JP6966552B2 - Spatter deposit sources, spatter depositors, and methods for depositing layers on substrates - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to spatter deposit sources configured to deposit layers on a substrate. The present disclosure further relates to a sputter deposition apparatus having a sputter deposition source and a method of depositing a thin layer on a substrate by sputtering. More specifically, the present disclosure is intended for sputtering using a rotatable electrode array.

Forming a thin layer with a high degree of layer uniformity on a substrate is a problem associated with many technical disciplines. For example, in the field of thin film transistors (TFTs), the uniformity of the thickness of one or more deposited layers and the uniformity of electrical properties can be challenges in reliably producing display channel regions.

One method for forming a layer on a substrate is sputtering. Sputtering has evolved in a variety of manufacturing fields, for example, as a valuable method in the manufacture of TFTs. During sputtering, the atoms of the material of the sputtering target are released from the material of the sputtering target by collision with energy particles of plasma (for example, ions of an inert gas or a reactive gas to which a voltage is applied). When the emitted atoms are deposited on the substrate, a layer of sputtered material can be formed on the substrate.

Known sputter deposit sources include power components having a power source for generating electrical energy and supplying that electrical energy to one or more electrodes (eg, cathodes) of the sputter deposit source. The energy is stored in the gas between the cathodes to ignite and maintain the plasma. The movement of plasma ions and electrons may be controlled by a magnet assembly that can be placed behind the cathode. The cathode may include a respective target for supplying the coating material through plasma sputtering.

Sputtering can be achieved using a wide variety of devices with different electrical, magnetic, and mechanical configurations. Known configurations include power components that supply direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC) to generate plasma. In that case, the AC electric field applied to the gas usually provides a higher plasma rate than the DC electric field. In radio frequency (RF) sputtering equipment, plasma is collided and maintained by applying an RF electric field. Therefore, non-conductive materials can also be sputtered. DC sputtering usually provides higher deposition rates than RF sputtering, but can have higher arc generation rates and can be more problematic.

It would be useful to provide a sputter deposition source configured to provide high deposition rates while at the same time reducing arc generation rates. In addition, sputter deposition sources as well as sputter deposition equipment to promote a uniform layer of sputtered material would be beneficial.

In light of the above, spatter deposit sources, spatter depositors, and methods for depositing layers on a substrate are provided.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, spatter deposit sources are described. The sputter deposition source is an electrode array with two or more pairs of electrodes, each electrode of the electrode array is rotatable around its respective axis of rotation and supplies the target material to be deposited on the substrate. Each of the electrode array and a pair of two or more electrodes configured to supply the bipolar pulsed DC voltage is included.

According to a further aspect, a sputter deposition apparatus will be described. The sputter deposition apparatus is a sputter deposition source including a vacuum chamber and an electrode array having two or more pairs of electrodes, wherein the electrode array is arranged in the vacuum chamber, the spatter deposition source, and the spatter deposition device is arranged in the vacuum chamber. It also includes a substrate support configured to support the substrate during deposition. Each electrode in the electrode array is rotatable around its own axis of rotation and is configured to supply the target material to be deposited on the substrate. The spatter deposit source further comprises a power supply configuration configured to supply an ambipolar pulsed DC voltage to each of the two or more pairs of electrodes.

According to yet another aspect, a method of depositing a layer on a substrate using a sputter deposition source equipped with a rotatable electrode array is described. The method comprises supplying a bipolar pulsed DC voltage to each of two or more pairs of electrodes in a rotatable electrode array.

Further aspects, advantages, and features of the present disclosure will be apparent from the dependent claims, the description of the specification, and the accompanying drawings.

By reference to embodiments, a more specific description of the present disclosure briefly outlined above can be obtained so that the above features of the present disclosure can be understood in detail. The accompanying drawings relate to embodiments of the present disclosure and are described in the following description. The drawings show typical embodiments, the details of which will be described below.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of a spatter deposit source according to an embodiment described herein. FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of a spatter deposit source according to an embodiment described herein. It is a graph which shows the bipolar pulse DC voltage and the corresponding current which can be applied to a pair of electrodes in a sputter deposition source according to the embodiment described herein. 4A and 4B are diagrams for showing the reduction of the arc generation rate by sputtering by the method described herein. A schematic diagram of a sputter deposition apparatus according to the embodiment described herein is shown. It is a flow figure which shows the method by embodiment which is explained in this invention.

Next, various embodiments are referenced in detail, each of which shows one or more embodiments. Each embodiment is presented as an explanation and does not imply any limitation. For example, the features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used in any other embodiment or used in conjunction with any other embodiment to produce yet another embodiment. be. The present disclosure is intended to include such modifications and variations.

In the following description of the drawings, the same reference numbers refer to the same or similar components. In general, only the differences are described for the individual embodiments. Unless otherwise specified, the description of a portion or aspect of one embodiment applies similarly to the corresponding portion or aspect of another embodiment.

The process of coating a substrate with a material as described herein usually refers to a thin film application. The terms "coating" and "deposition" are used interchangeably herein. The coating process used in the embodiments described herein is sputtering.

The sputter deposition source according to the embodiments described herein includes a rotatable electrode array. Each electrode of the array may be configured to supply the target material to be deposited on the substrate. For example, each electrode may include a target made from a target material to be deposited on the substrate, eg, a cylindrical target. Further, each electrode may be configured to be rotatable around its own axis of rotation with the target material. The availability of cylindrical targets can be improved.

Generally, sputtering can be performed as diode sputtering or magnetron sputtering. Magnetron sputtering is particularly advantageous in that the deposition rate is rather high. Normally, the magnet assembly is positioned within the rotatable electrode. By placing the magnet assembly inside the rotatable electrode, i.e. inside the cylindrical target, free electrons above the target surface are forced to move in a magnetic field and cannot escape. This usually increases the probability of ionization of gas molecules by several orders of magnitude. This significantly increases the deposition rate.

The substrate may be continuously moved during coating (“dynamic coating”), or the substrate may be stationary during coating (“static coating”). Static coating is advantageous in that the amount of target material used up for static coating is less than that of dynamic coating, as substrate holders are often coated with dynamic coating as well. Static coating allows coating of large area substrates in particular. The substrate is placed in the coating region and coated, and the substrate is removed from the coating region again.

Sputtering can be used in the production of displays. More specifically, sputtering can be used for metallization such as electrode or bus formation. Sputtering is also used to generate thin film transistors (TFTs). Sputtering can also be used to form transparent conductive oxide layers, such as ITO (indium tin oxide) layers.

Sputtering can also be used in the production of thin film solar cells. Generally, thin film solar cells include a back contact, an absorbent layer, and a transparent conductive oxide layer (TCO). Normally, the back contact and TCO layer are produced by sputtering, but the absorption layer is usually formed by a chemical vapor deposition process.

As used herein, the term "substrate" shall include both inflexible substrates, such as wafers or glass plates, as well as flexible substrates such as webs and foils. In one embodiment, the substrate is an inflexible substrate, such as a glass plate, used in the production of solar cells, for example.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the voltage applied to the rotatable electrode changes over time. That is, a non-constant voltage is applied to the rotatable electrode.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a sputter deposition source 100 according to an embodiment described herein. The sputter deposition source 100 includes an electrode array 110 comprising two or more pairs of electrodes, eg, a pair of first electrodes 114 and a pair of second electrodes 115. The pair 114 of the first electrode and the pair 115 of the second electrode are shown in FIG. In other embodiments, a pair of three or more electrodes may be provided. In certain embodiments, even electrodes are provided. In other embodiments, a non-even number of electrodes may be provided. In the latter case, one electrode, eg, the outermost electrode, may not belong to one of two or more pairs of electrodes.

The electrode in the pair of electrodes may be an adjacent electrode. For example, each pair of electrodes may include a first electrode and a second electrode. The first electrode and the second electrode are arranged so that the distance between them is 50 cm or less, particularly 30 cm or less. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the pair 114 of the first electrode comprises two adjacent electrodes of the electrode array 110, and the pair 115 of the second electrode is the two adjacent electrodes of the electrode array 110. including. By applying a potential difference between the electrodes of the pair of electrodes, for example by applying a negative voltage to the first electrode of the pair of electrodes and to the second electrode of the pair of electrodes positive potential. By applying the above, plasma 130 can be generated between the electrodes. Thus, the first electrode acts as a cathode, the second electrode acts as an anode, and vice versa.

In certain embodiments, the electrodes of the electrode array may be spaced at uniform intervals. In other words, the distance between two electrodes in a pair of electrodes may match the distance between two adjacent electrodes in a (mutually) different pair.

The electrodes 112 of the electrode array 110 may be provided in an essentially linear arrangement. For example, a linear row of electrodes may be provided. Therefore, the large area substrate can be coated by simultaneous sputtering from electrodes 112 provided in a linear arrangement.

The electrode 112 is rotatable around each axis of rotation A and is configured to supply the target material to be deposited on the substrate 10. For example, each electrode 112 may be provided with an essentially cylindrical target. By rotating the electrodes with the target around each axis of rotation during deposition, the availability of the target is improved and a uniform layer can be deposited.

The spatter deposition source 100 further includes a power supply component 120 configured to supply an ambipolar pulsed DC voltage to each of two or more pairs of electrodes. In other words, each pair of electrodes may be supplied with an ambipolar pulsed DC voltage by the power supply configuration 120. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the power supply configuration 120 applies an ambipolar pulse DC voltage to the pair 114 of the first electrode and the ambipolar pulse DC to the pair 115 of the second electrode. It is configured to apply a voltage.

As used herein, a bipolar pulse DC voltage is a voltage having alternating polarities (“bipolar”) applied to the electrodes of a pair of electrodes. Therefore, the first electrode of the pair of electrodes alternately acts as an anode as a cathode, and the second electrode of the pair of electrodes alternately acts as a cathode as an anode.

Bipolar pulsed DC sputtering differs from ordinary AC sputtering, such as MF sputtering or RF sputtering, in that the voltage waveform is not sinusoidal. Rather, the voltage waveform may be temporarily essentially constant (DC "DC"). For example, the waveform of the bipolar pulse DC voltage may be a rectangular or square wave. In particular, the positive part of the waveform may be temporarily essentially constant and / or the negative part of the waveform may be primarily inherently constant, unlike the sinusoidal voltage. good.

In certain embodiments, each electrode of the electrode array may alternately act as an anode and a cathode. There is no separate electrode that needs to act as an anode continuously.

In certain embodiments, the frequency of the bipolar pulse DC voltage may be 1 kHz or more and 100 kHz or less, particularly 10 kHz or more and 80 kHz or less, and more particularly 30 kHz or more and 50 kHz or less. Here, the waveform of the bipolar pulse DC voltage may be repeated at a frequency of 1 kHz or more and 100 kHz or less.

In the following description, the advantages of the applied voltage in the embodiments described herein will be illustrated in comparison to previously used sputtering processes. The pulse magnetron sputtering process exists as single magnetron sputtering (SMS) and dual magnetron sputtering (DMS). In single magnetron sputtering, a unipolar pulse voltage may be applied to the cathode of the cathode array. Usually, a separate anode is provided. By periodically pulsing the voltage applied to the cathode (“unipolar pulse voltage”), the accumulation of charge on the cathode can be suppressed and the arc discharge can be reduced.

In dual magnetron sputtering, the polarity of the voltage between the electrodes in the pair of electrodes is periodically switched. Pulses are used instead of sinusoidal voltages when compared to AC sputtering.

According to the embodiments described herein, the electrode array is separated into a plurality of pairs of electrodes. Bipolar pulse DC voltage is supplied to each of the pair of electrodes. A large number of electrode pairs, such as two, three, four or more electrode pairs, can be provided. This makes it possible to quickly and efficiently coat a large area substrate with a conductive layer or a dielectric layer. In particular, the pulsed DC voltage (eg, square wave voltage) makes the power efficiency higher than in the case of the AC voltage (eg, sinusoidal voltage). In addition, sputtering with a pulsed DC voltage provides better sputtering stability than sputtering with an AC sinusoidal voltage. Compared to sputtering with a constant DC voltage, the deposition rate according to the embodiments described herein is hardly reduced.

Furthermore, since the electrodes in the electrode array alternately act as cathodes and anodes, the arc generation rate can be significantly reduced as compared with DC sputtering. During the negative part of the voltage waveform, ions are attracted towards the negatively charged electrode, causing sputtering. Moreover, during the positive portion of the waveform of the applied voltage, electrons are accelerated towards the positively charged electrode, reducing the accumulation of positive charge on the electrode. Sputtering occurs at the other electrode of each pair that can be synchronously negatively charged. The risk of arc discharge is reduced. This is because a high potential difference cannot be accumulated between the electrodes of the pair of electrodes.

In particular, sputtering using ambipolar pulsed DC voltage allows for improved arc discharge suppression compared to conventional DC sputtering, without process stability issues, and provides better layer uniformity control. do. Further, the rectangular waveform voltage in DC ambipolar sputtering can reduce the decrease in the deposition rate when compared with the conventional AC sinusoidal sputtering method.

In certain embodiments, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the power supply construct 120 alternately applies a positive voltage (particularly a positive DC voltage) to each electrode 112 of the electrode array 110. And may be configured to supply a negative voltage (particularly a negative DC voltage). The electrodes in the electrode array may alternately act as cathodes and anodes, especially with respect to the other electrode in the same pair of electrodes.

In one embodiment, which can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the power supply construct applies a rectangular or square wave voltage to each of two or more pairs of electrodes. It may be configured as follows. The rectangular or square wave voltage may have a frequency of about 40 kHz.

In one embodiment, which can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the power supply configuration 120 is configured to supply a pair of two or more electrodes, each with a symmetrical ambipolar pulsed DC voltage. May be done. For example, the negative voltage amplitude of the bipolar pulse DC voltage may match the positive voltage amplitude of the bipolar pulse DC voltage. Alternatively or further, the negative voltage cycle of the bipolar pulse DC voltage may coincide with the positive voltage cycle of the bipolar pulse DC voltage. Alternatively or further, the shape and / or amplitude of the positive waveform portion of the bipolar pulse DC voltage may essentially match the shape and / or amplitude of the negative waveform portion of the bipolar pulse DC voltage.

Alternatively, an asymmetric bipolar pulse DC (also referred to as anti-symmetric) may be applied. For example, the size of the positive part of the waveform may be smaller than the size of the negative part and vice versa. However, for equally shaped electrode arrays, a symmetric bipolar pulsed DC voltage may be beneficial in order to be able to deposit a uniform layer on the substrate.

As schematically shown in FIG. 1, pairs of two or more electrodes may be provided in an essentially linear arrangement, eg, as a linear row of electrodes.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a sputter deposition source 200 according to an embodiment described herein. The sputter deposition source 200 of FIG. 2 is essentially consistent with the sputter deposition source 100 of FIG. Therefore, the above description can be referred to and will not be repeated here.

The sputter deposition source 200 includes an electrode array 110 having 3 or more pairs of electrodes, particularly 4 or more pairs of electrodes, and more particularly 6 or more pairs of electrodes. Each pair of electrodes comprises a first electrode and a second electrode, which are usually adjacent electrodes. The electrodes are configured to be rotatable around their respective axes of rotation.

The spatter deposition source 200 further includes a power supply configuration 120 configured to supply a pair of ambipolar pulsed DC voltages to each pair of electrodes.

The electrodes of the electrode array 110 may be provided in an essentially linear arrangement. Alternatively, the electrodes may be provided in a curvilinear arrangement, for example in an arcuate arrangement.

The power supply configuration 120 may be configured to synchronously supply an ambivalent pulsed DC voltage to a pair of electrodes (s). In other words, the operation of the pair of electrodes can be synchronized. Thereby, first, the electrodes of the electrode array alternately act as cathodes and anodes, and then the electrodes are reversely charged and alternately act as anodes and cathodes. The electrodes may change polarity synchronously at a predetermined frequency.

In another embodiment, the power supply component 120 may be configured to supply a pair of electrodes independently of each other (ie, there is no synchronization between the pair of electrodes) of a bipolar pulsed DC voltage.

In certain embodiments that can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the electrode 112 may be provided with a respective cylindrical target containing the target material to be deposited. For example, the target material may be or may include at least one of metals, metal alloys, semiconductors, metal / non-metal compounds, ITO, IGZO, and aluminum. The spatter deposition source 200 may be configured to deposit a TCO layer on the substrate. In certain embodiments, the spatter deposit source 200 may be configured to deposit the IGZO layer on the substrate 10.

In certain embodiments, each of the two or more pairs of electrodes may be connected to the DC power supply 125 of the power supply structure 120 via the pulse unit 122. The number of pulse units 122 and the number of DC power supplies 125 may match the number of pairs of electrodes. The pulse unit 122 may be configured to convert a DC voltage supplied by a DC power supply into a bipolar pulse DC voltage.

At least one of the DC power sources, particularly each DC power source, may be configured to supply 1 kW or more and 200 kW or less, particularly 10 kW or more and 100 kW or less. In certain embodiments, the DC power supplies may be configured to provide a power range of 1 kW to 10 kW, a power range of 10 kW to 100 kW, and / or a power range of 100 kW to 200 kW, respectively. .. In certain embodiments, the DC power supply may be configured to supply 120 kW of power. Alternatively or further, at least one of the power supplies, in particular each DC power supply, may be configured to supply a voltage of 100 V or more and 1000 V or less. In certain embodiments, each power source may be configured to supply a power of 30 kW or more and 60 kW or less, and a voltage of 300 V or more and 800 V or less. For example, at the output terminal of the pulse unit 122, the voltage amplitude may vary cyclically between the first value of + 500V and the second value of −500V.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing the ambipolar pulsed DC voltage that can be applied to a pair of electrodes in a sputter deposition source as a function of time (t), according to the embodiments described herein. The first graph shows the voltage U1 applied to the first electrode of the pair of electrodes, and the second graph shows the voltage U2 applied to the second electrode of the pair of electrodes. There is. The voltage U2 can be a voltage whose polarity is reversed. In the embodiment shown, a bipolar or rectangular wave voltage is applied to the pair of electrodes. In reality, the positive and negative parts of the voltage, respectively, can only be approximately constant. In certain embodiments, matching voltages may be applied synchronously to each pair of electrodes.

Further, the current (I) flowing between the electrodes of the pair of electrodes during operation is shown in FIG. 3 as a function of time (t). Here, the current can follow the shape of the waveform of the applied voltage. That is, the frequency of the current may match the frequency of the applied voltage.

4A and 4B are diagrams to show that the arc generation rate is reduced by sputtering by the method described herein.

FIG. 4A shows the arc generation rate (number of arc discharges (arc) / sec) as a function of the frequency of the applied bipolar pulse DC voltage. The bar on the left side of the graph shows that the arc generation rate for DC sputtering is higher than 0.5 arc / sec for a given setting of sputtering parameters. When an ambipolar pulse DC voltage is applied, the arc generation rate decreases to less than 0.05 arc / sec as a function of the frequency of the ambipolar pulse DC parameter for a given setting of the sputtering parameter. .. Bipolar DC voltage frequencies greater than or equal to 10 kHz and less than or equal to 80 kHz are beneficial as they reduce the arc generation rate in the manageable complexity of the power supply configuration 120.

FIG. 4B shows the arc generation rate (arc / sec) drawn as a function of the sputtering power supplied by the DC power supply 125 connected to one of two or more pairs of electrodes via the pulse unit 122. ing. Given settings of sputtering parameters are provided. Sputtering power of 30 kW or more and 60 kW or less is beneficial because it reduces the arc generation rate at relatively high deposition rates. The graph is shown for different proportions of oxygen in the background gas in the vacuum chamber during sputtering. As can be seen in FIG. 4B, the arc generation rate increases with the proportion of oxygen in the vacuum chamber, but is still maintained at low levels.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of the spatter deposition apparatus 400 according to the embodiments described herein. The sputter deposition apparatus 400 is configured to support the substrate 10 while being disposed in the vacuum chamber 402, the sputter deposition source 100 having the electrode array 110 disposed in the vacuum chamber 402, and the vacuum chamber 402. Includes substrate support 406.

In the embodiment shown, the sputter deposition source 100 comprises four electrodes 112, i.e., a pair of two electrodes, located inside the vacuum chamber 402. The electrode 112 is configured as a rotatable electrode. Five or more rotatable electrodes may be provided.

The power supply structure 120 is arranged outside the vacuum chamber 402 and is electrically connected to the electrode 112 via the respective electric connector and power connector.

As shown in FIG. 5, an additional chamber 411 can be provided adjacent to the vacuum chamber 402. The vacuum chamber 402 may be separated from the additional chamber 411 by a valve having a valve housing 404 and a valve unit 405, respectively. Thus, as indicated by arrow 401, the valve unit 405 can be closed after the substrate support 406 with the substrate 10 to be coated has been inserted into the vacuum chamber 402. Thus, the atmosphere in the vacuum chamber 402 is, for example, by creating a technical vacuum using a vacuum pump coupled to the vacuum chamber 402 and / or inserting the process gas into the deposition region of the vacuum chamber 402. By doing so, it can be controlled individually.

According to typical embodiments, the process gas may include an inert gas such as argon and / or a reactive gas such as oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and ammonia, ozone, an active gas, and the like.

A roller 408 may be provided in the vacuum chamber 402 to transport the substrate support 406 having the substrate 10 into and out of the vacuum chamber 402. As used herein, the term "substrate" refers to inflexible substrates such as slices of transparent crystals such as glass substrates, wafers, sapphires, and flexible substrates such as webs or foils. Both shall be included.

A magnet assembly 409 may be disposed within each of the electrodes 112. In certain embodiments, the magnet assembly 409 may be able to swivel around a swivel axis that may coincide with the axis of rotation A of each electrode.

The power source component 120 of the spatter deposition source 100 may match any of the above-mentioned power source components. Therefore, the above description can be referred to. In particular, the power supply configuration 120 is configured to supply a bipolar pulse DC voltage to each pair of electrodes.

The power supply configuration 120 may include at least one DC power supply 125 and at least one pulse unit 122 for converting the DC voltage of the DC power supply 125 into an ambipolar pulsed DC voltage. In certain embodiments, a plurality of DC power supplies 125 and a plurality of pulse units 122 may be provided. In particular, each of the two or more pairs of electrodes may be connected to their respective DC power supply via their respective pulse units.

In certain embodiments, a common controller (not shown) may be provided to synchronize the ambipolar pulsed DC voltage supplied to the pair of two or more electrodes.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of depositing a layer on a substrate using a sputter deposition source according to an embodiment described herein. The method comprises providing a rotatable electrode array arranged in a vacuum chamber in a box 610. Each electrode in the rotatable electrode array contains a target made from the target material to be deposited.

In the box 620, an ambipolar pulsed DC voltage is supplied to each of two or more pairs of electrodes in the rotatable electrode array.

In one embodiment, a pair of two or more electrodes is supplied with at least one of a rectangular wave voltage, a square wave voltage, and a symmetrical ambipolar pulse DC voltage, respectively. In particular, a symmetric bipolar square wave voltage may be supplied.

For example, the waveform of a bipolar pulse DC voltage includes a negative voltage portion and a positive voltage portion. In that case, the negative voltage portion is essentially identical in shape and / or amplitude to the positive voltage portion.

In certain embodiments, an ambipolar pulsed DC voltage with frequencies from 1 kHz to 100 kHz, particularly from 10 kHz to 80 kHz, is supplied. The arc discharge can be reduced. Moreover, ambipolar DC voltages within the frequency range can be generated with manageable effort.

In certain embodiments that can be combined with other embodiments described herein, a pair of four or more electrodes, in particular a pair of six electrodes, may be supplied with an ambipolar pulsed DC voltage. It is possible to deposit a uniform layer on a large area substrate, especially on a substrate having an area to be coated of ^{0.5 m 2 or more.} In certain embodiments, the electrodes may be arranged in an essentially linear setting.

Bipolar pulsed DC voltage may be supplied synchronously to the pair of electrodes (s). In particular, the polarities of each of the pair of two or more electrodes can be switched essentially synchronously and at the same frequency. In particular, the power supply configuration may include multiple pulse units that may be synchronized by a common controller.

Each of the pair of two or more electrodes may be supplied with power of 1 kW or more and 200 kW or less, particularly 10 kW or more and 100 kW or less, and more particularly 30 kW or more and 60 kW or less. Alternatively or further, each electrode may be supplied with a voltage alternating between a first value between + 100V and + 1000V and a second value between −100V and −1000V. A low arc generation rate can be guaranteed, while a high deposition rate can be provided.

In certain embodiments, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, a transparent conductive oxide layer (TCO layer), an ITO layer, an IGZO layer, an IZO layer, an AlO _x layer, a SiO ₂ layer, Alternatively, the substrate is coated with at least one of the metal layers. The deposition method described herein is particularly advantageous for depositing an IGZO layer (In-Ga-Zn-O layer) on a substrate.

Although the above description is intended for embodiments of the present disclosure, other embodiments of the present disclosure can be devised without departing from the basic scope of the present disclosure, and the scope of the present disclosure is as follows. It is determined by the scope of claims.

Claims (15)

An electrode array (110) comprising two or more pairs of electrodes, wherein each electrode (112) of the electrode array (110) is rotatable about its respective axis of rotation (A) and is a substrate (10). ), The electrode array (110), which is configured to supply the target material to be deposited on, and the pair of the two or more electrodes, each configured to supply a bipolar pulse DC voltage. Equipped with a power supply configuration (120)
The bipolar pulse DC voltage is supplied at a frequency of 1 kHz or more and 100 kHz or less.
Each of the two or more pairs of electrodes is supplied with power of 1 kW or more and 60 kW or less.
Spatter deposit source (100, 200). The electrode array (110) comprises four, six, or more pairs of electrodes provided in an essentially linear arrangement, in particular the power supply construct (120) is the electrode. The spatter deposition source (200) according to claim 1, wherein the pair is configured to synchronously supply an bipolar pulse DC voltage. The spatter deposition source according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the power supply structure (120) is configured to apply a rectangular or square wave voltage to each of the two or more pairs of electrodes. The spatter according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the power supply structure (120) is configured to supply a symmetrical bipolar pulse DC voltage to each of the two or more electrode pairs. Sedimentary source. The spatter deposition source according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein each electrode (112) is provided with a cylindrical target containing a target material to be deposited. The invention according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein each of the pair of two or more electrodes is connected to the DC power supply (125) of the power supply structure (120) via the pulse unit (122). Spatter deposit source. The spatter deposition source according to claim 6, wherein the DC power supply (125) is configured to supply a maximum voltage of 100 V or more and 1000 V or less. Vacuum chamber (402),
The sputter deposition source (100, 200) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the electrode array (110) of the sputter deposition source is arranged in the vacuum chamber (402). Spatter, comprising a substrate support (406), located in the sputter deposition source (100, 200), and configured to support the substrate (10) during deposition, located in the vacuum chamber (402). Sedimentation device (400). A layer is deposited on the substrate (10) using a sputter deposition source comprising a rotatable electrode array, in particular using the sputter deposition source (100, 200) according to any one of claims 1-7. It ’s a way to make it
Each of the two or more electrode pairs of the rotatable electrode array comprises supplying an ambipolar pulsed DC voltage.
The bipolar pulse DC voltage is supplied at a frequency of 1 kHz or more and 100 kHz or less.
Each of the two or more pairs of electrodes is supplied with power of 1 kW or more and 60 kW or less.
Method. 9. The method of claim 9, wherein at least one of a rectangular wave voltage, a square wave voltage, and a symmetric bipolar pulse DC voltage is supplied to each of the two or more pairs of electrodes. Claimed that the waveform of the ambipolar pulse DC voltage includes a negative voltage portion and a positive voltage portion, the negative voltage portion is essentially identical in shape and / or amplitude to the positive voltage portion. Item 9. The method according to Item 9. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the bipolar pulse DC voltage is supplied at a frequency of 10 kHz or more and 80 kHz or less. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein a bipolar pulse DC voltage is synchronously supplied to a pair of four or more electrodes provided in an essentially linear arrangement. Wherein each pair of two or more electrodes, power on 10kW or more is supplied, the method according to any one of claims 9 13. Any one of claims 9 to 14, wherein at least one of a transparent conductive oxide layer, an ITO layer, an IGZO layer, an IZO layer, an AlO _x layer, a SiO _{2 layer, or a metal layer is deposited on the substrate.} The method described in paragraph 1.

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