KR20100116059A - Apparatus and method for manufacturing poly-si thin film - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: The poly-crystal silicon thin film manufacturing equipment and method the polycrystalline silicon thin film can be manufactured very smoothly by using the Joule heat. CONSTITUTION: The poly-crystal silicon thin film manufacturing equipment and method the chamber(110), substrate stage(120), and the electrode for the power on is included. The substrate stage is installed in one side of the chamber. The amorphous silicon thin film and the substrate equipped with the conductive film are settled.

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.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus and method capable of loading a substrate to a very accurate position and applying power to a very accurate position on the loaded substrate so that the polycrystalline silicon thin film can be manufactured. 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.

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 stage installed on one side of the chamber, and a substrate stage on which a substrate including an amorphous silicon thin film and a conductive thin film is seated, and installed on the other side of the chamber so as to face the substrate stage. And a power supply electrode which is moved toward the seated substrate and applies power to the conductive thin film provided on the substrate. In this case, the electrode for power application generates joule heat by applying power to the conductive thin film and crystallizes the amorphous silicon thin film through the generated joule heat.

In another embodiment, the substrate stage may include a pair of substrate fixing blocks which are installed on the bottom surface of the chamber so that the substrate is seated on the upper surface thereof and spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval. In this case, each of the pair of substrate fixing blocks may have at least one suction hole provided with a vacuum to suck and fix the seated substrate.

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 another exemplary embodiment, the apparatus for manufacturing a polycrystalline silicon thin film may further include an alignment unit installed on side surfaces of the substrate stage to align a substrate seated on the substrate stage. In this case, the alignment unit is installed on side surfaces positioned in the front and rear directions of the substrate stage to align the substrate seated on the substrate stage, and the first alignment unit pushes the front and rear surfaces of the substrate, respectively. And a second alignment unit installed on side surfaces positioned in left and right directions of the substrate stage to push the left and right sides of the substrate, respectively.

In still another embodiment, the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus may further include an alignment check unit for checking the alignment of the substrate once again before applying power to the substrate aligned by the alignment unit. can do. In this case, the alignment check unit may include at least one pair of cameras respectively installed on the inner wall of the chamber to check the alignment of the substrate once again by photographing each edge of the substrate.

In another embodiment, the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus is connected to the electrode for power supply, and if necessary, the electrode for power supply can be in contact with the substrate by moving the power supply electrode to the substrate side. It may further comprise an electrode moving unit. In this case, the substrate stage may be installed at a lower side of the chamber, and the electrode moving unit may be installed at an upper side of the chamber such that the electrode for applying power is located at a lower side of the chamber at an upper side thereof. Can be moved to the side.

On the other hand, according to the second aspect of the present invention for realizing the above problem, there is provided a polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing method. The method of manufacturing a polycrystalline silicon thin film may include loading a substrate including an amorphous silicon thin film and a conductive thin film to a substrate stage provided on one side of a chamber, and supplying a power supply electrode installed on the other side of the chamber to face the substrate stage. Moving to the substrate seated on a stage such that the electrode for power application is in contact with the substrate; generating joule heat by applying power to the conductive thin film; and generating the joule heat through the generated joule heat. Crystallizing.

In another embodiment, the substrate stage may be installed on the lower side of the chamber, the power applying electrode may be installed on the upper side of the chamber, by moving the power applying electrode to the substrate side The step of bringing the power applying electrode into contact with the substrate may include lowering the power applying electrode from the upper side to the lower side of the chamber.

In another embodiment, the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing method, after the step of loading the substrate to the substrate stage installed on one side of the chamber, aligning the substrate loaded in the substrate stage, the aligned substrate The method may further include fixing. In this case, fixing the aligned substrate may include adsorbing and fixing the substrate using a vacuum. The step of moving the power applying electrode toward the substrate so that the power applying electrode contacts the substrate may be performed after the fixing of the aligned substrate.

In another embodiment, the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing method further checks the alignment of the substrate once again after moving the power applying electrode to the substrate so that the power applying electrode is in contact with the substrate. It may further include an alignment check step. In this case, generating Joule heat by applying power to the conductive thin film and crystallizing the amorphous silicon thin film through the generated Joule heat may perform the alignment check step to determine that the alignment of the substrate is in good condition. Can be done when

In another embodiment, the method for manufacturing a polycrystalline silicon thin film generates Joule heat by applying power to the conductive thin film, and after the step of crystallizing the amorphous silicon thin film through the generated Joule heat, power moved to the substrate side Returning the electrode for application to an original position to separate the electrode for power application from the substrate; disconnecting the vacuum provided to the substrate to release the adsorption fixed substrate; and It may further comprise the step of unloading to the outside.

In another exemplary embodiment, the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing method may include: a power source moved to the substrate side without applying power to the substrate when performing alignment check to determine that the alignment of the substrate is in a bad state Returning the electrode for application to the original position to separate the electrode for power application from the substrate; and releasing the adsorption-fixed substrate by blocking the vacuum provided to the substrate so that the substrate is aligned again. It may further include.

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.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein and may be embodied in other forms. Rather, the embodiments disclosed herein are being provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals denote like elements throughout the specification.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a chamber and a substrate stage of the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. Is a block diagram showing the control relationship of the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.

1 to 3, the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus 100 according to an 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 the substrate stage 120 on which the substrate 90 having the conductive thin film is mounted, and installed on the other side of the chamber 110 so as to face the substrate stage 120, for example, the substrate stage 120. Is moved toward the substrate 90 seated on the substrate to control the driving of the power applying electrode 130 and the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus 100 to apply power to the conductive thin film provided on the substrate 90. 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. Accordingly, the entire polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing process from loading of the substrate 90 to unloading is performed in such a process space, that is, inside the chamber 110. In addition, an entrance and exit hole (not shown) is formed at one side of the chamber 110 to allow the substrate 90 to enter and exit by the substrate transfer unit 180 such as a robot arm, and the entrance and exit hole is not shown. It is selectively opened and closed by).

The substrate stage 120 includes a pair of substrate fixing blocks 121 and 122 installed on an inner bottom surface of the chamber 110 so that the substrate 90 is seated on an upper surface thereof, and spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval. At this time, the pair of substrate fixing blocks 121 and 122 are formed with at least one adsorption hole 123 provided with a vacuum to adsorb and fix the substrate 90 to be seated, respectively, and an upper end of the adsorption hole 123. Is exposed to the top surfaces of the substrate fixing blocks 121 and 122. The vacuum unit 160 is connected to the suction hole 123 through the vacuum line 161. The vacuum unit 160 provides a vacuum for adsorbing and fixing the substrate 90 to the suction hole 123 through the vacuum line 161. Therefore, the substrate 90 seated on the pair of substrate fixing blocks 121 and 122 is fixed to the upper surfaces of the substrate fixing blocks 121 and 122 by a vacuum provided through the suction holes 123.

The power applying electrode 130 is installed on the upper side of the chamber 110, but is installed to be movable to the lower side of the chamber 110, the electrical supply to the power supply unit 150 via the power line 151 Is connected. Accordingly, when the power supply unit 150 supplies power to the power applying electrode 130 through the power line 151, the power applying electrode 130 applies power supplied to the conductive thin film. Joule heat is generated and the amorphous silicon thin film is crystallized 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 electrode for applying power 130 via an electrode holder 143, if necessary, the electrode for applying power 130 to the substrate ( It may further include an electrode movement unit 140 to move to the side 90 so that the power applying electrode 130 can be in contact with the substrate (90).

In this case, the electrode moving unit 140 is installed on the inner upper side of the chamber 110 to position the power supply electrode 130 on the lower side of the upper side of the chamber 110, the substrate 90 Can be moved to the side. In other words, the electrode transfer unit 140 lowers the power applying electrode 130 toward the substrate 90 positioned below the power applying electrode 130 so that the power applying process proceeds. The power supply electrode 130 is returned to its original position so that the power supply electrode 130 is separated from the substrate 90 when the power supply process is completed. Can be. Here, the electrode moving unit 140 is a unit that can lower and raise the power application electrode 130 by a predetermined distance, as described above, and may be implemented in various forms. For example, the electrode moving unit 140 may include a piston 141 and a piston rod 142 reciprocated by a predetermined distance from the piston 141.

In addition, the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus 100 according to the present invention is installed on the side surfaces of the substrate stage 120, the alignment unit 170 for aligning the substrate 90 seated on the substrate stage 120 It may further include. In an embodiment, the alignment unit 170 may include side surfaces positioned in front and rear directions of the substrate stage 120 such that the substrate 90 mounted on the substrate stage 120 is aligned. First alignment units 171 installed on side surfaces positioned in front and rear directions of the blocks 121 and 122, respectively, to push the front and rear surfaces of the substrate 90, and the left and right sides of the substrate stage 120. The second alignment unit 172 installed on the side surfaces positioned in the direction, that is, on the side surfaces positioned in the left and right directions of the substrate fixing blocks 121 and 122, respectively, and pushing the left and right surfaces of the substrate 90, respectively. It may be configured and installed to operate at the same time. Accordingly, the substrate 90 seated on the substrate stage 120 including the pair of substrate fixing blocks 121 and 122 freezes on the substrate stage 120 by simultaneous operation of the alignment units 171 and 172 as described above. Can be printed.

In addition, in the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus 100 according to the present invention, before applying power to the substrate 90 aligned by the alignment unit 170, the alignment of the substrate 90 is once again aligned. The apparatus may further include an alignment check unit 173 for checking. In this case, the alignment check unit 173 may check the alignment of the substrate 90 once again by photographing corners of the substrate 90 which are preset positions for alignment check, for example. It may include at least one pair of cameras respectively installed on the inner wall of the chamber 110.

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. 4A to 5 will be described in detail.

4A to 4G are views for explaining a polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing method using the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an embodiment of the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing method according to the present invention. .

As shown in the figure, the method for manufacturing a polycrystalline silicon thin film according to the present invention is a substrate stage 120 having an amorphous silicon thin film, which is a thin film to be crystallized, and a conductive thin film, to the substrate stage 120 installed inside one side of the chamber 110. It includes the step of loading (S10). At this time, the loading of the substrate 90 may be a substrate transfer unit 180, such as a robot arm. That is, the substrate transfer unit 180 is seated on the substrate 90 thereon, and then moved into the chamber 110 as shown in FIG. 4a through the entrance and exit hole provided in the chamber 110, and after The predetermined distance is lowered as shown in 4b to allow the substrate 90 to be seated on the upper surface of the substrate stage 120 installed in the chamber 110.

Next, when the substrate 90 is seated on the upper surface of the substrate stage 120, the substrate transfer unit 180 that has transferred the substrate 90 moves to the outside of the chamber 110 through the entrance and exit hole, and the door is the chamber. The entry and exit hole of the 110 is sealed. When the door closes the entrance and exit hole of the chamber 110, the above-described central control unit 190 performs various processes as described below so that the amorphous silicon thin film of the substrate 90 seated on the substrate stage 120 is crystallized. You will proceed.

That is, when the substrate 90 is seated on the upper surface of the substrate stage 120, and the door closes the entrance and exit hole of the chamber 110, the alignment unit 170 provided in the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus 100, that is, The alignment units 171 and 172 installed on the side surfaces of the substrate fixing blocks 121 and 122 are simultaneously driven as shown in FIG. 4C to align the substrate 90 mounted on the upper surface of the substrate stage 120 (S20).

Then, when the substrate 90 is aligned, the vacuum unit 160 provides a vacuum to the suction holes 123 formed in the substrate fixing blocks 121 and 122. Accordingly, the substrate 90 seated on the upper surfaces of the substrate fixing blocks 121 and 122 is fixed to the upper surfaces of the substrate fixing blocks 121 and 122 by the vacuum supplied as described above (S30).

Next, when the substrate 90 is fixed, the electrode movement unit 140 is a power supply electrode 130 installed on the upper side of the chamber 110 to face the substrate stage 120, the substrate stage 120 The power supply electrode 130 is lowered to the conductive thin film of the substrate 90 as shown in FIG. 4E by descending to the side of the substrate 90 seated on the substrate 90, to the side of the substrate 90 fixed to the substrate fixing blocks 121 and 122. The contact is made (S40).

Subsequently, when the power supply electrode 130 is in contact with the conductive thin film of the substrate 90, the alignment check unit 173 performs the substrate 90 as shown in FIG. 4F before applying power to the conductive thin film. ) Is checked again (S50). Therefore, when the alignment check of the substrate 90 is determined to be in a good state by performing the alignment check step S50, the power applying electrode 130 may apply power to the conductive thin film as illustrated in FIG. 4G. The joule heat is generated and the amorphous silicon thin film is crystallized through the generated joule heat (S60).

After the crystallization of the amorphous silicon thin film, the electrode moved to the substrate 90 is returned to its original position, and then raised to separate the electrode for power supply 130 from the substrate 90 (S70). After the separation, the vacuum provided to the substrate 90 is blocked to release the adsorption fixed substrate 90 (S80). After the substrate 90 is unfixed, the thin film crystallization process is completed by unloading the unfixed substrate 90 to the outside (S90).

However, when the alignment check of the substrate 90 is determined to be in a defective state by performing the alignment check step S50, the power is moved to the substrate 90 without applying power to the substrate 90. Returning the electrode 130 to its original position, it is raised to separate the power supply electrode 130 from the substrate 90 (S51), and after the separation, the substrate 90 is aligned again. By blocking the vacuum provided to the substrate 90 so as to release the adsorption fixed substrate 90 (S52).

On the other hand, the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention can be implemented in other embodiments as follows.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 7 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a chamber and the substrate stage 120 of the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. .

6 and 7, the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus 100 ′ according to another embodiment of the present invention may have a substrate stage 120 different from the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus 100 of the exemplary embodiment as described above. It can be provided.

That is, the substrate stage 120 of the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus 100 ′ according to another embodiment of the present invention is installed on the inner bottom surface of the chamber 110 so that the substrate 90 is seated on the upper surface thereof, but is mutually constant. In addition to the pair of substrate fixing blocks 121 and 122 spaced apart from each other, the substrate supporting blocks 124 may be further disposed between the pair of substrate fixing blocks 121 and 122.

In this case, the substrate support block 124 may serve to support the bottom surface of the substrate 90 to prevent sagging of the substrate 90 seated on the pair of substrate fixing blocks 121 and 122. Thus, as described above, the suction hole 123 may not be formed in the substrate support block 124, and may be installed to have the same size and the same height as the substrate fixing blocks 121 and 122. have. The substrate support block 124 may be disposed at the center of the substrate fixing blocks 121 and 122.

Meanwhile, when the substrate stage 120 is configured as described above, the alignment unit 170 for aligning the substrate 90 may be implemented differently as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. That is, the alignment unit 170 is installed on the side surfaces of the substrate support block 124 in the front and rear directions so that the substrate 90 seated on the substrate stage 120 is aligned. A first alignment unit 171 'for pushing the front and rear surfaces of the substrate 90 and side surfaces positioned in left and right directions of the substrate fixing blocks 121 and 122, respectively; It may be configured as a second alignment unit 172 for pushing the right side respectively, and may be installed to operate at the same time. Accordingly, the substrate 90 seated on the substrate stage 120 including the pair of substrate fixing blocks 121 and 122 and the substrate support block 124 disposed therebetween is configured as described above. It may be aligned on the substrate stage 120 by the simultaneous operation.

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

1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view illustrating a chamber and a substrate stage of the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

3 is a block diagram showing a control relationship of the apparatus for manufacturing a polycrystalline silicon thin film according to the present invention.

4A to 4G are views for explaining a method of manufacturing a polycrystalline silicon thin film using the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG.

5 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method of manufacturing a polycrystalline silicon thin film according to the present invention.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway perspective view illustrating a chamber and a substrate stage of the polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 6.

Claims (19)

chamber; A substrate stage installed at one side of the chamber and on which a substrate including an amorphous silicon thin film and a conductive thin film is seated; And, A power supply electrode installed on the other side of the chamber to face the substrate stage and moved to the substrate seated on the substrate stage to apply power to the conductive thin film provided on the substrate, The power supply electrode generates a joule (joule) heat by applying power to the conductive thin film and polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus characterized in that the crystallized amorphous silicon thin film through the generated joule heat. The method of claim 1, The substrate stage is a polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that it comprises a pair of substrate fixing blocks which are installed on the bottom surface of the chamber so that the substrate is seated on the upper surface and spaced apart from each other. 3. The method of claim 2, And at least one adsorption hole provided with a vacuum in each of the pair of substrate fixing blocks to adsorb and fix the substrate to be seated. The method of claim 3, wherein 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 stage to align the substrate seated on the substrate stage. The method of claim 5, The alignment unit A first alignment unit installed on side surfaces positioned in the front and rear directions of the substrate stage so as to align the substrate seated on the substrate stage, and pushing the front and rear surfaces of the substrate, respectively; And a second alignment unit installed on side surfaces positioned in the right direction to push the left and right sides of the substrate, respectively. The method of claim 5, And an alignment check unit for checking the alignment of the substrate once again before applying power to the substrate aligned by the alignment unit. The method of claim 7, wherein The alignment check unit includes at least one pair of cameras respectively installed on the inner wall of the chamber to check the alignment of the substrate once again by photographing each edge of the substrate. Device. The method of claim 1, And an electrode moving unit connected to the electrode for applying power and moving the electrode for applying power to the substrate side as necessary so that the electrode for applying the power can contact the substrate. Thin film manufacturing apparatus. The method of claim 9, The substrate stage is installed on the lower side of the chamber, The electrode moving unit is installed on the upper side of the chamber polycrystalline silicon thin film manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that for moving the power supply electrode from the upper side of the chamber to the substrate side located on the lower side. Loading a substrate having an amorphous silicon thin film and a conductive thin film into a substrate stage provided at one side of the chamber; Moving the power applying electrode installed on the other side of the chamber to face the substrate seated on the substrate stage so as to face the substrate stage such that the power applying electrode contacts the substrate; And, And generating joule heat by applying power to the conductive thin film and crystallizing the amorphous silicon thin film through the generated joule heat. The method of claim 11, The substrate stage is installed on the lower side of the chamber, The power supply electrode is installed on the upper side of the chamber, Moving the power applying electrode toward the substrate so that the power applying electrode contacts the substrate includes lowering the power applying electrode from the upper side to the lower side of the chamber; Thin film manufacturing method. The method of claim 11, After loading the substrate into a substrate stage installed on one inner side of the chamber, Aligning the substrate loaded into the substrate stage; The method of manufacturing a polycrystalline silicon thin film further comprising the step of fixing the aligned substrate. The method of claim 13, The fixing of the aligned substrate may include adsorbing and fixing the substrate using a vacuum. 15. The method of claim 14, Moving the power applying electrode toward the substrate so that the power applying electrode is in contact with the substrate is performed after the fixing of the aligned substrate. The method of claim 15, After the step of moving the power applying electrode to the substrate side so that the power applying electrode is in contact with the substrate, The method of claim 1, further comprising an alignment check step of checking the alignment of the substrate once again. The method of claim 16, Generating Joule heat by applying power to the conductive thin film and crystallizing the amorphous silicon thin film through the generated Joule heat proceeds when the alignment check of the substrate is determined to be in good condition by performing the alignment check step. Method for producing a polycrystalline silicon thin film, characterized in that. The method of claim 17, After the step of generating joule heat by applying power to the conductive thin film and crystallizing the amorphous silicon thin film through the generated joule heat, Separating the power supply electrode from the substrate by returning the power supply electrode moved to the substrate to an original position; Blocking the vacuum provided to the substrate to release the suction fixed substrate; And, And unloading the released substrate to the outside. The method of claim 16, When the alignment check of the substrate is determined to be defective by performing the alignment check step, Separating the power applying electrode from the substrate by returning the power applying electrode moved to the substrate to the original position without applying power to the substrate; And, And releasing the adsorption-fixed substrate by blocking the vacuum provided to the substrate so that the substrate is again aligned.

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