KR101452222B1 - Atomic layer deposition apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is an atomic layer deposition apparatus having an exhaust line that improves the exhaust efficiency and improves the separation efficiency of the deposition gas injection regions. The atomic layer deposition apparatus includes a process chamber, a susceptor, and a shower head, and includes an exhaust line provided on the shower head, a discharge portion connected to one side of the exhaust line, and an exhaust line branched from the exhaust line, And the auxiliary exhaust line. Accordingly, by forming the auxiliary exhaust line at the portion where the exhaust amount is decreased due to the distance from the exhaust line, the exhaust amount imbalance is prevented and the gas separation effect between the deposition gas injection regions is improved.

Shower head, exhaust line, source gas region, reactive gas region, purge gas region

Description

[0001] ATOMIC LAYER DEPOSITION APPARATUS [0002]

The present invention relates to an atomic layer deposition apparatus, and more particularly, to an atomic layer deposition apparatus capable of preventing a plurality of different source gases for thin film deposition from mixing with each other and improving the exhaust efficiency, to provide.

In general, in order to deposit a thin film having a predetermined thickness on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate, physical vapor deposition (PVD) using physical collision such as sputtering, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) A chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method or the like is used.

Examples of the chemical vapor deposition method include atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD), low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD), and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Of these, low temperature vapor deposition Plasma organic chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is widely used because of its advantages and rapid deposition rate.

However, as the design rule of the semiconductor device is sharply reduced, a thin film of a fine pattern is required, and a step of a region where the thin film is formed is also very large. As a result, the atomic layer deposition method (ALD: Atomic Layer Deposition), which is capable of forming a fine atomic layer thickness pattern uniformly and has excellent step coverage, is increasing.

The atomic layer deposition method (ALD) is similar to the general chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method in that it utilizes a chemical reaction between gas molecules. However, the conventional chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method injects a plurality of gas molecules simultaneously into the process chamber to deposit reaction products generated above the substrate on the substrate. Alternatively, In that the gas is injected into the chamber and then purged to leave only the physically adsorbed gas on the heated substrate and then the other gas material is injected to deposit chemical reaction products generated only on the upper surface of the substrate .

The thin film implemented by such an atomic layer deposition method has a wide step coverage characteristic and has the advantage of being able to realize a pure thin film having a low impurity content, and is widely popular today.

However, when the shower head or the susceptor rotates at a high speed using a conventional atomic layer deposition apparatus and injects different kinds of source gases and the substrate sequentially passes through the source gas to form a thin film, There is a problem that the quality of the film is deteriorated due to mixing of different source gases. In addition, there is a problem in that due to reaction byproducts generated by mixing different source gases, generation of contamination source particles and defects are caused by particles. As one of the methods for preventing the generation of such particles, it is possible to prevent the residual source gases from reacting with each other by discharging the exhaust gas in the chamber from the exhaust line. In order to effectively prevent particle generation by using the exhaust line, It is important not only to sufficiently secure the exhaust amount in the chamber, but also to allow the suction force to act uniformly in the chamber.

However, the conventional atomic layer deposition apparatus is difficult to apply the same suction force to the substrate in the exhaust line due to the shape of the showerhead and the shape of the substrate. Further, as the distance from the exhaust line increases, the suction force acting on the exhaust line becomes weaker. Therefore, as the size of the substrate increases, the region to be exhausted in the exhaust line increases, so that it is difficult to secure the suction amount of the exhaust gas. It is difficult to make it so that an exhaust failure may occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an auxiliary exhaust line branched from an exhaust line provided in a shower head to prevent a decrease in exhaust amount due to a distance from an exhaust line, And an atomic layer deposition apparatus capable of uniformly maintaining the atomic layer deposition apparatus.

In addition, the present invention can improve the separation effect between a plurality of source regions, thereby preventing the source gas from mixing in the process chamber and preventing the generation of particles, thereby improving the deposition efficiency.

The present invention also provides an atomic layer deposition apparatus capable of simplifying the structure by forming an exhaust line between a source region and a purge region to separate the source region and the purge region.

The present invention also provides an atomic layer deposition apparatus capable of improving deposition quality.

According to embodiments of the present invention for achieving the object of the present invention described above, an atomic layer deposition apparatus including a shower head for uniformly discharging an exhaust gas is disclosed. Wherein the shower head is provided at an upper portion of the process chamber to inject a deposition gas into the substrate, the shower head is provided with an exhaust line for exhausting the exhaust gas in the process chamber and an exhaust line for exhausting the exhaust gas, As shown in Fig. Further, auxiliary exhaust lines branched from the exhaust line are formed, and the auxiliary exhaust line is used to exhaust the exhaust gas to make the exhaust amount uniform.

In an embodiment, the exhaust line is connected to the discharge portion at a central portion of the showerhead, and the auxiliary exhaust line is formed at an end portion relatively far from a portion where the exhaust line and the discharge portion are combined. That is, the auxiliary exhaust line is formed at the edge portion of the showerhead.

In an embodiment, the auxiliary exhaust line is formed extending from one side of the exhaust line to an edge of the showerhead. For example, the auxiliary exhaust line is branched to both sides of the exhaust line at a predetermined angle inclination. Alternatively, the auxiliary exhaust line is branched at one end toward the exhaust line at an end of the exhaust line.

According to the present invention, there is provided an exhaust line in which the edge of the shower head is branched so as to be wider, so that the exhaust gas is supplementarily discharged at a portion that is relatively distant from the exhaust line, And the exhaust efficiency can be improved.

Particularly, due to the shape of the shower head and the exhaust line, the distance between the exhaust line and the substrate at the edge portion is relatively distant, and the exhaust gas is exhausted from the exhaust line, thereby reducing the exhaust amount and preventing the exhaust imbalance have.

Second, the auxiliary exhaust line substantially increases the area of the exhaust line, thereby improving the effect of separating the adjacent source and purge regions from each other and preventing the different gases from mixing and mixing.

Third, the exhaust amount can be maintained uniform by variously adjusting the size of the exhaust hole and the pitch between the exhaust holes in the exhaust line and the auxiliary exhaust line.

Fourth, the exhaust line and the auxiliary exhaust line are provided in the upper part of the process chamber to improve the exhaust efficiency of the particles, thereby preventing particle generation and deterioration of the thin film due to reaction by-products between different source gases.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to or limited by the embodiments.

1 is a side sectional view of an atomic layer deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view for explaining an embodiment of the shower head of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a plan view for explaining a modified embodiment of the shower head of Fig.

Hereinafter, an atomic layer deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG.

Referring to FIG. 1, an atomic layer deposition apparatus 100 includes a process chamber 110, a showerhead 130, and a susceptor 120.

The process chamber 110 receives the substrate W and provides a space in which a thin film deposition process is performed.

Here, the substrate W may be a silicon wafer. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the substrate W may be a transparent substrate such as a glass used for a flat panel display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a plasma display panel (PDP). In addition, the shape and size of the substrate W are not limited by the drawings, and may have substantially various shapes and sizes such as circular and rectangular plates.

A chamber exhaust part 111 for evacuation is provided below the process chamber 110.

The susceptor 120 is provided in the process chamber 110 and supports the plurality of substrates W. The susceptor 120 is a semi-batch type having excellent throughput. The susceptor 120 is disposed such that a plurality of substrates W are supported on one plane on the same plane, In the circumferential direction.

The susceptor 120 is rotatably mounted on the susceptor 120 such that the substrates W are revolved with respect to a center point of the susceptor 120. A rotating shaft 121 and a rotating shaft 121 are provided below the susceptor 120, And a rotation driving unit 125 connected to the susceptor 120 to rotate the susceptor 120.

The showerhead 130 is provided on the process chamber 110 to provide a deposition gas to the surface of the substrate W supported by the susceptor 120.

The deposition gas is collectively referred to as a source gas containing a material for forming a thin film to be deposited on the surface of the substrate W and a purge gas for purging the source gas. In this embodiment, Source gas is provided.

In the shower head 130, an injection region 132 through which the deposition gas is injected is formed. In the injection region 132, different gases are injected. Specifically, the injection region 132 includes a first source region 132a and a second source region 132b through which a plurality of different source gases are injected, and a plurality of purge regions 132c and 132d through which a purge gas is injected. Lt; / RTI >

The shower head 130 is provided with an exhaust line 140 for exhausting unreacted deposition gas and residual deposition gas in the process chamber 110. The exhaust line 140 is formed to communicate with the interior of the process chamber 110 through the showerhead 130 and includes a supply line (not shown) for supplying the deposition gas inside the showerhead 130, So that they do not intersect.

Here, the exhaust line 140 is provided at a boundary portion of the injection region 132 to separate the injection regions 132. For example, the shower head 130 has four ejection regions 132 formed in a fan shape. The exhaust line 140 is formed along the boundary line of the injection region 132 and has a 'V' character structure that can maximize the area of the first and second source regions 132a and 132b. As shown in FIG. 2, the two 'V' -shaped exhaust lines 140 are horizontally symmetrical, and vertexes of a 'V' type facing each other exist at the center of the showerhead 130.

The exhaust line 140 is provided between the injection regions 132 to prevent gases from being mixed and mixed with each other between neighboring injection regions 132 even though it is not a mechanical or physical barrier have. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the deposition gases from being mixed with each other and to simplify the internal structure of the showerhead 130 and the process chamber 110 by providing the exhaust line 140 .

And a discharge unit 160 for discharging the exhaust gas exhausted from the exhaust line 140 is provided. One end of the discharging unit 160 is connected to the exhaust line 140 through the process chamber 110 and the other end is connected to an exhaust unit 165 provided outside the process chamber 110.

Hereinafter, a showerhead 130 having an exhaust line 140 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The shower head 130 is provided with two exhaust lines 140 having a 'V' shape that divides the showerhead 130 into four injection regions 132, and the exhaust line 140 The auxiliary exhaust line 145 branched from the exhaust line 140 is provided at each end of the shower head 130 corresponding to the edge portion.

The exhaust line 140 and the auxiliary exhaust line 145 communicate with the inside of the process chamber 110 and are connected to a plurality of exhaust holes 141 for sucking and exhausting the exhaust gas in the process chamber 110 Is formed.

In the present embodiment, the exhaust line 140 has a V shape. However, the shape of the exhaust line 140 is not limited thereto. For example, the exhaust line 140 may have substantially various forms, such as semicircular or semi-elliptical shapes.

The exhaust line 140 is a passage for forcedly flowing the exhaust gas sucked through the exhaust hole 141 to the discharge unit 160. For example, the exhaust line 140 is communicated with the discharge portion 160 at a central portion of the shower head 130 in the shape of a 'V' -shaped central portion. Here, the suction force acting on the exhaust line 140 acts relatively weakly on the end of the exhaust line 140 far from the discharge unit 160, and the auxiliary exhaust line 145 is connected to the exhaust line 140 So as to assist the exhaust of the exhaust line 140.

The exhaust holes 141 are formed at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction of the exhaust line 140. Here, the size, number, and position of the exhaust holes 141 are not limited to those shown in the drawings, and holes of different sizes may be formed according to the exhaust amount, or holes may be arranged at different pitch intervals. The exhaust hole 141 may have a circular shape or a slit shape.

An auxiliary exhaust line 145 is provided at an end of the exhaust line 140.

2, an area for discharging the exhaust gas from the exhaust line 140 toward the edge portion of the shower head 130 due to the shape of the shower head 130 and the exhaust line 140 . 2, when the substrate W is arranged, the distance between the substrate W and the exhaust line 140 increases, and the center portion of the substrate W is exposed to the exhaust The suction force in the line 140 acts weakly and the amount of exhaust gas may be lowered.

However, as in the present embodiment, by disposing the auxiliary exhaust line 145 at the edge portion of the showerhead 130, it is possible to reduce the amount of exhaust in the portion where the distance between the exhaust line 140 and the substrate W is relatively long Thereby making the entire exhaust amount uniform. Further, since the area of the region to be exhausted is substantially increased by forming the auxiliary exhaust line 145, the effect of separating the injection regions 132 is improved.

For example, the auxiliary exhaust line 145 is branched in both directions from the end of the exhaust line 140.

The length of the auxiliary exhaust line 145 and the branched position and angle of the auxiliary exhaust line 145 branched from the exhaust line 140 are determined by the distance between the auxiliary exhaust line 145 and the substrate W It is appropriately changed by the distance.

A plurality of exhaust holes 141 are formed in the auxiliary exhaust line 145 along the longitudinal direction of the auxiliary exhaust line 145. The size, shape, and position of the exhaust hole 141 can be appropriately changed depending on the exhaust amount.

Fig. 3 shows an alternative embodiment of the exhaust line 140 of Fig. 2 described above. For reference, the showerhead 230 according to the modified embodiment described below is substantially the same as the showerhead 130 of FIG. 2 except for the shape of the exhaust line 240, A duplicate description will be omitted.

3, the shower head 230 is provided with two exhaust lines 240 having a 'V' shape for partitioning the shower head 230 into four injection regions 232, An auxiliary exhaust line 245 branched from the exhaust line 240 is provided at an edge portion of the shower head 230 in the exhaust line 240

The auxiliary exhaust line 245 is formed at a portion where the distance between the exhaust line 240 and the substrate W is relatively long. For example, the auxiliary exhaust line 245 is branched on the shower head 230 at a predetermined angle inclination with respect to the exhaust line 240 in the direction of the substrate W from the exhaust line 240.

For example, in the present embodiment, since the first and second source regions 232a and 232b have a larger area than the purge regions 232c and 232d, 1 and the second source regions 232a, 232b, the suction force acting on the exhaust line 240 is reduced. Accordingly, the auxiliary exhaust line 245 is branched to the first and second source regions 232a and 132b to assist the exhaust of the exhaust line 240.

The length of the auxiliary exhaust line 245 and the position and branched angle at which the auxiliary exhaust line 245 is branched at the exhaust line 240 may be determined by a distance between the exhaust line 240 and the substrate W It is determined by the displacement.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. It will be understood that the present invention can be changed.

1 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating an atomic layer deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view for explaining the shower head of Fig. 1; Fig.

Fig. 3 is a plan view for explaining a modified embodiment of the shower head of Fig. 2;

Description of the Related Art

100: atomic layer deposition apparatus 110: process chamber

111: chamber exhaust part 120: susceptor

121: rotating shaft 125:

130, 230: shower head 131, 231: injection hole

132, 232: injection area

132a, 132b, 232a, 232b:

132c, 132d, 232c, and 232d:

140, 240: exhaust line 141, 241: exhaust hole

145, 245: auxiliary exhaust line 160:

165: exhaust part W: substrate

Claims (6)

A susceptor rotatably mounted within the process chamber and having a plurality of substrates seated in a semi-batch manner; A showerhead provided on the top of the process chamber and having at least one source region into which a source gas is injected and at least one purge region through which purge gas is injected; An exhaust line provided along a boundary between each of the source regions and each of the purge regions in the showerhead and having a plurality of exhaust holes for sucking and exhausting exhaust gas in the process chamber; A plurality of exhaust holes branched from both ends of the exhaust line and provided at the edge of the shower head for sucking and exhausting the exhaust gas, ; And A discharge unit connected to one side of the exhaust line at a central portion of the showerhead to discharge the exhaust gas to the outside of the process chamber; And an atomic layer deposition apparatus. delete delete delete The method according to claim 1, Wherein the auxiliary exhaust line is branched at an end of the exhaust line to one side inclined to the direction of the exhaust line. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the auxiliary exhaust line is formed with a plurality of exhaust holes communicating with the inside of the process chamber to suck and discharge the exhaust gas.

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