KR101173085B1 - Thin layer deposition apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, after a predetermined reaction gas is injected into a process chamber having a laminar flow of gas, a heterogeneous purge gas is directly injected to virtually divide the space inside the process chamber by the gases. The thin film deposition apparatus according to the present invention relates to a thin film deposition apparatus having a short process tack time by performing an atomic layer deposition process on a plurality of substrates while moving the space inside the chamber in a virtually divided space. A cassette which is constantly loaded such that the interval between each substrate is a layered flow interval; A process chamber for accommodating the cassette such that the distance from the inner wall of the chamber is the layer flow interval, and performing an atomic layer deposition process on the substrate; For all substrates loaded in the cassette at one side wall of the process chamber, gas is applied to the front end of the substrate in a direction parallel to the arrangement direction of the substrate so that the layer flows in the space between the substrate and the substrate and the chamber wall. Gas supply means for supplying; And exhaust means installed at an opposite side of the gas supply means in the process chamber and sucking and exhausting gas in the process chamber at a rear end of the substrate.

Description

Thin Film Deposition Equipment {THIN LAYER DEPOSITION APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to a thin film deposition apparatus, and more particularly, after a predetermined reaction gas is injected into a process chamber having a laminar flow of gas, a heterogeneous purge gas is directly injected to the process chamber. The present invention relates to a thin film deposition apparatus having a short process tack time because an atomic layer deposition process is performed on a plurality of substrates while the virtually divided space moves inside the chamber while the internal space is virtually divided by the gases.

Generally, a semiconductor device, a flat panel display device, or the like goes through various manufacturing processes, among which a process of depositing a predetermined thin film on a wafer or a glass (hereinafter, referred to as a substrate) is indispensable. The thin film deposition process is mainly used for sputtering, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD) and the like.

First, the sputtering method injects an inert gas such as argon into the process chamber while a high voltage is applied to a target to generate argon ions in a plasma state. At this time, argon ions are sputtered on the surface of the target, and atoms of the target are separated from the surface of the target and deposited on the substrate.

Such a sputtering method can form a high purity thin film having excellent adhesion with a substrate, but in the case of depositing a highly integrated thin film having a process difference by the sputtering method, it is very difficult to secure uniformity over the entire thin film. There is a limit to the application of.

Next, chemical vapor deposition is the most widely used deposition technique, and is a method of depositing a thin film having a required thickness on a substrate using a reaction gas and a decomposition gas. For example, chemical vapor deposition first deposits a variety of gases into a reaction chamber and deposits a thin film of the required thickness on a substrate by chemically reacting gases induced by high energy such as heat, light or plasma.

In addition, the chemical vapor deposition method increases the deposition rate by controlling the reaction conditions through the ratio and amount of plasma or gases applied by the reaction energy.

However, in chemical vapor deposition, the reactions are fast, and thus, it is very difficult to control the thermodynamic stability of atoms.

Finally, Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is a method of atomic layer deposition by injecting two or more reactants one by one into a reaction chamber to form a thin film. It is a method of vapor deposition in units. That is, after the first reaction gas is supplied by a pulsing method and chemically deposited on the lower layer inside the chamber, the remaining first reaction gas which is physically bound is removed by a purge method. Subsequently, a desired thin film is deposited on the substrate while the second reaction gas is chemically combined with the first reaction gas (first reactant) through pulsing and purging. Al ₂ O ₃ , Ta ₂ O 3, TiO ₂ and Si ₃ N ₄ are typical thin films that can be formed by the atomic layer deposition method.

Since the atomic layer deposition can form a thin film having excellent step coverage even at a low temperature of less than 600 ℃, it is a new process technology that is expected to use a lot in the process of manufacturing next-generation semiconductor devices. In the above-described atomic layer deposition process, the time at which each reaction gas is pulsed and purged is called a cycle.

A general atomic layer deposition apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

As shown, in the atomic layer deposition apparatus 100, a cassette is loaded into the process chamber 110. A plurality of substrates S are loaded in the cassette in a vertical state. The cassette is loaded or unloaded using the cassette moving unit 120.

Gas supply means 130 for supplying the first and second reaction gas and purge gas to the process chamber 110, a diffusion plate 131 for uniformly injecting the gas into the process chamber, and the process Exhaust means 140 for exhausting the chamber 110 is also provided.

The diffusion plate 131 is formed with a plurality of injection holes 132 in order to uniformly spray the entire substrate, in particular, sprayed in parallel with the arrangement direction of the substrate (S).

The operating state of the conventional atomic layer deposition apparatus constructed as described above will be described.

First, the gate valve is opened and the cassette is brought into the process chamber.

Next, while exhausting the process chamber using the exhaust means, the purge gas and the source gas are alternately supplied to perform atomic layer deposition on the substrate.

The cassette thus completed is taken out of the process chamber.

However, the conventional atomic layer deposition apparatus has a problem that the uniformity of the thin film is lowered because the gas injected in the process chamber is not evenly sprayed because the gas is supplied in the form of a dot rather than a plane through the injection hole of the diffusion plate.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention after the injection of a predetermined reaction gas into the process chamber of the structure in which the gas laminar flow (laminar flow), the heterogeneous purge gas immediately In the state where the space inside the process chamber is virtually divided by the gases by spraying, the thin film deposition apparatus having a short process tack time is performed by performing an atomic layer deposition process on a plurality of substrates while the virtually divided space moves in the chamber. To provide.

In order to solve the above technical problem, the thin film deposition apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a cassette for constantly loading a plurality of substrates so that the interval between each substrate is a layered flow interval; A process chamber for accommodating the cassette such that the distance from the inner wall of the chamber is the layer flow interval, and performing an atomic layer deposition process on the substrate; For all substrates loaded in the cassette at one side wall of the process chamber, gas is applied to the front end of the substrate in a direction parallel to the arrangement direction of the substrate so that the layer flows in the space between the substrate and the substrate and the chamber wall. Gas supply means for supplying; And exhaust means installed at an opposite side of the gas supply means in the process chamber and sucking and exhausting gas in the process chamber at a rear end of the substrate.

In the present invention, the gas supply means is formed on the side wall of the gas supply means of the side wall of the process chamber, the gas straight supply groove for passing the gas in a layered flow form to the area including the entire side from one side of the side wall It is preferable to have a.

The gas supply means is a gas diffusion supply groove which is formed on a side wall adjacent to the gas supply means side wall among the side walls of the process chamber, and uniformly diffuses and supplies the gas to the gas straight supply groove for one side. And a gas supply port formed at one end of the gas diffusion supply groove to supply gas to the gas diffusion supply groove from the outside.

In addition, the gas diffusion supply groove is preferably larger in cross-sectional area from the gas supply port toward the front end of the wall.

In the present invention, the cassette loads the substrate in a vertically standing state, and the gas diffusion supply groove is formed on the left side wall or the right side wall of the process chamber,

The cassette may load the substrate in a horizontal state, and the gas diffusion supply groove may be formed on an upper wall or a lower wall of the process chamber.

In the present invention, the gas diffusion supply groove may be formed by forming a groove in the inner wall or the outer wall of the wall, and seal the upper portion of the groove with a cover,

It may be formed by hole-processing the inside of the wall.

In the present invention, the layer flow interval is preferably 0.5 to 10 mm.

In addition, it is preferable that the plurality of cassettes are arranged in close contact with each other in an inline form in the process chamber.

According to the present invention, after a predetermined reaction gas is injected into the process chamber with a process chamber and a case in a structure in which a laminar flow of each gas supplied into the process chamber is formed, heterogeneous purge gases are provided. Sprays directly to the plurality of substrates loaded in the process chamber while the virtual partition space by the gases moves as if scanning the inside of the process chamber while the space inside the process chamber is virtually divided by the gases. Since the atomic layer deposition process is performed sequentially, the process tack time is short.

That is, according to the thin film deposition apparatus of the present invention, the pumping time or purging process for the complete exhaust of each reaction gas to the entire process chamber is not made, the process stops while the process gas and purge gas flows sequentially in one chamber The atomic layer deposition process proceeds continuously without.

In addition, by arranging a plurality of substrates in an in-line form, the gas is supplied to the space between the substrates, so that uniform thin film formation is possible.

1 and 2 show a conventional atomic layer deposition apparatus.
3 to 5 show the configuration of the thin film deposition apparatus according to the present invention.
6 to 8 show the operating state of the apparatus shown in FIG. 3.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described the configuration and operation of the embodiment according to the present invention.

3 and 4, the thin film deposition apparatus 1 according to the present invention includes a process chamber 10 in which a gas supply port is formed at a predetermined position of a side wall, a gas supply means 20, and an exhaust means 50. It includes.

In the process chamber 10, a plurality of cassettes C loaded with substrates S in a standing state (a state inclined at a predetermined angle vertically or vertically) may be loaded in an inline form to process a plurality of substrates at the same time. .

That is, a plurality of rows of substrates are stacked side by side in an inline form inside the process chamber. In addition, the substrates are stacked in a plurality of rows so that a space between the columns forms a flow path of the gases.

Specifically, in the present embodiment, in the state in which the cassette C is loaded in the process chamber 10, the gap between the cassette C and the chamber wall and between the substrates S loaded on the cassette C are shown. The interval of is loaded so that it is the laminar flow interval.

Herein, the laminar flow refers to a 'flow of gas that flows in a direction with little gas being injected into the space between the narrow gaps and not freely diffused, and there is little disturbance in a certain direction'.

In addition, the laminar flow interval refers to the `` gap between two plates in which gas moves in the laminar flow form, '' and in this embodiment, the laminar flow interval is preferably 0.2 to 10 mm. If the laminar flow interval is less than 0.2 mm, not only is it difficult to process and manufacture, but also difficult to control the supply of gas. If the laminar flow interval exceeds 10 mm, the laminar flow of gas is broken and the gas is freely diffused. There is this.

In the present embodiment, as well as the distance between each substrate S loaded on the cassette C, the gap between the cassette C and the chamber walls, and the tip of the cassette C or the substrate S, which will be described later. The gap between the gas straight supply grooves 33 is also manufactured and loaded to have the laminar flow gap.

Next, the gas supply means 20 includes a tank for storing a first reaction gas, a second reaction gas, a purge gas, and the like, and a valve for selectively injecting the gases according to a process sequence.

In particular, the one side wall 11 of the process chamber 10 is further formed with a gas diffusion supply groove 30 for delivering the gas injected through the gas supply port 17 to the front end of the side wall along the side wall.

The gas diffusion supply groove 30 is formed by stepping the groove 31 on the outer wall of the one side wall 11 of the process chamber and sealing the upper portion of the groove 31 with a cover 32. Of course, even if the cover 32 is closed, it is not in close contact with the bottom surface of the groove 31 to form a space in which gas can flow.

The gas diffusion supply groove 30 may be formed on any sidewall such as the left and right walls 12 and 11 and the upper and lower walls 13 and 14 of the process chamber 10.

The gas diffusion supply groove 30 is formed to have a larger cross-sectional area from the gas supply hole 17 formed in the side wall toward the tip portion of the side wall 11. This is to allow the gas to diffuse sufficiently evenly before flowing through the gas diffusion supply groove 30 to the front surface of the process chamber 10. And while passing through the gas diffusion supply groove 30, the gas supplied by the gas supply port 17 maintains the laminar flow. Therefore, the gap between the gas diffusion supply groove 30 and the cover 32 is also formed to maintain the laminar flow gap.

Next, the gas straight supply groove 33 may be engraved in a rectangular shape at a predetermined depth on the side wall of the front end of the process chamber, and as shown in FIG. 8, the gas straight supply groove 33 is formed. The depth is formed so that the space | interval with the front-end | tip part of the board | substrate S may maintain the layered flow space. Therefore, the gas diffused sufficiently in the width corresponding to the entire sidewall of the front end side of the process chamber through the gas diffusion supply groove 31 is simultaneously supplied to the entire gas straight supply groove 33, thereby providing the gas straight supply groove ( 33) the laminar flow is maintained.

The exhaust means 50 exhausts the process chamber 10, and may include a vacuum pump and the like.

Hereinafter, an operating state of the thin film deposition apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described.

First, when the gas is supplied to the gas supply port 17 formed on one side wall of the process chamber 10 by using the gas supply means, the gas is along the gas diffusion supply groove 30 and the front side of the process chamber (a front end of the side wall). ), Which is uniformly diffused by the shape of the gas diffusion supply groove 30 during the movement.

Next, the gas sufficiently diffused through the gas diffusion supply groove 30 moves in a layered manner in the direction of the opposite side wall along the gas straight supply groove 33 of the side wall formed on the front surface of the process chamber 10.

Next, the gas that reaches the front of the substrate, that is, the gas straight supply groove 33, moves in a layered flow through the space between the rows of the substrate to form a thin film on the substrate.

Therefore, the space between the rows is a flow path that maintains the laminar flow interval so that the gas moves in the laminar flow form in the process chamber. In addition, the plurality of cassettes C1 to C4 are closely stacked in an inline form, and the substrates S1 to S4 stacked on the neighboring cassettes are also closely stacked to uniformly stack the plurality of cassettes while maintaining a gas flow layer. Let it flow.

In this embodiment, after the supply of the first process gas is stopped, immediately after the first process gas, without proceeding to pump or purge the first process gas to remove all the first process gas present in the process chamber. Since the purge gas is supplied into the process chamber, the first process gas and the purge gas coexist in a virtually divided space in the vacuum chamber in one vacuum chamber.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the first process gas space refers to a virtual space filled by the first process gas among the spaces in the process chamber, and the first purging gas space is continuously filled by the purging gas in the first process gas space. The virtual space refers to the virtual space, and the second process gas space refers to the virtual space filled by the second process gas, and the second purging gas space is the virtual space filled to the purging gas subsequent to the second process gas space. To say. In the present exemplary embodiment, the first process gas space, the first purging gas space, the second process gas space, and the second purging gas space do not stay at a predetermined position, but move simultaneously in a constant direction at a constant speed.

Specifically, the process of forming the gas space is as follows. First, when the first process gas is supplied into the process chamber, a virtual first process gas space filled with the first process gas is formed in the vacuum chamber, and the first process gas space is formed in a predetermined direction in the process chamber. Will move sequentially.

When the first process gas supply is stopped and the purge gas is supplied, a first purge gas space is formed in the vacuum chamber in succession to the first process gas space, and the first process gas space is pushed in the moving direction to provide the first process gas. Move along the gas space. At this time, the interface between the first process gas space and the first purging gas space is not completely separated, but there is a section where the first process gas and the purging gas are mixed to some extent, and the first process gas space is gradually moved toward the center of the first process gas space. The density | concentration of a process gas is high, and the density | purification gas concentration becomes high toward the center of a 1st purging gas space.

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, as described above, in order to completely purge the first process gas, the purging gas forming the first purging gas space is injected in an excessive amount compared to the first process gas, and thus the movement of the first purging gas space is performed. By this, the first process gas is completely moved in the opposite direction of the gas straight supply groove 33.

The second process gas is subsequently supplied to the first purge gas space to form a second process gas space. In addition, the second process gas space is subsequently supplied with an excessive amount of purging gas again to form a second purging gas space, and the second process gas is completely removed by the movement of the second purging gas space.

In this embodiment, the first process gas space, the first purging gas space, the second process gas space, and the second purging gas space sequentially perform the atomic layer deposition process while moving inside the process chamber. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the process gas supply and purging is continuously performed as if the substrate is scanned in one process chamber as compared with the conventional method in which the process gas supply and purging processes are intermittently performed for the entire process chamber. The process time is significantly shortened and the trough is greatly improved.

If necessary, the above-described process may be repeatedly performed in a plurality of cycles. Of course, the exhaust operation is always performed while supplying each gas.

1: thin film deposition apparatus 10: process chamber
11-16: Side wall 17: Gas supply port
20: gas supply means 32: cover
50: exhaust means

Claims (10)

A cassette for constantly loading a plurality of substrates so that the interval between each substrate is a layered flow interval;
A rectangular parallelepiped process chamber for accommodating the cassette so that the gap between the inner wall of the chamber is the layer flow interval and performing an atomic layer deposition process on the substrate;
For all substrates loaded in the cassette at one side wall of the process chamber, gas is applied to the front end of the substrate in a direction parallel to the arrangement direction of the substrate so that the layer flows in the space between the substrate and the substrate and the chamber wall. Gas supply means for supplying; And
And exhaust means installed at an opposite side of the gas supply means in the process chamber, and configured to suck and exhaust the gas inside the process chamber at a rear end of the substrate.
The gas supply means,
A gas straight supply groove formed on a sidewall of the six sidewalls of the process chamber in a direction of the gas supply means and passing gas in a layered flow form to a region including the entire side on one side of the sidewall; Thin film deposition apparatus.
delete According to claim 1, The gas supply means,
A gas diffusion supply groove formed on a side wall of the process chamber adjacent to the side wall of the gas supply means and adjacent to the gas supply means to uniformly diffuse and supply gas to the entire gas straight supply groove;
And a gas supply port formed at one end of the gas diffusion supply groove to supply gas to the gas diffusion supply groove from the outside.
The method of claim 3,
The gas diffusion supply groove is a thin film deposition apparatus, characterized in that the cross-sectional area is increased from the gas supply port toward the edge of the side wall in which the gas diffusion supply groove is formed.
The method of claim 4, wherein
And the cassette loads the substrate in a vertically standing state, and the gas diffusion supply groove is formed on the left side wall or the right side wall of the process chamber.
The method of claim 4, wherein
And the cassette loads the substrate in a horizontal state, and the gas diffusion supply groove is formed on an upper wall or a lower wall of the process chamber.
The method of claim 4, wherein
And the gas diffusion supply groove is formed by forming a groove in an inner wall or an outer wall of the side wall and sealing an upper portion of the groove with a cover.
The method of claim 4, wherein
And the gas diffusion supply groove is formed by hole-processing the inside of the sidewall.
The method of claim 1, wherein the laminar flow interval,
Thin film deposition apparatus, characterized in that 0.5 ~ 10 mm.
10. The method of claim 9,
Thin film deposition apparatus, characterized in that the plurality of cassettes are arranged in close contact with each other in an inline form inside the process chamber.

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