KR102192566B1 - Sputter deposition source, sputter deposition apparatus, and method of depositing a layer on a substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, sputter deposition sources 100 and 200 are provided. The sputter deposition source is: an array of electrodes 110 having two or more pairs of electrodes-each electrode 112 of the array of electrodes is rotatable about a respective axis of rotation A, and the substrate 10 Configured to provide a target material to be deposited thereon; And a power supply arrangement 120 configured to supply a bipolar pulsed DC voltage to two or more pairs of electrodes, respectively. According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, a method of depositing a layer on a substrate using a sputter deposition source 100, 200 is provided.

Description

Sputter deposition source, sputter deposition apparatus, and method of depositing a layer on a substrate

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a sputter deposition source configured to deposit a layer on a substrate. The present disclosure further relates to a sputter deposition apparatus having a sputter deposition source, as well as a method of depositing a thin layer on a substrate by sputtering. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to sputtering using an array of rotatable electrodes.

[0002] Forming thin layers on a substrate with high layer uniformity is a relevant issue in many technical fields. For example, in the field of thin film transistors (TFTs), thickness uniformity of one or more deposited layers and uniformity of electrical properties may be an issue for reliably manufacturing display channel regions.

[0003] One method for forming a layer on a substrate is sputtering, and sputtering has been developed as a very beneficial method in the manufacture of various manufacturing fields, such as TFTs. During sputtering, atoms are ejected from the material of the sputter target by the bombardment of the sputter target and energetic particles of the plasma (e.g., energized ions of an inert or reactive gas). )do. Emitted atoms can be deposited on the substrate so that a layer of sputtered material can be formed on the substrate.

Known sputter deposition sources include a power supply arrangement having a power supply for generating electrical energy and supplying it to one or more electrodes, such as cathodes, of the sputter deposition source. The energy is deposited in the gas between the cathodes to ignite and maintain the plasma, and the motion of plasma ions and plasma electrons can be controlled by magnetic assemblies that can be arranged behind the cathodes. The cathodes may comprise individual targets for providing the coating material through sputtering by plasma.

[0005] Sputtering can be achieved with a wide variety of devices with different electrical, magnetic, and mechanical configurations. Known configurations include power source arrangements that provide direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC) to create a plasma, and AC electric fields applied to the gas regularly provide higher plasma rates than DC electric fields. In radio frequency (RF) sputtering devices, by applying an RF electric field, the plasma is struck and maintained. Thus, non-conductive materials can also be sputtered. DC sputtering typically provides higher deposition rates than RF sputtering, but can be more problematic because the arcing rate can be high.

It would be beneficial to provide a sputter deposition source configured to provide high deposition rates while reducing the arcing rate. Further, a sputter deposition source as well as a sputter deposition apparatus to enable uniform layers of sputtered material would be beneficial.

In consideration of the above, a sputter deposition source, a sputter deposition apparatus, as well as a method of depositing a layer on a substrate are provided.

[0008] According to one aspect of the disclosure, a sputter deposition source is described. The sputter deposition source comprises: an array of electrodes having two or more pairs of electrodes, wherein each electrode of the array of electrodes is rotatable about a respective axis of rotation and is configured to provide a target material to be deposited on the substrate; And a power supply arrangement configured to supply a bipolar pulsed DC voltage to two or more pairs of electrodes, respectively.

[0009] According to a further aspect, a sputter deposition apparatus is described. The sputter deposition apparatus includes: a vacuum chamber; A sputter deposition source comprising an array of electrodes having two or more pairs of electrodes, the array of electrodes arranged in a vacuum chamber; And a substrate support arranged within the vacuum chamber and configured to support the substrate during deposition. Each electrode of the array of electrodes is rotatable about a respective axis of rotation and is configured to provide a target material to be deposited on the substrate. The sputter deposition source further includes a power supply arrangement configured to supply a bipolar pulsed DC voltage to two or more pairs of electrodes, respectively.

[0010] According to another aspect, a method of depositing a layer on a substrate using a sputter deposition source comprising an array of rotatable electrodes is described. The method includes each supplying a bipolar pulsed DC voltage to two or more pairs of electrodes of an array of rotatable electrodes.

[0011] Further aspects, advantages, and features of the present disclosure are apparent from the dependent claims, description, and accompanying drawings.

[0012] In such a way that the above-listed features of the present disclosure may be understood in detail, a more specific description of the present disclosure briefly summarized above may be made with reference to embodiments. The accompanying drawings relate to embodiments of the present disclosure and are described below. Typical embodiments are shown in the drawings and are described in detail in the detailed description below.
1 shows a schematic diagram of a sputter deposition source in accordance with some embodiments described herein;
[0014] Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a sputter deposition source in accordance with some embodiments described herein;
3 is a graph showing bipolar pulsed DC voltage and individual currents that may be applied to a pair of electrodes in a sputter deposition source according to embodiments described herein;
4A and 4B are diagrams to illustrate the reduction of arcing rate by sputtering according to the methods described herein;
5 shows a schematic diagram of a sputter deposition apparatus according to some embodiments described herein; And
6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method according to embodiments described herein.

[0019] Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments, and one or more examples of various embodiments are illustrated in each figure. Each example is provided by way of explanation and is not intended as a limitation. For example, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment may be used for any other embodiment or in conjunction with any other embodiment, to yield another further embodiment. This disclosure is intended to cover such modifications and variations.

Within the following description of the drawings, the same reference numbers refer to the same or similar components. In general, only the differences for the individual embodiments are described. Unless otherwise specified, the description of a portion or aspect of one embodiment also applies to the corresponding portion or aspect of another embodiment.

[0021] The process of coating a substrate with a material as described herein typically refers to thin film applications. The terms "coating" and "deposition" are used synonymously herein. The coating process used in the embodiments described herein is sputtering.

[0022] A sputter deposition source according to embodiments described herein includes an array of rotatable electrodes. Each electrode in the array can be configured to provide a target material to be deposited on the substrate. For example, each electrode may comprise a target made of a target material to be deposited on a substrate, such as a cylindrical target. In addition, each electrode may be configured to be rotatable about an individual axis of rotation with the target material. The utilization of cylindrical targets can be improved.

[0023] In general, sputtering can be undertaken as diode sputtering or as magnetron sputtering. Magnetron sputtering is particularly advantageous in that the deposition rates are rather high. Typically, a magnetic assembly is positioned within the rotatable electrode. By arranging the magnet assembly in the rotatable electrode, ie inside the cylindrical target, free electrons on the target surface are forced to move into the magnetic field and cannot escape. This improves the probability of ionizing gas molecules, typically by a factor of 10. This significantly increases the deposition rate.

The substrate can be moved continuously during coating (“dynamic coating”), or the substrate can be stationary during coating (“static coating”). In the case of dynamic coating, since the substrate holders are often also coated, static coating is advantageous in that compared to dynamic coating, the amount of target material used for coating is less. Static coating in particular makes it possible to coat large area substrates. Substrates enter the coating area, are coated, and the substrates are again taken out of the coating area.

[0025] Sputtering can be used in the production of displays. In more detail, sputtering can be used for metallization, such as the creation of electrodes or busses. Sputtering is also used for the creation of thin film transistors (TFTs). Sputtering can also be used to create a transparent conductive oxide layer, such as an indium tin oxide (ITO) layer.

[0026] Sputtering can also be used in the production of thin film solar cells. In general, thin-film solar cells include a back contact, an absorbing layer, and a transparent and conductive oxide layer (TCO). Typically, the back contact and TCO layer are produced by sputtering, while the absorber layer is typically produced in a chemical vapor deposition process.

[0027] The term "substrate" as used herein will encompass both non-flexible substrates (eg, a wafer or glass plate) and flexible substrates (eg, webs and foils). In some embodiments, the substrate is a non-flexible substrate, such as a glass plate, for example used in the production of solar cells.

[0028] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the voltage applied to the rotatable electrodes changes over time. That is, a non-constant voltage is applied to the rotatable electrodes.

1 shows a schematic diagram of a sputter deposition source 100 according to embodiments described herein. The sputter deposition source 100 comprises an array of electrodes 110, and the array of electrodes 110 comprises two or more pairs of electrodes, e.g., a first pair of electrodes 114 and a second pair of electrodes 115. Include. The first pair of electrodes 114 and the second pair of electrodes 115 are shown in FIG. 1. In other embodiments more than two pairs of electrodes may be provided. In some embodiments, an even number of electrodes are provided. In other embodiments, an odd number of electrodes may be provided. In the case where an odd number of electrodes are provided, one electrode, for example the outermost electrode, may not belong to one of two or more pairs of electrodes.

[0030] The electrodes of the pair of electrodes may be adjacent electrodes. For example, each pair of electrodes may include a first electrode and a second electrode, and the first electrode and the second electrode are arranged with a distance of 50 cm or less, particularly 30 cm or less, between the first electrode and the second electrode. do. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the first pair of electrodes 114 comprises two adjacent electrodes, and the second pair of electrodes 115 comprises two adjacent electrodes of the array of electrodes 110. Plasma 130 between the electrodes of the pair of electrodes by applying a potential difference between the electrodes, for example by applying a negative voltage to the first electrode of the pair of electrodes and applying a positive potential to the second electrode of the pair of electrodes. Can be created. Thus, the first electrode acts as a cathode and the second electrode acts as an anode, or vice versa.

[0031] In some embodiments, the electrodes of the array of electrodes may be arranged at evenly spaced distances. In other words, the distance between two electrodes of pairs of electrodes may correspond to the distance between two adjacent electrodes of different pairs.

[0032] The electrodes 112 of the array of electrodes 110 may be provided in an essentially linear arrangement. For example, a linear row of electrodes may be provided. Thus, a large area substrate can be coated by simultaneous sputtering from electrodes 112 provided in a linear arrangement.

The electrodes 112 are rotatable about an individual axis of rotation A, and are configured to provide a target material to be deposited on the substrate 10. For example, each electrode 112 may be provided with an essentially cylindrical target. By rotating the electrode together with the target about an individual axis of rotation during deposition, the utilization of the target can be improved and a uniform layer can be deposited.

The sputter deposition source 100 further includes a power supply arrangement 120 configured to supply a bipolar pulsed DC voltage to two or more pairs of electrodes, respectively. In other words, a bipolar pulsed DC voltage may be supplied to each pair of electrodes by the power supply arrangement 120. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the power supply arrangement 120 applies a bipolar pulsed DC voltage to the first pair 114 of electrodes and a bipolar pulsed DC voltage to the second pair 115 of electrodes. Is configured to

[0035] As used herein, a bipolar pulsed DC voltage is a voltage having an alternating polarity (“positive polarity”) applied to the electrodes of a pair of electrodes. Thus, the first electrode of the pair of electrodes alternately acts as a cathode and as an anode, and the second electrode of the pair of electrodes alternately acts as an anode and as a cathode.

[0036] Bipolar pulsed DC sputtering is different from regular AC sputtering, such as MF sputtering or RF sputtering, in that the waveform of the voltage is not a sine wave. Rather, the waveform of the voltage can be essentially constant in time (direct current, "DC"). For example, the waveform of the bipolar pulsed DC voltage may be a square wave or a square pile. In particular, different from the sinusoidal voltage, the positive portion of the waveform can be essentially constant in time and/or the negative portion of the waveform can be essentially constant in time.

[0037] In some embodiments, each electrode of the array of electrodes may alternately act as an anode and as a cathode. No separate electrodes are provided which need to act as anodes in succession.

[0038] In some embodiments, the frequency of the bipolar pulsed DC voltage may be 1 kHz or more and 100 kHz or less, particularly 10 kHz or more and 80 kHz or less, and more particularly 30 kHz or more and 50 kHz or less. Here, the waveform of the bipolar pulsed DC voltage may be repeated at a frequency of 1 kHz or more to 100 kHz or less.

In the following description, advantages of the voltage applied in the embodiments described herein compared to the sputtering processes used previously will be described. Pulsed magnetron sputtering processes exist as single magnetron sputtering (SMS) and dual magnetron sputtering (DMS). In single magnetron sputtering, a unipolar pulsed voltage can be applied to the cathodes of the array of cathodes. Typically separate anodes are provided. By periodically pulsing the voltage applied to the cathodes ("unipolar pulsed voltage"), accumulation of electric charges on the cathodes can be suppressed, and arcing can be reduced.

[0040] In dual magnetron sputtering, the polarity of the voltage between the electrodes of a pair of electrodes is periodically switched. Compared to AC sputtering, pulses are used instead of sinusoidal voltage.

According to the embodiments described herein, the array of electrodes is divided into a plurality of electrode pairs, and a bipolar pulsed DC voltage is supplied to the plurality of electrode pairs, respectively. A large number of pairs of electrodes may be provided, such as two, three, four or more pairs of electrodes. This enables rapid and efficient coating of large area substrates using a conductive or dielectric layer. In particular, due to the pulsed DC voltage, such as a square wave voltage, the power efficiency is higher than in the case of an AC voltage, such as a sine wave voltage. In addition, sputtering using pulsed DC voltage provides better sputtering stability than sputtering using AC sine wave voltage. Compared to sputtering using DC constant voltage, the deposition rate according to the embodiments described herein is hardly reduced.

Further, as the electrodes of the array of electrodes alternately act as cathodes and anodes, the arcing rate can be significantly reduced compared to DC sputtering. During the negative part of the waveform of the voltage, ions are attracted towards the negatively charged electrode, and sputtering occurs. Then, during the positive portion of the waveform of the applied voltage, electrons are accelerated toward the positively charged electrode, and the accumulation of positive charges on the electrode is reduced. Sputtering takes place on individual pairs of different electrodes that can be simultaneously negatively charged. Since high charge differences cannot accumulate between the electrodes of pairs of electrodes, the risk of arcing is reduced.

In particular, sputtering using a bipolar pulsed DC voltage enables improved arcing suppression, no process stability problems, and provides better layer uniformity control compared to conventional DC sputtering. In addition, the rectangular waveform voltage in DC bipolar sputtering makes it possible to reduce the loss of deposition rate when compared to conventional AC sine wave sputtering methods.

[0044] In some embodiments that may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the power supply arrangement 120 may alternately generate a positive voltage to each electrode 112 of the array of electrodes 110, In particular, it can be configured to supply a positive DC voltage, and a negative voltage, in particular a negative DC voltage. The electrodes of the array of electrodes can alternately act as cathodes and as anodes, in particular for another electrode of the same pair of electrodes.

[0045] In some embodiments that may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the power supply arrangement may be configured to apply a square wave or square wave voltage to each of the two or more pairs of electrodes. The square wave or square wave voltage may have a frequency of approximately 40 kHz.

[0046] In some embodiments that may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the power supply arrangement 120 may be configured to supply a symmetrical bipolar pulsed DC voltage to two or more pairs of electrodes, respectively. have. For example, the negative voltage amplitude of the bipolar pulsed DC voltage may correspond to the positive voltage amplitude of the bipolar pulsed DC voltage. Alternatively or additionally, the negative voltage period of the bipolar pulsed DC voltage may correspond to the positive voltage period of the bipolar pulsed DC voltage. Alternatively or additionally, the shape and/or amplitude of the positive waveform portion of the bipolar pulsed DC voltage may essentially correspond to the shape and/or amplitude of the negative waveform portion of the bipolar pulsed DC voltage.

[0047] Alternatively, an asymmetric (also referred to as anti-symmetric) bipolar pulsed DC voltage may be applied. For example, the size of the positive portion of the waveform may be smaller than the size of the negative portion or vice versa. However, in the case of an array of evenly shaped electrodes, a symmetrical bipolar pulsed DC voltage can be advantageous, since a uniform layer can be deposited on the substrate.

As schematically indicated in FIG. 1, two or more pairs of electrodes may be provided in an essentially linear arrangement, such as a linear row of electrodes.

[0049] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a sputter deposition source 200 in accordance with some embodiments described herein. The sputter deposition source 200 of FIG. 2 essentially corresponds to the sputter deposition source 100 of FIG. 1, so that the above descriptions may be referred to, and these are not repeated here.

[0050] The sputter deposition source 200 comprises an array of electrodes 110 comprising three or more pairs of electrodes, in particular four or more pairs of electrodes, more particularly six or more pairs of electrodes. Each pair of electrodes comprises a first electrode and a second electrode, the first electrode and the second electrode being typically adjacent electrodes. The electrodes are configured to be rotatable about individual axes of rotation.

[0051] The sputter deposition source 200 further includes a power supply arrangement 120 configured to supply a bipolar pulsed DC voltage to each pair of electrodes.

[0052] The electrodes of the array of electrodes 110 may be provided in an essentially linear arrangement. Alternatively, the electrodes can be provided in a curved arrangement, for example an arc arrangement.

[0053] The power supply arrangement 120 may be configured to synchronously supply a bipolar pulsed DC voltage to pairs of electrodes. In other words, the operation of the pairs of electrodes is such that the electrodes of the array of electrodes alternately act as cathodes and anodes at the first time, and the electrodes are oppositely charged and alternately act as anodes and cathodes at the second time. So, it can be synchronized. The electrodes can synchronously change their polarity at a predetermined frequency.

In other embodiments, the power supply arrangement 120 may be configured to supply a bipolar pulsed DC voltage to the pairs of electrodes independently of each other, ie, without synchronization between the pairs of electrodes.

[0055] In some embodiments that may be combined with other embodiments described herein, electrodes 112 may be provided with individual cylindrical targets comprising the target material to be deposited. For example, the target material may include at least one or more of metal, metal alloy, semiconductor, metal-nonmetal-compound, ITO, IGZO, and aluminum. The sputter deposition source 200 may be configured to deposit a TCO layer on a substrate. In some embodiments, the sputter deposition source 200 may be configured to deposit an IGZO layer on the substrate 10.

In some embodiments, each of the two or more pairs of electrodes may be connected to the DC power supply 125 of the power supply arrangement 120 via the pulsing unit 122. The number of pulsing units 122 and the number of DC power supply units 125 may correspond to the number of pairs of electrodes. The pulsing unit 122 may be configured to convert a DC voltage provided by the DC power supply into a bipolar pulsed DC voltage.

At least one of the DC power supplies, in particular each DC power supply, may be configured to provide power of 1 kW or more to 200 kW or less, in particular 10 kW or more to 100 kW or less. In some embodiments, DC power supplies may be configured to provide a power range of 1 kW to 10 kW, a power range of 10 kW to 100 kW, and/or a power range of 100 kW to 200 kW, respectively. In some embodiments, DC power supplies may be configured to provide 120 kW of power. Alternatively or additionally, at least one of the power supplies, in particular each DC power supply, may be configured to provide a voltage of 100 V or more and 1000 V or less. In some embodiments, each power supply may be configured to provide a voltage of 300 V to 800 V, as well as a power of 30 kW or more to 60 kW or less. For example, at the output terminal of the pulsing unit 122, the voltage amplitude may change periodically between a first value (+500 V) and a second value (-500 V).

3 is a graph showing a bipolar pulsed DC voltage that may be applied to a pair of electrodes in a sputter deposition source according to embodiments described herein, as a function of time t. The first graph shows the voltage U1 applied to the first electrode of the pair of electrodes, and the second graph shows the voltage U2 applied to the second electrode of the pair of electrodes, which may be an inverted voltage. do. In the illustrated embodiment, a bipolar square wave or rectangular wave voltage is applied to the pair of electrodes. In practice, the positive and negative portions of the voltage can each be only approximately constant. In some embodiments, a corresponding voltage may be applied synchronously to each pair of electrodes.

Further, the current I flowing between the electrodes of a pair of electrodes during operation, as a function of time t, is illustrated in FIG. 3. Here, the current may follow the shape of the applied voltage waveform, that is, the frequency of the current may correspond to the frequency of the applied voltage.

4A and 4B are diagrams for illustrating an arcing rate reduction by sputtering according to the methods described herein.

4A shows the arcing rate (arc/sec) shown as a function of the frequency of the applied bipolar pulsed DC voltage. The bar on the left side of the graph shows that the arcing rate in the case of DC sputtering is higher than 0.5 arc/sec for a given set of sputtering parameters. When a bipolar pulsed DC voltage is applied, the arcing rate is reduced to a rate of less than 0.05 arc/sec, as a function of the frequency of the bipolar pulsed DC parameters for a given set of sputtering parameters. Due to the low arcing rate in the manageable complexity of the power supply arrangement 120, frequencies of bipolar pulsed DC voltages of 10 kHz or more and 80 kHz or less are advantageous.

4B shows the arcing rate (arc/sec) shown as a function of sputtering power provided by a DC power supply 125 connected to one of two or more pairs of electrodes through a pulsing unit 122 Shows. A given set of sputtering parameters are provided. Due to the low arcing rate at relatively high deposition rates, sputtering powers of 30 kW or more to less than 60 kW are advantageous. The graph is shown for different portions of oxygen in the background gas in the vacuum chamber during sputtering. As can be seen in FIG. 4B, the arcing rate increases with the oxygen rate in the vacuum chamber, but remains at a low level.

5 shows a schematic diagram of a sputter deposition apparatus 400 according to embodiments described herein. The sputter deposition apparatus 400 includes a vacuum chamber 402, a sputter deposition source 100 having an array 110 of electrodes arranged in the vacuum chamber 402, and a substrate arranged in the vacuum chamber 402 and during deposition. And a substrate support 406 configured to support 10.

In the illustrated embodiment, the sputter deposition source 100 includes four electrodes 112 arranged inside the vacuum chamber 402, ie, two pairs of electrodes. The electrodes 112 are configured as rotary electrodes. More than four rotatable electrodes may be provided.

[0065] The power supply arrangement 120 is arranged outside the vacuum chamber 402 and is electrically connected to the electrodes 112 through individual electrical connections and power connectors.

As indicated in FIG. 5, additional chambers 411 may be provided near the vacuum chamber 402. The vacuum chamber 402 can be separated from the additional chambers 411 by valves each having a valve housing 404 and a valve unit 405. Thus, after the substrate support 406 having the substrate 10 to be coated is inserted into the vacuum chamber 402 as indicated by the arrow 401, the valve units 405 can be closed. Thus, the atmosphere in the vacuum chamber 402 is individually controlled, such as by creating a technical vacuum using vacuum pumps connected to the vacuum chamber 402 and/or by inserting process gases into the deposition zone of the vacuum chamber 402. Can be controlled by

According to typical embodiments, the process gases may include inert gases, such as argon and/or reactive gases, such as oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen and ammonia, ozone, activated gases, and the like.

To transfer the substrate support 406 with the substrate 10 into and out of the vacuum chamber 402, rollers 408 may be provided within the vacuum chamber 402. The term "substrate" as used herein will encompass both non-flexible substrates (e.g., glass substrates, wafers, slices of a transparent crystal such as sapphire, etc.) and flexible substrates (e.g., web or foil). .

A magnet assembly 409 may be arranged on each of the electrodes 112. In some embodiments, the magnet assembly 409 may be pivotable about a pivot axis that may correspond to the axis of rotation A of the individual electrodes.

[0070] The power supply arrangement 120 of the sputter deposition source 100 may correspond to any of the power supply arrangements described above, so that the above descriptions may be referred to. In particular, the power supply arrangement 120 is configured to provide a bipolar pulsed DC voltage to each pair of electrodes.

[0071] The power supply arrangement 120 includes at least one DC power supply unit 125, and at least one pulsing unit 122 for converting the DC voltage of the DC power supply unit 125 into a bipolar pulsed DC voltage. Can include. In some embodiments, a plurality of DC power supplies 125 and a plurality of pulsing units 122 may be provided. In particular, each of the two or more pairs of electrodes may be connected to a respective DC power supply through a respective pulsing unit.

[0072] In some embodiments, a common controller (not shown) may be provided for synchronizing bipolar pulsed DC voltages supplied to two or more pairs of electrodes.

6 is a flow chart illustrating a method of depositing a layer on a substrate using a sputter deposition source according to embodiments described herein. The method includes, at box 610, providing an array of rotatable electrodes arranged in a vacuum chamber, wherein each electrode of the array of rotatable electrodes includes a target made of a target material to be deposited.

In box 620, a bipolar pulsed DC voltage is supplied to two or more pairs of electrodes of the array of rotatable electrodes, respectively.

[0075] In some embodiments, at least one of a square wave voltage, a square wave voltage, and a symmetric bipolar pulsed DC voltage is supplied to the two or more pairs of electrodes, respectively. In particular, a symmetrical bipolar square wave voltage can be supplied.

[0076] For example, the waveform of a bipolar pulsed DC voltage includes a negative voltage portion and a positive voltage portion, and the negative voltage portion essentially corresponds in shape and/or amplitude to the positive voltage portion.

In some embodiments, a bipolar pulsed DC voltage having a frequency of 1 kHz to 100 kHz, in particular 10 kHz to 80 kHz is supplied. Arcing can be reduced. Also, a bipolar DC voltage within the frequency range can be generated with manageable effort.

[0078] In some embodiments that may be combined with other embodiments described herein, a bipolar pulsed DC voltage may be supplied to four or more pairs of electrodes, particularly six pairs of electrodes. The deposition of a uniform layer on a large area substrate, especially on a substrate having an area to be coated of 0.5 m 2 or more, becomes possible. In some embodiments, the electrodes may be arranged in an essentially linear setup.

[0079] A bipolar pulsed DC voltage may be synchronously supplied to the pairs of electrodes. In particular, the polarities of each of the two or more pairs of electrodes can switch essentially synchronously and at the same frequency. In particular, the power supply arrangement can include a plurality of pulsing units that can be synchronized using a common controller.

Each of the two or more pairs of electrodes may be provided with a power of 1 kW or more and 200 kW or less, in particular 10 kW or more and 100 kW or less, and more particularly 30 kW or more and 60 kW or less. Alternatively or additionally, each electrode may be provided with a voltage alternating between a first value of +100 V to +1000 V and a second value of -100 V to -1000 V. A high deposition rate can be provided while a low arcing rate can be ensured.

[0081] In some embodiments that can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the substrate is a transparent conductive oxide layer (TCO-layer), ITO-layer, IGZO-layer, IZO-layer, AlOx-layer , SiO2-layer, or metal layer. The deposition method described herein is particularly advantageous for depositing an IGZO-layer (In-Ga-Zn-O-layer) on a substrate.

[0082] Although the foregoing relates to embodiments of the present disclosure, other and additional embodiments of the present disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope of the present disclosure, and the scope of the present disclosure is as follows. It is determined by the claims of.

Claims (15)

As a sputter deposition source (100, 200),
An array of electrodes 110 comprising two or more pairs of electrodes-each electrode 112 of the array of electrodes 110 is rotatable about a respective rotation axis A, and the substrate 10 Configured to provide a target material to be deposited thereon; And
A power supply arrangement 120 configured to supply a bipolar pulsed DC voltage to two or more pairs of the electrodes, respectively,
The bipolar pulsed DC voltage is supplied at a frequency of 1 kHz or more and 100 kHz or less, and the power supply arrangement 120 is at least one of a power of 1 kW or more and 200 kW or less and a maximum voltage of 100 V or more and 1000 V or less Is configured to provide,
Sputter deposition source. The method of claim 1,
The array of electrodes 110 comprises four, six or more pairs of electrodes provided in an essentially linear arrangement,
Sputter deposition source. The method of claim 1,
The power supply arrangement 120 is configured to apply a square wave or square wave voltage to each of two or more pairs of the electrodes,
Sputter deposition source. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The power supply arrangement 120 is configured to supply a symmetrical bipolar pulsed DC voltage to two or more pairs of the electrodes, respectively,
Sputter deposition source. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Each electrode 112 is provided with a cylindrical target comprising a target material to be deposited,
Sputter deposition source. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Each of the two or more pairs of electrodes is connected to the DC power supply unit 125 of the power supply arrangement 120 through a pulsing unit 122,
Sputter deposition source. delete As a sputter deposition apparatus 400,
Vacuum chamber 402;
Sputter deposition source (100, 200) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the array of electrodes (110) of the sputter deposition source is arranged in the vacuum chamber (402); And
A substrate support 406 arranged within the vacuum chamber 402 and configured to support the substrate 10 during deposition,
Sputter deposition apparatus. A method of depositing a layer on a substrate 10 using a sputter deposition source comprising an array of rotatable electrodes, comprising:
Supplying a bipolar pulsed DC voltage to two or more pairs of electrodes of the array of rotatable electrodes, respectively,
The bipolar pulsed DC voltage is supplied at a frequency of 1 kHz or more and 100 kHz or less, and at least one of a power of 1 kW or more and 200 kW or less and a maximum voltage of 100 V or more and 1000 V or less to each of the two or more pairs of electrodes One is supplied,
A method of depositing a layer on the substrate 10. The method of claim 9,
At least one of a square wave voltage, a square wave voltage, and a symmetrical bipolar pulsed DC voltage is supplied to two or more pairs of the electrodes, respectively,
A method of depositing a layer on the substrate 10. The method of claim 9 or 10,
The waveform of the bipolar pulsed DC voltage comprises a negative voltage portion and a positive voltage portion, the negative voltage portion essentially, the shape and/or amplitude corresponding to the positive voltage portion,
A method of depositing a layer on the substrate 10. delete The method of claim 9 or 10,
Essentially, four or more pairs of electrodes provided in a linear arrangement are synchronously provided with a bipolar pulsed DC voltage,
A method of depositing a layer on the substrate 10. delete The method of claim 9 or 10,
At least one of a transparent conductive oxide layer, ITO-layer, IGZO-layer, IZO-layer, AlOx-layer, SiO2-layer, or metal layer is deposited on the substrate,
A method of depositing a layer on the substrate 10.

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