KR20080029198A - Method and apparatus for treating substrates - Google Patents

Abstract

A substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method are provided to perform rapidly a gas switching process by supplying repeatedly different kinds of gases to a process chamber. A substrate supporting part is installed in an inside of a process chamber to support a substrate. An upper chamber(130) is installed at an upper part of the process chamber and includes a shower head for injecting gas onto the substrate supporting part. The upper chamber includes a plurality of nozzle parts(140). The nozzle parts include at least two supply tubes(142,144) having a plurality of injection holes(143) which are arranged in a longitudinal direction of the upper chamber. The nozzle parts are arranged in parallel to each other in an internal space of the upper chamber.

Description

Substrate processing apparatus and method {METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING SUBSTRATES}

1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a substrate processing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 and 3 are a cross-sectional perspective view and a plan view showing an upper chamber in which nozzle parts are installed in the present invention.

4A through 4E are diagrams showing the gas distribution change supplied to the substrate through the rotating nozzle parts.

5 is a view showing a rotation state of the nozzle unit for supplying a specific gas for a long time in the present invention.

6 is a view showing a nozzle unit having three supply pipes and four supply pipes in the present invention.

7 is a view showing a nozzle unit having a first and second supply pipes of another type in the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

110: process chamber

120: substrate support

130: upper chamber

140: nozzle unit

142: first supply pipe

144: second supply pipe

146: rotating part

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and method, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for forming a thin film on a substrate used for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer or a flat panel display.

Recently, as the electronic display industry has developed rapidly among the semiconductor industry, flat panel displays (FPDs) have started to appear. A flat panel display (FPD) is an image display device that is thinner and lighter than a cathode ray tube (CRT), which is mainly used as a display, such as a TV or a computer monitor. LCD, liquid crystal display (PDP), plasma display panel (PDP).

In particular, a method of forming a thin film transistor (TFT) in a series of processes of manufacturing a substrate, which is a liquid crystal display (LCD), includes a low temperature polysilicon (LTPS) process. The low temperature polysilicon process is one of the TFT product types, and it is a process of forming polycrystalline silicon in a short time at a low temperature that a glass substrate allows. The biggest characteristic of low-temperature polysilicon is the high electron mobility in the substrate, and this characteristic is best suited for the 'SOG (System On Glass)' technology, which can integrate IC circuits directly on the LCD substrate. .

Excimer Laser Crystallization (ELC), Rapid Thermal Anneal (RTA), and Metal Induced Lateral Crystallization (MILC) methods are mainly used as such crystallization techniques. Excimer laser crystallization is widely used, but there are various defect problems and cost increase. Therefore, rapid thermal treatment (RTA) or partial metal induced side crystallization (MILC) is a trend. When the rapid heat treatment method is used, the grain size is slightly smaller than that of excimer laser crystallization, resulting in a slow moving speed of the charges (ie, a decrease in response speed). To compensate for this, an additional metal catalyst method is applied to increase the grain size. In this case, when the metal thin film is deposited too thick (not more than a few tens of micrometers) or is unevenly deposited, a leakage current source is obtained. It causes a fatal defect in quality reliability. Therefore, in the rapid thermal treatment (RTA) or metal induced side crystallization (MILC) method, a thin film deposition technique in which a metal thin film (metal layer) must be formed on the glass surface in units of several orders of magnitude is most important.

However, with a conventional thin film deposition apparatus, it is difficult to uniformly form a metal layer in units of several kilowatts. In the organometallic chemical vapor deposition apparatus, one of the techniques for forming a thin film, different gases are repeatedly supplied to the process chamber by using an MOCVD process to form a thin film.

Here, the important thing is that the switching valve and the nozzle of the process chamber are separated by a considerable distance in the switching process of supplying different gases alternately, it takes a considerable time to convert the source gas. This time difference not only deteriorates thin film properties, but also impedes uniformity and uniformity in the substrate, and has low reproducibility. In addition, the process time is long and the process is complicated due to time consuming and difficulty in controlling the switching valve on / off operation.

An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus and method capable of forming a metal thin film on the surface of the substrate in several units.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus and method capable of supplying different gases alternately and repeatedly to a process chamber.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a substrate processing apparatus includes a process chamber and a substrate support installed in the process chamber to support a substrate; An upper chamber installed above the process chamber and having a shower head for injecting gas onto the substrate support; The upper chamber includes a plurality of nozzle parts disposed parallel to the substrate and having at least two supply pipes having a plurality of injection holes in the longitudinal direction and positioned side by side in an inner space of the upper chamber.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the nozzle unit further includes a rotating unit for rotating the supply pipes.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the nozzle unit comprises a horizontal axis for supporting the supply pipes between the supply pipes; It includes a drive unit for rotating the horizontal axis so that the supply pipe is rotated about the horizontal axis.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the supply pipes include a first supply pipe for supplying a first gas and a second supply pipe for supplying a second gas, and the nozzle unit is parallel between the first supply pipe and the second supply pipe. A horizontal axis positioned and supporting the first and second supply pipes; And a driving unit rotating the horizontal shaft such that the first and second supply pipes rotate about the horizontal axis and inject the first gas and the second gas.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the nozzle portion is injected from the first and second supply pipes according to the rotation of the horizontal axis, the distribution of the first and second gas provided to the process chamber is adjusted differently.

According to another feature of the invention, the substrate processing method includes the step of sequentially supplying the first gas and the second gas to the substrate loaded into the substrate support of the process chamber to deposit a thin film on the substrate; The first and second gases are supported side by side on both sides of the horizontal axis and injected through the first and second supply pipes rotated about the horizontal axis and then provided to the substrate.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first and second gases are continuously injected through the first and second supply pipes, and when the first supply pipe is close to the substrate, the distribution of the first gas is the second. It is provided to the substrate in a state higher than the gas, and when the second supply pipe is close to the substrate, the distribution of the second gas is provided to the substrate in a state higher than the first gas.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the thickness of the thin film deposited on the substrate is adjusted according to the rotational speed and the number of times of rotation of the first supply pipe and the second supply pipe.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first gas is an inert gas such as nitrogen, and the second gas is a metal gas such as Ni, Cu, Al, or the like.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the thickness of the thin film deposited on the substrate is several units.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first and second gases injected through the first and second supply pipes are provided to the substrate through the shower head to have a uniform flow onto the substrate.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein and may be embodied in other forms. Rather, the embodiments introduced herein are provided to ensure that the disclosed subject matter is thorough and complete, and that the spirit of the present invention to those skilled in the art will fully convey. Portions denoted by like reference numerals denote like elements throughout the specification.

In this embodiment, the substrate is a substrate used for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer and a flat panel display, and the flat panel display is a liquid crystal display, a plasma display panel, and a vacuum fluorescence display. Display, Field Emission Display.

In this embodiment, a substrate processing apparatus using a metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method for forming a thin film on a substrate using a metal-organic source will be described as an example. do. However, the technical idea of the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be applied to all other kinds of devices for depositing a thin film on a substrate.

1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a substrate processing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 2 and 3 are a cross-sectional perspective view and a plan view showing an upper chamber in which nozzle parts are installed in the present invention.

The substrate processing apparatus 100 includes a process chamber 110 that provides a predetermined airtight atmosphere, and is disposed in the process chamber 110 by a robot in accordance with the opening of the gate slot 112. The substrate support part 120 on which the substrate w is placed is provided. Gate slot 112 is opened and closed by gate valve 114.

The substrate support unit 120 includes a heater for heating the substrate to a predetermined temperature, and a lift assembly (not shown), which is driven up and down in the form of supporting the substrate to facilitate the transfer of the substrate by the robot described above. Has a configuration. The substrate support part 120 is heated and maintained at an appropriate temperature to improve the deposition property of the organic metal on the substrate w. Although not shown, a typical lift assembly lifts and lifts lift pins that support the bottom surface of a substrate w that is placed by a robot (not shown) as the gate slot 112 is opened (up position). It may include a drive for () / down (down position). The substrate w is moved to an up position spaced apart from the upper surface of the substrate support by the lift pins and to a down position lying on the upper surface of the substrate support.

At the bottom of the process chamber 110, a vacuum suction port 116 connected to the vacuum pump is symmetrically formed. The vacuum exhaust unit 150 forms a vacuum inside the process chamber 110 and discharges reaction by-products generated during the thin film deposition process, and includes a pump 152 and a vacuum suction port 116. It includes a vacuum line 154 connected to. Various valves (not shown) are installed in the vacuum line 154 connecting the process chamber 110 and the pump 152 to control the degree of vacuum by opening and closing the vacuum line 154 and adjusting the opening and closing degree.

The upper chamber 130 is positioned above the process chamber 110. The upper chamber 130 includes a gas distribution plate (GDP) 132 (also called a showerhead) installed to face the substrate, and four nozzle units 140 installed in an inner space of the upper chamber 130. Has

The gas distribution plate 132 has a plurality of injection holes 134 formed at regular intervals on the concentric circumference for uniform gas supply.

2 and 3, each nozzle unit 140 is disposed in parallel with the substrate w in the inner space of the upper chamber 130. The nozzle unit 140 has a first supply pipe 142 having a plurality of injection holes 143, a second supply pipe 144, and a rotating part 146 in the longitudinal direction. In the present embodiment, the injection holes 143 are shown and described as a circular type spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the first and second supply pipes 142 and 144, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Can be. As such, the injection holes 143 formed in the first and second supply pipes 142 and 144 may be variously formed.

The rotating part 146 is for rotating the first supply pipe 142 and the second supply pipe 144, and is parallel to the first and second supply pipes 142 and 144 between the first supply pipe 142 and the second supply pipe 144. A horizontal axis 147 positioned to support the first and second supply pipes 142 and 144, and a driving unit 148 to rotate the horizontal axis so that the first and second supply pipes 142.144 are rotated about the horizontal axis 147. The first supply pipe 142 receives the organic metal (Ni, Cu, Al, etc.) gas from the organic metal source unit 190, the second supply pipe 144 is nitrogen gas (inert gas) from the inert gas source unit 192 Is provided).

The rotating unit 146 of the nozzle unit 140 may rotate the horizontal axis 147 in one direction, and is sprayed from the first and second supply pipes 142 and 144 according to the rotation of the horizontal axis 147 to be provided to the process chamber 110. The distribution of organometallics and nitrogen gas is controlled differently. 4A through 4E are diagrams showing the gas distribution change supplied to the substrate through the rotating nozzle parts. As shown in FIG. 4A, when the first supply pipe 142 is rotated downward to approach the substrate w, the source gas x1 having a distribution (concentration) of the organic metal higher than nitrogen gas is provided to the substrate. do. For example, the ratio of the source gas (x1) is preferably 70% or more of organic metal and 30% or less of nitrogen gas. As shown in FIG. 4B, when the first supply pipe 142 and the second supply pipe 144 are positioned on the same horizontal line, the mixed gas x2 having a substantially similar distribution of the organic metal and the nitrogen gas is the source gas x1. The substrate is provided to the substrate for a relatively short time. Since the mixed gas x2 is provided with a very short time, its gas layer is also much thinner than the layer of the source gas x1 or the layer of the purge gas x3. As shown in FIG. 4C, when the second supply pipe 144 is rotated downward to approach the substrate w, a purge gas x3 having a higher nitrogen gas distribution than the organic metal is provided to the substrate. For example, the ratio of purge gas (x3) is preferably 30% or less of organic metal and 70% or more of nitrogen gas. In FIG. 4D, a mixed gas (x2) having a substantially similar distribution of organic metal and nitrogen gas is provided as a substrate in FIG. 4B, and in FIG. 4E, the distribution of organic metal is higher than that of nitrogen gas in FIG. 4E. The high state source gas x1 is provided to the substrate.

As shown in Figs. 4A to 4E, the nozzle part alternately and repeatedly provides different gases (organic metal and nitrogen gas) to the substrate while rotating. For example, while the first supply pipe is rotated 180 degrees from the position of FIG. 4D to the position of FIG. 4B, the substrate is supplied with a gas having a high organic metal distribution to form a thin film, and the second supply tube is moved from the position of FIG. 4B to FIG. 4D. While rotating 180 degrees, the substrate is provided with a purge gas having a high nitrogen gas distribution to complete a cycle process. As this process is repeated, a thin film of desired thickness is formed on the substrate. Here, when the nozzle unit rotates once (360 degrees) in the state of FIG. 4B, it corresponds to one cycle in which the metal thin film is deposited once on the substrate. In this case, the thickness of the thin film formed on the substrate can be precisely controlled by adjusting the rotation speed and the rotation speed of the nozzle unit. In addition, according to the present invention, when other conditions such as the supply flow rate of the gas is constant, by adjusting the rotational speed and the rotational speed of the nozzle unit, it is possible to adjust the metal thin film in units of several orders of magnitude.

On the other hand, according to the above embodiment, since the substrate is alternately supplied with different gases once by one rotation of the nozzle portion, it does not take time for gas switching unlike the prior art.

The nozzle units of the present invention alternately and repeatedly supply the source gas and the purge gas to the process chamber by using the rotation of the first supply pipe and the second supply pipe. Here, it is important that the switching process of alternately supplying the source gas and the purge gas (different gases) is not performed through a switching valve or the like, but changes the distribution of the gas through rotation, and the rotational speed of the first and second supply pipes is changed. Faster allows for quicker gas switching. In particular, in the present invention, the thickness of the thin film deposited on the substrate is adjusted according to the rotation speed and the number of rotations of the first supply pipe and the second supply pipe, and the thickness of the thin film can be adjusted in units of several Å.

5 is a view showing the rotation of the nozzle unit for supplying only a certain gas for a long time.

The nozzle unit 140 continuously rotates at a constant speed only in one direction and not only supplies the organic metal and nitrogen gas alternately, but as shown in FIG. 5, for example, more organic metal is irregularly supplied. To this end, when the first supply pipe 142 is swinging within a predetermined angle in a state in which the first supply pipe 142 is positioned downward, a process gas having a high organic metal distribution can be provided on the substrate.

6 is a view showing a nozzle unit having three supply pipes and four supply pipes.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the nozzle units 140a and 140b may include four supply pipes 142, 142 ′, 144 and 144 ′ or three supply pipes 142, 144 and 145, and each of the three supply pipes and the four supply pipes may be provided with each other. Other gases may be supplied or two gases may be supplied alternately.

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a nozzle unit having other types of first and second supply pipes.

As shown in FIG. 7, the first and second supply pipes 142a and 144a of the nozzle unit 140c have a hemispherical cross section. The first and second supply pipes 142a and 144a have a wider injection angle than the first and second supply pipes 142 and 144 shown in FIG. 2. That is, since the first and second supply pipes 142a and 144a are formed with the injection holes 143 at predetermined angles, the first and second supply pipes 142a and 144a may uniformly inject the gas simultaneously over the entire shower head 132.

For example, the present invention may require a technique for controlling the gas flow rate supplied to the first and second supply pipes in order to more surely convert the gas between the organic metal and the nitrogen gas. For example, in order to increase the distribution (concentration) of the organic metal when the first supply pipe is rotated downward, the flow rate of nitrogen gas supplied to the second supply pipe is reduced, and conversely, the distribution of nitrogen gas (concentration) when the second supply pipe is rotated downward. Flow control valves and a control unit for controlling them may be provided to reduce the flow rate of the organic metal supplied to the first supply pipe to increase the). That is, when the first and second supply pipes are rotated downward, the flow rate is maximized, and when the first and second supply pipes are rotated upward, the flow rate is gradually reduced. By doing so, the gas conversion between the organic metal and the nitrogen gas can be more reliably achieved. Here, the organic metal corresponds to a source gas, and nitrogen gas corresponds to a purge gas.

As described above, the substrate processing apparatus 100 of the present invention may change the number of nozzles or the type of gas supplied to the first supply pipe and the second supply pipe according to the substrate processing method, and the first supply pipe and the second supply pipe may be changed. The slotting angle can also be changed.

On the other hand, the present invention may be variously modified and take various forms of the substrate processing apparatus having the above configuration. It is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific forms referred to in the foregoing description, but rather includes all modifications, equivalents and substitutions that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. It must be understood.

As described above, the present invention has a special effect of forming a metal thin film on the surface of the substrate in several units.

The present invention has a special effect that can be supplied to the process chamber by alternately repeating different gases.

The present invention has a special effect that can be quickly converted to different gases.

The present invention has a special effect that can precisely control the thickness of the metal thin film on the substrate surface only by the rotational speed and the number of times of the nozzle portion while maintaining other process conditions (flow rate, temperature, pressure, etc.).

Claims (11)

In the substrate processing apparatus: Process chambers; A substrate support part installed in the process chamber to support a substrate; An upper chamber installed above the process chamber and having a shower head for injecting gas onto the substrate support; The upper chamber And a plurality of nozzle portions disposed in parallel with the substrate and having at least two supply pipes having a plurality of injection holes in the longitudinal direction and positioned side by side in the inner space of the upper chamber. The method of claim 1, The nozzle part And a rotating part for rotating the supply pipes. The method of claim 1, The nozzle part A horizontal axis supporting the supply pipes between the supply pipes; And a driver for rotating the horizontal axis such that the supply pipes rotate about the horizontal axis. The method of claim 1, The supply pipes include a first supply pipe for supplying a first gas and a second supply pipe for supplying a second gas, The nozzle part A horizontal axis positioned in parallel between the first supply pipe and the second supply pipe and supporting the first and second supply pipes; And And a driving unit to rotate the horizontal axis to inject the first gas and the second gas while the first and second supply pipes rotate about the horizontal axis. The method of claim 4, wherein The nozzle unit substrate processing apparatus, characterized in that the distribution of the first and second gas injected from the first and second supply pipe to the process chamber is adjusted differently according to the rotation of the horizontal axis. In the substrate processing method, Depositing a thin film on the substrate by sequentially supplying a first gas and a second gas to the substrate loaded into the substrate support of the process chamber; And the first and second gases are supported side by side on both sides of the horizontal axis and injected through the first and second supply pipes rotated about the horizontal axis, and then provided to the substrate. The method of claim 6, The first and second gases are continuously injected through the first and second supply pipes, If the first supply pipe is close to the substrate, the distribution of the first gas is provided to the substrate higher than the second gas, and if the second supply pipe is close to the substrate, the distribution of the second gas is Is provided to the substrate in a state higher than the first gas. The method of claim 6, The thickness of the thin film deposited on the substrate is a substrate processing method, characterized in that adjusted according to the rotational speed and the number of times of rotation of the first supply pipe and the second supply pipe. The method of claim 6, The first gas is an inert gas such as nitrogen, and the second gas is a metal gas such as Ni, Cu, Al, or the like. The method of claim 6, The thickness of the thin film deposited on the substrate is a substrate processing method, characterized in that several units. The method of claim 6, And first and second gases injected through the first and second supply pipes are provided to the substrate through the shower head to have a uniform flow on the substrate.

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