KR20100042942A - Apparatus and method for manufacturing poly-si thin film - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A device and a method for manufacturing a polycrystalline silicon thin film are provided to reduce the overall time required for a process by simultaneously loading and unloading the substrate. CONSTITUTION: A substrate support(150) comprises an amorphous silicon thin film and a conductive thin film. A substrate loading/unloading unit(120) includes a substrate loading unit and a substrate unloading unit and simultaneously moves the substrate loading unit and the substrate unloading unit. An electrode(160) for applying power is installed on the other side of the chamber facing the substrate support. The electrode for applying the power generates joule heat by applying power to the conductive thin film and crystallizes the amorphous silicon thin film through the joule heat.

Description

Apparatus and Method for Manufacturing Poly-Si Thin Film

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for producing a polycrystalline silicon thin film, and more particularly, to generate joule heat by applying power to a conductive thin film provided on an upper portion or a lower portion of amorphous silicon, thereby manufacturing a polycrystalline silicon thin film. The present invention relates to a polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus and method.

In general, amorphous silicon (a-Si) has a disadvantage of low mobility and opening ratio of electrons as charge carriers, and incompatibility with CMOS processes.

On the other hand, a poly-silicon thin film element can form a driving circuit necessary for writing an image signal to a pixel, such as a pixel TFT-array, on a substrate, which was not possible with an amorphous silicon TFT (a-Si TFT). Do. Therefore, in the polycrystalline silicon thin film element, the connection between the plurality of terminals and the driver IC becomes unnecessary, so that the productivity and reliability can be increased and the thickness of the panel can be reduced.

 In addition, in the polycrystalline silicon TFT process, since the microfabrication technology of silicon LSI can be used as it is, a microstructure can be formed in wiring etc. Therefore, since there is no pitch constraint on the TAB mounting of the driver IC seen in the amorphous silicon TFT, pixel reduction is easy and a large number of pixels can be realized at a small angle of view.

In addition, the thin film transistor using the polycrystalline silicon in the active layer has a high switching capability and the channel position of the active layer is determined by self-matching, compared with the thin film transistor using the amorphous silicon, so that the device can be miniaturized and CMOS. have. For this reason, polycrystalline silicon thin film transistors are used as pixel switch elements in active matrix type flat panel displays (e.g., liquid crystal displays, organic ELs), and the like. It is emerging as a major device.

Such polycrystalline silicon TFTs can be manufactured under high temperature and low temperature. In order to form at high temperature, expensive materials such as quartz must be used as substrates, which is not suitable for large area. not. Therefore, studies have been actively conducted on a method for producing a large amount of amorphous silicon thin film from polycrystalline silicon under low temperature conditions.

Such low-temperature polycrystalline silicon can be formed by solid phase crystallization (SPC), metal induced crystallization (MIC), metal induced side crystallization (MILC), or excimer laser. Crystallization (ELC: Excimer Laser Crystallization) method.

Although the SPC method can obtain uniform crystallization using low-cost equipment, it requires high crystallization temperature and long time, so it is impossible to use substrates with relatively low heat deformation temperature such as glass substrates and low productivity. Have. In the case of the SPC method, annealing is performed on an amorphous silicon thin film at about 600 to 700 ° C. for about 1 to 24 hours to allow crystallization.

In addition, the polycrystalline silicon produced by the SPC method is accompanied with twin-growth during the solid phase transformation from the amorphous phase to the crystal phase, and thus contains a large number of crystal lattice defects in the formed crystal grains. These factors serve to reduce the mobility and increase the threshold voltage of electrons and holes of the manufactured polycrystalline silicon TFT.

The MIC method has the advantage that amorphous silicon is brought into contact with a specific metal so that its crystallization is performed at a temperature much lower than the crystallization temperature by the SPC method. Metals that enable the MIC method include Ni, Pd, Ti, Al, Ag, Au, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, and these metals react with amorphous silicon to form eutectic or silicide phases. (silicide phase) is formed to promote low temperature crystallization. However, application of the MIC method to the actual process of polycrystalline silicon TFT fabrication causes serious contamination of the metal in the channel.

The MILC method is an application technique of the MIC method. Instead of depositing a metal on a channel, a gate electrode is formed, and then a metal is deposited thinly on a source and a drain in a self-aligned structure to induce metal induced crystallization. This technique induces lateral crystallization toward the channel. Ni and Pd are the most commonly used metals in this MILC method. Polycrystalline silicon prepared by the MILC method is known to exhibit high leakage current characteristics, despite excellent crystallinity and high field effect mobility compared to the SPC method.

In other words, in the MILC method, the metal contamination problem is reduced compared to the MIC method, but it is still not completely solved. On the other hand, a field-directed directional crystallization (FALC) is an improved method of the MILC method. Compared with the MILC method, FALC method has a faster crystallization rate and anisotropy in the crystallization direction, but it also does not completely solve the problem of metal contamination.

The crystallization methods such as the MIC method, the MILC method, and the FALC method are effective in lowering the crystallization temperature compared to the SPC method, but the crystallization time is still long, and all of them have in common that the crystallization is induced by the metal. Therefore, these crystallization methods are not free from the problem of metal contamination.

On the other hand, the recently developed ELC method makes it possible to produce a polycrystalline silicon thin film on a glass substrate in a low temperature process while solving the problem of metal contamination. That is, the amorphous silicon thin film deposited by LPCVD (Low Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition) or PECVD (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition) has a very large absorption coefficient for the ultraviolet region (λ = 308 nm), which is the wavelength of the excimer laser. Melting of the amorphous silicon thin film easily occurs at an appropriate energy density.

When the amorphous silicon thin film is crystallized by an excimer laser, a process of melting and solidification is accompanied in a very short time. In this respect, the ELC method is not a low temperature process in the strict sense.

However, the ELC process undergoes crystallization by very fast melting and solidification in the local melt zone, which is greatly affected by the excimer laser, resulting in extremely short time (in tens of nano-sec units) without damaging the substrate. Polycrystalline silicon can be produced within. That is, when the laser is irradiated on the amorphous silicon of the base material consisting of a glass substrate / insulating layer / amorphous silicon thin film in a very short time, only the amorphous silicon thin film is selectively heated, and crystallization is performed without damaging the glass substrate located below.

In addition, in the case of the polycrystalline silicon produced during the phase transformation from the liquid phase to the solid phase, there is an advantage that the crystal structure in the crystal grains and the crystal defects in the crystal grains can be significantly reduced than that of the polycrystalline silicon produced through the solid phase crystallization, ELC Polycrystalline silicon produced by the process is superior to the results of other crystallization methods.

Nevertheless, ELC law has some significant drawbacks.

For example, problems with the laser system that the irradiation amount of the laser beam itself is uneven, problems with the laser process that the processing area of the laser energy density to obtain coarse grains are extremely limited, and shot marks in large areas It has the problem of remaining. These two factors cause non-uniformity of grain size of the polycrystalline silicon thin film constituting the active layer of the polycrystalline silicon TFT. In addition, polycrystalline silicon, which is produced with a phase transformation from a liquid phase to a solid phase, is accompanied by volume expansion, so that a severe protrusion phenomenon occurs toward the surface from the point where the grain boundary is formed. This phenomenon also directly affects the gate insulating layer, which is a subsequent process, such as reducing breakdown voltage and hot carrier stress caused by uneven flatness of the polycrystalline silicon / gate insulating layer interface. It has a serious impact on reliability.

Recently, a sequential lateral solidification (SLS) method has been developed to solve the instability of the ELC method described above, and has succeeded in stabilizing the process area of the laser energy density, but still does not solve the phenomenon of shot marks and protrusion toward the surface. In addition, in view of the current trend of rapidly developing flat panel display industry, there is still a problem of using a laser in the crystallization process of a substrate having a size of 1 m x 1 m or more, which will need mass production sooner or later. Moreover, since the equipment for the execution of the ELC method and the SLS method is very expensive, there is a problem that the initial investment and maintenance costs are high.

Therefore, the advantages of the laser crystallization method, namely, because the process is performed in a short time, do not damage the underlying substrate, and it is possible to produce very good grains with little defects due to high temperature phase transformation. In addition, there is a need for a method of crystallizing an amorphous silicon thin film that can solve the disadvantages of such laser crystallization method, that is, the irradiance nonuniformity and the process limitation due to the local process and the problem of using expensive equipment.

In particular, in the case of active matrix organic light emitting diodes (EL), which are recently attracting much attention in the application of next-generation flat panel displays, the TFT-LCD is a voltage drive, but the grain size of the large-area substrate because of the current drive method. The uniformity of is a very important factor. Therefore, the reality of the flat panel display industry is that the low-temperature crystallization method using the ELC method or the SLS method using a laser hits the limit. Considering this fact, there is a great need for a new technology for producing a high quality polycrystalline silicon thin film by low temperature crystallization using a laserless method.

In order to solve this problem of the prior art, the inventors of the present invention in Korean Patent Application No. 2005-73076, through the conductive layer on the lower portion of the silicon thin film and then applying power to the conductive layer by its joule heating Due to the high heat generated, an annealing method of the silicon thin film which performs the crystallization, crystal lattice defect healing, dopant activation, thermal oxidation, etc. of the silicon thin film has been proposed.

The above method does not cause thermal deformation of the glass substrate, hardly any crystal lattice defects exist, and is completely free from the contamination of the catalyst metal in the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufactured by the crystallization method such as MIC and MILC, and at the same time, There is an advantage to provide a polycrystalline silicon thin film that does not involve the surface protrusion phenomenon appearing in the polycrystalline silicon thin film produced by the ELC method.

Therefore, in order to manufacture a polycrystalline silicon thin film smoothly by such a very innovative method, the substrate is loaded at a very accurate position so that the polycrystalline silicon thin film can be manufactured according to the above-described method, and at a very accurate position on the loaded substrate. A polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus capable of applying power and a polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing method using the same are necessary.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus and method capable of loading the substrate to a very precise position and the power applied to a very accurate position on the loaded substrate so that the polycrystalline silicon thin film can be produced Is in.

In addition, another problem to be solved by the present invention is a polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus and method that can generate Joule heat by applying power to the conductive thin film provided in the upper or lower portion of the amorphous silicon, and thereby to produce a polycrystalline silicon thin film To provide.

In addition, another problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus and method that can reduce the overall time required for the process by performing the operation of loading and unloading the substrate at the same time. have.

According to the first aspect of the present invention for solving the above problems, a polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus is provided. The polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus includes a chamber, a substrate support for supporting a substrate having an amorphous silicon thin film and a conductive thin film installed at one side of the chamber, a substrate loading part for loading the substrate as the substrate support, and the substrate support. A substrate loading / unloading unit having a substrate unloading portion for unloading a substrate of the substrate and simultaneously moving the substrate loading portion and the substrate unloading portion, and the substrate support for applying power to a conductive thin film provided on the substrate; And a power supply electrode installed on the other side of the chamber opposite to the power supply electrode, wherein the power supply electrode generates joule heat by applying power to the conductive thin film of the substrate and generates amorphous silicon through the generated joule heat. Polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus characterized by crystallizing a thin film.

In another embodiment, the substrate support may be installed on the lower side of the chamber, and the power supply electrode may be installed on the upper side of the chamber opposite to the substrate support.

In another embodiment, the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus is connected to the substrate support, the substrate support for applying the power to the substrate support so that the conductive thin film of the substrate located on the substrate support can contact the power supply electrode. It may further include a substrate lifting unit for raising to the electrode side.

In another embodiment, the substrate support may be formed in a pair spaced apart from each other, it may be installed on the lower side of the chamber so that the substrate is located on the upper surface. In this case, each of the pair of substrate supports may be formed with at least one suction hole provided with a vacuum in order to suck and fix the substrate located on the upper surface.

In another embodiment, the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus may further include a vacuum unit connected to the adsorption hole through a vacuum line and providing a vacuum for adsorbing and fixing the substrate to the adsorption hole.

In still another embodiment, the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus may further include an alignment unit installed on side surfaces of the substrate support to align the substrate positioned on the substrate support. In this case, the alignment unit is installed on side surfaces positioned in front, rear, left, and right directions of the substrate support so that the substrate positioned on the substrate support is aligned, respectively, and the front, rear, and left and right sides of the substrate are aligned. You can align by pushing each.

In another embodiment, the substrate loading / unloading unit may further include a support plate for connecting the substrate loading portion and the substrate unloading portion spaced apart from each other, the substrate loading / unloading unit is By moving the support plate, the substrate loading part and the substrate unloading part may be moved at the same time. In this case, the substrate loading / unloading unit may move the support plate using a linear motor method.

In another embodiment, the chamber may be sequentially partitioned into a substrate loading region, a power application region and a substrate unloading region, and the substrate loading / unloading unit moves simultaneously with the substrate loading portion and the substrate unloading portion. The substrate loading unit reciprocates between the substrate loading region and the power application region, and the substrate unloading unit reciprocates between the power application region and the substrate unloading region when the substrate loading unit reciprocates. You can.

On the other hand, according to the second aspect of the present invention for implementing the above object, the step of loading a first substrate having an amorphous silicon thin film and a conductive thin film in the substrate loading portion provided in the chamber, the loading to the substrate loading portion Transferring the first substrate to the side of the substrate support; raising the substrate support so that the conductive thin film of the first substrate transferred to the substrate support contacts the power applying electrode disposed on the substrate support; Generating joule heat by applying power to the conductive thin film of the first substrate through a power application electrode and crystallizing the amorphous silicon thin film through the generated joule heat, lowering the substrate support to lower the substrate. The first substrate transferred to the support is transferred to the substrate unloading part spaced apart from the substrate loading part by a predetermined distance. Loading a second substrate having an amorphous silicon thin film and a conductive thin film to the substrate loading part; and transferring the second substrate loaded by the substrate loading part to the substrate support while transferring the second substrate loaded to the substrate support side. A method of manufacturing a polycrystalline silicon thin film is provided, comprising: transferring a substrate to a substrate unloading region.

In another embodiment, the chamber may be sequentially partitioned into a substrate loading region, a power application region, and the substrate unloading region, and the substrate loading unit may reciprocate between the substrate loading region and the power application region. The substrate unloading unit may reciprocate between the power supply region and the substrate unloading region when the substrate loading unit reciprocates.

In another embodiment, the step of transferring the first substrate loaded by the substrate loading unit to the substrate support side and the conductive thin film of the first substrate transferred to the substrate support by raising the substrate support is disposed on the substrate support Between the step of making contact with the applied power supply electrode may further include the step of suction-fixing the substrate transferred to the substrate support side using a vacuum, the conductive thin film of the first substrate through the power supply electrode Generating joule heat by applying power to the substrate, crystallizing the amorphous silicon thin film through the generated joule heat, lowering the substrate support, and transferring the first substrate transferred to the substrate support from the substrate loading part. During the step of being transferred to the substrate unloading unit spaced at a predetermined interval The method may further include a step of releasing the substrate fixed to the plate support.

In addition, according to a third aspect of the present invention for implementing the above object, the step of loading a first substrate having an amorphous silicon thin film and a conductive thin film in the substrate loading portion provided in the chamber, loading into the substrate loading portion Transferring the first substrate to the substrate support side; first raising the substrate support; then aligning the first substrate transferred to the substrate support; raising the substrate support secondary to align on the substrate support Joule heat by applying power to the conductive thin film of the first substrate through the power applying electrode, the conductive thin film of the first substrate is in contact with the power applying electrode disposed on the substrate support And crystallizing the amorphous silicon thin film through the generated joule heat, lowering the substrate support to Transferring the first substrate transferred to the plate support to the substrate unloading unit disposed at a predetermined distance from the substrate loading unit, loading the second substrate including an amorphous silicon thin film and the conductive thin film into the substrate loading unit; And transferring the first substrate transferred to the substrate unloading portion to the substrate unloading region while transferring the second substrate loaded by the substrate loading portion to the substrate support side.

In another embodiment, the chamber may be sequentially partitioned into a substrate loading region, a power application region, and the substrate unloading region, and the substrate loading unit may reciprocate between the substrate loading region and the power application region. The substrate unloading unit may reciprocate between the power supply region and the substrate unloading region when the substrate loading unit reciprocates.

In another embodiment, the first substrate is first raised, and then the first substrate transferred to the substrate support is aligned, and the substrate support is secondly raised to align the first substrate aligned on the substrate support. Between the step of bringing the conductive thin film into contact with the power applying electrode disposed on the substrate support, the step of adsorbing and fixing the substrate transferred to the substrate support using a vacuum may be further included. Joule heat is generated by applying power to the conductive thin film of the first substrate through the crystallization of the amorphous silicon thin film through the generated joule heat and the substrate support is lowered and transferred to the substrate support. To transfer the first substrate to the substrate unloading portion disposed spaced apart from the substrate loading portion a predetermined distance Has the steps of: unpinning adsorption fixed substrate to the substrate support may further be included between the steps.

According to the present invention, since a substrate having an amorphous silicon thin film and a conductive thin film can be loaded at a very accurate position and power can be applied to a very precise position on the loaded substrate, that is, a predetermined position preset to the conductive thin film, Using Joule heat through power application, the amorphous silicon thin film can be efficiently and very uniformly crystallized. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to manufacture a polycrystalline silicon thin film very smoothly using Joule heat.

In addition, according to the apparatus and method for manufacturing a polycrystalline silicon thin film according to the present invention, since the operation of loading and unloading the substrate can be performed at the same time, it is possible to shorten the overall time required to proceed the process It works.

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 but may be embodied in other forms. Rather, the embodiments introduced herein are provided so that the disclosure may be made thorough and complete, and to fully convey the spirit of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

1 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of a polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a state in which the substrate loading / unloading unit of the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus shown in Figure 1 is moved a certain distance to one side 3 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the substrate lifting unit of the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2 raises the substrate support at a predetermined distance. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the first substrate, which was supported on the substrate support by being lowered by a predetermined distance, is transferred to the substrate unloading unit, and FIG. 5 is the substrate loading unit illustrated in FIG. 4. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a second substrate different from the first substrate is loaded, and FIG. 6 illustrates a state in which the substrate loading unit and the substrate unloading unit illustrated in FIG. 5 are moved a distance to one side similarly to FIG. 2. One perspective view. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate loading / unloading unit shown in FIG. 1 taken along the line II ′, and FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a control relationship of the apparatus for manufacturing a polycrystalline silicon thin film shown in FIG. 1. .

1 to 8, the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a chamber 110, one side of the chamber 110, for example, is installed on the lower side of the amorphous silicon thin film And a substrate supporter 150 for supporting the substrates 91 and 92 having a conductive thin film and a substrate loading part 121 and the substrate supporter for loading the substrates 91 and 92 into the substrate support 150. Substrate loading / unloading having a substrate unloading part 122 for unloading the substrates 91 and 92 of 150 and simultaneously moving the substrate loading part 121 and the substrate unloading part 122. In order to apply power to the conductive film provided in the unit 120 and the substrates 91 and 92, the power supply is provided on the other side of the chamber 110 facing the substrate support 150, for example, on the upper side. Overall control of driving of the electrode 160 and the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus 100 It includes a central control unit 190.

The chamber 110 provides a process progress space enclosed therein to allow the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing process to proceed. The process progress space provided in the chamber 110 is sequentially partitioned into a substrate loading region 112, a power applying region 114, and a substrate unloading region 116. Therefore, the entire polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing process from loading of the substrates 91 and 92 to unloading proceeds in this process space, that is, inside the chamber 110.

In addition, a substrate loading hole (not shown) is formed at one side of the chamber 110, that is, a side adjacent to the substrate loading region 112 to load the substrates 91 and 92 from the outside, and the other side of the chamber 110. In other words, the substrate unloading hole (not shown) is disposed on the side surface adjacent to the substrate unloading area so that the substrates 91 and 92 loaded through the substrate loading hole are transferred to the outside after passing through the thin film crystallization process inside the chamber 110. ) Is formed.

Therefore, the substrate transfer unit (not shown) such as the robot arm provided in the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present invention loads the substrates 91 and 92 into the chamber 110 through the substrate loading holes. After a predetermined time elapses, the substrates 91 and 92 in the chamber 110 are unloaded to the outside through the substrate unloading hole. In this case, the substrate loading hole and the substrate unloading hole are installed to be selectively opened and closed by a door (not shown).

 The substrate support 150 is formed in a pair installed at an inner lower side of the chamber 110 so that the substrates 91 and 92 are positioned or seated on an upper surface thereof, and spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval. In this case, at least one suction hole 151 provided with a vacuum is formed in the pair of substrate support 150 to suck and fix the substrates 91 and 92 to be seated, respectively. The upper end is exposed to the upper surface of the substrate support 150. The vacuum unit 152 is connected to the suction hole 151 through the vacuum line 153. The vacuum unit 152 provides a vacuum for adsorbing and fixing the substrates 91 and 92 to the suction hole 151 through the vacuum line 153. Accordingly, the substrates 91 and 92 seated on the pair of substrate supporters 150 are fixed to the upper surface of the substrate supporter 150 by a vacuum provided through the suction holes 151.

Here, a part or the whole of the vacuum line 153 may be configured in a bellows shape that can be stretched by a predetermined length. In this case, the vacuum unit 152 may provide a vacuum to the substrate support 150 even when the substrate support 150 is raised by a predetermined distance due to the bellows-type vacuum line 153.

The substrate loading / unloading unit 120 simultaneously moves the substrate loading part 121 and the substrate unloading part 122 within the chamber 110, and the substrate loading part 121 moves the substrate. The substrate unloading unit 122 reciprocates between the loading region 112 and the power applying region 114, and the substrate unloading unit 122 reciprocates the substrate loading unit 121. The substrate unloading region 116 is reciprocated.

In detail, the substrate loading / unloading unit 120 further includes a support plate 123 which allows the substrate loading part 121 and the substrate unloading part 122 to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance. By moving 123, the substrate loading part 121 and the substrate unloading part 122 are simultaneously moved. That is, the substrate unloading part 122 is disposed to be spaced apart from the substrate loading part 121 by a predetermined distance, and the support plate 123 is disposed on the substrate loading part 121 and the substrate unloading part 122. The substrate loading part 121 and the substrate unloading part 122 are arranged to be spaced apart from each other by being connected to each other. In this case, the substrate loading / unloading unit 120 may move the support plate 123 using a linear motor method.

In addition, adsorption holes 121a and 122a may be formed in the substrate loading part 121 and the substrate unloading part 122, respectively, which are connected to the vacuum unit 152 as described above. In this case, the substrates 91 and 92 that are loaded or transferred to the substrate loading part 121 and the substrate unloading part 122 may be vacuumed by the vacuum provided through the suction holes 121a and 122a. It may be fixed to the substrate loading portion 121 and the substrate unloading portion 122 by the provided time.

2 to 7, the substrate loading / unloading unit 120 includes the substrate loading part 121, the substrate unloading part 122, and the support plate 123. The stator 140 installed at the bottom of the chamber 110 and the mover 130 and the mover 130 which are installed to be movable from the stator 140 and are coupled to the lower portion of the support plate 123. It is further provided with a guide installed to guide the movement of.

The stator 140 is fixed to the fixing plate 141 installed on the bottom surface of the chamber 110 along the transfer direction of the substrate (91,92), the fixing along the longitudinal direction of the fixing plate 141 The fixed core 142 is installed in the upper center portion of the plate 141, and a plurality of permanent magnets 143 are sequentially arranged alternately to have a different polarity on the upper portion of the fixing core 142.

In addition, the mover 130 is opposed to the movable plate 131 which is movably installed on the fixing plate 141, the fixing core 142, and the plurality of permanent magnets 143. It comprises a moving core 132 is installed in the bottom center portion of the moving plate 131, and a coil 133 wound around the moving core 132 and applied with power. Therefore, when power is applied to the coil 133, an electromagnetic force may be applied to the coil 133, and the support plate 123 connected to the mover 130 and the mover 130 may be The repulsive force between the electromagnetic force and the permanent magnets 143 may be moved in a predetermined direction.

The guide serves to limit the moving direction of the mover 130. That is, the mover 130 is a pair of LM guides 126 and the pair are installed in a straight line, respectively, on both sides of the upper surface of the fixing plate 1410 along the longitudinal direction of the fixing plate 141. It is composed of LM blocks 125, which are respectively installed on both side edges of the bottom surface of the moving plate 131 so as to be coupled to the LM guide 126 of each of the sliding plate 131. Thus, the coil 133 and the permanent magnets 143 When the mover 130 is moved by the repulsive force between the), the mover 130 is the fixed plate 141 due to the coupling and function of the LM guide 126 and the LM block 125 as described above It will be moved along the longitudinal direction of.

The power applying electrode 160 is installed on the upper side of the chamber 110 and is installed in pairs, and is installed on the upper side of the chamber 110. In addition, the power applying electrode 160 is electrically connected to the power supply unit 161 through the power line 162. Therefore, when the power supply unit 161 supplies power to the power applying electrode 160 through the power line 162, the power applying electrode 160 applies the power supplied to the conductive thin film. Thereby generating joule heat and crystallizing the amorphous silicon thin film through the generated joule heat.

On the other hand, the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus 100 according to the present invention is connected to the substrate support 150, the conductive thin film of the substrate 91, 92 located on the substrate support 150 is the electrode for power supply 160 The substrate support 150 may further include a substrate lifting unit 156 that raises the substrate support 150 toward the power applying electrode 160 so as to contact the substrate support 150.

In this case, the substrate lifting unit 156 is installed on the lower side of the inner side of the chamber 110, the lower side of the substrate support 150, and the substrate support 150 on the lower side of the chamber 110. It may be moved to the power applying electrode 160 located on the upper side. In other words, the substrate lifting unit 156 raises the substrate support 150 on which the substrates 91 and 92 are seated toward the power applying electrode 160 positioned thereon so that the power supply process proceeds. The substrates 91 and 92 mounted on the 150 may be brought into contact with the electrode for power supply 160, and when the power supply process is completed, the substrates 91 and 92 may be connected to the electrode for power supply ( The substrate support 150 on which the substrates 91 and 92 are seated may be returned to its original position and then lowered to be separated from the 160.

Here, the substrate lifting unit 156 is a unit that can raise and lower the substrate support 150 by a predetermined distance, as described above, and may be implemented in various forms. For example, the substrate lifting unit 156 may include a piston installed on the inner bottom surface of the chamber 110 and a piston rod 157 reciprocated up and down a predetermined distance from the piston.

And, the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus 100 according to the present invention is installed on the side surfaces of the substrate support 150, the alignment unit for aligning the substrate (91, 92) seated on the substrate support 150 ( 155 may be further included. In this case, the alignment unit 155 may be disposed on side surfaces positioned in front, rear, left, and right directions of the substrate support 150 to align the substrates 91 and 92 seated on the substrate support 150. The substrates 91 and 92 may be aligned by pushing the front and rear surfaces and the left and right sides of the substrates 91 and 92, respectively.

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing a polycrystalline silicon thin film using the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus 100 configured as described above with reference to FIGS. 9A to 10 will be described in detail.

9A to 9H are views illustrating a method of crystallizing a silicon thin film using the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 10 is a view showing a preferred embodiment of the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing method according to the present invention. Flowchart.

As shown in the figure, the method for manufacturing a polycrystalline silicon thin film according to the present invention includes a substrate loading / unloading unit in which a first substrate 91 having an amorphous silicon thin film and a conductive thin film, which are thin films to be crystallized, is installed inside the chamber 110. And loading (S10) the substrate loading part 121 of 120. In this case, a substrate transfer unit such as a robot arm may be used for loading the first substrate 91. That is, the substrate transfer unit seats the first substrate 91 thereon, and is then moved into the chamber 110 as shown in FIG. 4A through the substrate loading hole provided in the chamber 110. The distance is lowered to allow the first substrate 91 to be seated on the upper surface of the substrate loading part 121 of the substrate loading / unloading unit 120 installed in the chamber 110.

Next, when the first substrate 91 is seated on the upper surface of the substrate loading unit 121, the substrate transfer unit that transported the first substrate 91 is moved to the outside of the chamber 110 through the substrate loading hole. The door seals the substrate loading hole of the chamber 110. When the door closes the substrate loading hole of the chamber 110, the above-described central control unit 190 crystallizes the amorphous silicon thin film of the first substrate 91 positioned or seated on the upper surface of the substrate loading unit 121. As will be described later, various processes are performed.

That is, when the first substrate 91 is seated on the upper surface of the substrate loading part 121, and the door closes the substrate loading hole of the chamber 110, the substrate loading / unloading unit 120 is the substrate loading part 121. The first substrate 91 loaded with) is transferred to the substrate support 150 (S12).

Thereafter, the central control unit first raises the substrate support 150 by a predetermined height using the substrate elevating unit 156, and then uses the alignment unit 155 to place the first substrate on the substrate support 150. The substrate 91 is aligned (S14).

Next, when the first substrate 91 is aligned on the substrate support 150, the vacuum unit 152 may provide a vacuum to the suction hole 123 formed in the substrate support 150. Therefore, the first substrate 91 positioned on the substrate support 150 is fixed to the upper surface of the substrate support 150 by the vacuum supplied as described above (S16).

Next, when the first substrate 91 is adsorbed and fixed, the substrate lifting unit 156 applies the power to the substrate support 150 installed at the lower side of the chamber 110 so as to face the power supply electrode 160. The power supply electrode 160 is brought into contact with the conductive thin film of the first substrate 91 by being raised toward the electrode electrode 160 (S18).

Subsequently, when the power applying electrode 160 is in contact with the conductive thin film of the first substrate 91, the power applying electrode 160 generates Joule heat by applying power to the conductive thin film and generates the generated heat. The amorphous silicon thin film is crystallized through joule heat (S20). At this time, when such a power applying process is performed, the substrate loading / unloading unit 120 disposed on the lower side of the power applying electrode 160 may include a linear motor including a mover 130 and a stator 140. The substrate loading part 121 and the substrate unloading part 122 are returned to their original positions. In other words, the substrate loading part 121 of the substrate loading / unloading unit 120 is in a state of being moved from the substrate loading area 112 to the power applying area 114, and thus, the substrate loading / unloading unit 120 The transfers the substrate loading part 121 moved to the power application region 114 to the substrate loading region 112. In addition, the substrate unloading unit 122 of the substrate loading / unloading unit 120 is moved from the power supply region 114 to the substrate unloading region 116. When the unit 120 transfers the substrate loading part 121, the unit unloading part 122 moved to the substrate unloading area 116 is simultaneously transferred to the power applying area 114.

Next, when the amorphous silicon thin film is crystallized by the power supply as described above, the central control unit 190 cuts off the vacuum provided to the first substrate 91 to release the first substrate 91 fixed to the adsorption fixed. After release of the fixing (S22), the substrate support 150 moved to the power supply electrode 160 is returned to its original position, and then lowered, thereby lowering the first substrate positioned on the substrate support 150. The substrate 91 is separated from the power applying electrode 160, and after separation, the separated first substrate 91 is continuously lowered to transfer the substrate 91 to the power supply region 114 of the chamber 110. Transfer to the substrate unloading unit 122 of the loading / unloading unit 120 (S24).

Subsequently, when the crystallized first substrate 91 is transferred to the substrate unloading portion 122 of the substrate loading / unloading unit 120, the substrate transfer unit such as the robot arm is already loaded with the substrate of the chamber 110. In operation S26, the second substrate 92, which has not been thin crystallized, is loaded into the substrate loading unit 121 of the substrate loading / unloading unit 120 transferred to the region 112.

Subsequently, when the second substrate 92 is loaded into the substrate loading unit 121, the substrate loading / unloading unit 120 replaces the second substrate 92 loaded into the substrate loading unit 121. While transferring to the substrate 150, the first substrate 91 transferred to the substrate unloading unit 122 is transferred to the substrate unloading region 116 of the chamber 110 (S28).

Accordingly, when the first substrate 91 and the second substrate 92 are transferred as described above by the substrate loading / unloading unit 116, the central control unit 190 may transfer the substrate through a substrate transfer unit such as a robot arm. The first substrate 91 transferred to the unloading area 116 is unloaded to the outside (S30), and the second substrate 92 transferred to the substrate support 150 with the above operation is performed. The thin film crystallization process is performed while transferring along the movement path of the first substrate 91 (S32).

Therefore, according to the method of manufacturing a polycrystalline silicon thin film according to the present invention, a first substrate which is a different substrate by using a substrate loading / unloading unit 120 having a substrate loading part 121 and a substrate unloading part 122. Since both the 91 and the second substrate 92 can be transferred at the same time, there is a very good effect of crystallizing a very large amount of the substrates 91 and 92 relative to the unit time.

In the above-described method for manufacturing a polycrystalline silicon thin film, the substrates 91 and 92 are first raised and then aligned, and after the alignment, the substrates 91 and 92 are secondly raised again to align the substrates 91 and 92. A method of applying power to the system is adopted, and the above method may be omitted or changed to another form as necessary. For example, the above-described alignment operation may be omitted depending on the kind of the substrates 91 and 92, the kind of the process, the kind of the apparatus, and the like, or may proceed simultaneously with the substrate raising.

As mentioned above, although the present invention has been described with reference to the illustrated embodiments, it is only an example, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

1 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of a polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the substrate loading / unloading unit of the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 is moved at a predetermined distance to one side.

3 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the substrate lifting unit of the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2 raises the substrate support by a predetermined distance.

4 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the first substrate, which was supported on the substrate support by being lowered by a predetermined distance, is transferred to the substrate unloading part.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a second substrate different from the first substrate is loaded in the substrate loading unit illustrated in FIG. 4.

6 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the substrate loading part and the substrate unloading part shown in FIG. 5 are moved to a side by a distance similar to FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate loading / unloading unit shown in FIG. 1 taken along line II ′. FIG.

8 is a view showing a control relationship of the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG.

9A to 9H are views illustrating a method of crystallizing a silicon thin film using the apparatus for manufacturing a polycrystalline silicon thin film shown in FIG. 1.

10 is a flow chart showing a preferred embodiment of a polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing method according to the present invention.

Claims (17)

chamber; A substrate support installed on one side of the chamber and supporting a substrate having an amorphous silicon thin film and a conductive thin film; A substrate loading / unloading unit having a substrate loading portion for loading the substrate into the substrate support and a substrate unloading portion for unloading the substrate of the substrate support, and simultaneously moving the substrate loading portion and the substrate unloading portion ; And, In order to apply power to the conductive thin film provided on the substrate includes a power application electrode which is installed on the other side of the chamber facing the substrate support, The power supply electrode is a device for producing a polycrystalline silicon thin film, characterized in that to generate a joule (joule) heat by applying power to the conductive thin film of the substrate and to crystallize an amorphous silicon thin film through the generated joule heat. The method of claim 1, The substrate support is installed on the lower side of the chamber, The power supply electrode is a polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that installed on the upper side of the chamber facing the substrate support. 3. The method of claim 2, And a substrate lifting unit connected to the substrate support and lifting the substrate support toward the power applying electrode so that the conductive thin film of the substrate located on the substrate support contacts the power applying electrode. Polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus. The method of claim 1, The substrate support is made of a pair spaced apart from each other, polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that installed on the lower side of the chamber so that the substrate is located on the upper surface. The method of claim 4, wherein And at least one adsorption hole provided with a vacuum to adsorb and fix the substrate positioned on the upper surface of the pair of substrate supports, respectively. The method of claim 5, And a vacuum unit connected to the adsorption hole through a vacuum line and providing a vacuum for adsorbing and fixing the substrate to the adsorption hole. The method of claim 1, And an alignment unit installed on the side surfaces of the substrate support to align the substrate positioned on the substrate support. The method of claim 7, wherein The alignment unit is installed on side surfaces positioned in front, rear, left, and right directions of the substrate support so that the substrate positioned on the substrate support is aligned, and pushes the front, rear, and left and right sides of the substrate, respectively. Polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that the alignment. The method of claim 1, The substrate loading / unloading unit further includes a support plate connecting the substrate loading part and the substrate unloading part to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance, And the substrate loading / unloading unit moves the substrate loading portion and the substrate unloading portion at the same time by moving the support plate. The method of claim 9, And the substrate loading / unloading unit moves the support plate by using a linear motor method. The method of claim 1, The chamber is sequentially partitioned into a substrate loading region, a power application region and a substrate unloading region, The substrate loading / unloading unit simultaneously moves the substrate loading portion and the substrate unloading portion, the substrate loading portion reciprocates between the substrate loading region and the power application region, and the substrate unloading portion loads the substrate. And reciprocating the portion between the power supply region and the substrate unloading region when the portion is reciprocated. Loading a first substrate including an amorphous silicon thin film and a conductive thin film to a substrate loading part provided in the chamber; Transferring the first substrate loaded by the substrate loading part to a substrate support side; Elevating the substrate support so that the conductive thin film of the first substrate transferred to the substrate support contacts the power applying electrode disposed on the substrate support; Generating joule heat by applying power to the conductive thin film of the first substrate through the power applying electrode and crystallizing the amorphous silicon thin film through the generated joule heat; Lowering the substrate support to transfer the first substrate transferred to the substrate support to a substrate unloading part spaced apart from the substrate loading part by a predetermined distance; Loading a second substrate including an amorphous silicon thin film and a conductive thin film into the substrate loading part; And, Transferring the first substrate transferred to the substrate unloading portion to a substrate unloading region while transferring the second substrate loaded by the substrate loading portion to the substrate support side. The method of claim 12, The chamber is sequentially partitioned into a substrate loading region, a power application region, and the substrate unloading region, The substrate loading unit reciprocates between the substrate loading region and the power application region, And the substrate unloading portion reciprocates between the power supply region and the substrate unloading region when the substrate loading portion is reciprocated. The method of claim 12, Transferring the first substrate loaded by the substrate loading unit to a substrate support side; and a conductive thin film of the first substrate transferred to the substrate support by raising the substrate support contacting the power applying electrode disposed on the substrate support. Between the step of making it further comprises the step of adsorption fixing the substrate transferred to the substrate support side using a vacuum, Generating joule heat by applying power to the conductive thin film of the first substrate through the power applying electrode and crystallizing the amorphous silicon thin film through the generated joule heat and lowering the substrate support. During the step of transferring the first substrate transferred to the substrate support to the substrate unloading unit spaced at a predetermined distance from the substrate loading portion further comprising the step of releasing the fixed fixed substrate to the substrate support Polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing method. Loading a first substrate including an amorphous silicon thin film and a conductive thin film to a substrate loading part provided in the chamber; Transferring the first substrate loaded by the substrate loading part to a substrate support side; After first raising the substrate support, aligning the first substrate transferred to the substrate support; Secondly raising the substrate support such that the conductive thin film of the first substrate aligned on the substrate support contacts the power-applying electrode disposed on the substrate support; Generating joule heat by applying power to the conductive thin film of the first substrate through the power applying electrode and crystallizing the amorphous silicon thin film through the generated joule heat; Lowering the substrate support to transfer the first substrate transferred to the substrate support to a substrate unloading part spaced apart from the substrate loading part by a predetermined distance; Loading a second substrate including an amorphous silicon thin film and a conductive thin film into the substrate loading part; And, Transferring the first substrate transferred to the substrate unloading portion to a substrate unloading region while transferring the second substrate loaded by the substrate loading portion to the substrate support side. The method of claim 15, The chamber is sequentially partitioned into a substrate loading region, a power application region, and the substrate unloading region, The substrate loading unit reciprocates between the substrate loading region and the power application region, And the substrate unloading portion reciprocates between the power supply region and the substrate unloading region when the substrate loading portion is reciprocated. The method of claim 15, After raising the substrate support primarily, the first substrate transferred to the substrate support is aligned, and the substrate support is secondly raised to align the conductive thin film of the first substrate aligned on the substrate support. Between the step of making contact with the power supply electrode disposed on the upper portion of the substrate support side further comprising the step of adsorption fixed by using a vacuum, Generating joule heat by applying power to the conductive thin film of the first substrate through the power applying electrode and crystallizing the amorphous silicon thin film through the generated joule heat and lowering the substrate support. During the step of transferring the first substrate transferred to the substrate support to the substrate unloading unit spaced at a predetermined distance from the substrate loading portion further comprising the step of releasing the fixed fixed substrate to the substrate support Polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing method.

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