KR101272101B1 - The atmospheric plasma header - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An atmospheric pressure plasma header is provided to control height and gap by using a height adjustment member and a gap adjustment member, and to prevent the damage of a substrate. CONSTITUTION: An upper chamber includes a gap adjustment member. A height adjustment member for connecting a protrusion part is formed in the outside of a lower chamber. A cooling device(300) reduces the heat generated from a nozzle part. A first electrode(400) is formed between the cooling device and the nozzle part. An insulating member(500) protects a first electrode from plasma and fixing gas.

Description

The atmospheric plasma header < RTI ID = 0.0 >

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an atmospheric plasma header, and more particularly, to an atmospheric plasma header capable of adjusting the distribution and intensity of plasma generated in an atmospheric plasma header gradually introduced in a semiconductor process.

2. Description of the Related Art [0002] In general, cleaning processes in semiconductor manufacturing processes such as LCDs, PDPs, and wafers use various methods for removing contaminants adsorbed on the surface.

Recently, a method of cleaning using plasma (Plasma), which is widely used in energy, new materials, semiconductor device manufacturing, and environmental fields, is mainly used.

Particularly, such an atmospheric type plasma generating apparatus is excellent as a cleaning effect and is presented as a unique alternative to the wet method currently used. Such plasma cleaning has been shown to have an excellent effect on organic material cleaning which is difficult to remove in a wet process.

This plasma is a highly ionized gas containing the same number of positive ions and electrons. Plasma discharges are used here to generate active gases including ions, free radicals, atoms, and molecules. Active gases are widely used in various fields and are used in a variety of semiconductor manufacturing processes such as etching, deposition, cleaning, and the like for manufacturing devices such as integrated circuit devices, liquid crystal displays, solar cells, Ashing, and the like.

Here, during the deposition process, the process residues are deposited not only on the surface of the semiconductor substrate, but also on the periphery of the semiconductor substrate and the inner wall of the plasma reactor in which the deposition process is performed. The deposition layer formed inside the plasma reactor thickens over time and eventually acts as the main contaminant of the semiconductor substrate as particles in the plasma reactor away from the inner wall.

Thus, there is a need to periodically clean process residues deposited within the plasma reactor.

As a method for cleaning the inside of the plasma reactor using plasma, a remote plasma cleaning method is mainly used. The remote plasma cleaning method is a method in which a cleaning gas is formed from a plasma outside the plasma reactor and then injected into a plasma reactor. At this time, the cleaning gas is injected from the side of the plasma reactor.

In addition, another surface cleaning method has been performed using various chemicals, and therefore, new surface cleaning methods have been studied and used.

As one of these new surface cleaning methods, there is a method of using a plasma at low temperature and low pressure. A surface cleaning method using a low-pressure plasma is a method of generating impurities or contaminants on the surface of a material by bringing ions or activated gases generated by generating a plasma into a vacuum chamber at a low pressure, thereby contacting the surface of the material.

A surface cleaning method using such a low-pressure plasma is not widely used in spite of excellent cleaning effect. In order to generate a low-pressure plasma, a vacuum device is required. Therefore, it is not applicable to a continuous process at atmospheric pressure .

Recently, researches have been actively conducted to generate plasma at atmospheric pressure and use it for surface cleaning.

The atmospheric pressure plasma cleaning apparatus injects argon (Ar), nitrogen (N2), and the like, and O _{2 ,} CO, compressed air, and the like, which are reactive gases, particularly inert gas, before the object to be treated reaches the electrode along the roller When RF or AC power is applied in such a state, a plasma is formed at about 1 atmospheric pressure or 1 atmospheric pressure.

A conventional semiconductor cleaning apparatus using plasma has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-203673 (entitled "Plasma Processing Method and Plasma Processing Apparatus") on July 16, 1999.

The structure includes a cylindrical first electrode through which cooling water flows, and a cylindrical second electrode surrounding a first electrode spaced apart from the first electrode by a predetermined distance.

Here, a power source for forming an electric field between the first electrode and the second electrode is separately provided by applying a high frequency to the first electrode and the second electrode.

A reaction gas supply port capable of supplying a reactive gas to the space between the first electrode and the second electrode is provided, and a reaction gas, which is supplied between the first electrode and the second electrode and is converted into a plasma state, A reaction gas inlet for discharging the reaction gas is provided.

Accordingly, a high frequency is applied between the first electrode and the second electrode to form an electric field, and a reactive gas is supplied to the spacing space between the first electrode and the second electrode through the reactive gas supply port, .

Then, a washing process is performed in which the reactive gas in the plasma state is discharged onto the object to be treated to remove the organic matter on the surface of the object to be treated.

At this time, the first electrode and the second electrode are heated to a high temperature by high frequency application, so that the first electrode is cooled by the cooling water supplied into the first electrode.

Open No. 10-2011-0035611 relates to a gas injection nozzle having improved distribution efficiency and a plasma reactor having the same, wherein the gas supplied from the upper part of the gas injection nozzle is supplied to the upper part of the plasma reactor, And the surface is formed as an inclined surface. The plasma reactor having the gas injection nozzle with improved distribution efficiency includes a plasma reactor, a coil antenna installed in the plasma reactor, a power source for supplying power to the coil antenna, And a gas injection nozzle for radiating gas supplied from the outside along the upper surface formed by the gas injection nozzle into the plasma reactor.

Open No. 10-2002-0085149 relates to a plasma dry cleaning apparatus at room temperature / atmospheric pressure, which includes a high voltage generating apparatus for converting a low voltage into a high voltage by a control signal and a transfer apparatus for transferring a sample to be surface treated A plasma dry cleaning apparatus comprising: a plasma electrode for generating plasma by receiving a high voltage from a high-voltage generating device in a normal temperature / atmospheric pressure environment at a corresponding position of the sample moved by the transfer device; At least one air injection nozzle positioned at the upper end of the plasma electrode so as to reach the surface of the sample to be transported and leading the air toward the surface of the sample, an impurity generated on the surface of the sample surface modified by the air nozzle and the plasma electrode, An impurity removing nozzle for blowing and removing the impurities, And a central processing unit for controlling the respective units so that the sample to be transported and transferred is cleaned.

Open No. 10-2003-0069819 relates to a 'atmospheric plasma cleaning apparatus', which comprises a reaction gas supply unit capable of supplying a reaction gas of a predetermined pressure downward, a reaction gas supply unit spaced apart from the reaction gas supply unit by a predetermined distance, A reaction gas suction unit installed in the reaction gas supply unit and capable of sucking and discharging the supplied reaction gas at a predetermined pressure, a reaction gas supply unit connected to the reaction gas supply unit and the reaction gas suction unit, A power source capable of forming an electric field below the first electrode and the second electrode by applying electric power to the first electrode and the second electrode, And a table disposed below the reaction gas supply unit, the reaction gas suction unit, and the electrode unit and supporting the object to be processed.

However, in the conventional atmospheric pressure plasma method, an important factor in the construction of the plasma head for dry cleaning is the uniform plasma generation over a wide area

This has become an important factor as the increasingly used size of the disk has become larger as requirements have been somewhat different from those of conventionally used plasma devices.

Particularly, with miniaturization of semiconductor devices and enlargement of flat panel displays, the importance of removing impurities such as foreign matters, metal particles, and organic matters is increasing in terms of yield and reliability. Contamination of foreign matters and metal impurities is an important factor that affects the performance and yield of the device, and the frequency of the cleaning process due to the high integration is also increased, which occupies 1/4 to 1/3 of the present manufacturing process, , A cleaning technology suitable for a large area is required because the size of the film is increased and the maintenance cost is low.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the prior art described above, and it has been found out that a plasma dry scrubber for an optical film using a roll-to-roll optical film which is environmentally friendly and does not cause wastewater or contamination, And the cost of cleaning industrial wastes is reduced, and the glass substrates and films of large-sized flat panel displays can be manufactured at a lower cost than conventional wet cleaning processes. The present invention has been accomplished as a technical problem by providing an atmospheric pressure plasma header capable of controlling the distribution and intensity.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an upper chamber, which is configured to face each other with an upper support connected to the upper support, and a gap adjusting member connected to the upper support to adjust an interval, And a second electrode is formed in the lower part of the lower part to form a nozzle part, and a protruding part protruding to the lower part of the upper chamber is fitted to the upper part of the upper part, and a height adjusting member for connecting the protruding part is formed on the outer side, A lower chamber having a gas injection port through which a process gas is supplied and a gas discharge port through which a process gas is supplied and a space formed in the inner space by connection of the upper and lower chambers and connected to the upper supporter, A first electrode formed between the cooling unit and the nozzle unit, and a second electrode formed between the cooling unit and the nozzle unit, Including the insulating member for protecting from doedoe configured to surround the plasma gas and fixing it to solve the problem as being composed.

According to the atmospheric pressure plasma head according to the present invention, the height and height of the generated plasma can be adjusted by adjusting the height and the height of the nozzle by using a height adjusting member and a gap adjusting member, So that the plasma can be uniformly distributed over the entire surface of the substrate, and the substrate can be easily damaged according to the intensity of the plasma.

1 is a front view showing a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a front section view showing a preferred embodiment of the present invention
3 is a front view and a plan view showing the upper support of the structure of the present invention;
4 is a front view and a side view showing the lower chamber of the structure of the present invention
5 is a front view showing a preferred operating state of the present invention;

The plasma headers, which can control the distribution and intensity of the plasma described below, are more economical than the plasma headers of the vacuum type used in the past, and they can design the lines in the in-line process, .

This is because it is possible to adjust the gap or height between the electrodes according to external variables such as the RF power applied and the type of gas used so as to satisfy the optimal dry cleaning condition according to the type of contaminants on the substrate to be used in various dry cleaning fields .

Plasma refers to a state in which atoms or molecules in the fourth state, which is different from solid, liquid, and gas, receive energy in the gaseous state, become ionic states, and become neutrals as a whole.

The generation of the plasma is caused by the plasma operation gas becoming an ion state by the direct current power source or the alternating current power source, and is generated mainly by the discharge mechanism.

Such plasma has recently been applied to various industries and is in a critical position of technology. Currently, it is mainly used in the process of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit, and is being developed as an important technology for high performance of a device.

Semiconductor manufacturing processes using such plasma are FPD (Flat Panel Display). CVD (Chamical Vapor Deposition), and Dry Echer. Recently, many attempts have been made to apply it to dry ashing.

Since such an atmospheric plasma can be applied to etching, thin film formation, surface treatment, and the like, it is possible to perform processing that is difficult to obtain by a general chemical reaction at a low temperature. Therefore, much research has been conducted on semiconductor processing using plasma, The mean free path of the gas is so short that it is difficult to accelerate the electrons, so that it is difficult to generate a stable plasma.

Recently, studies on atmospheric pressure discharge have been actively conducted, and studies have been made on atmospheric pressure plasma generation using DBD (Dielectric Barrier Discharge) using a corona discharge of a probe type using a DC power source and an AC power source. A DBD plasma header using AC power is shown in the figure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

The plasma headers 10 according to the present invention are configured to face each other with an upper support 120 connected to the upper side and a gap adjusting member 110 connected to the upper support 120 to adjust the gap, And a second electrode 221 is formed in an inner portion of the lower portion so as to face the upper chamber 100. The upper portion of the upper chamber 100 is formed with a nozzle 220, A height adjusting member 210 for connecting the protrusion 140 is formed on the outer side and a gas inlet 240 for supplying the process gas and a gas outlet 250 The space formed in the inner space by the connection of the upper and lower chambers 100 and 200 is connected to the upper supporter 120 and formed in the nozzle unit 220 A cooling device 300 for reducing heat, A cylindrical first electrode 400 formed between each device 300 and the nozzle unit 220 and an insulating member 500 configured to surround the first electrode 400 and protect the plasma and the fixed gas .

The upper chamber 100 is configured to face each other, and is made of aluminum. The upper chamber 100 is connected to the upper supporter 120 by an upper space adjusting member 110.

In the upper chamber 100, a lower protrusion 140 is fitted to the inner surface of the lower chamber 200, and a height adjusting member 210 is installed on the protrusion 140 from the outside of the lower chamber 200 The connection is made up. In the present invention, the upper support 120 and the upper chamber 100 are separately formed. However, the upper support 120 and the upper chamber 100 may be integrally used.

3, the gap adjusting member 110 is formed on both sides of the upper chamber 100 and connects the upper chamber 100 and the upper chamber 120 to each other. And the first flow grooves 130 formed in the first flow grooves 130, respectively.

The gap adjusting member 110 connecting the upper supporter 120 and the upper chamber 100 may adjust the gap between the first electrode 400 and the second electrode 221 of the nozzle unit 220 It is.

The lower chamber 200 is configured so as to face each other like the upper chamber 100 and the second electrode 221 is formed in the lower part to form the nozzle unit 220.

The second electrode 221 is disposed at a lower portion of the lower chamber 200 facing the first electrode 400 and the second electrode 221. The second electrode 221 is spaced from the first electrode 400 and the second electrode 221, The plasma is moved downward in the direction in which the third electrode 600 is formed, so that the plasma reacts with the organic substances adhered to the substrate p so that the organic substances are cleaned in the substrate p.

A protrusion 140 protruding from the lower portion of the upper chamber 100 is fitted in the upper portion of the lower chamber 200 and a height adjusting member 210 connecting the protrusions 140 is formed on the outer side do.

4, the height adjusting member 210 is connected to the inner protrusion 140. The height adjusting member 210 penetrates through the second flow groove 230 formed on the outer side of the lower chamber 200 to form the protrusion 140, As shown in FIG.

The lower chamber 200 has a gas inlet 240 through which a process gas is supplied and a gas outlet 250 through which the process gas supplied by the RF power source is ionized .

A power supply RF power supply typically supplies + to the first electrode 400 and connects the second electrode 221 and the third electrode 600 to the power supply. The process gas is typically Ar (argon).

The gap regulating member 110 and the height regulating member 210 are disposed on the outer side of the lower chamber 200 and the upper chamber 100 according to the size and type of the substrate p to be cleaned and the use of the plasma header 10. [ ) Shall be provided on the upper side of the building.

One or more spacing members 110 may be provided and the interval between the first electrode 400 and the second electrode 221 may be adjusted by controlling the facing lower chamber 200 to be inward and outward .

One or more height adjustment members 210 may be provided and the height of the first and second electrodes 400 and 221 may be adjusted by adjusting the height of the upper chamber 100 will be.

A first flow groove 130 is formed in the upper support 120 where the gap adjusting member 110 is formed and the height of the lower chamber 200 of the height adjusting member 210 And a second flow groove 230 is formed on the outer side so that the height thereof can be adjusted.

Generally, in the plasma generator, the interval between the electrodes plays a major role in changing the characteristics. If the intervals between the electrodes are not matched, plasma generation itself becomes a problem, so that highly sensitive parameters are generated. . If the interval can not be adjusted according to the size of the internal electrode, such a problem arises that a new plasma generator must be designed.

Here, in order to use a larger power than the conventional input power, the internal electrode must be changed. In this case, the plasma header 10 must be replaced.

In the present invention, the gap and the height are adjusted by using the gap adjusting member 110 and the height adjusting member 210 to adjust the gap with the electrode, thereby solving the above problem.

In addition, the present invention has a great advantage in the case where the size and the interval of the plasma first electrode 400 are changed according to the thickness of the substrate p to be mass-produced and other influences.

The shapes of the first flow grooves 130 and the second flow grooves 230 are formed to be elliptical in order to adjust the gap and height, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

A cooling device 300 connected to the upper supporter 120 is formed in a space formed inside the upper and lower chambers 100 and 200.

In addition, the cooling device 300 may be connected to and coupled to the upper support, but may be connected to the auxiliary support 121 as shown in the present invention. At this time, the auxiliary support 121 is basically composed of an insulation function.

The cooling device 300 uses a water-cooled cooler as a characteristic of the plasma header 10. If the cooling device 300 is configured as an air-cooled type cooler, it is difficult to dissipate the heat generated in the space portion, and thus a water-cooled type cooler is used.

A first electrode 400 is formed between the second electrode 221 and the cooling device 300 which are formed inside the nozzle unit 220 of the lower chamber 200 so as to face each other.

The first electrode 400 is formed as an electrode having a cylindrical long rod for operation and structure of the plasma header 10. [

The insulating member 500 may be formed of Teflon or ceramic to protect the first electrode 400 from plasma and the fixed gas and to minimize the heat generated from the first electrode 400 and serve as an insulator. .

The operation of the atmospheric plasma header according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG.

First, an upper chamber 100 configured to face each other, an upper support 120 connected to the upper side, and a gap adjusting member 110 connected to the upper support 120 to adjust the gap, A second electrode 221 is formed in the lower part of the lower part of the upper chamber 100 to form a nozzle part 220 and a protrusion 140 protruding from the lower part of the upper chamber 100 is fitted on the upper part of the upper part. And a lower chamber 200 having a gas inlet 240 through which a process gas is supplied and a gas outlet 250 through which the process gas is discharged, And a cooling unit 300 connected to the upper support 120 and reducing heat generated in the nozzle unit 220 is formed in a space formed in the inner space by connection of the upper and lower chambers 100 and 200. [ A cooling unit 300, and a nozzle unit 220, The first electrode 400 of a cylindrical shape and is to be configured to include an insulating member 500 for protection from the first plasma and the fixed gas doedoe configured to surround the first electrode (400).

When the process gas is injected into the gas injection port 240 formed on the outside of the lower chamber 200 in the plasma header 10 constructed as described above, 250 to the portion where the nozzle unit 220 is formed.

The process gas is supplied to the nozzle unit 220. When RF power is applied to the nozzle unit 220, ionization due to collision between gases supplied in the space at the lower end of the first electrode occurs. At this time, The organic material is chemically reacted with the organic material on the surface of the substrate p placed on the third electrode 600 while descending toward the second electrode 600.

In the cleaning process, the process gas is supplied to the nozzle unit 220 through which the gas is injected from both sides of the lower chamber 200 into the nozzle unit 220 facing the second electrode 221, So that the overall pressure of the gas can be evenly distributed. This is a very important issue because the uneven gas pressure of the process gas supplied is directly related to the unevenness of the generated plasma ions.

For this purpose, the gap adjusting member 110 and the height adjusting member 210 are configured to adjust the interval and height between the plasma electrodes.

This is because it is necessary to adjust the distance between the first electrode 400 and the second electrode 221 or adjust the gap between the second electrode 221 and the third electrode 600 in order to find the optimum plasma condition for dry cleaning. .

The height adjusting member 210 adjusts the vertical height of the first electrode 400 and the second electrode 221 and the gap adjusting member 110 adjusts the height of the first electrode 400 and the second electrode 221 To adjust the spacing.

The distribution and intensity of the plasma generated by adjusting the height and the interval of the first electrode 400 and the second electrode 221 can be controlled.

In order to minimize the heat generated by the first electrode 400 when the gap and height between the first electrode 400 and the second electrode 221 are adjusted as described above, A cooling device 300 that operates as a cooling device must be constructed.

The cooling device 300 may be directly connected to the upper support 120, but may be connected to the auxiliary support 121 having an insulation function.

The first electrode 400 may be formed of an insulating member to surround the outer circumferential surface of the first electrode 400 and to protect the plasma and the fixed gas. This is to prevent the occurrence of sparks due to electrical characteristics in advance.

10: Plasma header
100: upper chamber 110:
120: upper support 121: auxiliary support 130: first flow groove
200: Lower chamber
210: height adjusting member 220: nozzle part 221: second electrode
230: second flow groove 240: gas inlet 250: gas outlet
300: cooling device 400: first electrode
500: Insulation member 600: Third electrode
p: substrate

Claims (7)

An upper chamber 100 configured to face each other with an upper support 120 connected to the upper side and a spacing member 110 connected to the upper support 120 to adjust the interval;
A second electrode 221 is formed in the lower part of the lower part of the upper chamber 100 to form a nozzle part 220 and a protrusion 140 protruding from the lower part of the upper chamber 100 is fitted on the upper part of the upper part. A lower chamber 200 in which a height adjusting member 210 connecting the protrusion 140 is formed on the outer side and a gas inlet 240 through which a process gas is supplied and a gas outlet 250 through which the process gas is discharged;
A cooling unit 300 connected to the upper supporter 120 and reducing heat generated in the nozzle unit 220 in a space formed in the inner space by connection of the upper and lower chambers 100 and 200;
A first electrode 400 formed between the cooling device 300 and the nozzle unit 220;
An insulating member (500) configured to surround the first electrode (400) and protecting the first electrode (400) from plasma and a fixed gas; Wherein the atmospheric pressure plasma header
The method according to claim 1,
One or more spacing members 110 may be provided and the interval between the first electrode 400 and the second electrode 221 may be adjusted by controlling the facing lower chamber 200 to be inward and outward The atmospheric pressure plasma header
The method according to claim 1,
One or more height adjustment members 210 may be provided and the height of the first and second electrodes 400 and 221 may be adjusted by adjusting the height of the upper chamber 100 An atmospheric plasma header
3. The method according to claim 2 or 3,
A first flow groove 130 is formed in the upper support 120 where the gap adjusting member 110 is formed and the height of the lower chamber 200 of the height adjusting member 210 And a second flow groove (230) is formed on the outer side so that the height of the second flow groove
The method according to claim 1,
The upper support (120) may be separate or integral with the upper chamber (100). The atmospheric pressure plasma header
The method according to claim 1,
The cooling device (300) configured in the space of the upper and lower chambers (100, 200) uses a water-cooled cooler
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the insulating member (500) is made of Teflon or ceramic serving as an insulator.

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