KR102195789B1 - Process gas segmentation for static reactive sputter processes - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for static deposition of material on a substrate is described. The apparatus includes a cathode array having three or more cathodes spaced along a substrate transport direction and a gas distribution system for providing one or more process gases, the gas distribution system comprising: Configured to control the flow rate of at least one of the one or more process gases, independently for two or more positions along the direction.

Description

Process gas segmentation for static reactive sputter processes {PROCESS GAS SEGMENTATION FOR STATIC REACTIVE SPUTTER PROCESSES}

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to layer deposition by sputtering from a target. Embodiments of the present invention relate specifically to sputtering for large area substrates, and more particularly, sputtering for static deposition processes. Embodiments relate particularly to an apparatus and method for depositing a layer of material on a substrate.

[0002] In many applications, it is necessary to deposit thin layers on a substrate, eg, on a glass substrate. Typically, the substrates are coated in different chambers of the coating apparatus. For some applications, the substrates are coated in a vacuum using a vacuum deposition technique.

[0003] Several methods are known for depositing material on a substrate. For example, 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, or the like. Typically, the process is performed in a process chamber or process apparatus in which the substrate to be coated is located. A vapor deposition material is provided to the device. A plurality of materials as well as oxides, nitrides, or carbides of such materials may be used for deposition on a substrate. The materials to be coated can be used in many applications and in many fields of technology. For example, substrates for displays are usually coated by a physical vapor deposition (PVD) process.

[0004] In the case of a PVD process, the deposition material may be present in the target in a solid phase. By bombarding the target with energetic particles, atoms of the target material, ie the material to be deposited, are released from the target. The atoms of the target material are deposited on the substrate to be coated. In a PVD process, the sputter material, ie the material to be deposited on the substrate, can be arranged in a variety of ways. For example, the target may be made of the material to be deposited, or it may have a backing element-the material to be deposited is fixed on the backing element. The target containing the material to be deposited is fixed or supported in a predefined position in the deposition chamber. In case a rotatable target is used, the target is connected to a rotating shaft, or to a connecting element connecting the shaft and the target.

Typically, sputtering can be performed as magnetron sputtering, and the magnet assembly is utilized to confine the plasma, for improved sputtering conditions. As such, plasma confinement can also be utilized to control the particle distribution of the material to be deposited on the substrate. Plasma distribution, plasma properties, and other deposition parameters need to be controlled in order to obtain the desired layer deposition on the substrate. For example, a uniform layer with desired layer properties is desired. This is particularly important in large area deposition, for example manufacturing displays on large area substrates. In addition, uniformity and process stability can be difficult to achieve, particularly in the case of static deposition processes in which the substrate is not continuously moved through the deposition zone. Thus, taking into account the increasing demands on the manufacture of large-scale opto-electronic devices and other devices, process uniformity and/or stability needs to be further improved.

[0006] In particular, deposition of compound layers by a reactive sputter process can be a challenge for large area substrates. The stoichiometry of the film is a metallic, semi-metallic, or compound target, using a mixture of non-reactive gases (e.g. argon) and reactive gases (e.g. O2, N2, H2, H2O, etc.). Are obtained by sputtering.

[0007] Thus, there is a need to improve PVD deposition, particularly for large area substrates.

[0008] In view of the above, an apparatus and method for depositing a layer of material on a substrate according to independent claims 1 and 11 are provided. Additional aspects, advantages, and features of the invention are apparent from the dependent claims, the detailed description, and the accompanying drawings.

[0009] According to an embodiment, an apparatus for static deposition of a material on a substrate is provided. The apparatus includes a cathode array having three or more cathodes spaced along a substrate transport direction and a gas distribution system for providing one or more process gases, the gas distribution system comprising: Configured to control the flow rate of at least one of the one or more process gases, independently for two or more positions along the direction.

[0010] According to a second embodiment, an apparatus for static deposition of a material on a substrate is provided. The apparatus includes a cathode array having three or more cathodes spaced along a substrate transport direction and a gas distribution system for providing one or more process gases, the gas distribution system comprising: Configured to control the flow rate of at least one of the one or more process gases, independently for two or more positions along the direction, the gas distribution system comprising: the length of the three or more cathodes It comprises three or more gas lines parallel to the longitudinal axes, the three or more gas lines being spaced along the substrate transport direction.

[0011] According to another embodiment, a method for static deposition of a material on a substrate is provided. The method includes providing one or more process gases through a gas distribution system; Controlling a flow rate of at least one of the one or more process gases independently for two or more positions along the substrate transport direction; And sputtering the material from the cathode array, wherein the cathode array has three or more cathodes spaced along the substrate transport direction.

[0012] According to another embodiment, a method for static deposition of a material on a substrate is provided. The method includes providing one or more process gases through a gas distribution system; Controlling a flow rate of at least one of the one or more process gases independently for two or more positions along the substrate transport direction; Sputtering material from a cathode array, the cathode array having three or more cathodes spaced along the substrate transport direction, and at least one positioned parallel to the longitudinal axes of the three or more cathodes. Using the process gas from the gas line, additionally sputtering material onto the substrate.

[0013] A more specific description of the invention briefly summarized above may be made with reference to embodiments in a way that the above-listed features of the invention can be understood in detail. The accompanying drawings are related to embodiments of the present invention and are described below.
1 shows a process gas distribution with a single gas inlet point, according to the state of the art;
FIG. 2 shows a process gas distribution having a two-fold horizontal segmentation and a plurality of gas inlet points within a plurality of gas lines, according to embodiments described herein;
3A shows a top view of a rotary cathode array configuration, the array being supplied by AC generators and provided with a segmented gas distribution according to embodiments described herein;
3B shows a top view of a rotary cathode array configuration, the array being supplied by DC generators and provided with a segmented gas distribution according to embodiments described herein;
4 depicts a process gas distribution with multiple gas inlet points, two-fold horizontal segmentation, and two-fold vertical segmentation in multiple gas lines, according to embodiments described herein;
5 shows a process gas distribution having a two-fold horizontal segmentation and multiple gas inlet points in multiple gas lines (horizontal arrangement of gas lines), according to embodiments described herein;
6 shows an arrangement for testing horizontal segmentation of a process gas flow, with a three-fold vertical segmentation of gas lines, according to an embodiment described herein; And
7 shows a flow diagram illustrating a method of depositing a layer of material onto a substrate, in accordance with embodiments described herein.

[0014] Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention, and examples of one or more of the various embodiments are illustrated in the drawings. Within the following description of the drawings, like reference numbers refer to like components. In general, only the differences for the individual embodiments are described. Each example is provided as a description of the invention and is not intended as a limitation of the invention. In addition, features illustrated or described as part of an embodiment may be used in conjunction with other embodiments or for other embodiments to create further additional embodiments. The detailed description is intended to include such modifications and variations.

[0015] Embodiments described herein relate to apparatus and methods for depositing a layer of material onto a substrate. Especially for reactive sputtering processes, uniformity and/or plasma stability are important parameters to be considered. Reactive sputtering processes, such as those in which the material is sputtered under an oxygen atmosphere or other reactive atmosphere during the deposition processes to deposit a layer containing an oxide of the material being sputtered, etc., may be controlled for plasma stability. There is a need. Typically, the reactive deposition process has a hysteresis curve. Reactive deposition processes include, for example, aluminum oxide (Al2O3), silicon oxide (SiO2), indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (IGZO), ZnO, ZnON, indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), or other It may be a deposition of a metal oxide, and oxygen is provided to the plasma while aluminum, silicon, indium, gallium, or zinc is sputtered from the cathode. Thereby, aluminum oxide, silicon oxide, indium-gallium-zinc-oxide, ZnO, ZnON, indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), or other metal oxides may be deposited on the substrate. The hysteresis curve is typically a function of deposition parameters, such as the voltage provided to the sputter cathode, depending on the flow rate of a process gas such as oxygen.

[0016] During static reactive sputter processes, a different plasma density may be obtained at the center of the targets and at the ends of the targets. This difference results in non-uniform deposition on the substrates. Typical process gas distribution systems use vertical segmentation (ie, segmentation along the longitudinal axes of the targets) to compensate for the different plasma density in the center of the targets and at the ends of the targets. The embodiments described herein provide improved uniformity during static reactive sputter processes when there are different reactive gas consumption or different plasma densities at different positions along the substrate transport direction referred to below as the horizontal direction. Allow. These differences also lead to non-uniform deposition on the substrates. Embodiments described herein allow for compensating for variations in film properties in the horizontal direction, ie in the direction of substrate transport or perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the rotary cathodes.

[0017] According to embodiments described herein, apparatus and methods include a gas distribution system for providing a process gas. Thereafter, the gas distribution system is configured to independently control the flow rate of the process gas for two or more positions along the substrate transport direction. Thus, local film properties in the horizontal direction can be modified. This is particularly beneficial for deposition processes in which the substrate is positioned for a static deposition process. According to some embodiments, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the flow rate of at least one process gas may vary independently for at least one segment over time.

Accordingly, the embodiments described herein allow to modify the local process gas composition, in the horizontal direction, whereby the invention allows, in the horizontal direction, to adjust the film properties of the deposited layers. do. Additional embodiments described herein allow for providing different flow rates of the local process gas at different positions of the target array, eg in both horizontal and vertical directions. The vertical and horizontal segmentation of the present invention results in better deposition properties as compared to layer deposition where only vertical segmentation is possible.

According to different embodiments that can be combined with other embodiments described herein, sputtering may be performed as DC sputtering, middle frequency (MF) sputtering, RF sputtering, or pulse sputtering. As described herein, some deposition processes can advantageously apply MF, DC, or pulsed sputtering. However, other sputtering methods can also be applied.

According to some embodiments, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, sputtering according to the described embodiments may be performed using three or more cathodes. However, especially for applications for large area deposition, the array of cathodes has 6 or more cathodes, eg 10 or more cathodes. Thereby, three or more cathodes or pairs of cathodes, for example four, five, six, or even more cathodes or pairs of cathodes may be provided. Thus, the array can be provided in one vacuum chamber. In addition, the array can typically be defined such that adjacent cathodes or pairs of cathodes influence each other, eg, by having an interacting plasma confinement. According to typical implementations, sputtering may be performed by a rotating cathode array, such as a system such as, but not limited to, a PiVot from Applied Materials Inc.

[0021] According to further exemplary embodiments, which can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the static deposition of material on the substrate is done by a reactive sputter process. This means that the stoichiometry of the film is obtained by sputtering metallic, semi-metallic, or compound targets, using a mixture of non-reactive gas and reactive gases. Typically, the embodiments described herein may also be suitable for static deposition of metal layers or semiconducting layers, using only a non-reactive gas as the process gas. In this case, the apparatus and method of the present invention may allow to have different localized process pressures along the horizontal direction.

According to the embodiments described herein, which can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the partial pressure of at least one of the process gases is varied along the horizontal direction, that is, along the substrate transport direction. . For example, the partial pressure of the reactive gas (eg, oxygen) is varied. It is additionally possible that the pressure of the second process gas, for example a non-reactive or inert gas, is additionally changed. Thus, the total pressure can be essentially constant. According to some embodiments, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the composition or mixture of two or more process gases is varied along the horizontal direction, ie along the substrate transport direction.

[0023] Different local process pressures can lead to different film properties along the horizontal direction of the substrate. For example, while the deposition process is switched off, the substrate is moved into position for deposition in the deposition area. Then, the process pressure can be stabilized. According to one example, once the process pressure is stabilized, the cathode magnet assemblies can be rotated forward to deposit the correct stoichiometry of the material to be deposited onto the static substrate, until the end of the deposition.

[0024] According to typical embodiments, the process gases are non-reactive gases such as argon (Ar) and/or reactive gases such as oxygen (O2), nitrogen (N2), hydrogen (H2), water (H2O), ammonia (NH3), ozone (O3), activated gases, and the like.

1 shows examples of a typical process gas distribution system in which process gas is supplied through single mass flow controllers (MFCs) 134 per process gas mixture. According to further embodiments that may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the flow rate of one or more of the process gases, i.e., the amount of one or more of the process gases, is It can also be controlled by other flow control elements such as needle valves. Thus, MFCs, needle valves, and/or other flow control elements control the flow rate of one or more process gases independently of the segments of the gas distribution system, or for segments of the gas distribution system. It can be used to independently control the amount of one or more process gases. More specifically, FIG. 1 shows a cathode array 222 with cathodes 122 and a process gas distribution system. The process gas distribution system has two gas tanks 136 containing the process gas. The amount and/or flow rates of reactive gas and/or non-reactive gas present in the process gas are controlled by the MFCs 135. The process gas is fed, for example, to a single gas inlet point 138 located at the midpoint in the horizontal direction of the cathode array and at the midpoint in the vertical direction of the cathode array. The process gas feeding takes place through a gas conduit or a gas pipe 133 through a single MFC 134. Similarly, the distribution system may further have multiple gas inlet points 138 within a single gas line located between pairs of cathodes 122 along the horizontal direction.

[0026] It has been found that for static deposition processes, film properties can vary in a number of ways and lead to non-uniformities. In the above-mentioned designs and processes, it is not possible to compensate for any change in film properties in the horizontal direction. In order to make it possible to modify local film properties in the horizontal direction for static deposition, the present invention provides an apparatus and method capable of changing process gas flows in the horizontal direction. To make this possible, the different gas lines in the target array are no longer supplied with the process gas coming from the common MFC. Instead, the process gas is supplied by a number of MFCs, each of which is connected in a horizontal direction to a different segment of gas lines.

[0027] According to different additional or alternative implementations, segmentation in a horizontal direction, that is, a substrate transport direction, may be provided by various embodiments, some of which are illustrated in FIGS. 3A, 3B, 4, and 5 are illustratively described. Referring to these figures, it is possible for the segmentation to be fine-grained in the horizontal direction. For example, a two-fold horizontal segmentation may be provided, but also 3, 4, or even higher numbers of horizontal segments may be provided.

[0028] Referring to FIG. 2, a process gas distribution system for providing process gas is shown, having a two-fold horizontal segmentation and a plurality of gas inlet points 138 within a plurality of gas lines 116. . A number of gas lines 116, e.g., conduits having openings therein, are positioned between pairs of cathodes 122 of cathode array 222, parallel to the longitudinal axes of the cathodes along a horizontal direction. Process gas is supplied by two different MFCs 134 and 234, one for each horizontal segment of the two-fold horizontal segmentation. The process gas distribution system has four gas tanks 136 containing process gas. The amount and/or flow rates of reactive gas and/or non-reactive gas present in the process gas are controlled by the MFCs 135. Process gas is fed to multiple gas inlet points 138 in multiple gas lines 116, through gas conduits or gas pipes 133 and 233, respectively, through MFCs 134 and 234 do.

[0029] Thus, the present embodiment is independently for the two positions of the cathode array 222 in the horizontal direction, in particular, by a change of reactive gases, different process gas mixtures and/or different amounts of process gas and /Or allow to provide different flow rates of process gas. It should be understood that the two-fold horizontal segmentation is used in FIG. 2 for illustrative purposes only. Further, according to different embodiments, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the process gas distribution system may have multiple fold horizontal segmentation. Thus, the process gas distribution system allows to provide different flow rates of process gas and/or different amounts of process gas, in particular reactive gases, independently for two or more positions of the cathode array in the horizontal direction. do.

[0030] Within the target array, depending on the nature of the deposition process, each pair of neighboring cathodes is connected to an AC power supply (FIG. 3A), or each cathode is connected to a DC power supply (FIG. 3B). 3A shows the deposition apparatus 100. Illustratively, one vacuum chamber 102 is shown for the deposition of layers therein. Additional chambers 102 may be provided adjacent to chamber 102, as indicated in FIG. 3A. The vacuum chamber 102 can be separated from adjacent chambers by a valve having a valve housing 104 and a valve unit 105. Thereby, after the carrier 114 having the substrate 14 thereon is inserted into the vacuum chamber 102, as indicated by the arrow 1, the valve unit 105 can be closed. Thus, the atmosphere of the vacuum chambers 102 is individually controlled, for example, by creating a technical vacuum using vacuum pumps connected to the chamber 102 and/or inserting process gases into the deposition area of the chamber. Can be controlled by As explained above, in the case of many large area processing applications, large area substrates are supported by a carrier. However, the embodiments described herein are not limited to a carrier, and other transport elements for transporting a substrate through a processing apparatus or processing system may be used.

[0031] In the chamber 102, a transport system is provided for transporting the carrier 114 with the substrate 14 thereon into and out of the chamber 102. The term “substrate” as used herein includes inflexible substrates, eg, glass substrates, slices of a transparent crystal such as wafers, sapphire, or the like, or a glass plate.

As illustrated in FIG. 3A, in the chamber 102, deposition sources 122 are provided. The deposition sources may be, for example, rotatable cathodes having targets of a material to be deposited on a substrate. Typically, the cathodes may be rotatable cathodes with a magnet assembly 121 inside the cathodes. Thus, magnetron sputtering can be performed for deposition of the layers. According to some embodiments that may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the cathodes 122 are connected to the AC power supply 123 so that the cathodes can be biased in an alternating manner. do.

As further illustrated in FIG. 3A, within the chamber 102, a number of gas lines 116 are provided. The gas distribution system of the apparatus 100 further has six gas tanks 136 containing process gases. The amount or flow rate of reactive gas and/or non-reactive gas present in the process gas is controlled by the MFCs 135. The process gas is a number of gas inlet points within a number of gas lines 116, through gas conduits or gas pipes 133, 233, and 333, respectively, through MFCs 134, 234, and 334. Are fed with a field (not shown). Thus, this embodiment allows to provide different process gas mixtures and/or different flow rates of process gas independently for the three positions of the cathode array in the horizontal direction.

[0034] As used herein, “magnetron sputtering” refers to sputtering performed using a magnetron, ie a magnet assembly, ie a unit capable of generating a magnetic field. Typically, such a magnet assembly consists of one or more permanent magnets. These permanent magnets are typically coupled to a planar target or arranged within a rotatable target in a manner that allows free electrons to be trapped in the generated magnetic field created below the rotatable target surface. Such magnet assemblies may also be arranged coupled to the planar cathode. According to typical implementations, magnetron sputtering may be realized by a double magnetron cathode, i.e., cathodes 122, such as, but not limited to, a TwinMagTM cathode assembly. In particular, in the case of MF sputtering (medium frequency sputtering) from a target, target assemblies including double cathodes may be applied. According to typical embodiments, the cathodes in the deposition chamber are interchangeable. Thus, the targets are exchanged after the material to be sputtered is consumed. According to embodiments of the present application, the intermediate frequency is a frequency in the range of 0.5 kHz to 350 kHz, for example 10 kHz to 50 kHz.

According to different embodiments that can be combined with other embodiments described herein, sputtering may be performed as DC sputtering, middle frequency (MF) sputtering, RF sputtering, or pulse sputtering. As described herein, some deposition processes can advantageously apply MF, DC, or pulsed sputtering. However, other sputtering methods can also be applied.

3A shows a plurality of cathodes 122 in which a magnetron or magnet assembly 121 is provided on the cathodes. According to some embodiments, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, sputtering according to the described embodiments may be performed using three or more cathodes. However, in particular for applications for large area deposition, an array of cathodes or pairs of cathodes may be provided. Thereby, three or more cathodes or pairs of cathodes, such as three, four, five, six, or even more cathodes or cathode pairs may be provided. Thus, the array can be provided in one vacuum chamber. In addition, the array can typically be defined such that adjacent cathodes or pairs of cathodes influence each other, eg, by having an interacting plasma confinement.

In the case of rotatable cathodes, the magnet assemblies may be provided in the backing tube, or the magnet assemblies may be provided with a target material tube. 3A shows three pairs of cathodes, each providing a deposition source 120a, 120b, and 120c, respectively. The pair of cathodes has an AC power supply, for example for MF sputtering, RF sputtering, etc. In particular for large area deposition processes and on an industrial scale deposition processes, MF sputtering can be performed to provide desired deposition rates. Typically, as shown in FIG. 3A, the magnet assemblies of cathodes in one chamber may have essentially the same rotational positions, or may be oriented at least all towards the substrate 14 or the corresponding deposition area. Typically, the deposition area is an area or area of a deposition system, which is provided and/or arranged for deposition of material on a substrate (intentional deposition).

[0038] Further, according to different embodiments that can be combined with other embodiments described herein, plasma sources in one chamber, during deposition of a layer on a substrate, varying plasma positions ( Rotating positions) in the case of rotating cathodes. For example, the magnet assemblies or magnetrons may be moved relative to each other and/or relative to the substrate, e.g. in a vibrating manner or in a back-and-forth manner, to increase the uniformity of the layer to be deposited. have.

[0039] According to some embodiments that can be combined with other embodiments described herein, embodiments described herein utilize display PVD, ie, for sputter deposition on large area substrates for the display market. Can be. In some embodiments, the large area substrates or respective carriers-the carriers having a plurality of substrates-may have a size of at least 0.67 m². Typically, the size can be from about 0.67 m2 (0.73x0.92 m-4.5 generations) to about 8 m2, more typically from about 2 m2 to about 9 m2 or even up to 12 m2. Typically, the substrates or carriers are large area substrates as described herein, and structures, apparatuses, such as cathode assemblies, and methods according to embodiments described herein are used for such substrates or carriers. Is provided. For example, a large area substrate or carrier is 4.5 generation corresponding to about 0.67 m 2 substrates (0.73 x 0.92 m), 5 generation corresponding to about 1.4 m 2 substrates (1.1 x 1.3 m), about 4.29 m 2 substrates (1.95 m). mx 2.2m), 8.5 generations corresponding to about 5.7m2 substrates (2.2mx 2.5m), or even 10 generations corresponding to about 8.7m2 substrates (2.85mx 3.05m). Even larger generations such as 11th and 12th generation and corresponding substrate areas can be similarly implemented.

[0040] According to further embodiments that can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the target material is composed of: aluminum, silicon, tantalum, molybdenum, niobium, titanium, indium, gallium, zinc, and copper Can be selected from the group. In particular, the target material may be selected from the group consisting of indium, gallium, and zinc. Reactive sputter processes typically provide deposited oxides of these target materials. However, nitrides or oxi-nitrides can also be deposited.

In accordance with embodiments described herein, methods provide sputter deposition for positioning of a substrate, for a static deposition process. Typically, particularly in the case of large area substrate processing, such as the processing of vertically oriented large area substrates, a distinction can be made between static and dynamic deposition. According to some embodiments, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the devices for utilizing the gas distribution systems described herein and the substrates and/or carriers described herein are used for vertical substrate processing. Can be configured. As such, the term vertical substrate processing is understood to be used to distinguish it from horizontal substrate processing. In other words, vertical substrate processing relates to the essentially vertical orientation of the substrate and carrier during substrate processing, and the deviation from the correct vertical orientation by a few degrees, e.g., up to 10° or even 15° is still a vertical substrate processing. Is considered as Vertical substrate orientation with small inclination can lead to, for example, more stable substrate handling or a reduction in the risk of particles contaminating the deposited layer. Alternatively, gas distribution systems according to embodiments described herein may also be utilized for substrate orientations other than essentially vertical, such as horizontal substrate orientation. In the case of a horizontal substrate orientation, the cathode array will also, for example, be essentially horizontal.

[0042] Dynamic sputtering, that is, an inline process in which the substrate moves continuously or quasi-continuously adjacent to the deposition source, the process can be stabilized before the substrates move into the deposition area and It will then be easier due to the fact that the substrates can remain constant as they pass the deposition source. However, dynamic deposition can have other drawbacks, such as particle generation. This can be particularly applied to TFT backplane deposition. According to embodiments described herein, static sputtering may be provided, for example, for TFT processing, where the plasma may be stabilized prior to deposition on a pristine substrate. As such, it should be noted that the term static deposition process, which is different compared to dynamic deposition processes, does not preclude any movement of the substrate, as will be appreciated by the skilled person. Static deposition processes include, for example, static substrate position during deposition, oscillating substrate position during deposition, essentially constant average substrate position during deposition, dithering substrate position during deposition, wobbling during deposition ( wobbling) the substrate position, the deposition process in which the cathodes are provided in one chamber, i.e., a predetermined set of cathodes is provided in the chamber, the deposition chamber, for example, by closing valve units separating the chamber from an adjacent chamber, Substrate position during deposition of the layer, or a combination thereof, having a sealed atmosphere for neighboring chambers. Thus, the static deposition process can be understood as a deposition process having a static position, a deposition process having an essentially static position, or a deposition process having a partially static position of the substrate. Thereby, the static deposition process as described herein can be clearly distinguished from the dynamic deposition process, without the need for the substrate position for the static deposition process to be completely any movement during deposition. According to further embodiments, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, a deviation from a fully static substrate position, e.g., vibrating, wobbling, or otherwise, the substrates, as described above. Moving-which is still considered static deposition by one of ordinary skill in the art-may be provided by silver, additionally or alternatively, by movement of the cathodes or array of cathodes, such as wobbling, vibration, etc. In general, the substrate and cathodes (or cathode array) can move relative to each other, e.g., in a direction of substrate transport, in a lateral direction essentially perpendicular to the direction of substrate transport, or in both directions. .

As shown in FIG. 3A, for example, the valve units 105 are closed during deposition and have a plurality of rotary cathodes, such as three or more rotary cathodes, embodiments described herein. It can be provided for a static deposition process. While the deposition process is switched off, the substrate 14 is moved into position for deposition in the deposition area. The process pressure can be stabilized. Once the process is stabilized, the cathode magnet assemblies 121 are rotated forward to deposit the correct stoichiometry of the material to be deposited onto the static substrate until the end of the deposition. For example, this may be the correct stoichiometry for AlxOy deposition.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 3A, in the case of some films, such as Al2O3, AC power supplies 123, for example, MF power supplies may be provided. In such a case, the cathodes do not require additional anodes, such anodes can be removed, for example, because a complete circuit comprising the cathode and anode is provided by a pair of cathodes 122. to be.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 3B, the methods described herein may also be provided for other sputter deposition processes. 3B shows cathodes 124 and anode 115 electrically connected to the DC power supply 226. Sputtering from a target, such as a transparent conductive oxide film, is typically performed as DC sputtering. In order to collect electrons during sputtering, the cathodes 124 together with the anode 115 are connected to a DC power supply 226. According to some embodiments that may be combined with other embodiments described herein, gas lines 116 may be provided on one side of the anode 115 or shield (see FIG. 3A), and , The cathode may be provided on the other side of the anode or shield. The gas may be provided to the deposition area through openings (not shown) in the anode or shield. According to an alternative embodiment, gas lines or conduits and cathodes may also be provided on the same side of the anode or shield.

[0046] According to further further embodiments, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, one or more of the cathodes may each have their own corresponding separate voltage supply. Accordingly, one power supply unit may be provided for each cathode for at least one, some, or all of the cathodes. Thus, at least the first cathode can be connected to the first power supply, and the second cathode can be connected to the second power supply. According to further embodiments that may be combined with other embodiments described herein, materials such as ITO, IZO, IGZO or MoN may be deposited using a DC sputter deposition process.

As further illustrated in FIG. 3B, within the chamber 102, a number of gas lines 116 and mask shields 130 are also provided. The gas distribution system of apparatus 100 further has six gas tanks 136 containing process gas. The flow rate of reactive gas and/or non-reactive gas present in the process gas is controlled by the MFCs 135. The process gas is a number of gas inlet points within a number of gas lines 116, through gas conduits or gas pipes 133, 233, and 333, respectively, through MFCs 134, 234, and 334. Are fed to s 138 (not shown). Thus, this embodiment allows to provide different process gas mixtures and/or different flow rates of process gas independently for the three positions of the cathode array in the horizontal direction.

[0048] As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, a three-fold horizontal (substrate transport direction) segmentation may be provided, and the flow rate of at least one process gas, eg, a reactive gas, varies from one segment to an adjacent segment. Can be. In Fig. 3A, each of the other gas lines 116 provides one segment, ie, two outer segments. In addition, a central segment is provided. In FIG. 3A, the central segment illustratively includes three gas lines 116. In Fig. 3B, each of the respective two different gas lines 116 provides one segment, ie, two outer segments. In addition, a central segment is provided. In FIG. 3B, the central segment illustratively includes one gas line 116.

Plasma stabilization may be particularly useful for sputtering processes having a hysteresis curve, such as reactive sputtering processes. As illustratively shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the process may be carried out using rotary cathodes and a rotary magnet assembly, ie, a rotary magnetic yoke inside the rotary cathodes. Thereby, rotation about the longitudinal axis of the rotary cathode is performed.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 4, additional embodiments described herein have additional segmentation, such as two-fold horizontal segmentation and two-fold vertical segmentation, and multiple gas lines within a plurality of gas lines. A process gas distribution system with gas inlet points is provided. A number of gas lines 116 are located along a horizontal direction between pairs of cathodes 122, eg parallel to the longitudinal axes. The plurality of gas lines 116 of this embodiment further provide two or more segments along the vertical direction. Thereby, the process gas is divided by four different MFCs 134, 234, 334, and 434-two for each horizontal segment of a two-fold horizontal segmentation, and two for a two-fold vertical segmentation. For each vertical segment of-is supplied. The process gas distribution system of FIG. 4 further has eight gas tanks 136 containing process gas. The amount and/or flow rate of reactive gas and/or non-reactive gas present in the process gas is controlled by the MFCs 135. The process gas is a number of gas lines in multiple gas lines 116, through gas conduits or gas pipes 133, 233, 333, and 433, respectively, through MFCs 134, 234, 334, and 434. Is fed to the gas inlet points 138 of. In the embodiments described herein, although the gas tanks for each segment are shown generally separately, the four segments shown in FIG. 4 correspond to four pairs of gas tanks, and the implementation described herein. The segments according to the examples may be connected to one single gas tank battery or one single gas tank for each of the process gases and/or to the gas distribution system of the manufacturing facility. Further, some gases may be provided by separate sources (eg tanks) for each segment, and some gases may be provided by a common source.

Accordingly, this embodiment allows to provide different flow rates of process gases, particularly reactive gases, at different positions of the cathode array 222, both in the horizontal and vertical directions. It should be understood that 2-fold horizontal segmentation and 2-fold vertical segmentation are used in FIG. 4 for illustrative purposes only. Further, according to different embodiments, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the process gas distribution system may be, for example, 3-fold, 4-fold, 5-fold, or even higher order. ) Horizontal segmentation and, for example, 3-fold, 4-fold, 5-fold, or even higher order vertical segmentation. Thus, the process gas distribution system can independently of two or more positions of the target array in the horizontal direction and two or more positions of the target array in the vertical direction, of the process gas, in particular of reactive gases. Allows to provide different flow rates. According to some embodiments, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, gas may be provided through gas lines 116 in which openings such as gas inlet points 138 are provided. For example, each gas line may have three or more openings, such as 6 or more openings, such as 6 to 20 openings.

[0052] According to further exemplary embodiments, which may be combined with other embodiments described herein, the process gas distribution system includes two-fold horizontal segmentation and multiple gas inlet points within multiple gas lines. It may be a process gas distribution system having. As shown in FIG. 5, the plurality of gas lines 116 may be positioned perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the cathodes 122 and along a vertical direction. Process gas is supplied by two different MFCs 134 and 234, one for each horizontal segment of the two-fold horizontal segmentation. The process gas distribution system of FIG. 5 further has four gas tanks 136 containing process gas. The flow rate of reactive gas and/or non-reactive gas present in the process gas is controlled by the MFCs 135. Process gas is fed to multiple gas inlet points 138 in multiple gas lines 116, through gas conduits or gas pipes 133 and 233, respectively, through MFCs 134 and 234 do. Thus, this embodiment allows to provide different flow rates of at least one process gas, in particular one or more reactive gases, in different positions of the cathode array 222 in the horizontal direction.

Embodiments corresponding to FIGS. 2, 3A and 3B, and 4 illustrate gas distribution systems having one gas line for every two targets. However, gas distribution systems according to embodiments described herein may have any number of gas lines. For example, gas distribution systems can have from 4 gas lines to 13 gas lines. Similarly, each gas line may have 2 to 30 gas inlet points. For example, each gas line may have 3 or 20 gas inlet points, eg 5 to 10, eg 9 gas inlet points.

[0054] Figure 6 illustrates another embodiment related to a deposition apparatus for testing horizontal segmentation of a process gas flow. The apparatus comprises: a cathode array with 12 cathodes 122 spaced along a horizontal direction and a gas distribution system for providing process gas, with a 4-fold horizontal segmentation. The gas distribution system may be provided with 11 gas lines 116 parallel to the longitudinal axes of the cathodes, for example with a three-fold vertical segmentation, along a horizontal direction. The gas distribution system of the device further comprises one MFC 134, and it is possible to regulate or shut off individual gas lines by means of MFCs, eg valves. The process gas is fed through MFCs 134 through gas conduits or gas pipes to a number of gas inlet points 138 in a number of gas lines. Gas distribution systems according to embodiments described herein may have any number of MFCs. For example, gas distribution systems can have 2 to 36 MFCs. The embodiments shown in FIG. 6 include twelve segments 634 indicated by broken lines. For each of the segments, the partial pressure of the at least one process gas and/or the flow rate of the at least one process gas can be controlled individually, ie independently from a neighboring segment.

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[0055] Accordingly, embodiments described herein allow more precise control of the horizontal distribution of layer properties, using a change in process gas flows through different gas lines instead of just opening or closing individual gas lines. to provide.

[0056] According to further further embodiments that can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the deposition apparatus may include one anode extending along a horizontal direction or at least three anodes spaced apart along the horizontal direction. I can.

[0057] According to typical embodiments, the cathode array may comprise three or more rotary sputter targets, in particular the cathode array may comprise eight rotary sputter targets, and more particularly, the cathode array may comprise 12 It may include rotary sputter targets. Typically, the cathodes of the cathode array are spaced apart from each other such that the longitudinal axes of the cathodes are parallel to each other, and the longitudinal axes are arranged equidistant from the substrate to be processed.

[0058] An embodiment of a method of depositing a layer of material on a substrate is shown in FIG. 8. In step 802, the process gas is provided through a gas distribution system, and the gas distribution system is configured to independently control the flow rate of the process gas for two or more positions along the substrate transport direction. In step 804, material from the cathode array is sputtered, and the cathode array has three or more cathodes spaced along the substrate transport direction. The material is deposited on the substrate, and the substrate is positioned for a static deposition process. Typically, the material of the target may be deposited in the form of an oxide, nitride, or oxy-nitride of the target material, ie using a reactive sputtering process.

[0059] The foregoing description relates to embodiments of the present invention, but other and additional embodiments of the present invention can be devised without departing from the basic scope of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is determined by the following claims. Is determined.

Claims (15)

An apparatus for static deposition of material on a substrate, the apparatus comprising:
A cathode array having three or more cathodes spaced along the substrate transport direction; And
A gas distribution system for providing one or more process gases,
The gas distribution system is configured to control a flow rate of at least one of the one or more process gases independently for two or more positions along the substrate transport direction, the gas distribution The system comprises three or more gas lines, the gas lines providing two or more segments along a direction parallel to the longitudinal axes of the three or more cathodes, each of the segments Are configured to independently control the flow rate of at least one of the one or more process gases,
Apparatus for static deposition of material on a substrate. The method of claim 1,
The three or more gas lines are parallel to the longitudinal axes of the three or more cathodes, and the three or more gas lines are spaced along the substrate transport direction,
Apparatus for static deposition of material on a substrate. delete delete The method of claim 1,
The gas distribution system further comprises three or more mass flow controllers configured to independently control the flow rate of the one or more process gases to the three or more gas lines. doing,
Apparatus for static deposition of material on a substrate. The method of claim 1,
One anode extending along the horizontal direction, or further comprising at least three anodes spaced apart along the substrate transport direction,
Apparatus for static deposition of material on a substrate. The method of claim 1,
The cathode array comprises 8 or more rotary sputter targets,
Apparatus for static deposition of material on a substrate. The method of claim 1,
The three or more cathodes are connected to a DC power supply,
Apparatus for static deposition of material on a substrate. The method of claim 1,
The pairs of neighboring cathodes of the three or more cathodes are connected to an AC power supply,
Apparatus for static deposition of material on a substrate. The method according to any one of claims 1, 2, 5 to 9,
The three or more cathodes of the cathode array are spaced apart from each other such that the longitudinal axes of the cathodes are parallel to each other, and the longitudinal axes are arranged equidistant from the substrate to be processed.
Apparatus for static deposition of material on a substrate. A method for static deposition of material on a substrate, comprising:
Providing one or more process gases through a gas distribution system, the gas distribution system comprising three or more gas lines, the gas lines being relative to the longitudinal axes of the three or more cathodes. Providing two or more segments along a parallel direction;
Controlling a flow rate of at least one of the one or more process gases independently for two or more positions along the substrate transport direction; And
Sputtering material from a cathode array, the cathode array having the three or more cathodes spaced along the substrate transport direction,
Each of the segments is configured to independently control the flow rate of at least one of the one or more process gases,
Method for static deposition of material on a substrate. The method of claim 11,
Sputtering material onto the substrate using a process gas from at least one of the gas lines positioned parallel to the longitudinal axes of the three or more cathodes,
Method for static deposition of material on a substrate. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the one or more process gases provided by the gas distribution system are two or more process gases providing a mixture of non-reactive gas and reactive gases,
Method for static deposition of material on a substrate. The method of claim 11,
The one or more process gases provided by the gas distribution system are non-reactive gases,
Method for static deposition of material on a substrate. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 14,
The partial pressure of at least one of the one or more process gases can be varied,
Method for static deposition of material on a substrate.

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