KR20080053631A - Plasma reactor having multi-core plasma generator - Google Patents

Abstract

A plasma reactor having a multi-core plasma generator is provided to easily make the size of the plasma reactor bigger by simply making the size of a core group corresponding to the size of a substrate to be treated, and increase throughput of substrates by installing two vacuum chambers in parallel for treating two large-sized substrates at the same time. A plasma reactor(100) comprises a multi-core plasma generator(130), and one or more process chamber(110,120) connected to the dielectric plate. The multi-core plasma generator comprises one or more dielectric plate(133-1,133-2), wherein a magnetic flux inlet is arranged toward the dielectric plate, one or more core group(200,250) having a first coil(210) electrically connected to a power source(340), a gas inlet(132) connected to the power source, a plurality of gas injection ports(134) provided to the dielectric plate for jetting gas to the process chamber, and a gas supply channel(136) connected between the gas inlet and the gas injection port of the dielectric plate.

Description

Plasma reactor with multi-core plasma generator {PLASMA REACTOR HAVING MULTI-CORE PLASMA GENERATOR}

In order to more fully understand the drawings used in the detailed description of the invention, a brief description of each drawing is provided.

1 is a perspective view of a plasma reactor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a partially separated perspective view illustrating the configuration of the multi-core plasma generator of FIG. 1.

3 is a cross-sectional view and a circuit configuration of the plasma reactor of FIG.

4 and 5 are diagrams showing an example of the circuit configuration of the plasma reactor to which the voltage regulator is added.

6 and 7 illustrate modifications of the voltage adjusting unit.

8 and 9 are partial cross-sectional views of a plasma reactor showing variations of the gas supply structure.

10 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration of the circuit configuration of the plasma reactor to which the current balancing circuit is added.

* Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

100: plasma reactor 110, 120: first and second vacuum chamber

130: multi-core plasma generator 200, 250: first and second core groups

300, 320: bias power sources 310, 330, 350: impedance matcher

340: power source 360: current balancing circuit

400; Voltage regulator

The present invention relates to a plasma reactor having a transformer plasma source, and more particularly, to a plasma reactor capable of treating one or more large-area target substrates as a plasma reactor having a multi-core plasma generator.

Plasma is a highly ionized gas containing the same number of positive ions and electrons. Plasma discharges are used for gas excitation to generate active gases containing ions, free radicals, atoms, molecules. The active gas is widely used in various fields and is typically used in a variety of semiconductor manufacturing processes such as etching, deposition, cleaning, ashing, and the like.

There are a number of plasma sources for generating plasma, and the representative examples are capacitive coupled plasma and inductive coupled plasma using radio frequency.

Capacitively coupled plasma sources have the advantage of high process productivity compared to other plasma sources due to their high capacity for precise capacitive coupling and ion control. On the other hand, since the energy of the radio frequency power supply is almost exclusively connected to the plasma through capacitive coupling, the plasma ion density can only be increased or decreased by increasing or decreasing the capacitively coupled radio frequency power. However, increasing radio frequency power increases ion bombardment energy.

On the other hand, the inductively coupled plasma source can easily increase the ion density with the increase of the radio frequency power source, the ion bombardment is relatively low, it is known to be suitable for obtaining a high density plasma. Therefore, inductively coupled plasma sources are commonly used to obtain high density plasma. Inductively coupled plasma sources are typically developed using a method using a radio frequency antenna (RF antenna) and a method using a transformer.

Inductively coupled plasma sources using a transformer can obtain a high density of plasma relatively easily, but the plasma uniformity is affected by structural features. Therefore, efforts have been made to improve the plasma source structure to obtain a uniform high density plasma.

Due to several factors such as ultra miniaturization of semiconductor devices, large size of silicon wafer substrates for manufacturing semiconductor circuits, large size of glass substrates for manufacturing liquid crystal displays, and the emergence of new materials to be processed, more advanced plasma processing technologies are required. have. In particular, there is a need for improved plasma sources and plasma processing techniques that have good processing capabilities for large area workpieces. Correspondingly, plasma reactors employing a plurality of transformer coupling structures have been proposed to obtain a large area plasma. However, if a plurality of transformers are used, a large area plasma can be obtained, but it is not easy to obtain a uniform plasma.

The enlargement of the substrate to be processed causes the enlargement of the entire production equipment. Larger production facilities increase the overall plant area, resulting in increased production costs. Therefore, there is a need for a plasma reactor and a plasma processing system capable of minimizing the installation area. In particular, in the semiconductor manufacturing process, productivity per unit area is one of the important factors affecting the price of the final product. Thus, technologies are being provided to effectively arrange the components of a production plant in a way to increase productivity per unit area. For example, a plasma reactor for processing two substrates in parallel is provided. However, most plasma reactors that process two substrates to be processed in parallel are equipped with two plasma sources, which does not substantially minimize process equipment.

If two or more plasma reactors are arranged vertically or horizontally in parallel, the common part of each component can be shared and two substrates can be processed in parallel by one plasma source. There will be several benefits to minimization.

As in any industrial field, various efforts have been made to increase productivity in the semiconductor industry for manufacturing semiconductor integrated circuit devices or liquid crystal display devices. In order to increase productivity, production facilities basically need to be increased or improved. However, simply increasing the production equipment, as well as the expansion cost of the process equipment as well as the space equipment of the clean room has a problem that the high cost occurs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a plasma reactor having a multi-core plasma generator that is easy to large area, can uniformly generate high-density plasma, and can simultaneously process one or more large-area target substrates, so that the substrate throughput per facility area is high. It is.

One aspect of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem relates to a plasma reactor. The plasma reactor of the present invention comprises: a multi-core plasma generator comprising at least one dielectric plate and at least one core group having a magnetic flux entrance toward the dielectric plate and having a primary winding electrically connected to a power source; One or more process chambers connected to one or more dielectric plates.

In one embodiment, the multi-core plasma generator comprises: a gas inlet connected to a gas source; A plurality of gas injection holes provided in the dielectric plate for injecting gas into the process chamber; And a gas supply channel connected between the gas inlet and the gas injection port of the dielectric plate.

In one embodiment, the multi-core plasma generator: the gas inlet comprises a first and a second gas inlet receiving different gases, the gas supply channel is a separate gas supply for supplying different gases separately It includes a channel.

In one embodiment, the multi-core plasma generator comprises: first and second dielectric plates disposed vertically and parallel; A first and a second core group, the first and second core groups having a primary winding that is disposed toward the first and second dielectric plates and having a primary winding electrically connected to a power source, and connected to the first and second dielectric plates; And a second process chamber, each of the first and second process chambers comprising: a substrate entrance through which the substrate passes vertically; A substrate support disposed opposite the first and second dielectric plates; And a gas outlet.

In one embodiment, the process chambers each comprise an exhaust baffle.

In one embodiment, the plate electrode is installed in proximity to the dielectric plate in the portion except the magnetic flux entrance; It includes a voltage adjusting unit for adjusting the voltage level applied to the flat plate electrode.

In one embodiment, the core group comprises a plurality of magnetic core units each having a primary winding; And a current balance circuit for controlling the balance of the current supplied to the primary windings of the plurality of magnetic core units.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In order to fully understand the present invention, the operational advantages of the present invention, and the objects achieved by the embodiments of the present invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention and the contents described in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments of the present invention may be modified in various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the embodiments described below. This embodiment is provided to more completely explain the present invention to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the shape of the elements in the drawings and the like are exaggerated to emphasize a clearer description. In understanding the drawings, it should be noted that like parts are intended to be represented by the same reference numerals as much as possible. And detailed description of known functions and configurations that are determined to unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention is omitted.

(Example)

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plasma reactor of the present invention will be described in detail.

1 is a perspective view of a plasma reactor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a plasma reactor 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a multi-core plasma generator 130 and first and second process chambers 110 and 120 coupled therebetween. The first and second process chambers 110 and 120 are provided with front and rear substrate entrances 112 and 122, respectively, and face the first and second vacuum chambers 110 and 122 through respective substrate entrances 112 and 122. The substrate to be processed is loaded / unloaded vertically into / from 120.

A gas inlet 132 is provided in the housing 131 of the multi-core plasma generator 130, and gas outlets 113 and 123 are provided at both outer sidewalls of the first and second process chambers 110 and 120, respectively. have. Thus, the process gas flowing through the gas inlet 132 is supplied to the first and second process chambers 110 and 120, and respective gas outlets 113 and 120 of the first and second process chambers 110 and 120 are provided. 123 is exhausted.

Each of the housings 111, 121, 131 of the first and second process chambers 110, 120 and the multi-core plasma generator 130 is made of a metallic material such as aluminum, stainless steel, or copper. Or coated metal, for example anodized aluminum or nickel plated aluminum. Or refractory metal. Alternatively, it is possible to rewrite an electrically insulating material such as quartz, ceramic, or other materials suitable for the intended plasma process to be performed. In order to prevent the eddy current from being generated by the induced electromotive force generated from the multi-core plasma generator 130, each of the housings 111, 121, and 131 may be provided with an electrically insulating layer at an appropriate portion. Each of the housings 111, 121, and 131 has a rectangular box-shaped structure as a whole, but may be modified into other structures.

2 is a partially separated perspective view illustrating the configuration of the multi-core plasma generator of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view and a circuit configuration of the plasma reactor of FIG. 1.

2 and 3, the multi-core plasma generator 130 includes two planar first and second dielectric plates 133-1 and 133-2 and first and second dielectric plates 133-1. And first and second core groups 200 and 250 in which magnetic flux entrances and exits are disposed toward 133-2. The first and second core groups 200, 250 have a primary winding 220 that is electrically connected to a power source 340 that supplies radio frequencies. An impedance matcher 350 for impedance matching is configured between the primary winding 220 and the power supply 340. However, it may be configured using a power supply source 340 capable of controlling the output power without a separate impedance matcher. The first and second core groups 200 and 250 are composed of a plurality of magnetic core units 210 disposed in parallel and in parallel toward the first and second dielectric plates 133-1 and 133-2. Each magnetic core unit 210 has a plurality of horseshoe-shaped magnetic cores in a row, and the primary winding 220 is wound by a bundle of a plurality of magnetic cores forming a row. The primary windings 220 wound around the plurality of magnetic core units 210 may be connected to the power supply in parallel, in series, or in series and parallel mixing manner through the impedance matcher 350.

Substrate supports 114 and 124 are installed in the first and second process chambers 110 and 120 to face the first and second dielectric plates 133-1 and 133-2, respectively. The substrates 114 and 124 are mounted on the substrate supports 114 and 124, respectively. The substrates 115 and 125 to be processed are, for example, silicon wafer substrates for manufacturing semiconductor devices or glass substrates for manufacturing liquid crystal displays or plasma displays. Exhaust baffles 116 and 126 may be installed in the first and second process chambers 110 and 120, respectively, for uniform exhaust.

Each of the substrate supports 114 and 124 of the first and second process chambers 110 and 120 is connected to and biased by the bias power sources 300 and 320 through the impedance matchers 310 and 330. The substrate supports 114 and 124 have a single bias structure by a single power source, but may have a structure that is double biased by two power sources that supply different radio frequency power. The bias power supply sources 300 and 320 may be configured using a power supply source capable of controlling output power without a separate impedance matcher. In addition, the inductively coupled plasma reactor 100 of the present invention may be modified into a structure having a zero potential without supplying a bias power to the substrate support 330.

When a radio frequency is supplied from the power source 340 to the primary winding 210, the magnetic field 240 generated by the first and second core groups 200 and 250 may cause the first and second dielectric plates 133-1 and 133 to be supplied. And -2) to the interior of the first and second process chambers (110, 120). Thus, induced electromotive force is transferred into the first and second vacuum chambers 110 and 120 to perform plasma discharge. In this case, the first and second core groups 210 and 220 are uniformly disposed on the first and second dielectric plates 133-1 and 133-2, thereby achieving uniform plasma discharge.

Between the magnetic flux entrances and exits of the plurality of magnetic core units 210, a plurality of flat electrodes 230 arranged in the longitudinal direction are formed. The plate electrode 230 is composed of a thin band-shaped conductive plate. In this embodiment, although the plate electrode 230 is composed of a plurality, the magnetic flux of the magnetic core units 210 is composed of a conductive plate having the same area as the planar areas of the first and second dielectric plates 133-1 and 133-2. The portion overlapping with the entrance may be configured to be opened.

The flat electrode 230 may have an electrically grounded structure, or as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the voltage adjusting unit 400 may be configured to enable variable voltage supply. The flat electrode 230 may further improve plasma ion energy control capability on the surfaces of the substrates 115 and 125 as well as generate more uniform plasma inside the first and second vacuum chambers 110 and 120. As a result, the plasma treatment efficiency can be further increased, thereby forming a more uniform plasma treatment and a high quality thin film on the substrates 115 and 125.

4 and 5 are views showing an example of the circuit configuration of the plasma reactor with a voltage regulator is added, Figures 6 and 7 is a view showing a modification of the voltage regulator.

Referring to FIG. 4, the voltage adjusting unit 400 for varying the voltage applied to the plate electrode 230 may include a voltage divider 410 and a voltage divider connected between the last rear end of the primary winding 220 and the ground. The multi-tap switching circuit 420 applies any one of the voltages divided by the 210 to the flat electrode 300. The voltage regulator 400 may be configured between the first input terminal of the primary winding 230 and ground, as shown in FIG. 5.

The voltage divider means 410 may be composed of an inductor coil having multiple taps. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6, the primary side may be configured as a transformer 410a having a multi-tap for outputting a voltage divided by the primary side between any one of both ends of the antenna coil and the ground and the secondary side. . Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 7, a series capacitor array 410b having multiple taps for outputting a divided voltage may be configured.

Again, referring to FIG. 3, the multi-core plasma generator 130 has a common gas supply channel for supplying process gas to the first and second process chambers 110 and 120. A plurality of gas injection holes 134 are formed in the first and second dielectric plates 133-1 and 133-2, respectively. The common gas supply channel provides a gas supply path between the gas inlet 132 and the plurality of gas injection holes 134. For example, the common gas supply channel extends from the central supply path 136 and the central supply path 136 formed between the first and second core groups 200 and 250 so that the plurality of magnetic core units 210 are formed. And a gas supply branch 139 connected to the gas injection holes 134 formed in the first and second dielectric plates 133-1 and 133-2 through the respective rows of. The gas distribution plate 138 may be configured in the central supply path 136 as a means for uniformly distributing and supplying the gas.

8 and 9 are partial cross-sectional views of a plasma reactor showing variations of the gas supply structure.

Referring to FIG. 8, in one variation of the gas supply structure, the multi-core plasma generator 130 may have a separate gas supply structure that separates and supplies gas to the first and second process chambers 110 and 120, respectively. . The first gas supply channel includes a first gas supply path 136-1 connected between the first gas inlet 132-1 and the gas injection hole of the first dielectric plate 133-1. The second gas supply channel includes a second gas supply path 136-2 connected between the second gas inlet 132-2 and the gas injection hole of the second dielectric plate 133-2. The first and second gas supply passages 136-1 and 136-2 are disposed between the first and second dielectric plates 133-1 and 133-2 and the first and second core groups 200 and 250, respectively. The gas distribution plates 138-1 and 138-2 may be configured as means for uniformly distributing and supplying gas.

9, in another variation of the gas supply structure, the multi-core plasma generator 130 may have a separate gas supply structure for separately supplying different process gases to the first and second process chambers 110 and 120. have.

The multi-core plasma generator 130 is connected to a first gas inlet 132 connected to a first gas source (not shown) for supplying a first process gas and a second gas source (not shown) for supplying a second process gas. Second gas inlets 161, 162 are connected. The first gas supply channel for supplying the first process gas GAS_1 has the same gas supply structure as described with reference to FIG. 3 with the first gas inlet 132 and the first and second dielectric plates 133-1 and 133-. It is connected to a part of the gas injection port of 2) to supply the first process gas (GAS_1). The second gas supply channel for supplying the second process gas (GAS_2) may include two gas inlets 161 and 162 and gas injection holes of the first and second dielectric plates 133-1 and 133-2. It is connected between the other part includes a gas supply path 160 for supplying a second process gas (GAS_2).

10 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration of the circuit configuration of the plasma reactor to which the current balancing circuit is added.

Referring to FIG. 10, the plasma reactor 100 of the present invention controls the balance of the current supplied to the primary windings of the plurality of magnetic core units 210 belonging to the first and second core groups 200 and 250. It may further include a current balancing circuit 360. In the current balancing circuit 360, the primary windings 220 of the plurality of magnetic core units 210 are connected in parallel. The current balancing circuit 360 receives the radio frequency supplied from the power supply source 340 through the impedance matcher 350 and supplies current to the primary windings 220 of the plurality of magnetic core units 210. . As the current is balanced by the current balancing circuit 360, the radio frequency is supplied to the primary windings 220 of the plurality of magnetic core units 210 to generate the first and second process chambers 110 and 120 therein. The plasma is further improved in uniformity. Examples of the specific circuit configuration of the current balancing circuit 360 are described in detail in the patent application 10-2006-0123186 'plasma reactor with a multi-loop core plasma generator' proposed by the present inventors.

The plasma reactor 100 of the present invention as described above has a configuration in which two first and second process chambers 110 and 120 are connected in parallel to both sides with the multi-core plasma generator 130 interposed therebetween. This is a configuration for processing two substrates to be processed in parallel. However, it is also possible to modify the structure to process a single substrate to be processed independently. That is, the multi-core plasma reactor 130 may have one core group 200 or 250 and one process chamber 110 or 120 may be connected thereto. In addition, although the plasma reactor 100 is based on a vertical structure, the plasma reactor 100 may be modified into a horizontal structure.

The embodiment of the plasma reactor of the present invention described above is merely illustrative, and those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. Could be. Therefore, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific forms mentioned in the above description. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be defined by the technical spirit of the appended claims, and the present invention is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. It should be understood to include.

According to the plasma reactor of the present invention as described above, large-area plasma can be generated by increasing the core group to suit the size of the large-area target substrate, so that the large-area of the plasma reactor is easy and the current balancing circuit By the uniform current supply is made, the uniform gas supply is made by one or more gas supply channels to uniformly generate high density plasma. By constructing two vacuum chambers in parallel, two large-area substrates can be processed simultaneously, thereby increasing the substrate throughput per facility area.

Claims (7)

A multi-core plasma generator comprising at least one dielectric plate and at least one core group having a magnetic flux entrance toward the dielectric plate and having a primary winding electrically connected to a power source; A plasma reactor comprising one or more process chambers connected to one or more dielectric plates. The method of claim 1, wherein the multi-core plasma generator is: A gas inlet connected to a gas source; A plurality of gas injection holes provided in the dielectric plate for injecting gas into the process chamber; And And a gas supply channel connected between the gas inlet and the gas injection port of the dielectric plate. 3. The multi-core plasma generator of claim 2, wherein the multi-core plasma generator comprises: a gas inlet comprising a first and a second gas inlet receiving different gases, the gas supply channel being a separate gas supply separating and supplying different gases. A plasma reactor comprising a channel. The multi-core plasma generator of claim 1, further comprising: first and second dielectric plates disposed vertically and parallel; A first and a second core group having a primary winding that is disposed toward the first and second dielectric plates and has a primary winding electrically connected to a power source, First and second process chambers coupled to the first and second dielectric plates, the first and second process chambers comprising: a substrate entrance through which the substrate is vertically entered; A substrate support disposed opposite the first and second dielectric plates; And a gas outlet. 5. The plasma reactor of Claim 4, wherein said process chambers each comprise an exhaust baffle. The display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a flat plate electrode disposed in proximity to the dielectric plate at portions other than the magnetic flux entrance and exit; Plasma reactor including a voltage regulator for adjusting the voltage level applied to the plate electrode. The method of claim 1, wherein the core group comprises a plurality of magnetic core units each having a primary winding; A plasma reactor comprising a current balancing circuit for controlling the balance of the current supplied to the primary windings of the plurality of magnetic core units.

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