JPH02112112A - Continuous forming method of transparent conductive thin film and device therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the continuous formation of a large quantity of a low specific resistance ITO thin film by introducing a small amount of water during the spattering operation in the continuous formation of a transparent conductive thin film by using an oxide target such as In2O3 by means of spattering process. CONSTITUTION:After exhausting a spattering chamber 10 to the level of 10<-5> Pa, a H2O gas introducing part 5 is operated to make the inside pressure of the device to the 10<-4> Pa level. Then, an Ar gas introducing part 3 and an O2 gas introducing part 4 are opened to introduce Ar and O2 of the amount of several % of Ar, the inside pressure of the device is held at the 10<-1> Pa level, a voltage of several hundred volts is applied to a target 1 with water- cooling to start spattering, and trays 2 are continuously carried through a load lock chamber 9, the spattering chamber 10, and an unload lock chamber 11 to form a film on a base. Hence, a large quantity of a low specific resistance ITO thin film can be continuously formed. Thus, this thin film can be manufactured at low cost.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention uses an oxide target graft to obtain 1nzo3 or (
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for continuously forming transparent conductive thin films such as In203+5nO7).

(Prior art) Generally In2O:l or Ir+zO1l→-3n○
2 (hereinafter abbreviated as ITO) thin film production method involves chemical formation.
There are two methods: a mock method and a physical film forming method, but the latter physical film forming method is preferred in terms of optical properties, film thickness on large-area substrates, uniformity of film quality, etc. There are many cases in which the sputtering method is attracting attention in terms of width as well.

In addition, 1n-3n metal target 1 is also used in the sputtering method.
There is a reactive Suba-Tsuta method using ~ and a method using ITO oxide Kulin 1-, but the method using oxide target No 1- is superior in terms of controllability, reproducibility, and uniformity. As the resistance of Kuget materials has decreased, the oxide Kuget method using the DC magnetron method has become mainstream.

ITO films made using conventional oxide targets are
The substrate temperature during film formation and the annealing temperature after film formation are set to 300~
By setting the temperature to 400°C, it is possible to obtain a specific resistance of about 2×10 4 Ωcm.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) However, with the diversification of substrates for electronic components,
Nowadays, deposition on substrates with low heat resistance has become an important issue, but in particular, Go0 films are highly dependent on the substrate temperature during deposition, ranging from around room temperature to about 100°C. When the film is formed using a continuous sputtering device, that is, an in-line sputtering device, which uses a low film forming temperature of
There is a runner-up where you can only get a score of IO-3Ω. On the other hand, with the ITO film in the hatch processing bar 1 sputtering device, even when the substrate temperature is around 100°C in the chamber IA, 6~8X
It is known that a specific resistance of 10 4Ω (111O) can be obtained. It is thought that only a film with a higher resistance can be formed than in the case of a hatch processing type Svantar device with a large amount of gas.

(Objective of the Invention) The object of the present invention is to provide a continuous sputtering method and an apparatus for forming a high-quality IT07# film with low resistivity at a low film forming temperature of around room temperature to about 100°C.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts a method of introducing a small amount of predetermined amount of water during continuous sputtering operations. The device is constructed with a mechanism that allows this.

(Function) It is better to use the hatch processing type Svanta equipment than to use the in-line sputtering equipment.
The reason why the resistance value of the thin film becomes lower is considered to be the result of the properties of the ITO film and the target material being involved as described below.

(a) The ITO film deposited on the ITO material and the inner wall of the device tends to adsorb atmospheric components and water, and contains a large amount of them.

(b) In the case of a batch processing type device, atmospheric components and adsorbed substances such as water are gradually desorbed by vacuum υF gas, thereby forming stable residual gas components and pressure within the device.

(C) In the case of an in-line sputtering apparatus, film formation is performed by sputtering in a state where there is almost no influence of residual gas components in order to maintain a high vacuum region within the 1"■ cavity.

The introduction of a small, predetermined amount of water has the effect of eliminating the above problem.

(Example) Next, the present invention will be described using an example with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an in-line sputtering apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. part, 4 is 02 gas introduction part, 5 is H20 gas introduction part,
6 is a cryopump, 7 is an ionization vacuum gauge, 8 is a diaphragm vacuum gauge, 9 is a load lock chamber, 10 is a sputtering chamber,
11 is an unloading ml storage room. Ar gas introduction part 3
The H20 gas introduction section 4 is located on both cryopump 6 sides of the sputtering chamber 10, and the H20 gas introduction section 5 is provided near the target 1. While introducing these gases, the inside of the apparatus is evacuated by a cryopump 6, and the sputtering pressure is adjusted to be kept constant.

Incidentally, among the internal pressures of the apparatus, pressures below IQ-2Pa are monitored by an ionization vacuum gauge 7, and pressures at IQ-11)a are monitored by a diaphragm vacuum gauge 8.

To operate this device, first, the sputtering chamber 10 is
After exhausting to the 5 Pa range, the H20 gas introduction section 5 is operated to bring the internal pressure of the device to the IQ-'Pa range. Next, Ar
Open the gas introduction part 3 and 0□ gas introduction part 4 and connect Ar and 0□
(several percent of Ar) was introduced, the pressure inside the apparatus was maintained at the level of IQ-'Pa, and a voltage of several hundred volts was applied to the target 1 while cooling it with water to start C sputtering. Sputtering chamber 10, unload lock chamber 11
By continuously conveying the tray through the substrate 1
- Deposit film on.

Since the apparatus of the present invention has the above-described structure, H,0, which was a residual gas component in the sputtering chamber 10 in the conventional batch type apparatus, is removed from the ITO film attached to the target 1 or the inner surface of the sputtering chamber 10. Therefore, it is possible to obtain film formation conditions equivalent to those of hatch processing type equipment while making full use of the mass film formation processing capacity of inline type equipment.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing the effect of the present invention, in which a very small amount of H, O gas is introduced into the sputtering chamber 10 and exhausted to a certain pressure, then Ar gas is kept constant at 2003 CCM, and 0. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing changes in 0□ gas flow rate and specific resistance when the gas introduction flow rate is changed. When the device is evacuated to a level of 1.0-5 Pa, the specific resistance value of the ITO film is 1 to 2X10-3.
Although only about Ωcm was obtained, if the gas was evacuated to the 10-'Pa level, that is, when the I]20 gas was at the 10-'Pa level, a resistivity of 6 to 8 x 10-'Ωcm could be obtained. ing.

In continuous operation, it is desirable that the flow rate of the introduction of H, O gas or atmospheric air be sufficiently controlled, and the best results were obtained when a thermal mass flow controller was used.

11...Unload lock room.

Patent applicant: Nichiden Anelha Co., Ltd. Agent
Patent Attorney Kenji Murakami (Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the method and apparatus of the present invention,
A large amount of low resistivity TTO thin films can be produced continuously and inexpensively.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan sectional view of an in-line sputtering apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front sectional view thereof. 1...Target, 2...Tray 3...Ar gas introduction part, 4...0□Gas introduction part, 5
... H20 gas introduction part, 6... Cryopump, 7
...Ionization vacuum gauge, 8...Diaphragm vacuum gauge, 9
...Load rotator chamber, 10...Sputter chamber,"
200 (rI) CO Niride. G month, 1999 -10 difference 1ts March 10, 1999 procedural amendment (method) % formula % 1. Indication of the case 1988 Patent Application No. 264872 2. Name of the invention Method for producing continuous transparent conductive thin film and Apparatus I3, relationship with the case of the person making the amendment Patent applicant address: 5-8-1 Yotsuya, Fuchu-shi, Tokyo March 7, 1999 (Delivery port) 5. Subject of amendment Patent applicant column in the application; and a brief description of the drawings in the specification. 7. Contents of amendment (1) The application form is as attached (application for full text correction). (2) Add the following sentence to the end of the 66th line at the bottom of page 9 of the specification. Next

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) In_2O_3 or (In_2O_3+SnO
A continuous transparent conductive thin film characterized in that a method of continuously creating a transparent conductive thin film by a sputtering method using an oxide target such as __2) is characterized in that a small amount of water in a predetermined amount is introduced during the sputtering operation. How to make. (2) The method for producing a continuous transparent conductive thin film according to claim 1, characterized in that the small predetermined amount introduced is in the range of 5 to 50% of the flow rate of Ar or O_2 gas used for sputtering. . (3) In_2O_3 or In_2O_3+SnO_
A continuous transparent conductive thin film production device that continuously creates transparent conductive thin films by a sputtering method using a grade 2 oxide target, characterized by having a mechanism for introducing a small amount of a predetermined amount into the center of the sputtering operation. A device for creating continuous transparent conductive thin films. (4) The continuous transparent conductive thin film forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the introduction flow rate of water in the introducing mechanism is controllable. (5) The continuous transparent conductive thin film forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a thermal mass flow controller is used as the introducing mechanism.