KR101732712B1 - Apparatus and method for plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition - Google Patents

Abstract

A chamber in which a vacuum space is formed and deposition is performed on a material so as to prevent occurrence of arcing in a plasma chemical vapor deposition process; a chamber provided in the chamber for plasma-chemical vapor deposition of a deposition material on a workpiece; At least one plasma source, and at least one ion beam source disposed adjacent to the plasma source in the chamber for applying an ion beam toward the work surface.

Description

[0001] APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PLASMA ENHANCED CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION [0002]

A plasma chemical vapor deposition apparatus and a deposition method are disclosed.

In general, the term "deposition" refers to a surface treatment technique in which a target such as a metal, a compound, or a mixture is heated / evaporated to be coated on the surface of the object in the form of a thin film. An inorganic thin film having a thickness of 0.01 to 10 um, which is used for various materials such as semiconductors, displays, and batteries, can be formed through various deposition methods. In particular, vacuum thin film deposition methods utilizing plasma in a vacuum region of several mTorr have been developed and used. Among various vacuum thin film deposition methods, Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) can deposit various kinds of inorganic thin films which are difficult to deposit in a sputtering process, and can achieve a higher deposition rate than a sputtering method, .

Plasma chemical vapor deposition method is as follows. When energy is transferred to an electron existing in a vacuum space through an electric field or a magnetic field, plasma generated by accelerated electrons can decompose the reactive gas injected into the vacuum space to induce various reactions between the reactive gases. Accordingly, the material generated in the reaction between the reactive gases is adhered to the deposition target material passing through the plasma generation section to form a thin film having a thickness of 0.01 to 10 um.

A variety of inorganic thin films can be formed by the plasma chemical vapor deposition method, and the mass production apparatus can be constructed by applying it to an inline or roll-to-roll apparatus.

In order to apply the plasma chemical vapor deposition process to a mass production apparatus, stable plasma generation must be possible. In the inorganic thin film deposition process having no conductivity, not only the object to be deposited but also the inner constituent part of the apparatus such as the plasma generator is easily coated with the inorganic thin film. Accordingly, the plasma generator and the object to be deposited are easily charged to a positive potential or a negative potential by the plasma generated in the plasma chemical vapor deposition apparatus based on plasma characteristics composed of a positive charge and a negative charge. This causes arcing during the deposition process. Arcing causes serious problems such as pinholes in the deposited thin film, deterioration of the thin film quality, and durability of the plasma generator due to the high current in the local region. In particular, the occurrence of pinholes in the thin film serves as a fatal disadvantage that the plasma chemical vapor deposition method can not be widely used in application fields such as a transmission barrier film and the like.

A plasma chemical vapor deposition apparatus and a deposition method capable of preventing occurrence of arcing in a plasma chemical vapor deposition process are provided.

Also, there is provided a plasma chemical vapor deposition apparatus and a deposition method capable of more effectively and densely depositing an inorganic oxide thin film such as an insulating oxide, a nitride, or the like using a plasma chemical vapor deposition system.

The present invention also provides a plasma chemical vapor deposition apparatus and a deposition method capable of realizing various thin film characteristics which can not be realized by the conventional plasma chemical vapor deposition system.

The plasma chemical vapor deposition apparatus of this embodiment includes a chamber for forming a vacuum space and performing deposition on a material, at least one plasma source for plasma-chemical vapor deposition of a deposition material, And at least one ion beam source disposed adjacent to the plasma source in the chamber and applying an ion beam toward the work surface.

The plasma source and / or the ion beam source may be operated at DC, LF, MF or RF frequencies.

The plasma source and / or the ion beam source may be operated with a sine wave, a pulsed wave or a square wave, a unipolar, or a bipolar voltage.

The plasma source and the ion beam source may be structured such that they are alternately driven to the cathode and the anode.

The plasma source and the ion beam source may be alternately driven.

The ion beam source may generate an inert gas ion or a reactive gas ion.

A reactive gas may be injected between the plasma source and the ion beam source.

The plasma source and the ion beam source may be arranged to face each other at an angle.

The arrangement angle of the plasma source and the ion beam source may be 90 to 180 degrees.

The plasma source may be a structure for depositing an inorganic oxide thin film containing an insulating oxide or nitride as a deposition material on a work.

The ion beam source includes a body having a discharge space on one surface thereof and having gas supply holes for supplying gas into the discharge space therein; A negative electrode which is provided on one surface of the body to expose the discharge space and is floating without applying power; A cathode disposed in the discharge space so as to be spaced apart from the cathode and forming an electric field between the cathode and the cathode in association with driving power applied from the outside to ionize the gas; A housing coupled to the body and defining an inner space communicating with the gas supply holes; A gas supply pipe passing through the housing from the outside of the housing to supply gas into the internal space of the housing; And a gas distribution plate disposed to cover the gas supply holes in the housing inner space and uniformly supplying gas in the inner space into the gas supply holes.

The plasma chemical vapor deposition method of this embodiment includes the steps of forming the inside of a chamber provided with a vacuum in a vacuum state, decomposing the reactive gas through a plasma source to plasma-chemical vapor deposit the deposition material on the material, And applying an ion beam to the workpiece surface through an ion beam source.

The deposition method may further comprise continuously moving the workpiece inside the chamber for subsequent deposition.

In the step of plasma chemical vapor deposition and the step of applying an ion beam, the plasma source and the ion beam source may be driven to cross the anode and the cathode.

In the step of plasma chemical vapor deposition and the step of applying an ion beam, the plasma source and the ion beam source may be alternately driven.

The deposition method may deposit an inorganic oxide thin film or an inorganic thin film containing nitride on the material.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to manufacture an inorganic thin film without pinholes, which can be used for various applications by preventing the occurrence of arcing, through a plasma chemical vapor deposition method.

In addition, when the plasma chemical vapor deposition is performed, the energy generated from the ion beam source is applied to increase the deposition density to form a dense thin film.

In addition, mass production is possible through more stable plasma formation.

In addition, arcing can be prevented, and an inorganic oxide thin film such as an oxide or nitride can be deposited more effectively and densely.

In addition, it is possible to realize various thin film characteristics which can not be realized by the conventional plasma chemical vapor deposition method.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a plasma chemical vapor deposition apparatus according to the present embodiment.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the invention. The singular forms as used herein include plural forms as long as the phrases do not expressly express the opposite meaning thereto. Means that a particular feature, region, integer, step, operation, element and / or component is specified, and that other specific features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / And the like.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Accordingly, the present invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

In the following description, the plasma chemical vapor deposition apparatus of this embodiment will be described by taking as an example a continuous type deposition apparatus for continuously depositing a work. The apparatus is not limited to a continuous structure, and is applicable to deposition apparatuses of all structures including, for example, a batch type structure for depositing a material in individual units.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a plasma chemical vapor deposition apparatus according to this embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, a deposition apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes a chamber 12 for forming a vacuum space, a chamber 12 disposed inside the chamber, for plasma-chemical vapor deposition of a deposition material on a workpiece A plasma source 20 and an ion beam source 30 disposed adjacent to the plasma source within the chamber 12 for applying an ion beam toward the work surface.

The chamber 12 has a closed internal space in which a plasma chemical vapor deposition process is performed by forming a vacuum. In this embodiment, the internal space pressure of the chamber 12 may be maintained at about 0.1 to 10 mTorr. The chamber 12 is connected to, for example, a vacuum pump (not shown) and can maintain the vacuum inside the vacuum chamber by driving the vacuum pump.

A material P, which is an object to be vapor-deposited, is disposed inside the chamber 12. The material (P) may be a rolled structure for continuous deposition operations. The material may be a non-conductive material. For example, the material P may be a flexible polymer film.

The deposition apparatus 10 of the present embodiment includes an uncoiler 42 provided inside the chamber 12 for continuously depositing a material P and continuously releasing the material P wound in a roll form, A recoiler 44 may be further provided on which the material P loosened from the uncoiler is wound. The material P released from the uncoiler 42 is continuously deposited through the plasma source 20 and the ion beam source 30. The deposited material P is wound around the recoiler 44. A support roll 46 may be further provided in the chamber 12 to support the workpiece P during the deposition operation between the uncoiler 42 and the recoiler 44. The support roll 46 supports the workpiece P so that the deposition is performed by the deposition material generated through the plasma source 20.

The plasma source 20 and the ion beam source 30 are disposed between the uncoiler 42 and the recoiler 44 toward the support roll 46 to move the material P moving along the outer circumferential surface of the support roll 46. [ Are continuously deposited.

1, in this embodiment, the plasma source 20 and the ion beam source 30 are disposed apart from each other with a predetermined gap therebetween. When the plasma source 20 and the ion beam source 30 are disposed adjacent to each other, the plasma source 20 may be located in front of the substrate along the traveling direction of the work. A structure in which the ion beam source 30 is located in front of the plasma source 20 in addition to the above structure is also applicable.

A plurality of the plasma source 20 and the ion beam source 30 may be disposed at intervals along a support roll supporting the work P. The number of the plasma source (20) and the ion beam source (30) can be appropriately adjusted according to the size of the apparatus, the workpiece (P), and the like.

The plasma source 20 has a structure in which a thin film is formed on a workpiece by a plasma chemical vapor deposition method. The plasma source 20 generates plasma in the vacuum chamber by power supply, decomposes the reactive gas supplied into the chamber, and deposits the deposition material generated in the process on the surface of the material. Thus, the deposition material adheres to the surface of the material to form a thin film having a thickness of 0.01 to 10 mu m.

In this embodiment, the reactive gas supplied to the plasma source 20 may be nitrogen or hydrogen. The plasma source 20 forms an insulating oxide or nitride of SiOx, SiNx, or the like as a thin film on the material. The reactive gas may be supplied through the space between the plasma source 20 and the ion beam source 30 within the chamber.

The plasma source 20 may be operated at DC, LF, MF or RF frequencies. In addition, the plasma source 20 may be operated with a sinusoidal wave, a pulse wave, a square wave, a unipolar, and a bipolar voltage.

The ion beam source (30) is disposed adjacent to the plasma source (20). The ion beam source 30 is configured to apply a linear ion beam with neutralization energy toward the deposition surface of the work.

In the present embodiment, the ion beam source 30 has a structure in which an energy in the range of 0.05 to 3 keV is applied to the material deposition surface of the plasma source 20 in the range of 0.1 to 10 mTorr, which is the operation region of the apparatus.

The positive ions generated in the ion beam source 30 are neutralized by neutralizing electrons of the plasma generated in the plasma source 20, thereby preventing occurrence of arcing due to charging of the charged particles.

In the process of depositing the inorganic thin film having no conductivity through the plasma chemical vapor deposition process, the device constituent parts such as the plasma source 20 as well as the deposition target material are easily coated with the inorganic thin film. Thus, electrons of the plasma are accumulated in the device constituent parts of the material and the plasma source 20 or the like. Arcing occurs as the accumulated subscribers are charged.

In the present embodiment, positive ions of the ion beam irradiated from the ion beam source 30 collide with electrons of the plasma generated in the plasma source 20 and are neutralized, so that charges can be accumulated on the material and the like to prevent arcing . Therefore, since the charged particles are not accumulated even during driving for a long time, a continuous process of plasma chemical vapor deposition for mass production of a product is possible.

The ion beam source 30 supplies an inert gas such as helium, neon, or argon to the inside of the ion beam source 30 to generate a high energy inert gas ion beam without significantly changing the composition of the material constituting the thin film. In addition, the ion beam source 30 can generate a high-energy reactive gas ion beam by supplying oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, or CxHy-based gas thereto. The plasma of the plasma source 20 is neutralized through the ion beam source 30 and the ion beam of high energy acts as energy for gas decomposition to increase the deposition density.

In this embodiment, the ion beam source 30 can use, for example, an ion beam source 30 device (registered patent No. 1447779) registered and registered by the present applicant. The ion beam source (30) has a body (31) having a discharge space (32) on one surface and having gas supply holes (34) for supplying gas into the discharge space therein; A cathode 33 which is provided to expose the discharge space to the body and is floating without applying a power source; An anode 35 disposed to be spaced apart from the cathode in the discharge space and configured to ionize the gas by forming an electric field between the cathode and the driving electrode in association with driving power applied from the outside, (36) for forming an inner space communicating with the supply holes (34), a gas supply pipe (37) for supplying gas from the outside of the housing to the inner space of the housing through the housing, And a gas distribution plate (38) arranged to cover the gas supply holes and uniformly supplying the gas in the inner space into the gas supply holes.

The specific configuration of the ion beam source 30 can be confirmed through the above-mentioned document, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The ion beam source 30 of the registered patent No. 1447779 developed by the present applicant has the above-described structure and can be used in a process for plasma chemical vapor deposition to prevent occurrence of arcing. The ion beam source has the advantage that the pressure range capable of stably generating the ion beam is 0.1 to 10 mTorr. This is a result of controlling the structure and intensity of the electromagnetic field in the ion beam source so as to be stably driven in the above-mentioned pressure range.

The plasma source uses electron confinement utilizing a magnetic field. When such a discharge method is applied, it is possible to form a stable discharge at a pressure level of 1 to 10 mTorr. The ion beam source of this embodiment can operate at a pressure of 1 to 10 mTorr and can operate simultaneously with the plasma source in the plasma chemical vapor deposition process.

 Conventional ion sources are capable of stable operation in a pressure range of about 0.1 to 2 mTorr, effective ion acceleration is difficult at a pressure of 2 mTorr or more, transition is made to an abnormal discharge type, arcing occurs frequently, and ion source durability is lowered . Therefore, it is difficult to use the conventional ion beam source together with the plasma source in the plasma chemical vapor deposition process.

As described above, the present embodiment improves the adhesion of the thin film deposited on the workpiece by increasing the energy of the plasma chemical vapor deposition process by neutralizing the plasma through the ion beam source 30 coupled with the plasma source 20, It is possible to improve the optical, electrical and mechanical properties of the thin film by improving the density of the thin film.

The ion beam source 30 may be operated at DC, LF, MF or RF frequencies. Also, the ion beam source 30 can be operated with a sine wave, a pulse wave, a square wave, a unipolar, and a bipolar voltage.

The plasma source 20 and the ion beam source 30 may be respectively driven through separate power supplies. The plasma source 20 is driven as a cathode by receiving a negative voltage through an individual power source device, and the ion beam source 30 can be driven as an anode by receiving a positive voltage through an individual power source device. The apparatus can control the amount of electrons generated from the plasma source 20 and the amount of ions emitted from the ion beam source 30 through each individual power supply apparatus to be the same. The same amount of ions and electrons cancel each other out to neutralize.

In another embodiment, the plasma source 20 and the ion beam source 30 may be driven continuously or alternately alternately at predetermined time intervals. In the structure in which the plasma source 20 and the ion beam source 30 are alternately operated, the other source is not operated when one of the sources is driven. Thus, it is possible to fundamentally prevent the two sources from being charged. In addition, it is possible to cancel each other while maintaining a balanced amount of negative charge or positive charge, thereby further reducing occurrence of arcing.

In yet another embodiment. The plasma source 20 and the ion beam source 30 may be connected to both ends of the AC power source so that the plasma source 20 and the ion beam source 30 may continue to cross the cathode and anode. Accordingly, the plasma source 20 and the ion beam source 30 are alternately driven as a cathode or an anode so as to be opposite in polarity to each other. That is, when the plasma source 20 is driven to the cathode, the ion beam source 30 is driven to the anode, and conversely, when the plasma source 20 is driven to the anode, the ion beam source 30 is driven to the cathode.

The plasma source 20 is driven only when the cathode is applied. That is, a discharge occurs when a negative voltage is applied, and only when the positive electrode is applied, it acts only as a counter electrode of the ion beam source. The ion beam source 30 generates a discharge only when a positive voltage is applied to emit an ion beam. The ion beam source only acts as a counter electrode of the plasma source when the cathode is applied. That is, the plasma source and the ion beam source are driven under the cathodes and the anodes, respectively, and merely serve as counter electrodes at voltages of different phases. Thus, the plasma source and the ion beam source are alternately driven to maintain a balanced amount of negative charges and positive charges, thereby preventing charging of the two sources at the source, thereby preventing occurrence of arcing.

As shown in Fig. 1, the plasma source 20 and the ion beam source 30 are arranged to face each other at an angle (R). In this embodiment, the arrangement angle R of the plasma source 20 and the ion beam source 30 may be 90 to 180 degrees. The placement angle R means an angle between a plane perpendicular to the deposition material irradiation direction of the plasma source 20 and a plane perpendicular to the ion beam irradiation direction of the ion beam source 30. [ When the arrangement angle R between two sources is less than 90 degrees, an electric field and a magnetic field interference occur, causing a problem of contamination of the plasma beam and the ion source. When the arrangement angle R between the two sources is larger than 180 DEG, there is no problem in discharging, but the ion beam irradiated vertically from the ion beam source can not reach the region where the material generated from the plasma source is deposited. Thus, the thin film adhesion force and the physical property improving effect by the ion beam are deteriorated.

Hereinafter, the plasma chemical vapor deposition process of this embodiment will be described.

The plasma chemical vapor deposition method of this embodiment includes the steps of forming a chamber in which a workpiece is provided in a vacuum state, decomposing a reactive gas through a plasma source to plasma-chemical vapor deposit the deposited material on the workpiece, And applying an ion beam to the workpiece surface through an ion beam source.

The deposition method may further comprise continuously moving the workpiece inside the chamber for subsequent deposition.

The material released from the uncoiler in the chamber is continuously moved through the support roll and rewound on the recoiler. In this process, a deposition material generated from the plasma source arranged along the support roll is deposited on the material to form a thin film.

Through the vacuum forming step, the inside of the chamber is formed with a pneumatic pressure of 0.1 to 10 mTorr. Vacuum pressure is formed and a reactive gas is provided for plasma chemical vapor deposition inside the chamber.

When power is applied to the plasma source, a plasma is formed to decompose the reactive gas such as nitrogen or hydrogen supplied into the chamber, and the deposition material generated in the decomposition process adheres to the surface of the workpiece to form a thin film. Thus, an insulating oxide or nitride such as SiOx, SiNx, or the like can be formed as a thin film on the work.

At this time, by applying a linear ion beam with neutralization energy from the ion beam source toward the deposition surface of the material, positive ions of the ion beam neutralize and neutralize the electrons of the plasma generated in the plasma source. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the electrons of the plasma from accumulating in the device constituent parts such as the material, the plasma source, and the ion beam source, and to prevent the occurrence of arcing due to the charging of the charged particles. In addition, the high-energy reactive gas ion beam generated from the ion beam source acts as energy for decomposing the reactive gas in the chamber, thereby increasing the deposition density of the thin film.

In the step of plasma chemical vapor deposition and the step of applying an ion beam, the plasma source and the ion beam source may be separately driven continuously by different power supply methods. Further, the plasma source and the ion beam source may be driven to cross the anode and the cathode, or alternatively, the plasma source and the ion beam source may be alternately driven. With this driving method, it is possible to further enhance the antistatic effect of the charged particles.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, Of course.

10: deposition apparatus 12: chamber
20: plasma source 30: ion beam source
31: body 32: discharge space
33: cathode 34: supply hole
35: anode 36: housing
37: supply pipe 38: distribution plate
42: Unclearer 44: Recoiler
46: Support roll

Claims (15)

Forming a vacuum chamber inside the chamber,
Decomposing the reactive gas through the plasma source to plasma-chemical vapor deposit the deposition material on the material,
Applying an ion beam to the surface of the material through the ion beam source during the plasma chemical vapor deposition, and
Continuously moving the workpiece inside the chamber
Lt; / RTI >
Wherein the plasma source and the ion beam source are alternately driven or alternately driven by an anode and a cathode in the plasma chemical vapor deposition step and the ion beam application step. delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the deposition material is an inorganic oxide thin film including an insulating oxide or a nitride. delete delete A chamber for forming a vacuum space and performing deposition on the material,
At least one plasma source disposed in the chamber and for plasma-depositing a deposition material on the workpiece by plasma,
And at least one ion beam source disposed within the chamber adjacent to the plasma source and applying an ion beam toward the work surface,
The plasma source and / or the ion beam source are operated with a sine wave, a pulsed wave or a square wave, a unipolar, a bipolar voltage,
Wherein the plasma source and the ion beam source are alternately driven or alternately driven by a cathode and an anode. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the plasma source and / or the ion beam source are operated at DC, LF, MF or RF frequencies. delete The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the ion beam source generates an inert gas ion or a reactive gas ion. 10. A method according to any one of claims 6, 7 and 9,
The ion beam source includes a body having a discharge space on one surface thereof and having gas supply holes for supplying gas into the discharge space therein; A negative electrode which is provided on one surface of the body to expose the discharge space and is floating without applying power; A cathode disposed in the discharge space so as to be spaced apart from the cathode and forming an electric field between the cathode and the cathode in association with driving power applied from the outside to ionize the gas; A housing coupled to the body and defining an inner space communicating with the gas supply holes; A gas supply pipe passing through the housing from the outside of the housing to supply gas into the internal space of the housing; And a gas distribution plate disposed to cover the gas supply holes in the housing inner space and uniformly supplying the gas in the inner space into the gas supply holes. delete delete 11. The method of claim 10,
And a reactive gas is injected between the plasma source and the ion beam source. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the plasma source and the ion beam source are arranged to face each other at an angle. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein an arrangement angle of the plasma source and the ion beam source is 90 ° to 180 °.

Images