KR20140045147A - Plasma etching apparatus and baffle - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a plasma etching apparatus and a baffle. Wherein, the plasma etching apparatus etches a substrate with plasma and includes: a stage on which the substrate is fixed; a mask which is arranged on the substrate and protects the non-etching region of the substrate; a plasma generating unit which supplies active gas for plasma etching on the etching region of the substrate; and a pumping port which is arranged on the side of the stage and provides an exhaust path to uniformly discharge byproducts generated by the plasma etching in a downward direction. [Reference numerals] (AA,GG) Pumping; (BB) Radical; (CC,DD,EE) Argon gas; (FF) Radical

Description

PLASMA ETCHING APPARATUS AND BAFFLE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention [0001]

The present invention relates to a plasma etching apparatus and a baffle.

In Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED) TV manufacturing process, when organics are deposited using the SMS (Small Mask Scanning) method, organic substances are deposited in areas other than the display area, and before the sealing process, Should be removed. If not removed, adhesion of organic substances deposited when bonding with other glass substrates in the sealing process lowers the lifetime of the TV product.

As described above, as a method for removing organic matter, an etching method using plasma is used. That is, a glass substrate is placed in a process chamber of a plasma etching apparatus, and various films formed on a glass substrate are subjected to plasma etching.

At this time, the plasma is uniformly discharged onto the glass substrate to remove the organic matter, and the plasma etching is performed.

In this case, the byproducts due to the plasma etching are discharged to the outside through the pumping port. At this time, the discharge speed of the byproducts is different, which results in uneven etching.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a plasma etching apparatus and a baffle for improving uniformity by controlling the discharge speed of by-products generated by plasma etching.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a plasma etching apparatus for performing plasma etching on a substrate, the plasma etching apparatus comprising: a stage on which the substrate is fixed; A mask disposed over the substrate and protecting a non-etched region of the substrate; A plasma generator for supplying an active gas for the plasma etching to an etching area of the substrate; And a pumping port disposed on a side surface of the stage and providing an exhaust path for evenly discharging the byproducts generated in accordance with the plasma etching downward.

At this time,

And a baffle mounted inside the pumping port to evenly distribute the byproduct.

Also,

And a slit for evenly distributing the byproducts.

In addition,

And a slit in the form of a rectangle having a long length in a direction in which the by-product is discharged from the stage to the exhaust path.

Also,

And a slit for uniformly distributing the byproducts through a rectangular exhaust path having a long length to a lower end of the pumping port.

Also,

And may include a plurality of slits having different sizes.

Also,

And may include a plurality of slits formed in different sizes according to positions at which the slits are disposed.

In addition,

The size of the slit disposed at the center of the baffle may be smaller than the size of the slit disposed at the edge of the baffle.

The plasma etching apparatus may further include a gas retainer formed on an upper portion of the stagedizer connected to the pumping port to delay a time for organic matter formed in an etching region of the substrate to stay on the substrate.

The plasma etching apparatus may further include a gas injection port for injecting an inert gas into an inner space formed between the substrate and the mask.

The plasma etching apparatus further includes a process chamber for providing a processing space of the substrate, the process chamber in which the stage, the mask, and the pumping port are disposed in an inner space; And a liner disposed in an inner space of the process chamber to prevent contamination of the inner wall surface of the process chamber.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a baffle is a baffle mounted on a pumping port included in a plasma etching apparatus for performing plasma etching on a substrate and discharging by-products generated by the plasma etching to the outside, And a slit disposed in a side of the stage on which the substrate is mounted from among the inside of the pumping port and for evenly distributing the byproducts downward.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the size of the slits disposed at the center of the pumping port is relatively small, and the size of the slits disposed at the edge of the pumping port is relatively large. The rate of discharge of by-products generated by etching can be uniformly controlled.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing a plasma etching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view showing a separated lower chamber portion and an upper source portion according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a view illustrating a lower chamber part according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a view showing a mask unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a view illustrating an upper source unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a side cross-sectional view of a process chamber in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a side cross-sectional view of a process chamber including a pumping port to which a baffle is applied in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a detailed view of a baffle according to an embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a detailed view of a baffle according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the present invention. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In order to clearly illustrate the present invention, parts not related to the description are omitted, and similar parts are denoted by like reference characters throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a part is said to "include" a certain component, it means that it can further include other components, without excluding other components unless specifically stated otherwise.

A plasma etching apparatus and a baffle according to embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a plasma etching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a lower chamber portion and an upper source portion according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a view illustrating a mask unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a view illustrating an upper source unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a cross- Sectional side view of a process chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the etching process.

1, a plasma etching apparatus 1 includes a plasma generating unit 2, a turbo pump 3, a driving unit 4, a frame 5, a pump connecting unit 6, and a gate valve (7).

Here, the plasma generating section 2 generates a plasma containing charged particles and neutral particles. At this time, the plasma generates active gas for organic etching.

The turbo pump 3 evacuates the pressure inside the process chamber (10 in FIG. 2). The turbo pump 3 is a device used to adjust the vacuum degree with the outer chamber after the gate valve (not shown) at the upper side of the turbo pump 3 is closed during the process. Do not give.

The driving device 4 moves the stage (23 in Figs. 5 and 6) supporting the glass substrate (22 in Figs. 5 and 6) in the process chamber (10 in Figs. 2 and 6) 5, 6) of the mask (Figs. 4, 5 and 6) so that the mask (16 of Figs. 4, 5 and 6) Measure the distance.

The frame 5 is mounted at the bottom of the process chamber (10 in Fig. 2) to support the process chamber (10 in Fig. 2).

The pump connection portion 6 is connected to the lower portion of the pumping port (14 in Fig. 3) to connect the left and right pumping port (14 in Fig. 3).

The gate valve 7 has a structure for allowing the glass substrate (22 in Figs. 5 and 6) to go into and out of the processing chamber (10 in Fig. 2).

2, the plasma etching apparatus 1 can be divided into an upper source portion 8 and a lower chamber portion 9.

2 and 3, the lower chamber portion 9 includes a turbo pump 3, a driving device 4, a frame 5, a pump connecting portion 6, a gate valve 7, a process chamber (not shown) 10, a mask unit 11, welded bellows 12, a dry pump 13, a pumping port 14 and a glass loading pin 15 .

At this time, the process chamber 10 provides a processing space for the glass substrate (22 in Figs. 5 and 6).

Referring to FIG. 4, the mask unit 11 includes a mask body 16 (hereinafter, referred to as a mask) disposed on a glass substrate (22 in FIGS. 5 and 6) And a mask support 18 for supporting the mask 16.

At this time, gas injection ports 19 for injecting an inert gas are provided on both sides of the upper side of the mask 16, that is, in the direction in which the mask blades 17 are mounted.

2 and 3, the welded bellows 12 connects the aligning apparatus (not shown) and the stage (23 of Figures 5 and 6) with the process chamber 10.

At this time, the aligning apparatus (not shown) and the stage (23 of Figs. 5 and 6) are supported on the outer frame of the process chamber 10 to prevent the deformation of the process chamber 10 caused by the vacuum pumping .

Here, the alignment device (not shown) moves the stage (23 in Figs. 5 and 6) on which the glass substrate (22 in Fig. 6) is mounted to align the position with the mask 16. That is, the glass substrate (22 in Figs. 5 and 6) and the mask (16 in Figs. 4 and 6) are accurately aligned (aligned) at a position to be etched by using an alignment device (not shown) do.

The pump piping 13 is installed at the lower end of the point where the pump connecting portions 6 meet, and discharges the etched gas discharged from the process chamber 10 to the outside.

The pumping port 14 discharges residual gases and byproducts within the process chamber 10.

The glass loading pin 15 supports the load of the glass substrate (22 in Figs. 5 and 6).

5, the upper source portion 8 includes a plurality of plasma generators 2 and a gas distributor 20 arranged in a front-back, or a left-right symmetrical manner.

Here, the plasma generating section 2 generates a plasma containing charged particles and neutral particles. At this time, the plasma generates active gas for organic etching. A plurality of plasma generating portions 2 are arranged symmetrically on both sides of the upper source portion 8. At this time, a total of six plasma generating portions 2 are arranged on each side of the upper source portion 8, three on each side. However, such numbers are only examples, and are not intended to be limiting.

In addition, the gas distribution device 20 is constituent means for distributing the active gas generated by the plasma generating portion 2, that is, radicals. This gas distribution device 20 distributes the active gas to the glass substrate 22 of the process chamber 10 at which time it is evenly distributed in accordance with the width of the glass substrate 22.

The gas distribution device 20 is located below the plurality of plasma generators 2. At this time, two plasma generating units 2 may be disposed on both sides of the plasma generating unit 2. A total of two plasma sources may be disposed one below the lower source part 8 where the three plasma generators 2 are arranged and one lower one below the upper source part 8 where the three plasma generators 2 are arranged have.

 At this time, the gas distribution device 20 has a rectangular shape with a long length in a direction in which a plurality of plasma generating portions 9 are arranged on both sides of the upper source portion 3. Therefore, the active gases generated from the three plasma generators 2 are mixed in the gas distributor 20 and evenly distributed to the glass substrate 22.

6, the inner space of the process chamber 10 includes a mask support 21 mounted on the top of the mask 16 to secure the mask 16 thereto.

Here, the mask 16 is movable so as to approach or move away from the stage 23 on which the glass substrate 22 is mounted.

The mask 16 is disposed on the glass substrate 22 and shields the non-etching region A of the glass substrate 22. That is, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) TV screen display area, which should not be etched, is protected by an inert gas to prevent the active species from penetrating the glass substrate 22.

A gap of a certain size is formed between the mask 16 and the glass substrate 22 to prevent the glass substrate 22 from being damaged by the contact.

A stage 23 for supporting the glass substrate 22 and the glass substrate 22 is disposed below the mask 16. The stage 23 is provided in the inner space of the process chamber 10 and has a structure such as a vacuum chuck to fix the glass substrate 22 on the upper portion. And the x, y, z, and? Stages so that the glass substrate 22 can be horizontally moved, vertically moved, and rotated.

At this time, the stage 23 includes a support pin 24 supporting the glass substrate 22 when the stage 23 is lowered.

Here, the inert gas is introduced into the internal space 25 formed between the mask 16 and the glass substrate 22 through the mask 16 and the gas inlet 19 passing through the mask support 21. As the pressure gas supplied to the inner space 25 of the mask 16, argon (Ar) gas which is an inert gas (or gas) in the process gas may be used. But is not limited to, inert gas (or gas) nitrogen in the process gas, and other gases.

As described above, the inert gas introduced into the internal space 25 diffuses in the left and right directions of the glass substrate 22 on which the organic material 26 is formed. The inert gas acts to prevent the active gas generated in the plasma generating part 2 from flowing into the internal space 25. [

Here, the plasma is generated in the plasma generating portion 2, is uniformly distributed while passing through the gas distributing device 20, and discharged to the left and right etching regions A of the glass substrate 22.

Here, the plasma is generated in the plasma generating portion 2, is uniformly distributed while passing through the gas distributing device 20, and discharged to the left and right etching regions A of the glass substrate 22.

Here, the left and right etching regions A are formed in the left and right directions in which an inert gas is diffused. The reason why the etching is performed on both sides is that when the pattern is deposited on the OLED TFT glass substrate 22, And the glass substrate 22 is moved on the mask 16, a pattern is formed on the front and rear sides of the glass substrate 22, that is, on the left and right side faces. Thus, the region where such a pattern is to be removed is removed as an etching region A, through plasma etching.

In other words, the radicals generated by the plasma etch the organic matter in the etching region A.

In addition, the residual gas and by-products generated by the plasma etching are discharged through the pumping port 14.

At this time, a liner 27 for preventing contamination of the wall of the process chamber 10 along the outer surface of the pumping port 14, that is, the inner wall surface of the process chamber 10, is disposed.

In addition, the pumping port 14 is formed in the inner space of the process chamber 10 and mounted to the lower end of the left and right etching area A to discharge the etching by-product to the outside.

At this time, the etching by-product is discharged at a high speed at the center of the pumping port 14, and the discharge speed may become uneven due to the slower speed toward the edge.

Therefore, to solve this problem, the pumping port 14 may further comprise a constituent means for making the discharge rate uniform.

The constituent means for equalizing the discharge rate may include the following two embodiments.

According to one embodiment, a baffle can be used to make the rate of ejection of the etching by-product uniform. Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the following will be described.

FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of a process chamber including a pumping port to which a baffle is applied in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a detailed view of the baffle of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 7, the process chamber 10 has the same configuration as that of FIG. 6, and the baffle 28 is mounted to the left and right pumping ports 14, respectively. This baffle 28 is disposed on the side of the stage 23 on which the glass substrate 22 disposed on the lower portion of the mask 16 is mounted, as shown in Fig.

Then, radicals are discharged in the first direction (1) to the exposed region of the glass substrate 22 which is not protected from the mask 16, that is, the etching region A, and etching is performed. The by-product resulting from the etching and the organic material (26 in FIG. 7) formed in the etching region A are discharged in the second direction (2).

At this time, the baffle 28 is formed with a rectangular slit 28a having a long length in the second direction (2). Through this slit 28a, the by-product and the organic matter 26 due to the etching are discharged downward. At this time, the slit 28a serves to make the discharge speed of the by-product and the organic matter 26 uniform.

Here, the baffle 28 may include a plurality of slits 28a. The plurality of slits 28a may be formed to have different sizes. The size of the slit 28a may be different depending on the position in the baffle 28. [

For example, the by-products and the organic matter 26 have a faster discharge speed than the middle-most edge. Thus, the size of one or more slits 28a disposed in the center of the baffle 28 is relatively small. And the size of at least one slit 28a disposed at the edge of the baffle 28 is relatively large.

As such, by controlling the discharge speed of the by-products and the organic matter 26 by varying the size of the slit 28a according to the position on the baffle 28, the discharge speed can be made uniform. That is, the discharge speed can be changed according to the arrangement position of the slit 28a on the baffle 28. [ Thus, the etching rate can be changed for each position, and uniformity can be ensured.

A gas retainer 29 is disposed at the upper end of the stage 23. The radicals ejected onto the glass substrate 22 are pumped through the baffle 28 after etching the glass substrate 22 with the inert gas being discharged inside the mask 16. At this time, the gas retainer 29 serves to increase the etching rate of the glass substrate 22 by increasing the residence time of the radical on the glass substrate 22.

Further, according to another embodiment of the constituent means for making the discharge rate uniform, the following will be described with reference to FIG.

9 is a detailed view of a baffle according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, the configuration of FIG. 8 is the same, except that the shape of the baffle 28 is different. In other words, the baffle 28 includes a plurality of slits 28b each having a long rectangular shape and extending downward to form an exhaust passage. The plurality of slits 28b have different sizes.

Here, the plurality of slits 28b may have different sizes of the slits 28b disposed at the center and the slits 28b disposed at the edges. At this time, the size of the slit 28b disposed at the center point is smaller than the size of the slit 28b disposed at the edge. As described above, the discharge speed of the by-products and the organic matter 26 can be changed by forming the slits 28b differently in position. Thus, the etching rate can be changed for each position, and uniformity can be ensured.

The embodiments of the present invention described above are not implemented only by the apparatus and method, but may be implemented through a program for realizing the function corresponding to the configuration of the embodiment of the present invention or a recording medium on which the program is recorded.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, It belongs to the scope of right.

Claims (17)

1. A plasma etching apparatus for performing plasma etching on a substrate,
A stage to which the substrate is fixed;
A mask disposed over the substrate and protecting a non-etched region of the substrate;
A plasma generator for supplying an active gas for the plasma etching to an etching area of the substrate; And
A pumping port disposed at a side of the stage to provide an exhaust path for evenly discharging the by-product generated by the plasma etching downwardly
And a plasma etching apparatus. The method of claim 1,
The pumping port,
A baffle mounted inside the pumping port to distribute the by-product evenly.
Plasma etching apparatus further comprising. 3. The method of claim 2,
The baffle,
And a slit for equally distributing the byproduct. The method of claim 3,
The slit
And a rectangular slit formed long in the direction in which the by-product is discharged from the stage to the exhaust path. 5. The method of claim 4,
The baffle,
And a slit for equally distributing the by-product through a rectangular exhaust path having a length extending to a lower end of the pumping port. The method according to claim 3 or 5,
The baffle,
And a plurality of slits having different sizes. The method according to claim 6,
The baffle,
And a plurality of slits formed in different sizes according to positions where the slits are arranged. 8. The method of claim 7,
The slit
Wherein a size of a slit disposed at a center point of the baffle is smaller than a size of a slit disposed at an edge point of the baffle. 3. The method of claim 2,
A gas retainer formed on top of the stage connected to the pumping port to delay the time for the organic material formed in the etching region of the substrate to stay on the substrate
Further comprising a plasma etching apparatus. The method of claim 1,
A gas injection port for injecting an inert gas into an inner space formed between the substrate and the mask,
Further comprising a plasma etching apparatus. The method of claim 1,
A process chamber providing a processing space of the substrate, wherein the stage, the mask, and the pumping port are disposed in an inner space; And
A liner disposed in an inner space of the process chamber to prevent contamination of an inner wall surface of the process chamber;
Further comprising a plasma etching apparatus. A baffle mounted on a pumping port included in a plasma etching apparatus for performing plasma etching on a substrate and discharging by-products generated by the plasma etching to the outside,
A baffle is disposed on the side of the stage in which the substrate is mounted in the pumping port, and includes a slit for distributing the by-product evenly downward. The method of claim 12,
The slit
A baffle comprising a rectangular slit formed long in the direction in which the by-product is discharged from the substrate. 14. The method of claim 13,
The baffle,
A baffle comprising a slit for equally distributing the by-products through a rectangular exhaust path formed long to the lower end of the pumping port. The method according to claim 13 or 14,
The baffle,
A baffle comprising a plurality of slits of different sizes. 16. The method of claim 15,
The baffle,
And a plurality of slits formed in different sizes according to positions where the slits are arranged. 17. The method of claim 16,
The slit
Wherein a size of a slit disposed at a center point of the baffle is smaller than a size of a slit disposed at an edge point of the baffle.

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