KR101962787B1

KR101962787B1 - Holding arrangement for holding a substrate during a vacuum process, apparatus for depositing a layer on a substrate, and method for conveying a holding arrangement

Info

Publication number: KR101962787B1
Application number: KR1020167020184A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 파비오 피에라리시; 볼프강 클라인; 랄프 린덴버그; 볼프강 버슈베크; 유르겐 슈뢰더
Original assignee: 어플라이드 머티어리얼스, 인코포레이티드
Priority date: 2013-12-23
Filing date: 2013-12-23
Publication date: 2019-03-27
Also published as: JP6303024B2; JP2017503354A; CN105849310A; KR20160102059A; WO2015096855A1; TW201544623A; CN105849310B

Abstract

A holding arrangement 10 for holding the substrate 20 during vacuum layer deposition is provided. The retaining arrangement 10 may include a frame having one or more frame elements; And one or more contact interfaces (50,500) provided on one or more of the frame elements and configured to contact one or more conveying rollers (60) of the conveying system, wherein one Or the Shore D hardness of the material of the contact interfaces 50,500 is in the range of 85-90.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to a holding arrangement for holding a substrate during a vacuum process, a device for depositing a layer on a substrate, and a method for conveying a holding arrangement. A SUBSTRATE, AND METHOD FOR CONVEYING A HOLDING ARRANGEMENT}

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a holding arrangement for holding a substrate during a vacuum process, e.g., layer deposition. Embodiments of the present invention are particularly directed to a retaining arrangement for holding a substrate during vacuum layer deposition.

Various methods for depositing material on a substrate are known. For example, the substrates may be coated by a physical vapor deposition (PVD) process, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process, Typically, the process is performed in a process apparatus or process chamber in which the substrate to be coated is located. A deposition material is provided in the apparatus. Oxides, nitrides, or carbides of such materials as well as a plurality of materials can be used for deposition on a substrate. Further, other processing steps such as etching, structuring, or annealing, etc. may be performed in the processing chambers.

Coated substrates can be used in a variety of applications and in various technology fields. For example, applications such as creating semiconductor devices belong to the field of microelectronics. In addition, substrates for displays are often coated by a PVD process. Additional applications include insulating panels, organic light emitting diode (OLED) panels, substrates with TFTs, or color filters, and the like.

Typically, glass substrates can be supported on carriers during processing of such substrates. The carrier supports the glass or substrate and is driven through a processing machine. Carriers typically form a frame or plate, which frame or plate supports the surface of the substrate along their periphery, or, in the case of a plate, the surface itself. In particular, a frame shaped carrier can also be used to mask the glass substrate, and the aperture of the carrier, surrounded by the frame, can be used to mask openings for the coating material to be deposited on the exposed substrate portion Or provide other openings for other processing steps acting on the substrate portion, such substrate portions being exposed by the openings.

The carrier is driven by a conveying system, via a processing machine. Typically, the conveying system includes rollers, and a carrier is positioned on the rollers, whereby the carrier is moved along the conveying path by rotation of the rollers. During conveying, abrasion or wear can occur in the contact areas between the carrier and the rollers. This can lead to undesired generation of particles, leading to contamination effects during the deposition process. As a result, deterioration of the quality of the deposited layers may occur.

In view of the above, it is an object to provide a retaining arrangement that overcomes at least some of the problems in the art, particularly a retaining arrangement for holding a substrate during vacuum layer deposition.

A retaining arrangement for holding a substrate during a vacuum process, according to independent claim 1, a system for conveying such a retaining arrangement according to independent claim 13, A device for depositing, and a method for conveying a retaining arrangement are provided. Further aspects, advantages, and features of the present invention are apparent from the dependent claims, the detailed description, and the accompanying drawings.

According to one embodiment, a retaining arrangement for retaining a substrate during a vacuum process is provided. The retaining arrangement may comprise a frame having one or more of the frame elements and one or more of the frame elements provided to one or more of the frame elements and configured to contact one or more conveying rollers of the conveying system Wherein the Shore D hardness of the material of one or more of the contact interfaces is in the range of 85 to 90. < RTI ID = 0.0 >

According to another aspect, a system for conveying the retaining arrangement is provided. The system includes conveying rollers configured to contact one or more of the contact interfaces of the retaining arrangement for conveying the retaining arrangement.

According to another aspect, an apparatus for depositing a layer on a substrate is provided. The apparatus includes a chamber made for layer deposition inside the chamber, a retaining arrangement in the chamber as described above, and a deposition source for depositing the material forming the layer.

According to yet another aspect, a method for conveying the retaining arrangement is provided. The method includes contacting at least one of the conveying rollers of the conveying system by at least one of the contact interfaces, and conveying the retaining arrangement.

A more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, in order that the recited features of the invention may be understood in detail, may be made by reference to embodiments. The accompanying drawings relate to embodiments of the present invention and are described below.
1 illustrates a retaining arrangement according to embodiments described herein, having a substrate provided in a substrate region of the retaining arrangement;
Figure 2 illustrates another retaining arrangement in accordance with embodiments described herein having a substrate provided in a substrate region of the retaining arrangement;
Figure 3 shows a detailed view of a system for retaining a retaining arrangement according to embodiments described herein;
Figure 4 illustrates a view of an apparatus for depositing a layer of material on a substrate utilizing a retaining arrangement according to embodiments described herein; And
Figure 5 shows a flow diagram of a method for conveying a retaining arrangement according to embodiments described herein.

Reference will now be made in detail to the various embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. In the following description of the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like components. In general, only differences for the individual embodiments are described. Each example is provided as an illustration of the invention and is not intended as a limitation of the invention. Further, the features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment may be used with other embodiments, or may be used for other embodiments, to create further embodiments. The detailed description is intended to cover such modifications and variations.

1 illustrates a retaining arrangement 10 or carrier in accordance with embodiments described herein. A retaining arrangement 10 for holding a substrate 20 during a vacuum process, such as vacuum layer deposition, may include a frame 30 having one or more frame elements, and one or more of the frame elements And one or more contact interfaces 50 configured to contact one or more conveying rollers of the conveying system. The Shore D hardness of the material of one or more contact interfaces is in the range of 85 to 90.

During conveying, abrasion or abrasion can occur in the contact areas of the rollers and the carrier. Since the Shore D hardness of the material of one or more of the contact interfaces 50 is in the range of 85 to 90, the particles produced duringconveying are mechanically pressed into the material of the contact interfaces 50, (Particle trap), thus avoiding contamination effects during the deposition process. As a result, the quality of the layers deposited is improved. In other words, the material of one or more of the contact interfaces 50 may be softer than the material of the conveying rollers made of metal, for example, (50). &Lt; / RTI >

According to some embodiments that may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the Shore D hardness (HSD) of the material of one or more of the contact interfaces is in the range of HSD 87 to 89, Or HSD 89. By way of example, the material of one or more contact interfaces is PEEK, such as unreinforced PEEK, and the hardness of such materials is about HSD 87. As another example, the material of one or more contact interfaces is glass fiber reinforced PEEK (PEEK), and the hardness of such material is about HSD 89.

The frame 30 is configured to support the substrate 20. Typically, the frame 30 may include one or more of the frame elements. In the example of FIG. 1, the frame 30 may include four frame elements, i.e., two vertically oriented frame elements, and two horizontally oriented frame elements. In this example, the contact interface (s) may be provided in at least one of the horizontal frame elements. However, frame 30 of FIG. 1 may also include only one frame element, i.e., a rectangular shaped frame element.

According to some embodiments, the frame 30 defines an aperture opening for receiving the substrate 20. For example, the substrate 20 may be positioned within the hole opening. By way of example, the substrate 20 may be positioned within the bore openings to cover the rims or edges of the substrate 20 and to avoid coating of the rims or edges. Thus, an edge exclusion mask may be provided by the frame of the carrier. According to some embodiments, a support surface for supporting at least a portion of the edge regions of the substrate 20 is provided in the aperture opening. As an example, the cross section of the frame 30 may be L-shaped, to provide a support surface. According to some embodiments that may be combined with other embodiments described herein, one or more of the frame elements include a polymer, plastic, and / or metal.

According to some embodiments that may be combined with other embodiments described herein, a masking arrangement (not shown) may be used to cover the rims or edges of the substrate 20 to exclude the rims or edges from layer deposition Is provided. According to some embodiments, the frame 30 itself may serve as a masking arrangement or may provide additional masking.

According to some embodiments that may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the Rockwell C hardness (HRC) of the conveying rollers is at least HRC 52. In typical embodiments, the hardness of the conveying rollers is in the range of HRC 52 to 61, in particular HRC 53 to 60 or 53 to 59. By way of example, the conveying rollers are hardened rollers having a hardness in the range of, for example, HRC 58 to 60 (e.g., Cronidur). Thereby, most or even all of the particles produced during conveying are mechanically pressed into the material of the contact elements 50.

According to some embodiments that may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the material hardness of one or more of the contact interfaces 50 is less than the material hardness of the conveying rollers. Thereby, most or even all of the particles produced during conveying are mechanically pressed into the material of the contact elements 50.

Shore D hardness scales for the Rockwell C and contact interfaces for the conveying rollers as described above are exemplary only and any suitable hardness scale may be used for the embodiments described herein . In particular, regardless of the scale used, the material hardness of one or more of the contact interfaces must be less than the material hardness of the conveying rollers, whereby the particles generated duringconveying are mechanically pressed into the material of the contact interfaces.

For example, indentation hardness can be considered (typical indentation hardness scales are, for example, Rockwell, Vickers, Shore, and Brinell). Indentation hardness measures the resistance of a sample to material deformation due to a constant compression load from a sharp object, such as an indenter piston. In such a test, the critical dimensions of the indentation marks left by the specially dimensioned and loaded indenters are measured. According to the embodiments described herein, when performing such a test using the same indenter and the same compression load for the material of the contact interface and the material of the conveying rollers, the critical dimension left by the indenter in the material of the contact interface, For example, the indentation depth is greater (bigger) / deeper than the critical dimension (the indentation depth in this example) left by the indenter in the material of the conveying rollers. In other words, the material of the contact interface is softer than the material of the conveying rollers, or the material of the conveying rollers is harder than the material of the contact interface.

According to some embodiments that may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the material of one or more of the contact interfaces 50 may be a polymer, a plastic and / or a metal, in particular a polyetherketone, , Polyether ether ketone (PEEK), polyether ether ether ketone (PEEEK), glass fiber reinforced PEEK, unreinforced PEEK, and / or polyether ether ketone ketone (PEEKK). Thus, the contact interfaces 50 can be manufactured easily and cost effectively.

One or more of the contact interfaces 50 may include a layer of material, a rod, a rail, and a bar, according to some embodiments that may be combined with other embodiments described herein. Or the like. The example of Figure 1 illustrates an embodiment in which the contact interface 50 comprises a material layer or the contact interface 50 is a material layer. In typical embodiments, a layer of material is provided in the frame 30. By way of example, one or more of the frame elements may include a layer of material in an area where the frame 30 is configured to contact the rollers of the conveying system, and in particular, only the frame 30, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > a < / RTI > In typical embodiments, one or more of the frame elements may be at least partially coated with a layer of material or may be laminated. The material layer may be a thin film or coating, for example having a thickness in the range of 100 to 300 占 퐉, and especially about 200 占 퐉.

In other embodiments, one or more of the frame elements and one or more of the contact interfaces 50 are made of the same material. In other embodiments, one or more of the frame elements and one or more of the contact interfaces 50 are made of the same material. Excess contact interfaces 50 are made of different materials. Thus, the contact interfaces 50 may be designed according to, for example, process requirements or other considerations, such as complexity factors or costs of manufacture.

According to some embodiments that may be combined with other embodiments described herein, one or more contact interfaces 50 are provided detachably from one or more of the frame elements . By way of example, contact interfaces 50 may be exchanged or replaced when contact interfaces 50 are damaged or worn.

According to some embodiments that may be combined with other embodiments described herein, one or more of the frame elements and one or more of the contact interfaces 50 are made of one piece, . This permits easy and cost-effective production of the retaining array 10.

According to some embodiments that may be combined with other embodiments described herein, one or more of the contact interfaces 50 may have a rounded, oval, or rectangular shape. By way of example, the contact interface is a material layer and the frame element (e.g., coated or laminated) on which the contact interface 50 is provided may have a round, oval, or rectangular shape, Adopting the shape of the element (s).

In exemplary embodiments, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the retaining arrangement 10 is configured to hold a vertically oriented substrate 20. By way of example, the regions of the retaining arrangement 10 - elements in contact with the elements of the conveying system (e.g., rollers) - the elements of the conveying system move relative to the retaining arrangement 10 - May be the contact interface 50. Thereby, it can be ensured that most or even all of the particles produced duringconveying are absorbed by the contact interface 50.

Figure 2 shows a retaining arrangement 10 for holding a substrate 20 during a vacuum process, in accordance with other embodiments described herein.

The retaining arrangement of FIG. 2 is similar to the retaining arrangement of FIG. 1, with the difference that the contact interface 500 includes a rod, a rail, or a bar. The rod, rail, or bar may be referred to as a "contact rod", a "contact rail", and a "contact bar", respectively. The terms "load "," rail ", and "bar" may include any elongated member or element suitable for serving as a contact interface. In typical embodiments, a rod, rail, or bar is provided on one or more of the frame elements and configured to contact one or more of the conveying rollers of the conveying system. In the example shown in Figure 2, the rods, rails, or bars are attached to the frame, e.g., by one or more connecting elements 501, e.g., connecting bridges.

According to some embodiments that may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the rod, rail, or bar may have a round, oval, or rectangular cross section.

According to some embodiments, a rod, rail, or bar is at least partially covered with the layer of material described above with respect to FIG. By way of example, the rod, rail, or bar may be made of polymer, plastic, and / or metal, and the material layer at least partially covering the rod, Lt; / RTI >

FIG. 3 shows a detail view of a system for retaining the retaining arrangement 10 according to the embodiments described herein.

The system for retaining the retaining arrangement 10 may include a coupling arrangement configured to contact one or more of the contact interfaces 500 of the retaining arrangement 10 to retain the retaining arrangement 10, Rollers < / RTI >

The retaining arrangement of FIG. 3 is similar to the retaining arrangement of FIG. 2 in that the contact interface 500 includes a rod, rail, or bar. The rods, rails, or bars are provided on one or more of the frame elements and are configured to contact one or more of the conveying rollers (60) of the conveying system. In the example shown in Figure 3, the rod, rail, or bar is attached to the frame, e.g., by one or more connecting elements 501, e.g., connecting bridges.

According to some other embodiments that can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the conveying rollers 60 include a recess 61. [ By way of example, the recess 61 is configured to at least partially receive the contact interface 500. The contact interface 500 may be configured to engage the recess 61. In the exemplary embodiments, the recess 61 is configured to guide the retaining arrangement 10 during conveying. 3 illustrates an example in which the contact interface 500 includes a rod, a rail, or a bar, the present disclosure is not so limited. The retaining arrangement of FIG. 3 may also be configured as the retaining arrangement described with respect to FIG.

According to different embodiments, the retaining arrangement 10 may be utilized for PVD deposition processes, CVD deposition processes, substrate structuring edging, heating (e.g., annealing), or any type of substrate processing. . Embodiments of retaining arrangements 10 and methods of utilizing such retaining arrangements 10 as described herein are non-stationary, i.e., non-stationary, of vertically oriented large area glass substrates, Which is particularly useful for continuous substrate processing. Non-fixed processing typically requires that the maintenance arrangement also provide masking elements for the process.

Figure 4 shows a schematic view of a chamber 600, e.g., a deposition chamber, according to embodiments. The chamber 600 is made for a deposition process such as a PVD or CVD process. The substrate 20 is shown as being (at or within) the retaining arrangement 10 or carrier or within the carrier transport device 620 according to the embodiments described herein. A deposition source 630, e.g., a material source or a source of deposition material, is provided in the processing chamber 612 to face the side of the substrate 20 to be coated. A deposition source 630, e.g., a deposition material source, provides a deposition material to be deposited on the substrate 20.

In Figure 4, the deposition source 630 may be a target having an evaporation material on top, or any other arrangement that allows the material to be released for deposition on the substrate 20. [ Typically, the deposition source 630 may be a rotatable target. According to some embodiments, the deposition source 630 may be movable, in order to position and / or replace the source. According to other embodiments, the material source may be a planar target.

According to some embodiments, the deposition material may be selected according to the deposition process, and according to the subsequent application of the coated substrate 20. For example, the deposition material of the deposition source 630 may be a material selected from the group consisting of: metals such as aluminum, molybdenum, titanium, or copper, silicon, indium tin oxide, and other transparent conductive oxides. Typically, an oxide-layer, a nitride-layer, or a carbide-layer, which may include such materials, can be formed by providing the material from a source or by reactive deposition, For example, by reacting with elements such as carbon, nitride, or carbon. According to some embodiments, thin film transistor materials such as silicon oxides, silicon oxynitrides, silicon nitrides, aluminum oxides, or aluminum oxynitrides can be used as the deposition materials.

Typically, the substrate 20 is provided in or on the carrier array 10 or carrier, which may also serve as an edge exclusion mask, particularly for non-stationary deposition processes. Dashed lines 665 illustratively illustrate the path of the deposition material during operation of the chamber. According to other embodiments that may be combined with other embodiments described herein, masking may be provided by a separate edge exclusion mask that is provided in the processing chamber 612. As such, the retaining arrangement 10 according to the embodiments described herein may be beneficial for fixed processes and also for non-fixed processes.

5 shows a flow diagram of a method 100 for conveying a retaining arrangement according to embodiments described herein.

A method (100) for conveying a retaining arrangement includes the steps of contacting at least one of the conveying rollers of the conveying system (block (101)) by at least one of the contact interfaces, (Block 102). In typical embodiments, the retaining arrangement is conveyed by rotation of the rollers of the conveying system.

According to some embodiments, large area substrates may have a size of at least 0.174 m 2. Typically, the size may range from about 1.4 m 2 to about 8 m 2, more typically from about 2 m 2 to about 9 m 2, or even up to 12 m 2. Typically, the rectangular substrates are large area substrates as described herein, and the retaining arrangements according to the embodiments described herein may be used for such rectangular substrates. For example, a large area substrate may be a fifth generation corresponding to about 1.4 m 2 substrates (1.1 m x 1.3 m), a 7.5 generation substrate corresponding to about 4.39 m 2 substrates (1.95 m x 2.25 m), about 5.5 m 2 substrates m, or even 10 generations corresponding to about 8.7 m 2 substrates (2.85 m x 3.05 m). Even larger generations such as the eleventh and twelfth generations and corresponding substrate areas can similarly be implemented.

Typically, the substrate may be made of any material suitable for material deposition. For example, the substrate may be a glass (e.g., soda-lime glass, borosilicate glass, etc.), metal, polymer, ceramic, compound materials, carbon Fiber materials, or any other material or combination of materials.

During conveying, abrasion or wear can occur in the contact areas between the carrier and the rollers. Since the Shore D hardness of the material of one or more of the contact interfaces is in the range of 85 to 90, the particles produced duringconveying are mechanically pressed into the material of the contact interfaces, thus avoiding the contamination impact during the deposition process . As a result, the quality of the layers deposited is improved.

While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.

Claims

A holding arrangement (10) for holding a substrate (20) during a vacuum process, said holding arrangement (10) comprising:
A frame (30) having one or more frame elements; And
One or more contact interfaces 50 provided on one or more of the frame elements and configured to contact one or more conveying rollers 60 of a conveying system, , 500)
Shore D hardness of the material of the one or more contact interfaces 50, 500 is in the range of 85 to 90,
Wherein the material hardness of the one or more contact interfaces (50,500) is less than the material hardness of the conveying rollers (60)
A retaining arrangement for holding a substrate during a vacuum process.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the Shore D hardness of the material of the one or more contact interfaces 50,500 is in the range of 87 to 89 or the Shore D hardness of the material of the one or more contact interfaces 50,500 is 87 or 89 ,
A retaining arrangement for holding a substrate during a vacuum process.

The method according to claim 1,
The one or more contact interfaces 50,500 may include one or more of a material layer, a rod, a rail, and a bar.
A retaining arrangement for holding a substrate during a vacuum process.

The method according to claim 1,
The material of the one or more contact interfaces 50,500 may include one or more of polymer, plastic, metal, polyetherketone, PEEK, PEEEK, glass fiber reinforced PEEK, and PEEKK doing,
A retaining arrangement for holding a substrate during a vacuum process.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the one or more frame elements comprise one or more of polymer, plastic, and metal.
A retaining arrangement for holding a substrate during a vacuum process.

The method according to claim 1,
The one or more frame elements and the one or more contact interfaces (50,500) are made of the same material,
A retaining arrangement for holding a substrate during a vacuum process.

The method according to claim 1,
The one or more frame elements and the one or more contact interfaces (50,500) are made of different materials,
A retaining arrangement for holding a substrate during a vacuum process.

The method according to claim 1,
The one or more contact interfaces (50, 500) are provided detachably from the one or more frame elements.
A retaining arrangement for holding a substrate during a vacuum process.

The method according to claim 1,
The one or more frame elements and the one or more contact interfaces 50,500 are made of one piece,
A retaining arrangement for holding a substrate during a vacuum process.

The method according to claim 1,
The one or more contact interfaces 50,500 may be rounded, oval, or rectangular in shape,
A retaining arrangement for holding a substrate during a vacuum process.

The method according to claim 1,
And configured to hold a vertically oriented substrate (20)
A retaining arrangement for holding a substrate during a vacuum process.

delete

12. A system for conveying a retaining arrangement of any one of claims 1 to 11,
(60) configured to contact one or more of the contact interfaces (50) of the retaining arrangement (10) to retain the retaining arrangement (10).
A system for conveying retaining arrays.

An apparatus (600) for depositing a layer on a substrate (20)
A chamber 612 configured for layer deposition inside;
A retaining arrangement (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 11 in said chamber; And
And a deposition source (630) for depositing a material forming the layer.
An apparatus for depositing a layer on a substrate.

12. A method (100) for conveying a retaining arrangement of any one of claims 1 to 11, the method comprising:
Contacting (101) with at least one of the conveying rollers of the conveying system by at least one of the contact interfaces; And
Converting the retaining arrangement (102)
A method for conveying a retaining arrangement.