JP2008175766A - Inspection method for atomic layer deposition film - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method capable of inspecting accurately and easily an atomic layer deposition film, in particular, having a very thin film thickness. <P>SOLUTION: This inspection method for the atomic layer deposition film determines the result about formation of the atomic layer deposition film, by inspecting an atomic layer deposition film portion on a base by an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, when forming the atomic layer deposition film on the base. The result about the formation of the atomic layer deposition film is determined between an deposition process and an oxidation process, or after the oxidation process, when having the deposition process depositing a film raw material on the base to form a precursor film and the oxidation process for steam-oxidation-treating the precursor to form the atomic layer deposition film, in the formation of the atomic layer deposition film. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an inspection method for an atomic layer deposition film.

In recent years, with the high integration of semiconductor integrated circuits and the like, thinning of films serving as various components has been advanced. For such a thin film, in order to ensure the reliability of the obtained product, etc., it is increasingly required to inspect the film thickness and the state of the film itself.
Against this background, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses an inspection method relating to film thickness measurement of a formed thin film.
JP 2002-118160 A

However, as described in Patent Document 1, when the film thickness is particularly thin, for example, an atomic layer deposition film, an optical technique such as ellipsometry ignores errors due to the influence of the base. It becomes impossible to perform an accurate inspection.
Also, it is conceivable to use observation means such as SEM (scanning electron microscope), but in that case, a TEM (transmission electron microscope) is used, and the operation becomes very complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method capable of accurately and easily inspecting an atomic layer deposition film having a particularly thin film thickness. .

  The method for inspecting an atomic layer deposition film according to the present invention includes the step of inspecting an atomic layer deposition film formation site on the substrate by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy when forming the atomic layer deposition film on the substrate. It is characterized by determining the success or failure of film formation.

  According to this method for inspecting an atomic layer deposition film, after forming the atomic layer deposition film on the substrate or during the step of forming the atomic layer deposition film, the formation position of the atomic layer deposition film is determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. By inspecting, it is possible to accurately and easily inspect the atomic layer deposited film formed on the formation site or the precursor film thereof, thereby accurately and easily determining the success or failure of the atomic layer deposited film formation. can do.

  In the method for inspecting an atomic layer deposited film, the atomic layer deposited film is formed by depositing a film raw material on a substrate to form a precursor film, and subjecting the precursor film to a steam oxidation treatment. And determining whether or not the atomic layer deposition film is formed is performed between the deposition process and the oxidation process or after the oxidation process. Good.

  By inspecting by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy between the deposition process and the oxidation process, it can be confirmed whether or not the precursor film of the atomic layer deposition film is formed. Can be obtained (atomic layer deposited film formation is performed). Further, it is possible to determine whether or not an atomic layer deposition film is finally obtained (atomic layer deposition film formation is performed) by inspecting with an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy after the oxidation step. .

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail by embodiments.
FIG. 1 shows an inspection apparatus suitably used for the atomic layer deposited film inspection method of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a vacuum chamber, and 2 denotes an X-ray photoelectron spectrometer. The vacuum chamber 1 is connected to a negative pressure source (not shown) such as a vacuum pump, and is configured so that the inside thereof is maintained at a sufficient degree of vacuum.

  The X-ray photoelectron spectrometer 2 includes a stage 4 on which a substrate (base body) 3 to be inspected is placed, an X-ray irradiation means 5 for irradiating an inspection portion of the substrate 3 with X-rays, and X-ray irradiation. And a detector 6 for detecting the energy of the photoelectrons emitted from the inspected portion of the substrate 3 and a graph electrically displaying the detection result output from the detector 6 and electrically connected to the detector 6. And a display device (not shown) for printing out. The main part of the X-ray photoelectron spectrometer 2 is arranged in the vacuum chamber 1 as shown in FIG. 1, or the X-ray irradiation path including at least the substrate 3 and the photoelectron flight path are vacuum. It is configured to be located in the chamber.

The X-ray irradiation means 5 irradiates excitation X-rays. As the excitation X-rays, those having relatively low energy (soft X-rays) such as Kα of Al or Mg are used. The X-ray irradiation means 5 can irradiate excitation X-rays with a spot having a diameter of 1 mm, for example.
The detector 6 is called an energy analyzer, and is a device that measures the kinetic energy of electrons using an electric field. As such an energy analyzer, a concentric cylindrical (CMA) type or a concentric hemispherical (CHA) type is known, and a concentric cylindrical type is used in this embodiment.

The principle of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy using the X-ray photoelectron spectrometer 2 having such a configuration will be described below.
The electrons that make up the atom are bound to a certain strength from the nucleus. The kinetic energy of the photoelectrons emitted when hit with X-rays is
(Excitation light energy)-(Binding energy)
It becomes. (However, strictly speaking, there is energy loss by the work function of the surface.)
In principle, the binding strength, that is, the binding energy, is a value determined by the type of atom and the orbit of the electron. However, when the atom forms a compound or a crystal lattice, it is compared with the free state. The value changes slightly. This is a phenomenon called “chemical shift”. In X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, this chemical shift can be used to know not only the type of element but also the chemical state.

  In the present invention, the formation of the atomic layer deposition film is particularly good when the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is used to perform the inspection relating to the formation of the atomic layer deposition film, that is, when the atomic layer deposition film is formed on the substrate (substrate) 3. It is inspected and determined whether or not the formation of the atomic layer deposition film is successfully performed.

  X-rays irradiated from the X-ray irradiation means 5 penetrate from the surface of the substrate 3 serving as a sample to several μm. Although the depth at which the photoelectrons can escape varies depending on the kinetic energy, it is approximately several nanometers to several tens of nanometers. Therefore, only the electrons generated in the very vicinity of the surface are detected. Therefore, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is a suitable method for analyzing the chemical state of the surface. On the other hand, the atomic layer deposition film to be inspected in the present invention has a thickness of several nanometers to several tens of nanometers. Therefore, in order to inspect the atomic layer deposition film having such a thickness, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is used. It is particularly suitable.

  Various types of atomic layer deposition films are targeted. Specifically, examples of the oxide film include AlOx, LaOx, MgOx, TiOx, TaOx, NbOx, ZrOx, HfOx, SnOx, ZnOx, YOx, CeOx, ScOx, ErOx, VOx, SiOx, and InOx. Examples of the nitride film include AlNx, TaNx, NbNx, TiNx, MoNx, ZrNx, HfNx, and GaNx. Further, in addition to these oxide films and nitride films, sulfide films, fluoride films, metal films, and the like are atomic layer deposition films as inspection targets of the present invention.

  Such an atomic layer deposition film is formed by bringing the source gas (raw material vapor) into contact with the film forming portion of the substrate 3. That is, with respect to the substrate 3, if necessary, the film forming portion is cleaned in advance by washing or the like and then brought into contact with the source gas, whereby an atomic layer deposition film is obtained. Such a method is a method called an atomic layer deposition method, and not only the source gas but also the film formation conditions are appropriately selected according to the atomic layer deposition film to be formed.

For example, when an atomic layer deposition film made of a metal oxide such as AlOx, LaOx, or MgOx is formed, an alkoxide of these metals is preferably used as the source gas. That is, the vapor of a metal alkoxide such as aluminum propoxide (Al [OC ₃ H ₇ ] ₃ ), lanthanum propoxide (La [OC ₃ H ₇ ] ₃ ), magnesium ethoxide (Mg [OC ₂ H ₅ ] ₂ ) Preferably used. All of these alkoxides are solid at normal temperature and normal pressure, and sublimation occurs at about 190 ° C. or less at normal pressure. Therefore, atomic layer deposition can be performed by heating them to cause sublimation and bringing the generated vapor into contact with the substrate 3 along with the carrier gas.

  That is, the film raw material can be deposited on the substrate 3 by bringing the metal alkoxide vapor, which is the film raw material, into contact with the film forming portion of the substrate 3. However, simply by going through a deposition process for performing such a deposition process, since the raw material-derived alkoxy group remains chemically bonded to the formed film (a precursor film of the atomic layer deposition film), Thereafter, it is preferable to perform an oxidation process in which the formed precursor film is subjected to steam oxidation treatment to form an atomic layer deposition film.

  Moreover, it is preferable to have an annealing process of annealing the formed film at a temperature of 100 ° C. or higher after the deposition process prior to the oxidation process by such steam oxidation process. This is because, for example, when the atomic layer deposition film to be formed is a single atomic layer of AlOx (aluminum oxide), a film formed by separating the alkoxy group derived from the raw material separately from the chemically bonded alkoxy group ( This is because they often remain physically adsorbed on the precursor film of the atomic layer deposition film. That is, by performing the annealing treatment, the physically adsorbed alkoxy group can be easily removed from the film.

  In such an oxidation step after the annealing step, the steam oxidation treatment is preferably performed in a temperature range of 10 ° C. or more and 200 ° C. or less when the atomic layer deposition film is one atomic layer of AlOx as described above. By performing such steam oxidation treatment, the alkoxy group derived from the raw material is removed from the film (precursor film), and the metals in the film are bonded through oxygen, thereby oxidizing the film. An atomic layer deposition film made of aluminum is obtained.

In the formation of such an atomic layer deposited film, in the present invention, the atomic layer deposited film formation site on the substrate 3 is inspected by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy with the above-described inspection apparatus to determine the success or failure of the atomic layer deposited film formation. .
The case of forming the atomic layer deposition layer made of one atomic layer of AlOx will be described as an example. Deposition step of depositing a film raw material on the substrate 3 to form a precursor film of the atomic layer deposition film; Inspection by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is performed during the oxidation step for performing the steam oxidation treatment or after the oxidation step for performing the steam oxidation treatment.

  After the deposition step for forming the precursor film of the atomic layer deposition film, it is determined whether or not the precursor film is satisfactorily formed by inspecting the film formation portion of the substrate 3 by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Can do. That is, photoelectrons are emitted from the precursor film formed by irradiating the film formation portion (inspected part) of the substrate 3 with X-rays. Then, by detecting the energy of the emitted photoelectrons with the detector 6, it is inspected whether or not the precursor film is well formed.

  When inspection is performed by such X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, a graph with the horizontal axis as binding energy and the vertical axis as intensity as shown in FIG. 2 is displayed by a display device connected to the detector 6 of the inspection device. can get. A curve A in FIG. 2 shows a state in which the precursor film or an atomic layer deposition film described later is well formed, and a curve B in FIG. 2 indicates that the precursor film or the atomic layer deposition film is sufficient. The state where it is not formed is shown. That is, in the curve A, a peak appears at the position of the binding energy of 74.6 eV indicating the Al—O bond. As a result, the inspection site (film formation location) irradiated with X-rays has a peak of Al—O. It can be seen that a film having a bond, that is, a film of AlOx or a precursor thereof is formed.

Here, when an aluminum propoxide (Al [OC ₃ H ₇ ] ₃ ) is used as a raw material, the AlOx precursor is expressed as, for example, [— (OAl (OC ₃ H ₇ ) ₂ )]. It will be a thing. In addition, the AlOx atomic layer deposition film is a combined film such as [—Al—O—Al—O—]. In any case, since the film has an Al—O bond, a peak appears at the position representing this bond, and as a result, a film of AlOx or its precursor is formed as described above. I understand.

Therefore, in particular, when the inspection is performed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy after the deposition step for forming the precursor film of the atomic layer deposition film, if the precursor film is well formed, the curve A in FIG. In the case where a peak appears at a predetermined position and the precursor film is not sufficiently formed, the peak does not appear at a predetermined position as shown by a curve B in FIG. Therefore, as a result of the inspection, in particular, when the curve A is obtained and it is determined that the precursor film is well formed, the atomic layer deposition film can be satisfactorily formed through the subsequent oxidation process and the like. It is determined that it will be made.
In the case where the inspection is performed after the deposition step and before the oxidation step, whether the inspection is performed before or after the annealing step does not affect the inspection result. You may inspect at the timing.

In addition, after the oxidation step for performing the steam oxidation treatment, it is possible to determine whether or not the atomic layer deposition film is satisfactorily formed by inspecting the film formation portion of the substrate 3 by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. .
Thus, after the oxidation step, as described above, it is possible to improve the formation of the atomic layer deposited film by examining whether or not a peak appears at the position of the binding energy of 74.6 eV indicating the Al—O bond. Whether or not the atomic layer deposition film is well formed can also be determined by examining the degree of the peak related to carbon.

  That is, before the oxidation process by the steam oxidation treatment, the precursor film on the substrate 3 contains a large amount of carbon derived from the raw material, and after the oxidation process, the carbon derived from the raw material is removed. It changes before and after the oxidation process. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the curve C changes from a curve C showing the state before the oxidation process by steam treatment to a curve D showing the state after the oxidation process by steam treatment, and at a position of 285 eV with respect to carbon. The intensity of the peak is lower after the oxidation process than before the oxidation process.

  Therefore, as described above, it is determined whether or not the atomic layer deposition film is well formed by investigating whether or not there is a peak related to the Al—O bond or whether or not there is a decrease in the peak intensity related to carbon. Can do. That is, particularly when the inspection is performed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy after the oxidation process, if the atomic layer deposition film is well formed, a peak appears at a predetermined position as shown by a curve A in FIG. . Alternatively, the intensity of the peak relating to carbon is sufficiently low as shown by the curve D in FIG. 3 with respect to the peak relating to carbon appearing in the curve C in FIG. On the other hand, when the atomic layer deposition film is not sufficiently formed, a peak does not appear at a predetermined position as shown by a curve B in FIG. Or, as shown by a curve C in FIG. 3, a decrease in peak intensity relating to carbon is not recognized as compared with that before the oxidation step.

Therefore, as a result of the inspection, particularly when curve A is obtained or when a decrease in peak intensity related to carbon is observed as in curve D, it is determined that the atomic layer deposition film is formed satisfactorily. is there.
Therefore, according to the inspection method of the present invention, the success or failure of the formation of the atomic layer deposition film can be easily determined, so that the reliability of the obtained product can be improved.

  In addition, during the mass production process, especially when examining the presence or absence of a decrease in peak intensity related to the carbon after the oxidation process, the data on the curve C is accumulated in advance for mass production. By determining whether or not a decrease in the peak intensity related to carbon is observed with respect to the data, it is possible to determine whether or not the atomic layer deposition film is satisfactorily formed.

Next, as a specific example of the formation and inspection of such an atomic layer deposition film, a method of manufacturing an erosion prevention film on the surface of the inorganic alignment film in the liquid crystal device will be described.
First, a schematic configuration of the liquid crystal device 100 including an erosion prevention film made of an atomic layer deposition film will be described with reference to FIG. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing a liquid crystal device provided with the erosion preventive film made of the atomic layer deposition film. FIG. 4A is a plan view of the liquid crystal device, and FIG. 4B is a line HH ′ in FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows.

  In the liquid crystal device 100, the TFT array substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 are bonded together via a sealing material 52 having a substantially rectangular frame shape in plan view, and the liquid crystal layer 50 is sealed in a region surrounded by the sealing material 52. It has the composition which becomes. A peripheral parting line 53 having a rectangular frame shape in plan view is formed along the inner peripheral side of the sealing material 52, and an area inside the peripheral parting part is an image display area 10a. In the area outside the sealing material 52, the data line driving circuit 101 and the external circuit mounting terminal 102 are formed along one side (the lower side in the drawing) of the TFT array substrate 10, and the two sides adjacent to this one side are formed. Scanning line driving circuits 104 and 104 are formed along the lines to constitute peripheral circuits.

  The remaining one side (the upper side in the figure) of the TFT array substrate 10 is provided with a plurality of wirings 105 that connect between the scanning line drive circuits 104 on both sides of the image display region 10a. In addition, an inter-substrate conductive material 106 for providing electrical continuity between the TFT array substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 is disposed at each corner of the counter substrate 20. The liquid crystal device 100 is configured as a transmissive liquid crystal device, modulates light from a light source (not shown) disposed on the TFT array substrate 10 side, and emits it as display light from the counter substrate 20 side. It has become.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, a plurality of pixel electrodes 9 are arranged on the inner surface side (liquid crystal layer side) of the TFT array substrate 10, and the inorganic alignment film 40 is formed so as to cover these pixel electrodes 9. Has been. A peripheral parting 53 and a light-shielding film 23 are formed on the inner surface side of the counter substrate 20, and the counter electrode 21 serving as a common electrode is formed on the entire surface of the pixel region serving as a display region. An inorganic alignment film 60 is formed so as to cover the counter electrode 21.

The inorganic alignment films 40 and 60 respectively provided on the inner surface sides of the TFT array substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 are formed by depositing silicon oxide mainly composed of SiO ₂ by a conventionally known oblique deposition method. It is formed. It should be noted that a sputtering method such as an ion beam sputtering method or a magnetron sputtering method can be employed for manufacturing the inorganic alignment films 40 and 60.

  Further, the inorganic alignment film 40 (the same applies to the inorganic alignment film 60) is composed of an infinite number of columnar structures 40a as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, and a part of the columnar structures 40a are adjacent to each other. A gap is formed between the columnar structures. Since these columnar structures 40a are formed by oblique vapor deposition, each of the columnar structures 40a is arranged at a predetermined inclination angle θ with respect to the surface of the substrate body 10A. Thereby, alignment control of the liquid crystal arrange | positioned on the inorganic alignment film 40 can be performed now.

  As the liquid crystal material constituting the liquid crystal layer 50 shown in FIG. 4B, any liquid crystal material that can be aligned such as nematic liquid crystal and smectic liquid crystal may be used. In this case, those that form a nematic liquid crystal are preferable. Examples of nematic liquid crystals include phenylcyclohexane derivative liquid crystals, biphenyl derivative liquid crystals, biphenylcyclohexane derivative liquid crystals, terphenyl derivative liquid crystals, phenyl ether derivative liquid crystals, phenyl ester derivative liquid crystals, bicyclohexane derivative liquid crystals, azomethine derivative liquid crystals, azoxy derivative liquid crystals, and pyrimidines. Derivative liquid crystals, dioxane derivative liquid crystals, cubane derivative liquid crystals, etc., and fluorine-based substitution such as monofluoro group, difluoro group, trifluoro group, trifluoromethyl group, trifluoromethoxy group, difluoromethoxy group in the nematic liquid crystal molecules. Also included are liquid crystal molecules into which groups have been introduced. Thus, it is preferable that the liquid crystal material includes liquid crystal molecules into which a fluorine-based substituent is introduced because high voltage holding characteristics appropriate for the active matrix and high dielectric anisotropy for realizing a low driving voltage can be obtained.

By the way, conventionally, when a liquid crystal device including a liquid crystal layer including a liquid crystal molecule having a fluorine-containing substituent introduced therein is used as a light modulation element of a liquid crystal projector, the liquid crystal device is continuously irradiated with light for a long time. The layer will be altered. Specifically, light having a wavelength in the visible light region (red; 700 nm, green; 546.1 nm, blue; 435.8 nm) is continuously irradiated for a long time, so that the liquid crystal molecules from the liquid crystal molecules are photodecomposed. And hydrogen fluoride (fluorine ion) is generated from the photodecomposition product. Then, the hydrogen fluoride reacts with the inorganic alignment film made of SiO ₂ to erode it, thereby changing the alignment state of the inorganic alignment film to cause alignment failure and lowering the display quality.

Therefore, in the liquid crystal device 100, as shown in FIG. 5B, an erosion prevention film 41 is formed on the inorganic alignment film 40 so as to follow the surface shape of the inorganic alignment film 40. The erosion prevention film 41 is made of an AlOx film (aluminum oxide film) such as Al ₂ O ₃ formed by the atomic layer deposition method.

  An atomic layer deposited film obtained by the atomic layer deposition method is excellent in denseness and uniformity. Therefore, since the erosion prevention film 41 is formed by the atomic layer deposition method, the erosion prevention film 41 is in a state of following the surface shape without embedding the uneven gap (void) on the surface of the inorganic alignment film 40. Yes. Therefore, the alignment characteristics of the inorganic alignment film 40 are not impaired by the erosion preventive film 41 because the uneven shape of the surface of the inorganic alignment film 40 is maintained. Further, since the erosion prevention film 41 formed by the atomic layer deposition method has high density, it is certain that the inorganic alignment film 40 is exposed to the above-described hydrogen fluoride (fluorine ions). To prevent it.

  An inorganic alignment film 60 is also formed on the outermost surface of the counter substrate 20 on the liquid crystal layer 50 side, and an atomic layer is formed on the surface of the inorganic alignment film 60 so as to follow the surface shape of the inorganic alignment film 60. An erosion prevention film (not shown) formed by the deposition method is formed. Thereby, similarly to the TFT array substrate 10 side, the inorganic alignment film 60 is prevented from being exposed to hydrogen fluoride (fluorine ions) generated by the alteration of the liquid crystal layer 50.

When manufacturing the liquid crystal device 100 having such a configuration, particularly when the erosion preventing film 41 is formed by an atomic layer deposition method, the inspection method of the present invention is performed during or after the process as described above.
That is, for example, the above-described aluminum propoxide (Al [OC ₃ H ₇ ] ₃ ) is used as the source gas (source vapor), and this is brought into contact with the inorganic alignment film 40 of the substrate body 10A, for example. Then, the OH group on the surface of SiO ₂ constituting the inorganic alignment film 40 reacts with the source gas to form a precursor film. This precursor film is formed by a molecular layer containing the metal, because one bond (valence) of the metal in the alkoxide is bonded to the OH group on the surface of the SiO ₂ . Accordingly, although this precursor layer varies depending on the formation conditions of the precursor layer, it usually remains in a state in which an organic group (alkoxy group) derived from the raw material is chemically bonded to the metal constituting the precursor layer. Yes.

  Further, apart from the organic group remaining in a state of being chemically bonded to the metal in this way, a part of the organic group derived from the raw material remains physically adsorbed on the precursor film. Therefore, the formed precursor film is annealed at a temperature of 100 ° C. or higher to remove physically adsorbed raw material-derived organic groups.

  Thereafter, by performing a steam oxidation treatment in a temperature range of 10 ° C. or more and 200 ° C. or less, an erosion preventing film 41 made of one atomic layer of AlOx (aluminum oxide) is formed on the surface of the inorganic alignment film 40 on the liquid crystal layer 50 side. To do. That is, by performing the steam oxidation treatment, the alkoxy group derived from the raw material is removed from the precursor film, and the metals in the film are bonded through oxygen, thereby the AlOx atomic layer deposition film. The erosion prevention film 41 made of is obtained in a state of covering the pixel electrode 9.

  Then, after the deposition step in which the source gas is brought into contact with the inorganic alignment film 40 or after the oxidation step by the steam oxidation treatment, the atomic deposition film (the erosion prevention film 41) is inspected by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy described above. Accurately and easily determine whether or not the formation is successful, that is, whether or not the atomic layer deposition film is finally formed well, or finally whether or not the atomic layer deposition film is formed well. be able to. Therefore, the reliability of the obtained liquid crystal device can be improved.

Further, by forming the erosion prevention film 41, the erosion prevention film 41 can be interposed between the liquid crystal layer 50 and the inorganic alignment film 40. Therefore, even if visible light is irradiated to the liquid crystal device 100 for a long time, a photolysis product is generated from the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer 50, and even if hydrogen fluoride (fluorine ions) is generated from the photolysis product, an erosion prevention film is formed. 41 can prevent erosion of the inorganic alignment film 40 by hydrogen fluoride, thereby preventing alignment failure of the liquid crystal due to a change in the alignment state of the inorganic alignment film and preventing deterioration of display quality. .
Further, since the erosion prevention film 41 formed by the atomic layer deposition method has high density, the inorganic alignment film 40 can be prevented from being exposed to the hydrogen fluoride.

  The atomic layer deposition film to which the present invention is applied is used as various thin films such as various functional films of semiconductor devices in addition to the above-described erosion prevention film. And this invention is used suitably about the test | inspection of the atomic layer deposition film as such various functional films.

It is a schematic block diagram of the inspection apparatus which concerns on the inspection method of the atomic layer deposited film of this invention. It is an example of the graph obtained by examining by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It is another example of the graph obtained by examining by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. (A), (b) is a schematic diagram which shows schematic structure of a liquid crystal device. (A) is a schematic structure of an alignment film, (b) is a figure which shows the structure of an erosion prevention film.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vacuum chamber, 2 ... X-ray photoelectron spectrometer, 3 ... Substrate (base | substrate), 4 ... Stage, 5 ... X-ray irradiation means, 6 ... Detector

Claims (2)

  When forming an atomic layer deposition film on the substrate, the success or failure of the formation of the atomic layer deposition film is determined by inspecting the formation position of the atomic layer deposition film on the substrate by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Inspection method for atomic layer deposition film. The atomic layer deposition film formation includes a deposition process in which a film raw material is deposited on a substrate to form a precursor film, and an oxidation process in which the precursor film is subjected to steam oxidation treatment to form an atomic layer deposition film. And
2. The atomic layer deposition film inspection method according to claim 1, wherein the success or failure of the formation of the atomic layer deposition film is determined between the deposition step and the oxidation step or after the oxidation step.

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