JP3009371B2 - Diamond-like carbon film deposition equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a plasma
Deposited on the surface of cutting tools, molds, magnetic recording media, etc.
The present invention relates to a diamond-like carbon film deposition apparatus for forming a diamond-like carbon film for chemical stabilization, low friction, and long life of the surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In such an apparatus, generally, a microwave from a high-frequency source is supplied into a reaction vessel through a waveguide to form a plasma for depositing a diamond-like carbon film. . In this case, the waveguide and the reaction vessel are:
The microwave is separated by a microwave introduction window formed of a dielectric plate, and the microwave is supplied to the plasma generation region in the reaction vessel through the introduction window. For this,
The product generated by the plasma also deposits on the introduction window, and as a result, the transmission characteristics of the microwave change. In severe cases, the discharge may be stopped.

[0003] For this purpose, the following techniques have conventionally been proposed in order to prevent the deposition of plasma products on the introduction window. The first method uses a waveguide that is bent away from the reaction vessel, and provides an introduction window at the bent portion of the waveguide, so that this window can be used as the plasma in the reaction vessel. This is a method that is far away from and does not directly face the plasma. According to this method, the plasma product adheres to the bent portion of the waveguide before reaching the introduction window, so that deposition on the introduction window does not occur in principle.

[0004] In a second method, a dielectric plate is attached to the inner surface of the upper wall of the reaction vessel so as to cover the microwave introduction window, and this plate is attached using a temperature control unit provided on the outer surface of the upper wall. This is a method of controlling the temperature at which the product does not easily adhere.

[0005]

However, in the first method, there is a possibility that unintended plasma may be generated in the waveguide near the introduction window, and when such plasma is generated, the effect is hardly obtained. No longer available. In addition, since the introduction window is disposed farther apart than the reaction vessel, it is necessary to lengthen the waveguide.

In the second method, since the temperature of the dielectric plate is controlled indirectly via the upper wall of the reaction vessel, the response speed is slow and the introduction window is accurately maintained in a predetermined temperature range. Is difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a diamond-like carbon film deposition apparatus capable of reliably preventing the deposition of products on a microwave introduction window without having to lengthen a waveguide. It is.

[0008]

A first aspect of the present invention.
The diamond-like carbon film deposition apparatus described in (1) contains a substrate on which a diamond-like carbon film is deposited, and transmits a microwave through a reaction vessel having a plasma generation region and an introduction window whose inner surface faces the plasma generation region. A temperature control fluid is supplied to a waveguide connected to a reaction vessel and an outer surface of the introduction window so as to supply plasma to a plasma generation region to generate plasma for depositing a diamond-like carbon film, and to generate a plasma product. Temperature control means for maintaining the introduction window at a predetermined temperature, so as to prevent deposition on the inner surface of the introduction window,
This temperature control means is provided near the introduction window, an annular distribution pipe provided on the outer peripheral surface of the waveguide, and formed at a predetermined interval in the distribution pipe, and has an opening near the outer peripheral surface of the introduction window. A plurality of through holes, and a temperature control fluid connected to the distribution pipe, and from the vicinity of the outer periphery of the introduction window to the outer surface of the introduction window through the through hole, so as to flow along the outer surface. And a means for discharging the flowed temperature control fluid.

According to such a configuration, it is not necessary to lengthen the waveguide, and the temperature of the introduction window can be accurately controlled.
It is possible to reliably prevent plasma products from depositing and adhering to the inner surface of the introduction window.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a diamond-like carbon film deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In FIG. 1 showing the first embodiment, reference numeral 1 denotes
A reaction vessel made of a metal such as aluminum is shown. A substrate holder 3 on which a substrate 2 on which a diamond-like carbon film is deposited is fixed to a lower wall of the reaction vessel 1. On the upper wall of the holder 3 facing the substrate 2,
An opening 1a having a shape similar to that of the substrate, for example, a circular shape, is formed. The opening 1a is covered by the microwave introduction window 4, so that the inside of the reaction vessel 1 is kept airtight. The inner surface of the introduction window 4 directly faces the plasma generation region 1b between the introduction window and the substrate 2. The introduction window 4 is formed of a dielectric plate having a central part of a partial spherical shape and a horizontal peripheral part. The periphery of the introduction window 4 is sandwiched between the upper surface of the upper wall of the reaction vessel 1 and the lower surface of the waveguide 5. The waveguide 5 is constituted by a (partly or entirely) cylindrical tube extending substantially vertically from the upper wall of the reaction vessel 1, and is connected to a high-frequency source (not shown).

In addition, a temperature control fluid is supplied to the outer surface of the introduction window 4 so as to prevent the plasma product from depositing on the inner surface of the introduction window. Is provided as described below.

An annular distribution pipe 6 is formed integrally and coaxially with the waveguide on the lower outer peripheral surface of the waveguide 5. Of course, the distribution pipe 6 and the waveguide 5 may be formed separately and connected together. The sectional shape of the distribution pipe 6 is not particularly limited, but is rectangular in this preferred embodiment. The distribution pipe 6 and the waveguide 5
The inside is communicated with a large number of through-holes 5a formed in the peripheral wall of the waveguide. These through holes 5 a are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the waveguide, and open near the lower end of the outer surface of the introduction window 4. Further, one end of an introduction pipe 7 is connected to the distribution pipe 6, and the other end of the introduction pipe is connected to means for supplying a fluid such as air, for example, a blower 8. A heating means, for example, a heating wire 9 is arranged in the introduction pipe 7 and a fluid (air in this embodiment) flowing through the introduction pipe is provided.
Can be heated. The heating wire 9 is connected to a power supply 10, and the power supply 10 can arbitrarily control the current to the heating wire 9 so that the heating temperature of the fluid can be controlled.

Although not shown, the introduction window 4 is provided with a temperature sensor for sensing the temperature and a controller for controlling the power supply 10 based on an output signal from the sensor. During the deposition process, the introduction window 4 is kept within a certain temperature range, for example, 300 ° C.
To 500 ° C.

Although not shown, the reaction vessel 1
A gas supply port for supplying a processing gas, a hydrocarbon gas, serving as a plasma generation source into the reaction vessel, an exhaust port connected to an exhaust device for evacuating the reaction vessel, and loading and unloading of substrates. Means well known in the art are provided, such as gates for performing

Hereinafter, the operation of the apparatus having the above configuration will be described. First, the substrate 2 which is the object to be processed is placed on the substrate holder 3.
Is placed such that the surface to be processed is on the top. next,
The pressure in the reaction vessel 1 is reduced to a predetermined pressure, for example, 10 mTorr or less, and a microwave is supplied from the waveguide 5 to the plasma generation region 1b of the reaction vessel 1 through the introduction window 4 to generate plasma. At the same time or slightly before and after, air is sent from the blower 8 to the introduction pipe 7,
A current flows from the power supply 10 to the heating wire 9, and the heating wire is heated to heat the air flowing through the introduction pipe 7. The heated air is supplied to the lower portion of the outer surface of the introduction window 4 in the waveguide 5 from the through hole 5 a via the distribution pipe 7. The heated air flows toward the center along the outer surface of the introduction window 4 as indicated by the arrow, and is then discharged from the waveguide 5. Then, as the air thus heated flows along the outer surface of the introduction window 4, the introduction window 4, that is, the inner surface thereof is heated to a predetermined temperature, for example, 300 ° C. to 500 ° C.
Heated. Although not shown, the exhaust of air from the waveguide 5 may be natural exhaust through an opening in the waveguide, or may be forced exhaust using an exhaust pump.

As described above, while the introduction window 4 is being heated, the diamond-like carbon film is deposited on the upper surface of the substrate 2 by the hydrocarbon plasma. During this process, when the introduction window 4 is heated by the plasma and becomes almost equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, the temperature sensor senses this and controls the power supply 10 to control the heating of the air by the heating wire 9. Decrease or stop. When the temperature of the introduction window 4 becomes lower than a predetermined temperature, the heating by the heating wire 9 is increased.

As described above, during the deposition of the diamond-like carbon film, the introduction window 4 is always kept at a temperature at which the plasma product is difficult to deposit, for example, 300 ° C. to 500 ° C. As a result, it is not necessary to lengthen the waveguide, and it is possible to reliably prevent the accumulation of products on the inner surface of the microwave introduction window.

Next, the second and third embodiments will be sequentially described with reference to FIGS. In these embodiments, members substantially the same as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description is omitted.

In FIG. 2 showing the second embodiment, reference numeral 11 denotes a pipe made of a dielectric material or metal. One end of the pipe 11 is opened near the center of the introduction window 4 as shown, and an exhaust pump (not shown) is connected to the other end. In addition, near the introduction window 4 in the waveguide 5, a partition plate 12 for vertically dividing the inside of the waveguide 5 into the introduction window side and the high-frequency source side is provided horizontally. The partition plate 12 is made of a dielectric material, and has an opening at the center for passing the pipe 11.

In the deposition apparatus having such a configuration, the heated air supplied into the waveguide 5 does not flow to the upper portion of the waveguide 5 but efficiently passes through the pipe 11 as shown by the arrow. It is discharged outside the waveguide.

In each of the above embodiments, the case where the introduction window is heated has been described. Hereinafter, an apparatus for cooling the introduction window will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 20 denotes a cooler provided in the introduction pipe 7. The cooler cools air flowing through the introduction pipe 7 from the blower 8 and blows the air onto the outer surface of the introduction window 4 in the waveguide 5. Can be As a result, during the step of depositing the diamond-like carbon film on the substrate 2, the introduction window 4 is cooled and maintained in an arbitrary temperature range by using the above-described temperature sensor and controller together.

In the above embodiment, air is used as the temperature control fluid. However, another gas may be used, and the temperature control fluid is not limited to a gas, but may be a liquid such as silicon oil. In addition, although a partially spherical window is used as the introduction window, the shape is not limited to this, and for example, an ordinary flat plate may be used. However, the partial spherical introduction window as in the embodiment has high durability against atmospheric pressure, and therefore can be formed thin, thereby improving thermal efficiency.
More accurate heat control of the introduction window can be performed.

In the above-described embodiment, the temperature control fluid is supplied to the waveguide near the outer surface of the introduction window and exhausted at a side remote from the introduction window. good. For example, the temperature control fluid may be supplied to the introduction window along the center line of the waveguide, and exhausted from the periphery of the introduction window.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing a diamond-like carbon film deposition apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view schematically showing a diamond-like carbon film deposition apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view schematically showing a diamond-like carbon film deposition apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Reaction container, 2 ... Substrate, 4 ... Introduction window, 5a ... Through-hole, 6
... distribution pipe, 7 ... introduction pipe, 8 ... blower, 9 ... heating wire, 10
…Power supply.

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-8-274067 (JP, A) JP-A-1-230496 (JP, A) JP-A 8-306633 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int .Cl. ⁷ , DB name) C23C 16/00-16/56 C30B 28/00-35/00

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A reactor containing a substrate on which a diamond-like carbon film is deposited and having a plasma generation region, and a microwave supplied to the plasma generation region through an introduction window having an inner surface facing the plasma generation region. A temperature control fluid is supplied to the waveguide connected to the reaction vessel and the outer surface of the introduction window so as to generate a plasma for depositing a diamond-like carbon film, and plasma products are supplied to the inner surface of the introduction window. Temperature control means for maintaining the introduction window at a predetermined temperature so as to prevent deposition, the temperature control means comprising an annular ring provided on the outer peripheral surface of the waveguide near the introduction window. A distribution pipe, a plurality of through holes formed at a predetermined interval from each other in the distribution pipe, and opened near the outer periphery of the introduction window, and an outer periphery of the introduction window connected to the distribution pipe through the through hole. From nearby,
On the outer surface of the introduction window, means for flowing a temperature control fluid so as to flow along the outer surface to bring the introduction window to a predetermined temperature, and means for discharging the flowed temperature control fluid, Diamond-like carbon film deposition equipment. 2. The diamond-like carbon film deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said temperature control means is means for spraying a liquid toward an outer surface of said introduction window. 3. A means for discharging the temperature control fluid is provided in the waveguide, and a dielectric partition plate for dividing the inside into an introduction window side and a high-frequency source side, and penetrates the partition plate and has one end. Has a dielectric or metal pipe opened near the center of the outer surface of the introduction window, and discharges the temperature control fluid on the outer surface of the introduction window through the pipe to the outside of the waveguide. 3. The apparatus for depositing a diamond-like carbon film according to claim 1, wherein: 4. The outer surface of the introduction window is convex, and the temperature control fluid from the through hole flows upward from the outer periphery of the introduction window along the outer surface of the introduction window, and the center of the introduction window. And flowing away from the introduction window.
3. The diamond-like carbon film deposition apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 3,