KR20110027116A - Sputtering system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A sputtering system is provided to block particles by preventing a thin film from being deposited on the side or bottom of a flat substrate. CONSTITUTION: A load lock chamber(210,220) changes an atmosphere pressure into a vacuum or reversely for loading and unloading a flat substrate. A process chamber(100) holds a sputtering target(110) for depositing a thin film on the flat substrate. A transfer roller(300) moves the flat substrate between the load lock chamber and the process chamber. A vibrating device horizontally vibrates the flat substrate. A protection cover covers the edge of the flat substrate transferred to the process chamber.

Description

Sputtering system

The present invention relates to a sputtering system, and more particularly, to a sputtering system in which a plurality of sputtering targets are used to improve throughput in response to a large area flat substrate.

Sputtering technology using plasma is commonly used for the deposition of thin films in the manufacturing fields of semiconductors, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma display panels (PDPs), solar cells, and the like.

In particular, sputtering systems for depositing thin films on large-area flat substrates suitable for the manufacture of LCDs, PDPs, solar cells, etc., typically have an entry-side load lock chamber that switches between atmospheric pressure and vacuum for loading flat substrates. Chamber), a process chamber for depositing a thin film on the surface of the flat substrate, and a discharge side load lock chamber for switching between atmospheric pressure and vacuum for unloading the flat substrate. However, for the efficiency of the working space, the entry side load lock chamber and the discharge side load lock chamber can serve as one load lock chamber. In addition, a heating / cooling buffer chamber may be additionally used between the load lock chamber and the process chamber to heat or cool the flat substrate.

However, in order to deposit a thin film on a large-area flat substrate, a corresponding sputtering target having a large area or a portion of the flat substrate must be sequentially deposited. In the case of using a large area sputtering target, there is a problem that the cost required for the production of the sputtering target and the sputtering apparatus is inevitably increased. In addition, in the case of sequentially depositing a portion of the flat substrate, there is a problem in that uniformity and throughput decrease.

An object of the present invention is to provide a sputtering system equipped with a plurality of sputtering targets capable of improving throughput and improving uniformity of a deposited thin film corresponding to a large area flat substrate.

In order to solve the above technical problem, the present invention provides a sputtering system as follows.

The sputtering system according to the present invention is a load lock chamber capable of performing a switch between atmospheric pressure and vacuum for loading and unloading a flat plate substrate, and connected to the load lock chamber, and a sputtering target for depositing a thin film on the flat plate substrate A process chamber in which a plurality of rows are arranged and mounted at regular intervals, a transfer roller unit for moving the plate substrate between the load lock chamber and the process chamber, and attached to the process chamber, wherein the thin film is formed on the plate substrate. A vibrating device which shakes the plate substrate in a direction parallel to the plate substrate during deposition, a protective cover covering the edge of the plate substrate moved into the process chamber, and a protective cover attached to the process chamber to attach the protective cover to the plate And a protective cover elevating device for elevating in a direction perpendicular to the substrate.

The sputtering system according to the present invention may further include a controller for applying a protective cover lifting signal and a falling signal to the protective cover lifting device, and applying a vibration control signal to the vibration device.

The protective cover may have a through window through which the flat substrate is exposed, and the through window may have a through area smaller than that of the flat substrate.

The control unit lowers the protective cover to the protective cover elevating device so that when the side portions of the flat substrate are all located below the protective cover, the protective cover covers the edge portion of the upper surface of the flat substrate adjacent to the flat substrate. Signal can be applied.

The control unit may apply a vibration control signal to the vibration device to shake the flat plate when the protective cover is adjacent to the top surface of the flat plate by a predetermined adjacent interval.

The vibration device may shake the flat plate and the protective cover together.

The vibration device includes a drive shaft extending in a direction perpendicular to the direction of shaking the flat plate substrate, a rotary motor rotating the drive shaft in both directions, a first roller connected to the drive shaft and in contact with the flat plate substrate, and the drive. It may include a second roller connected to the shaft and in contact with the protective cover.

The adjacent spacing may be 0.5 mm to 3 mm.

When the controller applies the protective cover falling signal, the edge of the through-window may be formed to have a width of 1 mm to 5 mm from a side portion of the flat substrate to a central portion of the flat substrate in a horizontal direction with the flat substrate. have.

The control unit may stop the vibration control signal after the deposition of the thin film on the upper surface of the flat substrate and apply the protective cover rising signal to the protective cover elevating device to move the protective cover away from the flat substrate. have.

The protective cover elevating device may include a protective cover support part capable of raising and lowering the protective cover in contact with the protective cover, a protective cover support shaft connected to the protective cover support part and extending in a direction perpendicular to the flat substrate and the protective cover. And a lift driver configured to lift and lower the support shaft, and the protective cover may further include a support hole corresponding to the protective cover support part on a lower surface thereof.

The sputtering system according to the present invention can improve throughput and improve uniformity of the deposited thin film when depositing a thin film on a large-area flat substrate.

In addition, it is possible to prevent the deposition of a thin film on the side or the bottom of the flat substrate, it is possible to fundamentally block the generation of particles that can cause defects in the subsequent process.

Hereinafter, a sputtering system according to embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and those skilled in the art will appreciate the technical features of the present invention. The present invention may be embodied in various other forms without departing from the spirit thereof. That is, specific structural to functional descriptions are merely illustrated for the purpose of describing embodiments of the present invention, and embodiments of the present invention may be embodied in various forms and should be construed as being limited to the embodiments described herein. No. It is not to be limited by the embodiments described in the text, it should be understood to include all changes, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

When a component is said to be "connected" or "attached" to another component, it may be directly connected to or attached to that other component, but it may be understood that other components may be present in the middle. Will be. On the other hand, when a component is said to be "directly connected" or "directly attached" to another component, it will be understood that there is no other component in between. Other expressions describing the relationship between components, such as "between" and "immediately between" or "neighboring to" and "directly neighboring", will likewise be interpreted.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "include" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, action, component, or combination thereof described, and one or more other features or numbers, It will be understood that it does not exclude in advance the possibility of the presence or addition of steps, actions, components, or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries are to be interpreted as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art, and are not construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. .

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a sputtering system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the sputtering system 1 may include a first load lock chamber 210, a process chamber 100, and a second load lock chamber 220 arranged in rows. As shown in the drawing, when the first load lock chamber 210 and the second load lock chamber 220 are separately included, the first load lock chamber 210 and the second load lock chamber 220 are each a flat substrate 10. It may serve as the entry-side load lock chamber for switching the atmospheric pressure and vacuum state for the loading of) and the discharge side load lock chamber for switching the atmospheric pressure and vacuum state for the unloading of the plate substrate 10. However, after mounting only one load lock chamber of either the first load lock chamber 210 or the second load lock chamber 220, it switches between atmospheric pressure and vacuum state for both loading and unloading of the flat plate substrate 10. It is also possible to make it.

In addition, although not shown, the plate substrate 10 may be heated or cooled between the first load lock chamber 210 and the process chamber 100 or between the second load lock chamber 220 and the process chamber 100. A buffer chamber such as a heating buffer chamber or a cooling buffer chamber, or a heating / cooling combined buffer chamber may be further mounted.

A gate valve 230 may be attached to one side of the process chamber 100 in the direction toward the first load lock chamber 210 or the second load lock chamber 220. In addition, as described above, when the buffer chamber is additionally used, between the process chamber 100 and the buffer chamber, or between the buffer chamber and the first load lock chamber 210 or the second load lock chamber 220. Gate valve 230 may be attached.

In addition, the first load lock chamber 210 and the second load lock chamber 220 may include chamber doors 212 and 222 for blocking the vacuum on one side in the opposite direction toward the process chamber 100, respectively. . The chamber doors 212 and 222 may include a first load lock after the plate substrate 10 is loaded into the first load lock chamber 210 or before the plate substrate 10 is unloaded from the second load lock chamber 220. It may be used to maintain a vacuum in the chamber 210 or the second load lock chamber 220.

The sputtering system 1 may also include a transfer roller portion 300 for moving the flat substrate 10. The flat plate substrate 10 mounted on the rollers 310 included in the transfer roller unit 300 may be formed between the first load lock chamber 210 and the process chamber 100 or by the rotation of the rollers 310. 2 may move between the load lock chamber 220 and the process chamber 100, and may also partially move within the first load lock chamber 210, the second load lock chamber 220, or the process chamber 100. Can be. The flat plate substrate 10 may move in one direction (x direction) or in the opposite direction (-x direction) by the feed roller unit 300.

The process chamber 100 may include a plurality of sputtering targets 110. The plurality of sputtering targets 110 may be arranged in rows at regular intervals along the moving direction (x direction or −x direction) of the flat substrate 10 by the transfer roller unit 300. The plurality of sputtering targets 110 may have the same size and may be sputtering targets having the same specification made of the same material. Detailed configuration of the process chamber 100 will be described later.

In addition, the sputtering system 1 may be connected to a control unit 900 for managing and controlling the overall operation of the sputtering system (1). The controller 900 may control the movement of the flat substrate 10 and the thin film deposition process in the sputtering system 1.

2 is a plan view illustrating a sputtering system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the process chamber 100 may include a plurality of sputtering targets 110. In this case, although the plurality of sputtering targets 110 are not directly exposed to the outside of the process chamber 100, the plurality of sputtering targets 110 in the process chamber 100 are shown through perspective for understanding of the present invention. Each of the plurality of sputtering targets 110 may have a bar shape having a shape extending in a vertical direction (y direction) to a moving direction (x direction or −x direction) of the flat substrate. That is, each of the plurality of sputtering targets 110 has a short axis in the moving direction (x direction or -x direction) of the flat plate substrate, and is perpendicular to the moving direction (x direction or -x direction) of the flat plate substrate (y direction). It may have a rectangular bar shape having a long axis.

In addition, the plurality of sputtering targets 110 may be arranged in rows so as to have a predetermined interval along the moving direction (x direction or -x direction) of the flat substrate.

A flat substrate for depositing a thin film in the sputtering system 1 may include a first load lock chamber 210 after the chamber door 212 is opened with the gate valve 230 attached to the first load lock chamber 210 closed. Can be loaded into. When all of the flat substrates are loaded into the first load lock chamber 210, the chamber door 212 may be closed, and the interior of the first load lock chamber 210 may be switched from atmospheric pressure to a vacuum state. This process may be performed by a vacuum pump (not shown) attached to the first load lock chamber 210. After the first load lock chamber 210 is converted into a vacuum state, the gate valve 230 attached to the first load lock chamber 210 is opened, and the flat substrate is transferred to the process chamber 100 by the transfer roller unit 300. Will be moved to). In this process, the flat substrate may be heated to allow the deposition process to be performed smoothly while additionally passing through the buffer chamber (midos).

Thereafter, the flat substrate is unloaded through the second load lock chamber 220 after the deposition of the thin film in the process chamber 100 is completed. The unloading of the flat substrate may be performed in a reverse manner to the loading process of the flat substrate described above. In addition, when only the first load lock chamber 210 is mounted, the plate substrate may be unloaded again through a process opposite to that of loading the plate substrate through the first load lock chamber 210.

3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a planar substrate moving into a process chamber of a sputtering system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3 and subsequent drawings, the first load lock chamber 210 and the second load lock chamber 220 may be omitted. Therefore, the process chamber 100 between the gate valve 230 may be mainly shown.

Referring to FIG. 3, the flat substrate 10 is moved into the process chamber 100 by the transfer roller part 300. Hereinafter, the direction in which the flat substrate 10 moves (the x-axis direction or, in some cases, the -x-axis direction) may be referred to as a transfer direction. In this case, the protective cover 120 may be positioned higher than the flat substrate 10 by the protective cover elevating device 130. That is, the lowermost surface of the protective cover 120 may be positioned above the upper surface of the flat substrate 10 (z-axis direction). Thereafter, the flat substrate 10 may move until it arrives below the plurality of sputtering targets 110, which are deposition regions of the process chamber 100.

4 is a schematic view showing a state in which the protective cover is lowered to cover the flat substrate according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, when the flat substrate 10 arrives at a lower portion of the plurality of sputtering targets 110, which are deposition regions of the process chamber 100, the transfer roller unit 300 stops operation and the flat substrate 10 You can stop. In this process, the position of the flat substrate 10 can be accurately read by a monitoring device, for example, a vision system. This is to accurately adjust the correct position of the flat substrate 10 according to the positional relationship between the protective cover 120 and the flat substrate 10 to be described later.

When the flat substrate 10 reaches the correct position in the process chamber 100 and stops, the controller 900 applies the protective cover lowering signal 900s-d to the protective cover elevating device 130 to protect the protective cover 120. ) May be lowered to be adjacent to the flat substrate 10. A plan view when the flat substrate 10 reaches the correct position in the process chamber 100 and the protective cover 120 descends to be adjacent to the flat substrate 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 10.

The protective cover elevating device 130 may include a protective cover support 132, a protective cover support shaft 134, and an elevating driving unit 136. That is, when the control unit 900 applies the protective cover lowering signal 900s-d to the protective cover elevating device 130, the elevating drive unit 136 is activated, and the protective cover connected through the protective cover support shaft 134. The support 132 may be lowered. For example, the lift driver 136 may be a motor. The protective cover support shaft 134 may extend in a vertical direction with respect to the flat substrate 10.

A support hole 122 corresponding to the protective cover support part 132 may be formed on the lower surface of the protective cover 120. Since the protective cover support part 132 is seated in the support hole 122, the protective cover 120 may be lowered without moving in the horizontal direction with respect to the flat substrate 10. Alternatively, the protective cover supporter 132 may be coupled to the support hole 122.

5 is a schematic view showing a state of depositing a thin film on a flat substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, when the protective cover 120 covers the edge portion 10-o of the flat substrate 10 adjacent to the upper surface of the flat substrate 10, the flat substrate 10 and the protective cover 120 are provided. The sputtering process is performed by shaking the feed roller unit 300 to repeatedly move the feed direction and the reverse direction (x direction, -x direction). That is, a thin surface by sputtering may be formed on the flat substrate 10 while the flat substrate 10 is shaken to repeatedly move the direction and the reverse direction of the transport roller 300. Specifically, each of the rollers of the transfer roller unit 300 repeatedly rotates in both directions, thereby shaking the plate substrate 10 contacting the rollers of the transfer roller unit 300 in both directions. In this case, the protective cover elevating device 130 may prevent the protective cover support 132 from being completely separated from the protective cover 120 so as not to affect the shaking of the flat substrate 10 and the protective cover 120. . That is, the uppermost end of the protective cover support 132 may be positioned lower than the lowermost surface of the protective cover 120. This may be possible because the protective cover 120 also contacts each of the rollers of the conveying roller part 300.

In this case, the protective cover 120 covering the edge 10-o of the flat substrate 10 is not meant to be in direct contact, but rather close to each other to substantially close the edge 10-o of the flat substrate 10. It means to hide. This is because when the protective cover 120 is in direct contact with the flat substrate 10, when the protective cover 120 and the flat substrate 10 are shaken together, the flat substrate 10 may be damaged.

6 is an enlarged view illustrating a state in which an edge portion of a flat substrate is covered by a protective cover according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a schematic enlarged view of part VI of FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 6, the protective cover 120 is adjacent to the flat substrate 10 so as to substantially cover the edge portion 10-o and the side portion 10-s of the flat substrate 10. The protective cover 120 may cover the edge portion 10-o of the flat substrate 10 by the first width D2. The protective cover 120 may cover, for example, the edge portion 10-o of the flat substrate 10 by a width of about 1 mm to 5 mm. That is, the protective cover 120 covers the edge portion 10-o corresponding to a distance of about 1 mm to 5 mm from the side portion 10-o which is the edge of the flat substrate 10 to the center of the flat substrate 10. do.

In addition, the edge portion 10-o of the flat substrate 10 and the protective cover 120 may be spaced apart from each other to have an adjacent gap D1. As described above, when the protective cover 120 is in direct contact with the flat substrate 10, the adjacent gap D1 may damage the flat substrate 10 when the protective cover 120 and the flat substrate 10 are shaken together. This can happen. Likewise, the side surface portion 10-s of the flat substrate 10 and the protective cover 120 may be spaced apart from each other to have a predetermined interval. That is, the protective cover 120 may determine the thickness of the protective cover 120 so as to contact the rollers of the transfer roller unit 300 when the protective cover 120 has an adjacent gap D1 with the edge portion 10-o of the flat substrate 10. .

5 and 6, the plurality of sputtering targets 110 may be arranged in rows so as to have a predetermined interval along the transport direction (x direction or −x direction) of the flat substrate 10. Therefore, the materials (atoms, molecules, or ions) forming the thin film to be deposited from the sputtering target 110 toward the flat substrate 10 may not reach uniformly on the flat substrate 10. Therefore, as described above, if the flat substrate 10 is repeatedly shaken to move in the transport direction and the reverse direction (x direction or -x direction), the materials constituting the thin film to be deposited are sputtered on all the top surfaces on the flat substrate 10. It can reach uniformly from the target 110. Therefore, the thin film may be deposited on the entire surface of the flat substrate 10 to have improved uniformity.

Also optionally, using the target vibration device 112, the plurality of sputtering targets 110 may also be shaken along a column (x direction or −x direction). In this case, the plurality of sputtering targets 110 may be shaken so as to be opposite to the shaken substrate 10. For example, when the flat substrate 10 moves in the x direction, the plurality of sputtering targets 110 move in the -x direction, and when the flat substrate 10 moves in the -x direction, the plurality of sputtering targets ( The 110 moves in the x direction, and shakes in the opposite direction, even when the flat substrate 10 has a larger area or the plurality of sputtering targets 110 are arranged to have a relatively wide interval. The thin film may be deposited on the entire surface of the flat substrate 10 to have improved uniformity.

During deposition of the thin film while the flat substrate 10 or the plurality of sputtering targets 110 is shaken, materials forming the thin film to be deposited may be attached to the side portion 10-s or the bottom surface of the flat substrate 10. As such, materials forming the thin film to be deposited are attached to the bottom surface of the flat substrate 10, that is, when the thin film is deposited, it may be difficult to precisely control the horizontality of the flat substrate 10. In addition, when the thin film is deposited on the side portion 10-s or the lower surface of the flat substrate 10, particles may be caused in a subsequent process, causing defects.

However, when the edge portion 10-o of the upper surface of the flat substrate 10 is covered by the protective cover 120, the materials forming the thin film to be deposited are formed by the screening phenomenon. -s) or the bottom is never reached. As a result, since the thin film is not deposited on the bottom surface of the flat substrate 10, the horizontality of the flat substrate 10 may be precisely controlled and defects may be minimized.

7 is another schematic view showing a state of depositing a thin film on a flat substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, FIG. 7 is a schematic view as viewed in a direction orthogonal to FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 7, the controller 900 shakes the flat substrate 10 and the protective cover 120 together by applying a vibration control signal 900s-s to the vibration device 400. Specifically, the vibration device 400 includes a first roller 410, a second roller 420, a drive shaft 430, and a rotation motor 440. The rotation motor 440 of the vibration device 400 receiving the vibration control signal 900s-s may repeatedly rotate the driving shaft 430 in both directions by repeating rotation in both directions. Accordingly, the first roller 410 and the second roller 420 connected to the driving shaft 430 may be repeatedly rotated in both directions together. Accordingly, the flat plate 10 seated on the first roller 410 and the protective cover 120 seated on the second roller 420 may be shaken in both directions. Accordingly, the direction in which the driving shaft 430 extends (y-axis direction) and the direction in which the flat plate 10 is shaken (x-axis direction or -x-axis direction) may be perpendicular to each other.

The vibration device 400 may be part of the moving roller part 300. That is, the vibration device 400 may be an expression for referring to a portion used to shake the flat substrate 10 of the moving roller part 300. However, only the first roller 410 may be included in the portion of the moving roller part 300 that does not correspond to the vibration device 400, and the second roller 420 may not be included.

In addition, since the vibration device 400 must operate separately from the protective cover elevating device 130, the vibration device 400 and the protective cover elevating device 130 may be mounted to be spaced apart.

8 is a schematic view showing the lifting and lowering of the protective cover covering the flat substrate according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, when the deposition of the thin film on the flat substrate 10 is completed, the controller 900 stops the vibration control signal 900-s, and the protective cover elevating device 130 sends a protective cover elevating signal ( 900s-u) may be applied to lift and lower the protective cover 120 away from the flat substrate 10. That is, when the control unit 900 applies the protective cover elevating signal (900s-u) to the protective cover elevating device 130, the elevating drive unit 136 is activated, the protection connected via the protective cover support shaft 134 The lid supporter 132 may be elevated. Therefore, when the protective cover support part 132 is seated in the support hole 122 of the protective cover 120, and ascending and descending continuously, the bottom surface of the protective cover 120 may be higher than the upper surface of the flat substrate 10. .

9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which a flat substrate is moved from a process chamber of a sputtering system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, the flat substrate 10 is moved from the inside of the process chamber 100 toward the gate valve 230 by the transfer roller part 300. In this case, the lower surface of the protective cover 120 may be positioned above the upper surface of the flat substrate 10 (z-axis direction). Thereafter, the flat substrate 10 may move to the second load lock chamber 220 illustrated in FIG. 1 after the gate valve 230 is opened.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 9, it can be seen that the protective cover elevating device 130 is separated from the flat substrate 10 in the horizontal direction (y-axis direction and -y-axis direction). Therefore, in FIG. 9, the protective cover support shaft 134 of the protective cover elevating device 130 and the flat substrate 10 appear to intersect, but as shown in FIG. You can move without being affected by).

10 is a plan view showing a protective cover according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a simplified plan view of the flat substrate when it reaches the above-described deposition region, that is, when deposition by sputtering is performed.

Referring to FIG. 10, the protective cover 120 may be formed to have a larger area by an outline than the flat substrate 10. A through-window T is formed at the center of the protective cover 120 to expose the flat substrate 10 positioned under the protective cover 120. The through area by the through window T may be smaller than the area of the flat substrate 10. Accordingly, the edge portion 10-o of the flat plate substrate 10 is covered so as to be covered by the through-window T and thus the portions of the protective cover 120 adjacent to the through-window T and through the through-window T. Only the center portion of the flat substrate 10, that is, the portion except the edge portion 10-o of the flat substrate 10 may be exposed. That is, all of the side portions 10-s of the flat substrate 10 may be located under the protective cover 120. In this case, the edge of the through-window T of the protective cover 120 is positioned with a width of 1 mm to 5 mm from the side portion 10-s of the flat substrate 10 to the central portion of the flat substrate 10.

11 is a flowchart illustrating a method of depositing a thin film using a sputtering system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 10 together with FIG. 11, the flat substrate 10 may be loaded into the sputtering system 1 through the first load lock chamber 210 (S100). In order to load the flat substrate 10 into the first load lock chamber 210, the chamber door 212 attached to the first load lock chamber 210 is first opened, and then the flat substrate 10 is loaded. Thereafter, when the loading of the flat substrate 10 is completed, the chamber door 212 is closed, and the inside of the first load lock chamber 210 may be converted into a vacuum state.

When the inside of the first load lock chamber 210 loaded with the flat substrate 10 is converted to a vacuum state, the gate valve 230 between the first load lock chamber 210 and the process chamber 100 is opened and the flat substrate 10 is moved to the process chamber 100 by the transfer roller 300 (S200).

When the flat substrate 10 is completely moved into the process chamber 100, the gate valve 230 between the first load lock chamber 210 and the process chamber 100 is closed again. After that, when the edge portions 10-s of the flat plate substrate 10 are all positioned under the protective cover 120, the protective cover 120 is moved by the protective cover lifting device 130. It may descend to be adjacent to (S300).

After the protective cover 120 is adjacent to the edge portion 10-o of the flat plate substrate 10 by an adjacent distance D1, the top of the protective cover support 132 is further positioned lower than the bottom of the protective cover 120. Lower Thereafter, the thin film deposition is started by shaking the flat substrate 10 and the protective cover 120 together by the vibration device 400 (S400).

After thin film deposition on the flat substrate 10 is completed, the protective cover 120 is elevated by the protective cover elevating device 130 until the bottom surface of the protective cover 120 is higher than the top surface of the flat substrate 10. (S500).

Thereafter, the flat substrate 10 moves in the direction of the second load lock chamber 220 by the moving roller unit 300, and the gate valve 230 between the second load lock chamber 220 and the process chamber 100 is provided. After the opening, the plate substrate 10 moves to the second load lock chamber 220 (S600).

When the flat substrate 10 is completely moved into the second load lock chamber 220, the gate valve 230 between the second load lock chamber 220 and the process chamber 100 is closed, and then the second load lock chamber is closed. After the chamber door 222 attached to the 220 is opened, the flat substrate 10 may be unloaded (S700).

In this case, the first load lock chamber 210 and the second load lock chamber 220 are the same one load lock chamber as described above, or separate rods arranged in rows as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. It may be a lock chamber. In addition, a buffer chamber may be additionally installed between the first load lock chamber 210 or the second load lock chamber 220 and the process chamber 100.

12 is a flowchart illustrating a method of depositing a thin film using a sputtering system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 10 together with FIG. 12, the flat substrate 10 may be loaded into the sputtering system 1 through the first load lock chamber 210 (S102). In order to load the flat substrate 10 into the first load lock chamber 210, the chamber door 212 attached to the first load lock chamber 210 is first opened, and then the flat substrate 10 is loaded. Thereafter, when the loading of the flat substrate 10 is completed, the chamber door 212 is closed, and the inside of the first load lock chamber 210 may be converted into a vacuum state.

When the inside of the first load lock chamber 210 loaded with the flat substrate 10 is converted to a vacuum state, the gate valve 230 between the first load lock chamber 210 and the process chamber 100 is opened and the flat substrate 10 is moved to the process chamber 100 by the transfer roller 300 (S202).

When the flat substrate 10 is completely moved into the process chamber 100, the gate valve 230 between the first load lock chamber 210 and the process chamber 100 is closed again. After that, when the edge portions 10-s of the flat plate substrate 10 are all positioned under the protective cover 120, the protective cover 120 is moved by the protective cover lifting device 130. It may descend to be adjacent to (S302).

After the protective cover 120 is adjacent to the edge portion 10-o of the flat plate substrate 10 by an adjacent distance D1, the top of the protective cover support 132 is further positioned lower than the bottom of the protective cover 120. Lower Thereafter, the thin film deposition is started by shaking the plate 10 and the protective cover 120 together by the vibration device 400. In this case, the plurality of sputtering targets 110 may also perform thin film deposition by shaking the target substrate 10 by the target vibration device 112 so as to be opposite to each other in a direction in which the flat substrate 10 is shaken (S402). For example, when the flat substrate 10 moves in the x direction, the plurality of sputtering targets 110 move in the -x direction, and when the flat substrate 10 moves in the -x direction, the plurality of sputtering targets ( 110 may be moved in the x direction, so as to shake in opposite directions.

After thin film deposition on the flat substrate 10 is completed, the protective cover 120 is elevated by the protective cover elevating device 130 until the bottom surface of the protective cover 120 is higher than the top surface of the flat substrate 10. (S502).

Thereafter, the flat substrate 10 moves in the direction of the second load lock chamber 220 by the moving roller unit 300, and the gate valve 230 between the second load lock chamber 220 and the process chamber 100 is provided. After the opening, the plate substrate 10 moves to the second load lock chamber 220 (S602).

When the flat substrate 10 is completely moved into the second load lock chamber 220, the gate valve 230 between the second load lock chamber 220 and the process chamber 100 is closed, and then the second load lock chamber is closed. After the chamber door 222 attached to the 220 is opened, the flat substrate 10 may be unloaded (S702).

Even in this case, the first load lock chamber 210 and the second load lock chamber 220 may be the same one load lock chamber as described above, or may be separate from each other and arranged in rows as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. It may be a load lock chamber. In addition, a buffer chamber may be additionally installed between the first load lock chamber 210 or the second load lock chamber 220 and the process chamber 100.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a sputtering system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a plan view illustrating a sputtering system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a planar substrate moving into a process chamber of a sputtering system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a schematic view showing a state in which the protective cover is lowered to cover the flat substrate according to the embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a schematic view showing a state of depositing a thin film on a flat substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is an enlarged view illustrating a state in which an edge portion of a flat substrate is covered by a protective cover according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

7 is another schematic view showing a state of depositing a thin film on a flat substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a schematic view showing the lifting and lowering of the protective cover covering the flat substrate according to the embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which a flat substrate is moved from a process chamber of a sputtering system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

10 is a plan view showing a protective cover according to an embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a flowchart illustrating a method of depositing a thin film using a sputtering system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

12 is a flowchart illustrating a method of depositing a thin film using a sputtering system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

<Description of main parts of drawing>

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sputtering system, 10 flat board | substrate, 100: process chamber, 110: sputtering target, 120: protective cover, 122: support hole, 130: protective cover elevating apparatus, 210: 1st load lock chamber, 220: 2nd Load lock chamber, 212, 222: chamber door, 230: gate valve, 300: moving roller portion, 400: vibration device, 900: control part

Claims (11)

A load lock chamber capable of performing a switch between atmospheric pressure and vacuum for loading and unloading a flat substrate; A process chamber connected to the load lock chamber, wherein a plurality of sputtering targets for depositing a thin film on the flat substrate are arranged in a row at a predetermined interval; A transfer roller unit for moving the plate substrate between the load lock chamber and the process chamber; A vibration device attached to the process chamber and shaking the flat substrate in a direction parallel to the flat substrate while the thin film is deposited on the flat substrate; A protective cover covering the edge of the flat substrate moved into the process chamber; And And a protective cover elevating device attached to the process chamber to raise and lower the protective cover in a direction perpendicular to the flat substrate. According to claim 1, And a control unit for applying a protective cover elevating signal and a falling signal to the protective cover elevating device and applying a vibration control signal to the vibrating device. According to claim 1, The protective cover has a through window for exposing the flat substrate, And wherein said through window has a through area less than that of said flat substrate. The method of claim 2, The control unit, When both side portions of the flat substrate are located below the protective cover, the protective cover lowering signal is applied to the protective cover elevating device so that the protective cover covers the edge portion of the upper surface of the flat substrate adjacent to the flat substrate. Sputtering system, characterized in that. 5. The method of claim 4, And the control unit applies a vibration control signal to the vibrating device to shake the flat plate substrate when the protective cover is adjacent to the flat plate substrate by a predetermined adjacent interval. 6. The method of claim 5, The vibration device is a sputtering system, characterized in that for shaking the flat plate and the protective cover together. The method according to claim 6, The vibration device, A drive shaft extending in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the flat substrate is shaken; A rotary motor rotating the drive shaft in both directions; A first roller connected to the drive shaft and in contact with the flat substrate; And And a second roller connected to the drive shaft and in contact with the protective cover. 6. The method of claim 5, And wherein said adjacent spacing is between 0.5 mm and 3 mm. 5. The method of claim 4, When the control unit applies the protective cover falling signal, The edge of the through-window is formed so as to have a width of 1mm to 5mm from the side portion of the flat substrate to the center of the flat substrate in a horizontal direction with the flat substrate. The method of claim 2, The control unit, After the deposition of the thin film on the upper surface of the flat substrate, Stop the vibration control signal, And applying the protective cover rising signal to the protective cover elevating device such that the protective cover is away from the flat substrate. According to claim 1, The protective cover lifting device, A protective cover support part which is capable of raising and lowering the protective cover in contact with the protective cover; A protective cover support shaft connected to the protective cover support and extending in a direction perpendicular to the flat substrate; And And a lift driver configured to lift and lower the protective cover support shaft. The protective cover further comprises a support hole corresponding to the protective cover support on the lower surface.

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