotation center axis is oriented in a direction substantially perpendicular to a conveyance direction of the base material, and the rotation A rotation driving means for rotating the body around its central axis, and interposed between the outer circumferential surface of the rotating body and the surface of the base material, and opposed to the outer circumferential surface of the rotating body with a gap. A counter member provided at a position, and the counter member causes the surface treatment gas, which is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body to rotate and guided to the gap, to be upstream of the gap in the rotational direction of the rotor. Gas supply for supplying to the surface of the substrate from the position of In the vicinity of the surface of the base material by utilizing the pressure difference generated between the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface of the rotary body and the vicinity of the surface of the base material in the mouth and the region downstream of the gap in the rotational direction of the rotary body A gas suction port for sucking the gas to the outer peripheral surface side of the rotating body, and the gas supplied from the gas supply port to the surface side of the substrate passes over the surface of the substrate. The gas flow sucked into the gas suction port is formed.

  Further, the present invention provides the substrate transport operation in a surface treatment method including a substrate transport operation for transporting the substrate in a specific direction and a gas supply operation for supplying a surface treatment gas toward the surface of the substrate. Is for transporting the base material along the facing member such that the base material faces the facing member in the surface treatment device from the side opposite to the rotating body of the device, and the gas supply operation The surface treatment gas is entrained on the outer peripheral surface by rotationally driving the rotating body, and the entrained surface treatment gas is passed through the gas supply port from a position upstream of the gap in the rotational direction of the rotating body. While supplying to the surface of the base material, a pressure difference generated between the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body and the vicinity of the surface of the base material in a region downstream of the gap in the rotation direction of the rotating body is used. Said A gas flow from the gas supply port through the surface of the base material to the gas suction port is formed by sucking the gas near the surface of the material from the gas suction port to the outer peripheral surface side of the rotating body. Operation to perform.

  In the apparatus and the method using the same, the surface treatment gas guided to the gap between the rotating body and the opposing member by the entrainment of the rotating body passes through the gas supply port from a position upstream of the gap in the rotating body rotation direction. Gas is sucked using the pressure difference generated between the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body and the vicinity of the surface of the base material by supplying the gas near the surface of the base material and rotating the rotating body Since suction is made from the mouth toward the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body, the stability from the gas supply port to the gas suction port on the surface of the base material is eliminated without performing particularly difficult dimensional control in relation to the rotating body and the base material. As a result, good surface treatment can be efficiently performed.

  For example, by forming an electric field for plasma generation in a region from the rotating body to the surface of the base material and supplying the surface treatment gas to the position where the electric field is formed, the surface of the base material Can be efficiently plasma-treated.

  In particular, the plasma treatment includes a treatment of forming a thin film on the surface of the base material, and a thin film raw material gas that is a raw material of the thin film is included in the surface treatment gas, and the thin film raw material gas is produced by the plasma. In the case where a thin film is formed on the surface of the base material by chemical reaction, in addition to the above-described stable gas flow, particles near the surface of the base material are sucked and removed from the gas suction port, thereby forming a high-quality film. Can be realized.

  However, the “surface treatment gas” referred to in the present invention is not limited to a thin film raw material gas, and includes a wide range of gases that flow to the substrate surface for the purpose of surface treatment. For example, a chemical reaction for surface treatment is promoted. Gas for forming plasma, gas for forming plasma, gas introduced to maintain the flow in the processing apparatus, and the like are also included.

  On the other hand, in the surface treatment apparatus, it is more preferable that the gas supply port has a slit shape extending in a direction parallel to the rotation axis direction of the rotating body. According to such a configuration, a more uniform gas can be supplied in the width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the base material.

  Furthermore, if the gas suction port also has a slit shape extending in a direction parallel to the rotation axis direction of the rotating body, the gas flow from the gas supply port to the gas suction port can be further stabilized.

  Further, if the gas suction port is inclined in a direction along the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body on the side facing the gas suction port with respect to the direction orthogonal to the surface of the base material, This gas can be sucked more smoothly toward the rotating body.

  In the apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to perform the above-described plasma treatment by providing an electric field forming means for forming an electric field for generating plasma for surface treatment on the facing member.

  In this case, as the electric field forming means, a plasma generation electrode pair is provided at a position sandwiching the gas supply port, and plasma is formed in the gas supply port by the plasma generation electrode pair. The surface treatment gas supplied from the gas supply port to the substrate can be reliably passed through the plasma to be activated.

  Alternatively, as the electric field forming means, a plasma generating electrode is provided on the side of the facing member facing the surface of the base material, and plasma is formed between the plasma generating electrode and the base material. Even if comprised, the said gas for surface treatment can be activated on the base-material surface by the said plasma.

  In addition, a rotating body storage container that stores the rotating body and into which a surface treatment gas is introduced is provided, and a specific portion of the rotating body storage container includes an outer peripheral surface of the rotating body and the base material. If the opposing member is interposed between the surface and opposed to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body with a gap, the surface is formed in a limited space in the rotating body storage container. By supplying the processing gas and entraining it in the rotating body, it becomes possible to efficiently and intensively guide the necessary surface processing gas to the surface of the base material, and a part of the wall of the rotating body storage container It is possible to simplify the apparatus by also using the above as the opposing member.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the opposing member having the gas supply port and the gas suction port is interposed between the rotating body and the substrate surface, and the opposing member is opposed to the rotating body with a gap therebetween. From the position upstream of the rotating body rotation direction to the base material surface through the gas supply port, and the gas near the surface of the base material is near the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body due to the rotation of the rotating body And the vicinity of the surface of the base material are used to suck the gas through the gas suction port on the outer peripheral surface side of the rotating body. Since the gas flow through the surface of the material to the gas suction port is formed, a high-quality surface treatment is possible with a simple and low-cost configuration that enables uniform gas supply onto the substrate. There is an effect that can be realized.

  A mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Although the present invention is suitable for forming an oxide film made of titania, silica, zircon, tin oxide, etc., the present invention can be applied to all other materials that can be formed by general CVD. . What is necessary is just to select suitably the kind of carrier gas at the time of film-forming, and the gas for oxidation (for example, gas containing oxygen) according to the kind of thin film raw material gas used as the raw material of a thin film. In addition to film formation, the present invention can also be applied to other surface treatments such as etching, sputtering, and cleaning of the substrate.

  The apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is installed in a chamber (not shown). In the chamber, a base material transport base 10 is installed that can move in a specific direction (left and right direction in FIG. 1), and the base material 12 is placed on the base material transport base 10 with the base material 12 placed thereon. The material 12 is conveyed in the specific direction (the direction from the left to the right in the figure) while maintaining a horizontal posture. A rotating body storage container 14 for storing a rotating body 24 to be described later is provided above the substrate transport table 10.

  In addition, the said base material 12 will not be specifically limited if surface treatment is possible, Glass and a plastic film are illustrated. When glass is used as the substrate, the thickness of the glass is preferably 0.3 to 15 mm from the viewpoint of strength.

  In the illustrated example, the rotary container 14 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the top wall 14a is provided with a gas inlet 16A and a gas outlet 16B, while the bottom wall 14b is parallel to the surface of the substrate 12. The gas supply port 18A and the gas suction port 18B are provided in the bottom wall 14b. The positions and shapes of the gas inlet 16A, the gas outlet 16B, the gas supply port 18A, and the gas suction port 18B (hereinafter collectively referred to as “respective container openings 16A, 16B, 18A, 18B”) will be described later. To do.

  A supply buffer container 20A is connected to the gas introduction port 16A, and the surface treatment gas supplied from the gas supply port 22A into the supply buffer container 20A passes through the gas introduction port 16A into the rotating body storage container 14. To be introduced. Similarly, an exhaust buffer container 20B is connected to the gas outlet 16B, and the gas in the rotating body storage container 14 is provided in the exhaust buffer container 20B through the gas outlet 16B and the exhaust buffer container 20B. The gas is exhausted from the gas exhaust port 22B to a predetermined facility and collected.

  In the present invention, the buffer containers 20A and 20B are not necessarily required. For example, a surface treatment gas supply source may be directly connected to the gas inlet 16A, or the exhaust gas may be directly connected to the gas outlet 16B. A recovery facility may be connected.

  The rotating body 24 is formed in a columnar shape having a cylindrical outer peripheral surface, and the horizontal axis (the depth direction in FIG. 1; the upper and lower sides in FIG. 2) in which the central axis of rotation is substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction of the base material 12. And is supported in the rotating body storage container 14 so as to be rotatable around its central axis and coupled to a rotation driving means for driving the rotating body 24 to rotate. Yes.

  Specifically, a rotating center shaft portion 26 that passes through the rotating body 24 along the central axis is fixed to the rotating body 24, and both ends of the rotating center shaft portion 26 are connected to the rotating body 24 as shown in FIG. It is rotatably supported via a pair of bearing bases 28 erected on the bottom wall 14 b of the rotating body storage container 14. On the other hand, a motor 30 that is a rotation driving means is installed outside the rotating body storage container 14, and a magnet coupling 32 that interlocks with each other magnetically at the output shaft of the motor 30 and one end of the rotation center shaft portion 26. The rotating body 24 and the motor 30 are arranged so that these magnet couplings 32 are positioned inside and outside the side wall 14c of the rotating body storage container 14 while being fixed. Therefore, by the operation of the motor 30, the rotating body 24 has a predetermined orientation (in the example shown in FIG. 1, clockwise in the example of FIG. 1) about the central axis of the rotation central shaft portion 26, that is, the axis in the direction substantially perpendicular to the substrate transport direction. (In the direction).

  Corresponding to the rotating body 24, the container openings 16A, 16B, 18A, 18B are formed in a slit shape extending in a direction parallel to the central axis of the rotating body 24, and the length of the slit shape is the rotating body 24. Is set substantially equal to the width of the outer peripheral surface in the axial direction.

  And the position of the said rotary body 24 and each said container opening 16A, 16B, 18A, 18B is set so that the following requirements may be satisfy | filled.

  Condition 1: A minute gap 23 is ensured between the lowermost end portion of the rotating body 24 and the bottom wall 14b of the rotating body storage container 14. The minimum dimension of the minute gap 23 is preferably 1 mm or less, and more preferably 0.1 mm or less.

  Condition 2: The gas supply port 18A is located on the upstream side in the rotational direction of the rotating body 24 (on the right side in the example shown in FIG. 1) with the minute gap 23 as a boundary, and the longitudinal direction of the gas supply port 18A The positions at both ends in the direction and the positions at both ends in the axial direction of the rotating body 24 are made to substantially coincide with the axial direction. As for the distance between the minute gap 23 and the gas supply port 18A, as will be described later, the gas that is caught in the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 24 and led to the minute gap 23 is pushed back from the gap 23 and is returned to the gas supply port. It is made to approach to the extent supplied on the surface of the base material 12 through 18A.

  Condition 3: the gas suction port 18B is located downstream of the minute gap 23 in the rotational direction of the rotating body 24 (left side in the example shown in FIG. 1), and the position of the gas suction port 18B. And the position of the rotating body 24 are substantially matched with each other in the axial direction. Regarding the relative position between the minute gap 23 and the gas supply port 18A, the pressure difference generated in the region downstream of the gap 23 in the rotation direction of the rotating body 24 (near the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body and the surface of the base material). The gas near the surface of the base material 12 is set to be sucked to the outer peripheral surface side (upper side in the drawing) of the rotating body 24 through the gas suction port 18B due to the pressure difference generated between them and the vicinity. .

  Condition 4: A minute gap 21 is formed between the top of the rotating body 24 and the top wall 14a of the rotating body storage container 14. The minimum dimension of the minute gap 21 is also preferably 1 mm or less, and more preferably 0.1 mm or less.

  Condition 5: The gas inlet 16A is located downstream of the minute gap 21 in the rotational direction of the rotating body 24 (right side of the top in FIG. 1), and rotates with the gas inlet 16A. The position of the body 24 is substantially matched with the axial direction. The relative position between the minute gap 21 and the gas inlet 16A is between the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body and the vicinity of the surface of the base material in the region downstream of the gap 21 in the rotation direction of the rotating body 24. The surface treatment gas diffused into the gas supply buffer container 20A due to the generated pressure difference is set to be sucked into the rotating body storage container.

  Condition 6: The gas outlet 16B is located upstream of the minute gap 21 in the rotational direction of the rotating body 24 (right side of the top in FIG. 1), and the gas outlet 16B and the rotating body. The position of 24 is substantially matched with the axial direction. Regarding the relative position between the minute gap 21 and the gas outlet 16B, the gas that is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 24 and guided to the gap 21 is pushed back from the gap 21 to be inside the exhaust buffer container 20B. Close enough to be exhausted.

  The conditions 4 to 6 are not necessarily required in the present invention. Basically, the surface treatment gas can be supplied into the rotary body storage container 14 and the exhaust from the container 14 can be appropriately performed. It only has to be. In this way, by introducing the surface treatment gas into the rotating body storage container 14 and rotating the rotating body 24 within the container 14, the necessary surface treatment gas is more efficiently and intensively guided to the substrate surface. In addition, it is possible to simplify the apparatus by using the bottom wall 14b of the rotating body storage container 14 as the "opposing member" according to the present invention.

  However, in the present invention, the rotating body storage container 14 is not necessarily required. For example, only the bottom wall 14 b of the illustrated rotating body storage container 14 is used as an “opposing member” between the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 24 and the surface of the substrate 12. You may make it interpose.

  Moreover, the specific shape of each said container opening 16A, 16B, 18A, 18B is not ask | required, For example, what provided many holes in parallel along the direction parallel to the central axis of the rotary body 24 may be used. However, if at least the gas supply port 18A has a slit shape extending in a direction parallel to the central axis, a more uniform supply of the surface treatment gas in the direction can be realized. Furthermore, if the gas suction port 18B has the same slit shape, the flow of curtain-like gas from the gas supply port 18A to the gas suction port 18B, which will be described later, can be further stabilized to increase the processing efficiency. is there.

  In the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an electric field forming means for generating plasma is provided to perform plasma processing. Specifically, electrodes 34 and 36 for forming an electric field for generating plasma in the gas supply port 18A are provided on the bottom wall 14b of the rotating body storage container 14 at a position sandwiching the gas supply port 18A. It has been. A predetermined high-frequency voltage or DC voltage is applied between the electrodes 34 and 36 (for example, a predetermined potential is applied to the electrode 34 and the electrode 36 is grounded). The electric field is formed.

  Next, an example of a method for forming an oxide film on the surface of the substrate 12 using the apparatus will be described.

  In this method, the following operations are performed in parallel.

  1) Substrate transport operation: a base material 12 is placed on the base material transport table 10, and the base material 12 is preheated by a heater (not shown) built in the base material transport table 10, and then a specific base material is transported. The base material 12 is conveyed so as to pass through the position immediately below the gas supply port 18A and the gas suction port 18B of the rotating body storage container 14 along the direction (from the right to the left in the example shown in FIG. 1). To do.

2) Gas supply operation: The rotating body 24 in the rotating body storage container 14 is driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow in FIG. As the rotating body 24 rotates at a high speed, a pressure difference is generated between the supply buffer container 20A and a region in the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 24, whereby a new surface treatment gas in the supply buffer container 20A is generated. It is drawn into the rotating body storage container 14 through the gas inlet 16A. In this embodiment, a gas that is a raw material for the thin film as the surface treatment gas (for example, tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) in the case of forming a silicon oxide film) and a carrier gas made of an inert gas such as argon, , O ₂ , N ₂ O, NO ₂ , a gas containing oxygen and a gas containing oxygen such as water vapor is introduced.

  The surface treatment gas is caught in the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 24 and guided to the gap 23 between the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 24 and the rotating body storage container bottom wall 14b. If the size of the gap 23 is sufficiently small, A large amount of the surface treatment gas is pushed back from the gap 23 to the upstream side in the rotation direction of the rotating body 24 and is supplied to the surface of the lower substrate 12 through the gas supply port 18A. Here, if an electric field having a predetermined strength is formed between the electrodes 34 and 36 sandwiching the gas supply port 18A, plasma is generated by the surface treatment gas passing through the gas supply port 18A, and the plasma is generated. The radical species in which the surface treatment gas is activated by the plasma is supplied to the surface of the substrate 12 to form the thin film 42. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, when the substrate 12 is transported from the right side to the left side, film formation proceeds from the left end of the substrate 12.

  On the other hand, in the region downstream of the gap 23 in the rotation direction of the rotary body 24, the rotary body 24 is rotated at a high speed between the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface of the rotary body 24 and the vicinity of the surface of the substrate 12. Since the pressure difference is generated, the gas near the surface of the substrate 12 is sucked to the outer peripheral surface side of the rotating body 24 through the gas suction port 18B. As a result, a curtain-like gas flow from the gas supply port 18A toward the gas suction port 18B is formed on the surface of the substrate 12 in a stable state. The surface treatment gas can be supplied and recovered uniformly and stably in the orthogonal direction. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, strict dimensional control is not required as in the device in which the rotating body 24 and the substrate 12 are directly opposed to each other.

  Among the surface treatment gases, in addition to the formation of the reaction product simultaneously with the formation of the thin film 42, the surface treatment gas passes on the substrate as it is without contributing to the reaction, or the radical activated by the plasma. However, it is possible to improve the film quality by sucking the particles and the like from the gas suction port 18B.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the gas suction port 18B is inclined in a direction along the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 24 facing the gas suction port 18B with respect to the direction orthogonal to the surface of the substrate 12. By doing so, it is possible to suppress the generation of vortices in the vicinity of the gas suction port 18B and to suck the gas on the substrate surface more smoothly toward the rotating body. In particular, since the generation of the vortex tends to cause particle adhesion to the substrate 12, the suppression of the vortex is very effective in improving the film quality.

  The gas sucked into the rotating body storage container 14 is directly wound around the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 24 and guided to the gap 21 between the outer peripheral surface and the ceiling wall 14a of the rotating body storage container. 21 is pushed back to the gas outlet 16B side and led to the exhaust buffer container 20B.

  By the way, the present invention is not necessarily limited to performing plasma treatment. For example, the base material 12 is heated to a high temperature in advance, or the base material carrier 10 is heated to a high temperature, and the surface treatment is performed by the thermal energy. Application to thermal CVD that causes a chemical reaction in the working gas is also possible. Even when plasma treatment is performed, the arrangement of electrodes for generating the plasma can be set as appropriate. For example, it is effective to form an electric field for generating plasma between the bottom wall 14b of the rotating body storage container 14 and the surface of the base 12 as shown in FIG. In the illustrated apparatus, one electrode 34 is disposed at a position between the gas supply port 18A and the gas suction port 18B on the lower surface of the bottom wall 14b, and supports and conveys the base material 12 below the electrode 34. Conveying rollers 50 and 52 are provided, and the conveying roller 50 facing the electrode 34 constitutes the other electrode (for example, grounded).

  In the apparatus having the overall configuration as shown in FIG. 1 and the gas supply port 18A and the gas suction port 18B as shown in FIG. 3, the diameter of the rotating body 24 is 100 mm, the length in the width direction of the rotating body is 150 mm, A suitable example of the main dimensions when the rotation speed is 3000 rpm is presented below.

1) Minimum dimension of the gap 23 formed between the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 24 and the opposing member (rotating body storage container bottom wall 14b): 1 mm
2) Horizontal distance from the position where the gap 23 is minimized to the left end position of the gas supply port 18A in the bottom wall 14b: 10 mm
3) Direction and horizontal width of gas supply port 18A: Horizontal width is 2 mm in the vertical direction
4) Thickness of bottom wall 14b (depth of gas supply port 18A): 5 mm
5) Distance between the bottom surface of the bottom wall 14b and the base material 12: 5 mm
6) Cross-sectional shape of electrodes 34 and 36: rectangular shape (vertical 5 mm × horizontal 3 mm)
7) Horizontal distance from the position where the gap 23 is minimized to the right end position of the gas suction port 18B in the bottom wall 14b: 10 mm
8) Direction and horizontal width of the gas suction port 18B: inclined at about 45 ° with respect to the vertical direction, and the horizontal width is 10 mm at an arbitrary depth position.
FIG. 3 shows streamlines obtained by performing a gas flow simulation on the apparatus. As is apparent from the figure, in the vicinity of the surface of the substrate 12, a stable gas flow is formed in the substantially horizontal direction from the gas supply port 18A toward the gas suction port 18B, and the generation of vortices is considerably suppressed. On the other hand, for example, when only the gas supply port 18A is provided as shown in FIG. 4 (that is, when the gas suction port 18B is omitted), strict dimensional control is not required, but the vicinity of the gas supply port 18A. As a result, a considerable vortex is generated, and it is difficult to expect the effect of suppressing the particle landing on the base material 12. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, in the conventional apparatus in which the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 24 is directly opposed to the surface of the base material 12 without using a facing member, the base material is separated from the rotating body 24 in the gap 20. Since the flow rate and flow rate of the raw material gas decrease as the value approaches 12, the amount of the raw material gas supplied to the surface of the substrate 12 is small, and as a result, there is a disadvantage that the film forming efficiency is remarkably lowered.

  The advantages of the present invention are apparent when comparing FIG. 3 and FIG.

It is a section front view of the surface treatment device concerning an embodiment of the invention. 1 is a cross-sectional plan view of a surface treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which showed the example of the preferable shape of the gas supply port and gas suction port in the surface treatment apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and showed the streamline obtained by the simulation of the gas flow. It is sectional drawing which shows the streamline obtained by performing the simulation of a gas flow about the surface treatment apparatus which provided only the gas supply port and abbreviate | omitted the gas suction port. It is a cross-sectional front view of the surface treatment apparatus which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the outline of a structure of the conventional surface treatment apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Substrate conveyance base 12 Base material 14 Rotating body storage container 14a Top wall 14b Bottom wall 16A Gas inlet 16B Gas outlet 18A Gas supply port 18B Gas suction port 20A, 20B Buffer container 23 Rotating body outer peripheral surface and rotating body storage container A minute gap formed between the bottom wall 24 Rotating body 26 Rotation center shaft portion 28 Bearing base 30 Motor (rotation drive means)
32 Magnet coupling 34, 36 Electrode 50, 52 Transport roller

Claims (11)

In a surface treatment apparatus comprising a substrate conveyance means for conveying a substrate in a specific direction, and a gas supply means for supplying a surface treatment gas toward the surface of the substrate,
The gas supply means has a cylindrical outer peripheral surface, and is arranged such that a rotation center axis is oriented in a direction substantially perpendicular to a transport direction of the base material, and the rotation body is a center axis thereof. Rotation driving means for rotating around, provided between the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body and the surface of the base material and at a position facing the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body with a gap. An opposing member,
The opposing member supplies the surface treatment gas, which is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the rotating rotating body and guided to the gap, from the position upstream of the gap in the rotation direction of the rotating body to the surface of the base material. And a gas difference between the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body and the vicinity of the surface of the base material in a region downstream of the gap in the rotation direction of the rotating body. A gas suction port for sucking gas in the vicinity of the surface of the material to the outer peripheral surface side of the rotating body, and the gas supplied from the gas supply port to the surface side of the substrate is on the surface of the substrate. A surface treatment apparatus configured to form a flow of gas sucked through the gas suction port.   The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gas supply port has a slit shape extending in a direction parallel to a rotation axis direction of the rotating body.   The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the gas suction port has a slit shape extending in a direction parallel to a rotation axis direction of the rotating body.   The surface treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the gas suction port has an outer peripheral surface of the rotating body facing the gas suction port with respect to a direction orthogonal to the surface of the base material. A surface treatment apparatus that is inclined in a direction along the surface.   5. The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an electric field forming means for forming an electric field for generating plasma for surface treatment is provided on the facing member.   6. The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 5, wherein as the electric field forming means, a plasma generating electrode pair is provided at a position sandwiching the gas supply port, and plasma is formed in the gas supply port by the plasma generating electrode pair. It is comprised so that the surface treatment apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.   6. The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a plasma generating electrode is provided on the side of the facing member facing the surface of the base material as the electric field forming means, and the plasma generating electrode and the base material A surface treatment apparatus characterized in that a plasma is formed between them.   The surface treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising: a rotary body storage container that stores the rotary body and into which a surface treatment gas is introduced. The portion is interposed between the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body and the surface of the base material, and constitutes an opposing member that faces the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body with a gap. Surface treatment equipment.   In a surface treatment method including a base material transport operation for transporting a base material in a specific direction and a gas supply operation for supplying a surface treatment gas toward the surface of the base material, the base material transport operation is performed according to claim 1. The substrate is transported along the facing member so that the substrate is opposed to the facing member in the surface treatment device according to any one of 8 to 8 from the side opposite to the rotating body of the device. In the gas supply operation, the rotary body is driven to rotate so that the surface treatment gas is entrained on the outer peripheral surface, and the entrained surface treatment gas is moved from the position upstream of the gap in the rotation direction of the rotary body. The gas is supplied to the surface of the base material through the gas supply port, and is generated between the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body and the vicinity of the surface of the base material in a region downstream of the gap in the rotation direction of the rotating body. Pressure difference The gas in the vicinity of the surface of the base material is sucked from the gas suction port to the outer peripheral surface side of the rotating body, so that the gas supply port passes through the surface of the base material and reaches the gas suction port. A surface treatment method comprising an operation of forming a gas flow.   10. The surface treatment method according to claim 9, wherein an electric field for plasma generation is formed in a region from the rotating body to the surface of the substrate, and the surface treatment gas is supplied to a position where the electric field is formed. A surface treatment method comprising plasma treating the surface of the substrate.   The surface treatment method according to claim 10, wherein the plasma treatment includes a treatment of forming a thin film on the surface of the base material, and a thin film raw material gas that is a raw material of the thin film is included in the surface treatment gas. A surface treatment method comprising: forming a thin film on a surface of the base material by chemically reacting the thin film source gas with the plasma.

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