KR102260617B1 - Thin Film Deposition Apparatus with Evaporation Source Installed Multi-Crucible - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a thin film deposition apparatus, a deposition chamber in which a substrate is supported, a plurality of crucibles for accommodating deposition materials for depositing on the substrate, and a plurality of coupling ports respectively communicating with the plurality of crucibles A distribution pipe arranged in a line along the axis and spraying the deposition material vaporized from the plurality of crucibles through a plurality of nozzles formed thereon, and an outer surface of the distribution pipe to heat the distribution pipe to face and position independently By including a distribution pipe heater installed, a crucible heater for heating the crucible to vaporize the deposition material, and an upper plate having an outlet corresponding to the nozzle and installed on the top of the distribution pipe, thereby increasing the height of the crucible By reducing the chamber height, it is possible to reduce the chamber height, and there is an effect of enabling symmetric or asymmetric deposition by independently depositing the left and right substrates.

Description

Thin Film Deposition Apparatus with Evaporation Source Installed Multi-Crucible

The present invention relates to a thin film deposition apparatus, and more particularly, an evaporation source equipped with a plurality of crucibles so that a chamber height can be reduced by reducing the height of a crucible, and symmetric or asymmetric deposition is possible by independently depositing left and right sides of a substrate It relates to a thin film deposition apparatus having a.

The deposition process is a method widely used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices or flat panel display devices. In order to coat a substrate with a deposition material used for manufacturing a semiconductor device and a flat panel display device, a crucible containing the deposition material is heated. The deposition material is evaporated from the surface, and the evaporated organic material is deposited on the substrate in the high vacuum chamber.

In general, a thin film deposition apparatus includes a vacuum chamber, a substrate support provided in the chamber to support a substrate, and a distribution pipe disposed opposite the substrate support to evaporate and supply a raw material to the substrate.

In the case of the upward deposition method, the distribution pipe is provided in the lower part of the chamber, and specifically, it is spaced apart to face one surface of the substrate on which the thin film is to be deposited, and uniformly distributes the evaporated raw material on one surface of the substrate through a plurality of paths. serves to supply.

A conventional distribution tube is disclosed in Korean Patent No. 10-1057552, filed and registered by the present applicant. The conventional distribution tube has a cylindrical shape, and a crucible containing a deposition material is connected to the center of the distribution tube. and a heater for heating the distribution pipe is provided.

Since the distribution pipe is connected to the crucible through its central portion, the overall shape is made in a 'T' shape, and the heater is configured to wind the outer circumferential surface of the distribution pipe to heat the raw material passing through the distribution pipe. is the structure

In this conventional technique, since the crucible is coupled to the central portion of the distribution pipe and supplies the deposition material through a single crucible, the size of the crucible must be increased in order to supply a large amount of the deposition material.

Recently, substrates are gradually increasing in area, and in the case of flat panel display devices, there is a need for a deposition apparatus capable of manufacturing large-area substrates for enlargement of TV screens and improvement of productivity. In order to do this, the most important issue is the development of an evaporation source for manufacturing large-area substrates.

In order to configure the evaporation source for large-area substrate production, the capacity of the crucible containing the deposition material must be increased. If the length of the crucible is lengthened to increase the capacity of the crucible, the height of the chamber also increases, so the deposition apparatus becomes large and the manufacturing cost of the equipment There is a growing disadvantage of this.

In addition, since the heater is wound and directly coupled to the outer circumferential surface of the distribution pipe, it is very difficult to replace and repair the parts in case of a breakdown, such as disassembling the heater in order to replace the evaporation source.

Korean Patent No. 10-1057552

The present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and by providing a plurality of crucibles coupled to the distribution pipe, the length of the crucible can be reduced even when the same amount of deposition material is deposited, thereby reducing the height of the chamber and miniaturizing the deposition apparatus. An object of the present invention is to provide a thin film deposition apparatus that can do this.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a thin film deposition apparatus capable of symmetrically or asymmetrically depositing on a substrate by independently controlling the deposition material supplied through each crucible.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a thin film deposition apparatus capable of independently configuring a heater for heating the crucible and the distribution tube to easily separate the source by disassembling it upward, reducing the space in the lower part of the chamber and securing the space.

In addition, since the heater is installed on both sides of the distribution pipe, an object of the present invention is to provide a thin film deposition apparatus that is easy to replace and disassemble and assemble the heater in case of component failure.

In order to achieve the above objects, in the present invention, a deposition chamber in which a substrate is supported, a plurality of crucibles in which a deposition material for depositing on the substrate is accommodated, and a plurality of coupling holes respectively communicating with the plurality of crucibles is arranged in a line along the axis of the pipe, and a distribution pipe for spraying the deposition material vaporized from the plurality of crucibles through a plurality of nozzles formed thereon, and to face the outer surface of the distribution pipe to heat the distribution pipe A thin film deposition apparatus comprising: a distribution pipe heater installed independently; a crucible heater for heating the crucible to vaporize the deposition material; and an upper plate having an outlet corresponding to the nozzle and installed on the top of the distribution pipe is provided

The distribution pipe heater may be formed of a sheath heater having a 'L'-shaped cross-sectional shape to heat the side and bottom surfaces of the distribution pipe.

In this case, the distribution pipe heater may be installed on both sides of the distribution pipe.

On the other hand, the upper plate can be opened and closed, so that when the upper plate is opened, the distribution pipe can be separated and replaced in an upward direction.

In the present invention, the upper plate may be opened and closed in a sliding manner.

In addition, a reflector may be installed on the bottom surface of the upper plate to face the upper surface of the distribution pipe to reflect the heat of the distribution pipe heater to heat it.

The reflector may be installed in multiple layers for efficient reflection of heat.

In the present invention, a plurality of distribution tubes may be installed inside the deposition chamber.

In this case, it is preferable that the nozzles of the distribution tube located at the edge of the plurality of distribution tubes extend in a tangential direction of the distribution tube so as to have a position adjacent to the center of the deposition chamber.

According to the present invention as described above, the thin film deposition apparatus of the present invention can greatly reduce the length of the crucible even when the same amount of material is deposited, so that the chamber height can be reduced, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the equipment.

Considering the detachable height of the crucible, it is possible to reduce the height by about 2 times compared to the prior art having a single crucible.

In addition, symmetric or asymmetric deposition is possible by independently controlling the left/right side of the substrate. In general, a method of changing the nozzle cap is used to control the amount of deposition material sprayed on the substrate, but this has the disadvantage that the process takes a lot of time, such as stopping the process, changing the nozzle cap, and then holding the vacuum again. According to the present invention, since it is not necessary to change the nozzle cap by independently controlling the thickness of the left and right thin films of the substrate, there is an effect of reducing the process time.

In addition, by independently configuring the heater for heating the crucible and the distribution pipe to easily separate the desorption of the source upward, there is an effect of reducing the space in the lower part and securing the space.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing the main configuration of a thin film deposition apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view in FIG. 1 ;
3 is a plan view showing an embodiment to which the thin film deposition apparatus of the present invention is applied.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3 .
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 3 .
6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the distribution pipe in FIG. 5 .
7 is a cross-sectional view conceptually illustrating a deposition film deposited on a substrate through the thin film deposition apparatus of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, in adding reference numerals to the components of each drawing, it should be noted that the same components are given the same reference numerals as much as possible even though they are indicated on different drawings. At this time, the configuration and operation of the present invention shown in the drawings and described by it is described as at least one embodiment, and the technical idea of the present invention and its core configuration and operation are not limited thereby.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a main configuration of a thin film deposition apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 .

A thin film deposition apparatus according to the present invention includes a deposition chamber (not shown), a crucible 10 in which a deposition material is accommodated, and a distribution pipe 20 for spraying a deposition material vaporized from the crucible 10 to a substrate; and heaters 30 and 40 for heating the distribution tube 20 and the crucible 10 to vaporize the deposition material, and an upper plate 50 installed on the distribution tube 20 .

The deposition chamber provides a predetermined reaction space for processing the substrate, and may be formed in a shape corresponding to the shape of the substrate. For example, it may be formed in a cylindrical or rectangular box shape. In addition, a gate (not shown) for entering and exiting the substrate and an exhaust unit (not shown) for internal exhaust may be provided at one side of the chamber.

On the other hand, the crucible 10 receives the deposition material for deposition on the substrate and is heated by the heater 40 to vaporize the deposition material, and is made of a heat-resistant container, and the heated deposition material can be discharged to the outside. One side is open so that

In the present invention, a plurality of such crucibles 10 are provided and arranged in parallel. That is, the plurality of crucibles 10 are arranged side by side in an open state toward the upper side in FIGS. 1 and 2 .

The plurality of crucibles 10 are installed to communicate with the distribution pipe 20 . Accordingly, the distribution pipe 20 has a plurality of coupling holes 22 communicating with the crucible 10 , respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the coupler 22 is arranged in a line along the pipe axis in the longitudinal direction of the distribution pipe 20 .

In the prior art, the distribution pipe is connected to a single crucible through the central part and is made in a 'T' shape, but the distribution pipe 20 of the present invention has the coupling tool ( 22) is formed in plural and has a '┬┬' shape.

The thin film deposition apparatus of the present invention is provided with a plurality of crucibles 10, so that the length of the crucible 10 can be greatly reduced even when the same amount of material is deposited, and the height of the chamber can be reduced, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the equipment. has a decreasing effect.

Considering the detachable height of the crucible, it is possible to reduce the height by about 2 times compared to the prior art having a single crucible.

Although the embodiment of the present invention shows that two coupling holes 22 are formed, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the number of the coupling holes 22 is three depending on the size of the substrate and the number of materials to be deposited. It may be formed abnormally.

In this case, the coupler 22 is preferably formed symmetrically about the center line of the substrate, that is, the center of the distribution pipe 20, or formed at regular intervals. This is for the uniformity of the deposition film deposited on the substrate, and the formation position and spacing of the coupling holes 22 are not limited in the present invention, and may be variously applied according to the purpose of the film formation.

On the other hand, the distribution tube 20 on which the plurality of crucibles 10 are mounted as described above is capable of symmetric or asymmetric deposition by independently controlling the left and right sides of the substrate. In this case, since each crucible 10 affects the thickness of mutual deposition on the left/right side of the substrate, it is necessary to predict and control the deposition thickness for this, and asymmetric deposition as well as left/right symmetric deposition of the substrate is possible. No need to change the nozzle cap separately.

In general, a method of changing the nozzle cap is used to control the amount of deposition material sprayed on the substrate, but this has the disadvantage that the process takes a lot of time, such as stopping the process, changing the nozzle cap, and then holding the vacuum again. According to the present invention, since it is not necessary to change the nozzle cap by independently controlling the thickness of the left and right thin films of the substrate, there is an effect of reducing the process time.

On the other hand, a plurality of nozzles 24 are formed on the upper portion of the distribution pipe 20 , and the deposition material vaporized from the plurality of crucibles 10 is sprayed through the plurality of nozzles 24 formed thereon.

On the other hand, the heaters 30 and 40 include a crucible heater 40 that heats the crucible 10 so that the deposition material accommodated in the crucible 10 is vaporized, and the distribution tube 20 to heat the deposition material. It may be divided into a distribution pipe heater 30 for vaporizing. Of course, it is also possible that the distribution tube heater 30 and the crucible heater 40 are integrally formed, and in the present invention, in order to explain the difference in shape, for convenience, a heater for heating the distribution tube 20 is used as a distribution tube heater ( 30), a heater for heating the crucible 10 will be named as a crucible heater 40 to explain this.

The distribution tube heater 30 and the crucible heater 40 are installed independently so as to face the outer surfaces of the distribution tube 20 and the crucible 10, respectively.

The distribution pipe heater 30 and the crucible heater 40 may be formed of a sheath heater including a heating block and a heating wire. That is, the heating wire is installed inside the heating block to be heated by the power supplied from the outside to heat the distribution tube 20 and the crucible 10 .

In the present invention, the distribution pipe heater 30 may be made of a sheath heater having a 'L'-shaped cross-sectional shape as shown in FIG. 2 to heat the side and bottom surfaces of the distribution pipe 20. have.

In this case, the distribution pipe heater 30 is installed on both sides of the distribution pipe 20 to uniformly heat the distribution pipe 20 as shown in FIG. 2 .

In addition, it is preferable that the crucible heater 30 is installed so that the heating block is disposed outside the crucible 10 to surround the crucible 10 .

The crucible heater 30 is provided in plurality, and is installed to heat each crucible 10 .

That is, in the plurality of crucibles 10 , different types of organic materials may be heated and vaporized or sublimed into a gas phase, or the same type of organic materials may be heated and vaporized or sublimed into a gas phase.

Each crucible 10 is provided with a crucible heater 30 for heating the organic material. When different types of organic materials are heated to vaporize or sublimate into a gas phase, each crucible heater 30 operates at different temperatures. can make it happen For example, in one crucible 10, the host organic material is vaporized, and in the other crucible 10, the dopant organic material is vaporized by heating the host organic material having different vaporization points and the dopant organic material to an optimum temperature. By controlling the diffusion rate of the two vaporized organic substances, it is possible to make the deposition to a desired concentration on the substrate.

On the other hand, in the present invention, the upper plate 50 is installed on the upper portion of the distribution pipe (20). An outlet 52 corresponding to the nozzle 24 is formed in the upper plate 50 so that the deposition material vaporized from the distribution pipe 20 can be sprayed onto the substrate.

The upper plate 50 may be installed so as to be opened and closed. That is, by opening the upper plate 50, it is possible to separate and replace the distribution pipe 20 in the upward direction. In the present invention, since the heaters 30 and 40 for heating the crucible 10 and the distribution pipe 20 are independently configured, the source can be detached without disassembling the heaters 30 and 40 when the source is to be replaced. In addition, when the upper plate 50 is opened, the source can be easily separated in the upward direction.

In the present invention, the upper plate 50 may be configured to open and close in a sliding manner. For example, by laying a roller on the side of the upper plate 50 and inserting the roller to form a transportable rail, the upper plate 50 can be opened and closed in a sliding manner. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the method and structure for opening and closing the upper plate 50 may be configured by applying a known technique.

On the other hand, the lower surface of the upper plate 50 is positioned to face the upper surface of the distribution tube 20, the reflector (reflector) 60 that can reflect the heat of the distribution tube heater 30 is installed is installed. . Since the distribution pipe heater 30 of the present invention is formed in a 'L' shape to heat the side and bottom surfaces of the distribution pipe 20, in order to reinforce that the heater is not configured on the upper surface of the distribution pipe 20, A reflector 60 capable of heating by reflecting the heat of the distribution pipe heater 30 is installed on the bottom surface of the upper plate 50 .

In this case, the reflector 60 may be installed in multiple layers for efficient reflection of heat.

As described above, the present invention provided with the distribution tube heater 30 and the reflector 60 constitutes a heating zone for heating the distribution tube 20 so that the deposition material evaporated through the distribution tube 20 is formed. Make sure that the vaporization is stable.

Meanwhile, FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an embodiment to which the thin film deposition apparatus of the present invention is applied, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG.

In the thin film deposition apparatus of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3 , a plurality of distribution tubes 20, 20a, and 20b may be installed inside one deposition chamber. Although the thin film deposition apparatus presented as an embodiment of the present invention shows that three distribution pipes 20, 20a, and 20b are installed, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the number of the distribution pipes may be increased or decreased as necessary. Of course it could be.

As described above, such a thin film deposition apparatus is installed such that a plurality of crucibles 10 communicate with each of the distribution pipes 20, 20a, and 20b. When two crucibles 10 are installed in each of the three distribution pipes 20, 20a, and 20b presented as an embodiment, a total of six crucibles 10 are installed.

An upper plate 50 is installed on the upper portion of the distribution pipe 20 . Sliding rails 70 are installed on both sides of the upper plate 50 to be slidably transportable through rollers 54 connected to the upper plate 50 .

Accordingly, by opening and closing the upper plate 50 in a sliding manner, it is possible to separate the distribution pipe 20 upward.

In addition, sensors 80 for sensing the thickness of the deposition film by sensing the amount of deposition material may be installed at both ends of the distribution pipe 20 in the longitudinal direction.

On the other hand, Figure 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the distribution pipe in Figure 5, when a plurality of distribution pipes (20, 20a, 20b) are installed, the distribution pipe (20a) located at the edge of the distribution pipe (20a) ( The nozzles 24a and 24b of 20b) may be formed to extend in a tangential direction of the distribution pipes 20a and 20b to have a position adjacent to the center of the deposition chamber.

That is, since the distribution pipe 20b shown in FIG. 6 is installed on the right side in FIG. 5 , the nozzle 24b extends in the left tangential direction of the distribution pipe 20b so that the nozzle 24b has a position adjacent to the center of the deposition chamber. On the contrary, it is preferable that the distribution pipe 20a installed on the left side in FIG. 5 extends in the right tangential direction of the distribution pipe 20a so that the nozzle 24a has a position adjacent to the center of the deposition chamber. .

7 is a cross-sectional view conceptually illustrating a deposition film deposited on a substrate through the thin film deposition apparatus of the present invention. Since the thin film deposition apparatus of the present invention evaporates the deposition material through a plurality of crucibles 10, each crucible By individually controlling (10), it is possible to independently control the thickness of the deposition film deposited on the left and right sides of the substrate S, so that symmetric or asymmetric deposition is possible.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and various modifications and variations are possible for those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. In addition, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical spirit of the present invention, but to explain, and the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The protection scope of the present invention should be construed by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the equivalent range should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

10: crucible 20: distribution pipe
22: coupler 24: nozzle
30: distribution tube heater 40: crucible heater
50: upper plate 52: outlet

Claims (9)

a deposition chamber in which a substrate is supported;
a plurality of crucibles in which deposition materials for deposition on the substrate are accommodated;
A plurality of coupling spheres respectively communicating with the plurality of crucibles are arranged in a line along a tube axis, and when viewed from one direction of the deposition chamber, while connecting the plurality of coupling spheres to each other in parallel, the deposition is vaporized from the plurality of crucibles a distribution pipe for spraying the material through a plurality of nozzles formed thereon;
In order to heat the distribution tube, when viewed from the one direction of the deposition chamber, it is spaced apart from the individual coupler, and when viewed from the other direction of the deposition chamber, both sides of the distribution tube face the outer surface of the distribution tube. a distribution tube heater installed independently so as to be positioned so as to be viewed and positioned under the plurality of nozzles when viewed along the central axis of each crucible to expose the distribution tube to the inside of the deposition chamber;
a crucible heater for heating the crucible to vaporize the deposition material;
an upper plate provided with an outlet corresponding to the nozzle and installed on an upper portion of the distribution pipe; and
When viewed from the other direction of the deposition chamber, on the bottom surface of the upper plate, the two opposing distribution tubes surround the individual nozzles and the two opposing distribution tubes from the individual nozzles toward both sides of the individual nozzles on the heater It extends horizontally longer than the width of the heater and is spaced apart from the two opposing distribution pipe heaters, and is positioned to face the upper surface of the distribution pipe between the two opposing distribution pipe heaters to face the two distribution pipes toward the distribution pipe. A thin film deposition apparatus comprising a reflector capable of heating the distribution tube by reflecting the heat of the opposite distribution tube heater. The method according to claim 1,
The distribution pipe heater is a thin film deposition apparatus, characterized in that it is a sheath heater (Sheath Heater) having a 'L'-shaped cross-sectional shape to heat the side and bottom of the distribution pipe. delete The method according to claim 1,
The upper plate can be opened and closed so that when the upper plate is opened, the distribution pipe can be separated and replaced in an upward direction. 5. The method according to claim 4,
The upper plate is a thin film deposition apparatus, characterized in that opened and closed in a sliding manner. delete The method according to claim 1,
The reflector is a thin film deposition apparatus, characterized in that installed in a plurality of layers. The method according to claim 1,
The thin film deposition apparatus, characterized in that a plurality of the distribution pipe is installed inside the deposition chamber. 9. The method of claim 8,
The nozzle of the distribution pipe located at the edge of the plurality of distribution pipes is formed to extend in a tangential direction of the distribution pipe to have a position adjacent to the center of the deposition chamber.

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