KR20100002885A - Atomic layer deposition apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An apparatus for depositing an atomic layer is provided to prevent the inflow of the deposition gas from a spray region to an exhaust unit by arranging the spray region for spraying the deposition gas and the exhaust unit on different planes in a shower head. CONSTITUTION: A susceptor(120) is rotatably included in a process chamber. One substrate or more are received in the susceptor. A shower head is included on an upper side of the substrate. A plurality of spray regions for spraying the deposition gas to the substrate are formed on the shower head. An exhaust unit(150) is included in the shower head and includes an exhaust line. The exhaust line includes a plurality of exhaust holes exhausting the exhaust gas from the processor chamber. A projection part(511) is included around the exhaust line and is protruded from the surface of the shower head with a preset height.

Description

Atomic Layer Deposition Apparatus {ATOMIC LAYER DEPOSITION APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to an atomic layer deposition apparatus, and more particularly, to provide an atomic layer deposition apparatus for preventing the deposition gas injected from the thin film deposition apparatus directly flows into the exhaust portion.

In general, in order to deposit a thin film having a predetermined thickness on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or glass, physical vapor deposition (PVD) using physical collision such as sputtering and chemical vapor deposition using chemical reaction thin film manufacturing method using (chemical vapor deposition, CVD) or the like is used.

The chemical vapor deposition method includes atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD), low pressure chemical vapor deposition (low pressure CVD, LPCVD), plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (plasma enhanced CVD, PECVD), and the like. Plasma organic chemical vapor deposition has been widely used due to the advantages of being able to deposit and fast forming thin films.

However, as the design rule of the semiconductor device is drastically fined, a thin film of a fine pattern is required, and the step height of the region where the thin film is formed is also very large. As a result, the use of an atomic layer deposition (ALD) method capable of forming a very fine pattern of atomic layer thickness very uniformly and having excellent step coverage is increasing.

The atomic layer deposition method (ALD) is similar to the conventional chemical vapor deposition method in that it uses chemical reactions between gas molecules. However, conventional chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods inject a plurality of gas molecules into the process chamber at the same time to deposit reaction products generated above the substrate onto the substrate, whereas atomic layer deposition processes a single gaseous material. It is different in that it injects into the chamber and then purges it so that only the physically adsorbed gas remains on top of the heated substrate, and then another gaseous material is deposited to deposit chemical reaction products that occur only on the upper surface of the substrate. .

The thin film implemented through such an atomic layer deposition method has a very good step coverage characteristics, and has the advantage that it is possible to implement a pure thin film having a low impurity content.

However, when the showerhead or the susceptor rotates at high speed by using a conventional atomic layer deposition apparatus and sprays different types of source gases, and the substrate sequentially passes through the source gases to form a thin film, There was a problem that different source gases are mixed with each other and film quality is reduced. In addition, there is a problem that the generation of particles to be a source of contamination due to the reaction by-products generated by mixing different source gases and defects due to the particles.

As one of the methods for preventing the generation of particles, the exhaust gas in the chamber can be discharged from the exhaust to prevent the remaining source gases from reacting with each other.In order to effectively prevent particle generation using the exhaust, It is important to ensure sufficient displacement and to allow the suction force to act uniformly in the chamber.

However, in the conventional atomic layer deposition apparatus, the source gas injected from the shower head is affected by the suction force in the exhaust portion, and thus the injection pressure is lowered to reach the substrate sufficiently, thereby not providing a sufficient amount of source gas to the substrate. There is a problem that the deposition rate is lowered. In addition, there is a problem in that the thickness of the thin film formed on the substrate becomes uneven and the film formation quality is deteriorated due to the difference in the amount of transfer of the source gas in the portion close to and far from the exhaust portion.

In particular, some source gas is sucked through the exhaust immediately after being injected but before reaching the substrate. As a result, waste of the source gas occurs because the source gas is discharged together with the exhaust gas, and the consumption of the source gas used in the deposition process increases.

The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, in the atomic layer deposition apparatus in which the exhaust portion is provided in the shower head is exhausted to the process chamber, atomic layer deposition so that the injected deposition gas can reach the substrate sufficiently It is for providing a device.

In addition, the present invention is to provide an atomic layer deposition apparatus that can cause a difference in the injection pressure of the deposition gas injected to the substrate according to the distance difference with the exhaust portion and thereby prevent the film quality deterioration.

In addition, the present invention is to provide an atomic layer deposition apparatus that prevents the injected deposition gas is sucked directly into the exhaust portion to increase the consumption and cost of the deposition gas.

According to embodiments of the present invention for achieving the above object of the present invention, an atomic layer deposition apparatus that prevents the injected deposition gas flows directly into the exhaust portion is rotatably provided in the process chamber and one or more substrates are seated A susceptor provided above the substrate, a shower head having a plurality of injection regions for injecting deposition gas onto the substrate, and an exhaust line having a plurality of exhaust holes provided in the shower head to exhaust the exhaust gas in the process chamber. It comprises an exhaust unit and a stepped portion provided around the exhaust line and protruding a predetermined height from the shower head surface.

In an embodiment, the stepped portion is formed continuously along the exhaust line circumference.

In an embodiment, the stepped portion has a height protruding toward the substrate rather than the spraying region so as to separate the spraying region and the exhaust line.

On the other hand, according to other embodiments of the present invention for achieving the above object of the present invention, the atomic layer deposition apparatus is provided on the substrate, a susceptor rotatably provided in the process chamber and at least one substrate is seated The shower head includes a shower head having a plurality of injection regions for injecting deposition gas into the substrate, and an exhaust unit provided in the shower head to exhaust the exhaust gas in the process chamber. The exhaust part may be disposed on a plane different from the plurality of injection areas so as to prevent the deposition gas injected from the injection area from being directly sucked into the exhaust part.

In an embodiment, the exhaust portion includes a groove recessed in a predetermined depth from the shower head surface and a plurality of exhaust holes formed in the groove and sucking the exhaust gas.

In an exemplary embodiment, a stepped portion protruding a predetermined height from the surface of the shower head may be formed at a boundary of the groove to improve separation efficiency between the exhaust portion and the injection region. For example, the stepped portion is continuously formed along the groove.

According to the present invention, first, since the injection zone and the exhaust base through which the deposition gas is injected in the shower head are disposed on different planes, the deposition gas injected in the injection zone can be prevented from directly flowing into the exhaust unit.

In addition, since the injected deposition gas reaches the substrate sufficiently, the deposition efficiency and quality of the substrate may be improved.

Second, by minimizing the influence of the injection pressure of the deposition gas by the suction force in the exhaust portion, it is possible to uniformly spray the deposition gas on the substrate, and to uniformly deposit the thin film.

Third, since the deposition gas is discharged after depositing the thin film on the substrate, it is possible to prevent the waste of the deposition gas and to reduce the consumption of the deposition gas because the unreacted deposition gases are exhausted.

In addition, it is possible to reduce the production cost according to the reduced deposition gas consumption.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited or restricted by the embodiments.

1 is a perspective view of an atomic layer deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the atomic layer deposition apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the showerhead shown along the line II in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating main parts of the showerhead and the susceptor along the line II-II in the showerhead of FIG. 3.

Hereinafter, an atomic layer deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

1 and 2, the atomic layer deposition apparatus 100 includes a process chamber 110, a susceptor 120, a showerhead 130, and an exhaust unit 150.

The process chamber 110 accommodates the substrate W to provide a space in which the deposition process is performed.

Here, the substrate W may be a silicon wafer. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the substrate W may be a transparent substrate including glass used for a flat panel display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a plasma display panel (PDP). In addition, the substrate W is not limited in shape and size by drawing, and may have substantially various shapes and sizes, such as circular and rectangular plates.

The susceptor 120 is provided in the process chamber 110 and supports the plurality of substrates (W). Here, the susceptor 120 is a semi-batch type having excellent throughput, and a plurality of substrates W are arranged to support one surface on the same plane and are disposed on the surface of the susceptor 120. Radially along the circumferential direction.

The susceptor 120 is rotatably provided so that the substrate W revolves about the center point of the susceptor 120, and a rotation shaft for rotating the susceptor 120 below the susceptor 120. 125 is provided.

The shower head 130 is provided above the process chamber 110 to provide deposition gas to the surface of the substrate W supported by the susceptor 120.

The deposition gas includes a source gas containing a material constituting a thin film to be formed on the surface of the substrate (W) and a purge gas for purging the source gas. In addition, according to the present exemplary embodiment, two different kinds of gases which react with each other to form a thin film material are used. As the purge gas, source gases and thin films formed on the substrate W and the substrate W may be used. A stable kind of gas that does not react chemically is used.

Here, a gas supply unit 140 is provided above the process chamber 110 to supply the deposition gas to the shower head 130. For example, the gas supply unit 140 includes a plurality of supply units capable of supplying source gas and purge gas, respectively. For example, the gas supply unit 140 may include a first source supply unit 141 for supplying source gas. And a purge supply part 143 supplying the second source supply part 142 and the purge gas.

The shower head 130 is provided with a plurality of injection regions 131 through which deposition gas is injected. In addition, the shower head 130 accommodates the deposition gas supplied from the gas supply unit 140 so that the deposition gas is uniformly injected in the injection region 131, the injection region 131 and each injection hole ( A supply volume 133 having a predetermined volume is formed to distribute the gas partial pressure acting on the 132 to be constant.

As shown in FIG. 3, the shower head 130 has four injection zones 131 formed therein to inject two different types of source gas and purge gas, respectively, in the injection area 131. A plurality of injection holes 132 for injecting the deposition gas is densely arranged.

Here, the area of the injection region 131 affects the amount of deposition gas provided to the substrate W and the amount of deposition gas affects the quality of the thin film deposited on the substrate W. The regions 131 preferably have relatively uniform areas with each other.

As shown in FIG. 3, the spraying area 131 has a fan shape in which the shower head 130 is divided into four parts so as to have a relatively uniform surface area in the shower head 130 having a circular plate shape. Alternatively, since the injection amount of the source gas is preferably injected in a larger amount than the injection amount of the purge gas, the area of the region where the source gas is injected may be wider than the region where the purge gas is injected.

However, the size, number and arrangement of the injection holes 132 are not limited to the drawings, and may be disposed in substantially various forms so as to uniformly inject the deposition gas into the substrate (W). In addition, the injection hole 132 may have a circular hole or a slit shape.

The exhaust unit 150 is provided in the shower head 130 to exhaust unreacted deposition gas and residual deposition gas in the process chamber 110, and is provided at a boundary of the injection area 131 to provide the shower head. It serves to separate the 130 into a plurality of injection zone (131).

The exhaust unit 150 is provided along the boundary of the injection area 131 to form an exhaust line 151 having a plurality of exhaust holes 152 for sucking exhaust gas and the exhaust gas sucked from the exhaust line 151. And a chamber exhaust unit 155 for discharging the process chamber 110 to the outside.

Hereinafter, the exhaust unit 150 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

In the exhaust line 151, two 'V' shaped exhaust lines 151 are formed to uniformly partition the injection area 131 in the shower head 130, and the two exhaust lines 151 are formed. ) Is provided so that the 'V' type vertices facing each other are present in the center of the shower head (130).

However, in the present exemplary embodiment, the exhaust line 151 has a 'V' shape, but the shapes of the exhaust line 151 and the injection region 131 are not limited to the drawings. For example, the exhaust line 151 may be formed in substantially various shapes such as a semicircle, a fan, a quadrangle, and the like.

The exhaust line 151 is provided at the boundary portion of the injection zone 131 to prevent the gases from being mixed and mixed with each other between the injection zones 131 which are adjacent to each other even though they are not mechanical or physical partitions. Play a role.

The exhaust hole 152 is formed at predetermined intervals along the exhaust line 151. Here, the size, number and location of the exhaust holes 152 is not limited by the drawings, holes of different sizes may be formed according to the displacement, or holes may be arranged at different pitch intervals. In addition, the exhaust hole 152 may have a circular hole or a slit shape.

The exhaust buffer unit 153 communicates with the exhaust hole 152 to serve as a passage for forcing the exhaust gas sucked through the exhaust hole 152 to the chamber exhaust unit 155.

The chamber exhaust unit 155 is provided above the process chamber 110 to discharge the exhaust gas sucked from the exhaust line 151 to the outside of the process chamber 110 and the process chamber. 110 includes an exhaust port 552 in communication with the chamber exhaust line 551 through a side wall.

For example, the chamber exhaust line 551 is in communication with the exhaust line 151 at the central portion of the shower head 130. In addition, the chamber exhaust line 551 is in communication with the two exhaust lines 151 at the same time. Alternatively, the chamber exhaust line 551 may be in communication with the two exhaust lines 151, respectively, so that two exhaust gas flow paths may be formed to independently discharge the exhaust gas flowing in the respective exhaust lines 151. have.

According to the present exemplary embodiment, although the exhaust line 151 is provided between the injection zones 131 and is not a mechanical or physical partition, gases are mixed between adjacent injection zones 131 and mutually adjacent. It serves to prevent mixing. Therefore, the exhaust unit 150 has advantages in that different source gases are mixed with each other without mechanical barriers, thereby preventing contamination and simplifying the structures of the shower head 130 and the process chamber 110. have.

Meanwhile, since the spraying region 131 and the exhaust unit 150 are provided at the same time in the shower head 130, the deposition gas sprayed from the spraying region 131 reaches the substrate W before reaching the substrate (W). It may be sucked into the base 150. In order to prevent such a phenomenon, according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the stepped portion 511 protruding a predetermined height from the surface of the shower head 130 is formed along the exhaust line 151.

The stepped portion 511 is formed along a boundary line of the exhaust line 151.

The stepped portion 511 is formed along the exhaust line 151 and serves to define an area in which the suction force formed in the exhaust line 151 is affected by an area surrounded by the stepped portion 511. That is, since the stepped portion 511 protrudes from the surface of the shower head 130, the stepped portion 511 becomes an obstacle that can partially block the suction force formed in the exhaust line 151 from affecting the injection region 131. . In addition, the substrate W disposed below the suction force formed in the exhaust line 151 so that the suction force of the exhaust line 151 is prevented from being dispersed in the injection region 131 by the step portion 511. ) Is effective to focus on.

In addition, the stepped portion 511 is continuously formed along the exhaust line 151 to effectively separate the injection region 131 and the exhaust line 151. The stepped portion 511 is continuously formed at a portion other than the central portion of the shower head 130 at least close to the distance between the exhaust lines 151.

Meanwhile, in the present exemplary embodiment, the spraying region 131 is formed on the same plane as the surface of the shower head 130 as an example. However, unlike the above-described embodiment, the spraying region 131 is the shower. The surface of the head 130 may protrude or be recessed to a certain height.

When the injection zone 131 is formed to protrude a predetermined height from the shower head 130 surface, the malleable step 511 has a height that protrudes more than the injection zone 131.

Even when the injection area 131 is formed by recessing a predetermined depth from the surface of the shower head 130, the stepped part 511 has a height that protrudes from the surface of the shower head 130. In this case, although the injection zone 131 itself is recessed a predetermined depth from the surface of the shower head 130 to limit the injection zone 131 itself, the stepped portion 511 has a suction force in the exhaust line 151. Since it plays a role of limiting the affected area, a predetermined step portion 511 may be formed along the exhaust line 151.

Meanwhile, the exhaust unit 150 replaces the exhaust line 151 on the surface of the shower head 130 instead of the step portion 511 to separate the exhaust line 151 and the injection region 131. It is provided in a deeply recessed groove 512.

Since the exhaust line 151 is provided in the groove 512, the suction force formed in the exhaust line 151 is limited to the inside of the groove 512. That is, the groove 512 has the injection area 131 and the exhaust line 151 on different surfaces so that the suction force formed in the exhaust line 151 affects the injection area 131. It acts as an obstacle that can be partly blocked. In addition, the groove 512 also has a suction force formed in the exhaust line 151 in a downward direction as the step portion 511 blocks the suction force of the exhaust line 151 from being dispersed in the injection region 131. There is an effect of concentrating on the substrate (W) arranged.

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, the exhaust line 151 is predetermined on the surface of the shower head 130 so that the deposition gas injected from the spraying region 131 can be effectively blocked from being sucked into the exhaust line 151. The stepped portion 511 is provided in the groove 512 deeply recessed and is formed along a boundary line of the exhaust line 151. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the suction force formed in the exhaust line 151 by the groove 512 and the stepped portion 511 is effectively blocked from affecting the injection region 131 and the exhaust line 151 The quality difference of the thin film deposited on the substrate W can be prevented according to the distance difference in.

In addition, by providing the step portion 511 and the groove 512 along the exhaust line 151 between the exhaust line 140 and the injection zone 131 without adding any additional components or structures. Since it improves the separation efficiency of the shower head 130 and the process chamber 110 has the advantage of simplifying the structure.

As described above, although described with reference to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art various modifications and variations of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described in the claims below I can understand that you can.

1 is a perspective view for explaining an atomic layer deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a cross-sectional view of the atomic layer deposition apparatus of FIG. 1;

3 is a plan view of the showerhead along the line I-I in the atomic layer deposition apparatus of FIG.

4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating main parts of the atomic layer deposition apparatus along the line II-II in the showerhead of FIG. 3.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: atomic layer deposition apparatus 110: process chamber

120: susceptor 125: axis of rotation

130: shower head 131: spraying area

132: injection hole 133: supply buffer unit

140, 141, 142, 143: gas supply part 150: exhaust part

151: exhaust line 152: exhaust hole

153: exhaust buffer unit 155: chamber exhaust unit

511: step 512: groove

551: chamber exhaust line 552: exhaust port

W: Substrate

Claims (7)

A susceptor rotatably provided in the process chamber and having at least one substrate seated thereon; A shower head provided on the substrate and having a plurality of injection regions for injecting deposition gas onto the substrate; An exhaust part provided in the shower head and including an exhaust line having a plurality of exhaust holes for exhausting exhaust gas in the process chamber; And A stepped portion provided around the exhaust line and protruding a predetermined height from the shower head surface; Atomic layer deposition apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 1, And the stepped portion is formed continuously along the circumference of the exhaust line. The method of claim 1, And the stepped portion has a height protruding toward the substrate from the spraying region. A susceptor rotatably provided in the process chamber and having at least one substrate seated thereon; A shower head provided on the substrate and having a plurality of injection regions for injecting deposition gas onto the substrate; And An exhaust unit provided in the shower head to exhaust exhaust gas in the process chamber; Including, And the exhaust portion is disposed on a plane different from the plurality of injection regions. The method of claim 4, wherein The exhaust portion includes a groove recessed to a certain depth on the shower head surface; A plurality of exhaust holes formed in the groove and sucking the exhaust gas; An atomic layer deposition apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 4, wherein And a stepped portion protruding a predetermined height from the surface of the shower head at a boundary line of the groove. The method of claim 6, The stepped portion is atomic layer deposition apparatus, characterized in that formed continuously along the groove.

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