JPH01120809A - Continuous plasma cvd equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve an operation efficiency by a method wherein first, second and third chambers are successively provided and the respective chambers are separated from each other by gate valves and, while a plasma CVD treatment is carried out in the second chamber, a pretreatment and a posttreatment are carried out simultaneously in the first chamber and the third chamber respectively. CONSTITUTION:A first chamber container 7 which contains a first chamber 7A, a second chamber container 8 which is linked with the first chamber container 7 and contains a second chamber 8A and a third chamber container 9 which is linked with the second chamber container 8 and contains a third chamber 9A are successively provided adjoining to each other. A gate valve 10, a gate valve 11, a gate valve 12 and a gate valve 13 are provided at the entrance of the first chamber 7A, at the boundary of adjoining first and second chambers 7A and 8A, at the boundary of adjoining second and third chambers 8A and 9A and at the exit of the third chamber 9A respectively to separate the chambers from each other. With this constitution, while a plasma CVD treatment is carried out in the second chamber, a pretreatment and a posttreatment can be carried out simultaneously in the first chamber and the third chamber so that the operation can be performed efficiently.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Field of application of soil collection] The present invention is based on plasma CVD (Chemical Va
The present invention relates to a continuous plasma CVD apparatus that forms a thin film on a substrate using a continuous plasma CVD method.

[Prior Art] As shown in FIG. 4, in a conventional plasma CVD apparatus, a substrate 3 to be processed is placed on a substrate heater 2 in a vacuum reaction vessel 1.
An electrode 4 is placed above the substrate 3 facing the substrate heater 2, and high frequency power is applied from a high frequency power source 5 between the electrode 4 and the substrate heater 2. A source gas was supplied into the substrate 1 by a source gas supply means 6 made of a pipe, and a thin film was formed on the surface of the substrate 4 by plasma CVD.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in such a conventional plasma CVD apparatus, a thin film can only be formed on one side (the upper side) of the substrate 3, so it is difficult to form a thin film on the other side as well. There was a problem with inefficiency as the work had to be done again. In addition, in the conventional plasma CVD apparatus, the substrate 3 is set in the vacuum reaction vessel 1 and then the vacuum is evacuated.
Since the D treatment is carried out and then the post-treatment is carried out in the vacuum reaction vessel 1, time is required for the pre-treatment and post-treatment, and there is also the problem of poor efficiency in this respect.

An object of the present invention is to provide a continuous plasma CVD apparatus which can simultaneously form F# layers on both sides of a substrate and can perform pre-treatment and post-treatment efficiently.

[Means for Solving the Problems] To explain in detail the present invention for achieving the above object, the continuous plasma CVD apparatus of the present invention includes a first chamber container having a first chamber therein; a second chamber container having a second chamber therein that communicates with the first chamber; and a third chamber that communicates with the second chamber.
A third chamber container having a chamber therein is sequentially provided adjacent to the third chamber container, and the first chamber container is adjacent to the entrance of the first chamber. The second chamber adjacent to the boundary of the second chamber. The boundary of the third chamber and the outlet of the third chamber are separated by gate valves, and the first chamber container includes a heating means for heating the substrate to be processed in the first chamber. A vacuum evacuation means for evacuation is provided in the second chamber, and a pair of evacuation means for evacuation of the second chamber and a pair of the substrates sent from the first chamber are provided. Plasma is formed on both sides of the substrate by placing it between source gas outflow electrodes, and source gas is supplied from both source gas outflow electrodes to both sides of the substrate through the plasma, thereby simultaneously forming a film on both sides of the substrate. The third chamber is provided with a vacuum evacuation means for evacuating the inside of the third chamber, and a film for stabilizing the films on both sides of the substrate sent from the second v. A membrane stabilizing gas supply means for supplying stabilizing gas to the third chamber is provided.

[Function] In this way, when plasma CVD processing is performed in the second chamber, pre-treatment and post-treatment can be performed in parallel in the first and third chambers, and the work can be carried out efficiently. can. In addition, in the second chamber, a substrate is placed between both source gas outflow electrodes, plasma is generated on both sides of the substrate, and source gas is supplied from both coolant gas outflow electrodes across each plasma to both sides of the substrate. This allows thin films to be formed on both sides of the substrate at the same time.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the continuous plasma CVD apparatus of this embodiment includes a first chamber container 7 having a first chamber 7Δ therein, and a second chamber communicating with the first chamber 7A. 8
A second chamber container 8 having a chamber A therein and a third chamber container 9 having therein a third chamber 9A communicating with the second chamber 8A are successively provided adjacent to each other. A gate valve 10 is provided at the entrance of the first chamber 7A, and a gate valve 10 is provided at the entrance of the first chamber 7A. 2nd room 7A, 8
A gate valve 11 is provided at the boundary of the adjacent second. A gate valve 12 is provided at the boundary between the third chambers 8A and 9A, and a gate valve 13 is provided at the outlet of the third chamber 9A to separate them from each other.

The first chamber container 7 includes a heating means 14 such as a heater for heating the substrate 3 to be processed in the first chamber 7A;
A vacuum evacuation means 15 for evacuating the inside of A, and an inert gas supply means 16 for supplying an inert gas such as Ar into the first chamber 7A are provided.

The second chamber container 8 includes a vacuum evacuation means 17 for evacuating the inside of the second space 8A, and a substrate 3 sent from the first chamber 7A is placed between a pair of source gas outflow electrodes 18. The board 3
A plasma CVD means 19 is provided which simultaneously forms a film on both sides of the substrate 3 by forming plasma on both sides of the substrate 3 and supplying source gas from both source gas outflow electrodes 18 to both sides of the substrate 30 through the plasma. There is. That is, this plasma CVD means 19 has a pair of raw material gas outflow electrodes 18 arranged vertically facing each other and parallel to each other in the second chamber 8A. Each source gas outflow electrode 18 has a metal source gas outflow electrode main body 18B in which a large number of gas outflow holes 18A are distributed and provided, and a metal funnel-shaped body 18B that is integrally provided on the back side of the main body 18B. It is composed of a distribution chamber forming body 18G. Raw material gas is supplied to the raw material gas outflow electrode 18 from a raw material gas supply section 20 via a pipe 21 . Further, the raw material gas outflow electrode 18 is grounded via a pipe 21. Between the opposing source gas outlet electrodes 18, a pair of mesh electrodes 22 are disposed vertically facing each other and parallel to the source gas outlet electrodes 18. High frequency power is applied to each mesh electrode 22 from the high frequency power source 5 via a matching box 23.

A space is provided between both mesh electrodes 22, through which the substrate 3 for processing passes. In FIG. 1, the raw material gas outflow electrode 18 and the mesh electrode 22 are shown as 9 for illustration purposes.
It is shown rotated 0 degrees.

The third chamber container 9 includes a vacuum evacuation means 24 for evacuating the inside of the third chamber 9A, and a film stabilizer such as oxygen for stabilizing the films on both sides of the substrate 3 sent from the second chamber 8A. membrane stabilizing gas supply means 25 for supplying a stabilizing gas to the third chamber 9Δ;
An inert gas supply means 26 for supplying an inert gas such as A is provided in the third chamber 9A.

The substrate 3 is vertically mounted on a substrate support cart 27 and is moved sequentially to a first chamber 7A, a second chamber 8A, and a third chamber 9A.

Next, a method for forming an l film using such a plasma CVD apparatus will be described.

The gate valve 10 is opened, the substrate 3 is placed into the first chamber 7A by the substrate support cart 27, and the gate valve 10 is closed.

The substrate 3 is heated to 200°C by the heating means 14 in the first W7A.
Place and heat. Next, the first
The inside of the chamber 7A is evacuated to a level of 10-3 to 10' Torr to remove impurities and keep the internal conditions constant. Once the substrate 3 has been heated to about 200° C., an inert gas such as Ar is introduced into the first chamber 7A by the inert gas supply means 16 to adjust the pressure of the first chamber 7 to about 10' Torr. When this state is reached, open the gate valve 11 and transfer the substrate 3 to the second
Enter the chamber 8A and close the gate valve 11. In addition, the second
The chamber 8A is previously evacuated to 10' Torr by the vacuum evacuation means 17. In the second chamber 8A, the substrate 3 is positioned between both mesh electrodes 22. In this state, high frequency power (13,56 MHz x 15 GsJ) is applied to each mesh electrode 22 from the high frequency power supply 5 via the matching box 23.
is applied to generate plasma between each mesh electrode 22 and the raw material gas outflow electrode 18 facing thereto. Also,
From each raw material gas outflow electrode 18, raw material gas is supplied across the plasma to both sides of the substrate 3, and the raw material gas is activated by the plasma, thereby forming a film on both sides of the substrate 3 at the same time. Film formation is performed for about 30 seconds. When the film formation on the substrate 3 is completed, open the gate valve 9A and transfer the substrate 3 to the third chamber 9A.
and close the gate valve 9A.

The third chamber 9A is evacuated in advance to a 10-ITorr level by the vacuum evacuation means 24 to remove impurities, and then an inert gas such as Ar is supplied from the inert gas supply means 25 to bring the interior to 10' Torr. Adjust the pressure on the table.

A film stabilizing gas such as oxygen is supplied from the film stabilizing gas supply means 26 to the substrate 3 that has entered the third chamber 9A to stabilize the films on both sides of the substrate 3. After the film stabilization treatment, the gate valve 13 is opened, the substrate 3 is taken out, and the gate valve 13 is closed.

In this way, if the second chamber 8A is set at 10' Torr level, and the first and third seedlings 7A and 9A are set at 10-2 Torr level,
When the gate valve 11 is opened, the airflow flows from the second chamber 8A to the first chamber 7A, and when the gate valve 12 is opened, the airflow flows from the second chamber 8A to the third chamber 9A, and impurities enter the second chamber '8Δ. It becomes impossible to enter.

The first chamber container 7 to the third chamber container 9 are all made of, for example, stainless steel. Further, in this apparatus, a sequence is created and automated so that the substrate 3 is moved after a certain period of time and undergoes a predetermined process.

In the above embodiment, the high frequency power is applied to the mesh electrode 22, but the mesh electrode 22 may be omitted and the high frequency power may be directly applied to the substrate 3.

In this way, plasma is generated between the substrate 3 and the source gas supply electrode 18.

In the second chamber 8A, since hydrocarbon-based deposits also adhere to the internal components, it is necessary to periodically clean the second chamber 8A. Cleaning is performed by plasma etching, for example, by applying plasma while supplying 02.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, in the continuous plasma CVD apparatus of the present invention, the first. Second. The third chamber was set up continuously, and the winter solstice was separated by a gate valve, so plasma CVD was performed at the second solstice.
During processing, pre-processing and post-processing can be performed in parallel in the first and third chambers, which has the advantage of allowing efficient work. In addition, in the second chamber, a substrate is placed between both source gas outflow electrodes, plasma is generated on both sides of the substrate, and source gas is supplied from both source gas outflow electrodes across each plasma to both sides of the substrate. I did it like this,
Thin films can be formed on both sides of the substrate simultaneously. Therefore, according to the present invention, film formation by plasma CVD can be performed efficiently.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of a continuous plasma CVD apparatus according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are a front view and a longitudinal sectional view of a source gas outlet electrode used in this embodiment. figure,
FIG. 4 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a conventional plasma CVD apparatus. . 3... Substrate, 5... High frequency power supply, 7... First chamber container, 7A... First chamber, 8... Second chamber container, 8A...
・Second chamber, 9...Third chamber container, 9A...Third chamber, 1
0-13...Gate pulp, 14...Heating means, 1
5.17.24... Air drawing means, 18... Source gas electrode, 19... Plasma CVD means, 25... Inert gas supply means, 26... Film stabilizing gas supply means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] a first chamber container having a first chamber inside; a second chamber container having a second chamber inside communicating with the first chamber; and a third chamber having a third chamber inside communicating with the second chamber. the first chamber adjacent to the entrance of the first chamber;
, the boundary of the second chamber, the boundary of the adjacent second and third chambers, and the outlet of the third chamber are each partitioned off by a gate valve, and the substrate to be processed in the first chamber is placed in the container of the first chamber. A heating means for heating and a vacuum evacuation means for evacuation of the inside of the first chamber are provided, and the second chamber container is provided with a evacuation means for evacuation of the inside of the second chamber and a evacuation means for evacuation of the inside of the first chamber. Placing the substrate sent from the substrate between a pair of source gas outflow electrodes, forming plasma on both sides of the substrate, and supplying source gas from both source gas outflow electrodes to both sides of the substrate through the plasma. A plasma CVD means for simultaneously forming a film on both sides of the substrate is provided, and the third chamber is provided with a vacuum evacuation means for evacuating the inside of the third chamber, and a plasma CVD means for forming a film on both sides of the substrate at the same time. A continuous plasma CVD apparatus comprising a film stabilizing gas supply means for supplying a film stabilizing gas to the third chamber to stabilize films on both sides of the substrate.