KR20140140462A

KR20140140462A - Atomic Layer Deposition Apparatus

Info

Publication number: KR20140140462A
Application number: KR20130061353A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 조생현
Original assignee: (주)브이앤아이솔루션
Priority date: 2013-05-29
Filing date: 2013-05-29
Publication date: 2014-12-09

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide an atomic layer deposition apparatus capable of obtaining a high throughput and remarkably reducing the entire processing time by quickly depositing an atomic layer by continuously transferring a substrate for a process. The atomic layer deposition apparatus improves deposition efficiency by forming a sealed space to perform the process by combining a top chamber and a bottom chamber comprising a processing module by the relative movement of a vertical direction, separating the processing module to discharge the substrate after the process is performed, and performing the process in the sealed inner space by vertically installing a plurality of processing modules and improves space efficiency by vertically installing the processing modules.

Description

{Atomic Layer Deposition Apparatus}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an atomic layer deposition apparatus for processing a plurality of substrates, and more particularly, to an atomic layer deposition apparatus for performing an atomic layer deposition process for each substrate to be processed in a laminated state of a plurality of substrates.

BACKGROUND ART [0002] In general, a semiconductor device or a flat panel display device is subjected to various manufacturing processes. In particular, a process for depositing a thin film necessary on a wafer or glass substrate is essential.

In the thin film deposition process, sputtering, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), and the like are mainly used.

First, the sputtering method is to inject an inert gas such as argon into a vacuum vacuum chamber while applying a high voltage to the target in order to generate argon ions in a plasma state. At this time, the argon ions are sputtered on the surface of the target, and the atoms of the target are separated from the surface of the target and deposited on the substrate.

Although a high-purity thin film having excellent adhesion with a substrate can be formed by such a sputtering method, when a highly integrated thin film having a process difference is deposited by a sputtering method, it is very difficult to ensure uniformity over the entire thin film. There are limitations in application.

Next, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is the most widely used deposition technique, in which a thin film having a desired thickness is deposited on a substrate using a reaction gas and a decomposition gas. For example, the chemical vapor deposition method first deposits a thin film of desired thickness on a substrate by injecting various gases into a reaction vacuum chamber and chemically reacting gases induced by high energy such as heat, light or plasma.

In the chemical vapor deposition method, the deposition rate is increased by controlling the reaction conditions through the composition ratio and amount of plasma or gases applied as much as the reaction energy.

However, in the chemical vapor deposition method, since the reactions are rapid, it is very difficult to control the thermodynamic stability of the atoms, and the physical, chemical and electrical characteristics of the thin film are deteriorated.

Finally, the atomic layer deposition method is a method for depositing a thin film of atomic layer unit by alternately supplying a source gas (reactive gas) and a purge gas. The thin film thus formed has a high aspect ratio, is uniform at low pressure, great.

In recent years, it has been difficult to apply the chemical vapor deposition method to the step coverage of a structure having a very large aspect ratio. Therefore, in order to overcome the limit of the step coverage, an atomic layer deposition method using a surface reaction .

The apparatus for performing such an atomic layer deposition method includes a batch type apparatus for collectively processing a plurality of substrates and a sheet type apparatus for performing a process while loading the substrates one by one in a vacuum chamber.

However, the conventional single wafer type apparatus has a problem that the throughput of the apparatus is low because the substrates are processed one by one. On the other hand, the arrangement type device has a problem that the deposition efficiency is lowered and the film quality is lowered because the process is performed collectively in a state where a plurality of substrates are laminated in one vacuum chamber.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an atomic layer deposition apparatus having an excellent deposition efficiency and throughput by vertically arranging process modules for performing a process on one substrate.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an atomic layer deposition apparatus including a main chamber for forming a substrate processing environment therein and at least one process module group arranged in a vertical direction, Wherein each of the processing modules includes a lower chamber on which a substrate is loaded, an upper chamber detachably coupled to the lower chamber to form a closed space, A lifting unit lifting the substrate loaded on the lower chamber when the chamber moves away from the chamber, and a lifting unit lifting the upper and lower chambers relative to each other in the vertical direction to couple or separate the upper chamber and the lower chamber, An atomic layer deposition apparatus is provided.

One of the upper chamber and the lower chamber may be fixed to the main chamber and the other may be moved up and down by the chamber elevating means.

The chamber elevating means may include an elevating member for supporting the lower chamber and a screw jack for moving the elevating member up and down to raise and lower the lower chamber supported by the elevating member.

The lifting unit includes a plurality of lift pins installed in a state of being fitted to the lower chamber, and the plurality of lift pins protrude upward from the lower chamber when the lower chamber is lowered, To move upward or to support a new substrate.

The upper chamber includes a gas spraying part for receiving gas from a gas supply device and injecting gas into a closed space of the process module, a gas discharge part connected to the exhaust pump for exhausting gas from the closed space of the process module .

The gas injection unit is connected to a source gas supply device for supplying a source gas, a reaction gas supply device for supplying a reaction gas, and a purge gas supply device for supplying a purge gas, so that the source gas, the reaction gas and the purge gas One can be injected into the enclosed space of the process module.

The main chamber may be provided with a substrate transfer robot for carrying or transferring a substrate from the lower chamber of the process module.

The substrate transfer robot may include a substrate supporting member linearly reciprocating with respect to the process module, a linear moving unit moving the substrate supporting member linearly, and a robot lifting unit moving the linear moving unit vertically have.

Wherein the plurality of process module groups are installed vertically and the substrate support member and the linear movement unit are mounted on the process modules of the process modules And the robot lifting and lowering part can raise and lower the plurality of linear moving parts into a group of process modules that require a substrate removal or a substrate loading.

And a transfer robot including a transfer chamber connected to the main chamber so as to be able to communicate with the main chamber, and a transfer robot installed in the transfer chamber and performing substrate transfer or substrate loading with respect to the substrate transfer member of the substrate transfer robot have.

In the present invention, the lower chamber and the upper chamber constituting the process module are coupled to each other by mutual relative movement in the up-and-down direction, thereby forming a closed space capable of performing a process, By providing a plurality of process modules, the process is performed in a closed inner space, and a plurality of process modules are stacked on top of each other with high deposition efficiency, thereby improving space efficiency and throughput efficiency.

1 is a schematic view of an atomic layer deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a detailed configuration of the atomic layer deposition apparatus of FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a process module of the atomic layer deposition apparatus of FIG. 1,
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a part of the process module of the atomic layer deposition apparatus of FIG. 1; FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an atomic layer deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a detailed configuration of an atomic layer deposition apparatus of FIG.

The atomic layer deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main chamber 10 for forming a substrate processing environment therein as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, at least one process module group 11, 12).

The main chamber 10 has a predetermined space therein and has a structure capable of keeping the inner space in a vacuum state. Accordingly, the main chamber 10 may have an exhaust port (not shown) for exhausting gas inside and an exhaust port (not shown) may be connected to a vacuum pump (not shown). Further, temperature control means (not shown) for controlling the temperature inside the main chamber 10 may be further provided.

The main chamber 10 may have various structures depending on the manner of introduction of the substrate S and includes a transfer chamber 22 communicably connected to the main chamber 10 as shown in Fig. 1, A conveying module 20 including a conveying robot 21 for performing a board take-out or a board loading on the board 30 can be combined.

Here, the carrying out of the substrate to or from the process module 30 is carried out directly by the transport robot 21 or by the substrate transfer robot 13, which will be described later, And then the substrate carrying member 14 can be taken out of the substrate or loaded onto the substrate by the carrying robot 21.

The transfer module 20 is a component for transferring the processed substrate S to the outside and transferring the substrate S to be processed to the process module 30 and is kept in a vacuum state close to the main chamber 10 .

The transfer chamber 20 is formed with a gate 23 communicating with the main chamber 10 and a gate (not shown) for carrying the substrate S out of the substrate S so that the substrate S can be transferred.

The transfer robot 21 may be a robot having a multi-joint arm as a component for transferring the substrate S.

The main chamber 10 may be provided with a substrate transfer robot 13 for transferring or transferring the substrate S from the process module 30, specifically, the lower chamber 31.

The substrate transfer robot 13 may be any component as a component for carrying out or transferring the substrate S from the process module 30, specifically, the lower chamber 31.

For example, the substrate transfer robot 13 may include a substrate support member 14 that linearly reciprocates horizontally relative to the process module 30, a linear movement portion 15 that linearly moves the substrate support member, (Not shown) for moving the robot 15 vertically.

More specifically, for example, when a plurality of process module groups 11 and 12 are installed up and down, the substrate support member 14 and the linear moving part 15 are connected to the process modules (11, 12) The number of process modules of each process module group 11 and 12 is set so that the number of the process modules of the process module group 11 and the number of process modules of the process module group 11 is one.

Here, the robot elevating and lowering part can elevate and descend a plurality of linear moving parts 15 to process module groups 11 and 12 that require substrate removal or substrate loading.

Meanwhile, the process module groups 11 and 12 include one or more process modules 30 arranged in the vertical direction. Here, when there are a plurality of process module groups 11 and 12, they are arranged in the vertical direction.

Each of the process modules 30 includes a lower chamber 31 on which the substrate S is loaded, an upper chamber 32 detachably coupled to the lower chamber 31 to form a closed space, A lifting part for lifting up the substrate S loaded on the lower chamber 31 when the lower chamber 31 and the lower chamber 31 move relative to each other and a lifting part for lifting the upper chamber 32 and the lower chamber 31 up and down And a chamber elevating means for joining or separating the upper chamber 32 and the lower chamber 31 by moving them.

The lower chamber 31 and the upper chamber 32 are coupled to each other by relative movement in the up and down directions to form a closed space capable of performing a process.

For example, any one of the upper chamber 32 and the lower chamber 31 may be fixed to the main chamber 10, and the other one may be moved up and down by the chamber elevating means.

Specifically, the upper chamber 32 is fixed to the main chamber 10, and the lower chamber 31 can be installed to be moved up and down by the chamber elevating means.

The chamber elevating means is a component that joins or separates the upper chamber 32 and the lower chamber 31 by relatively moving the upper chamber 32 and the lower chamber 31 up and down.

For example, the chamber elevating means includes an elevating member 35 for supporting the lower chamber 31 and a screw jack 33 for vertically moving the elevating member 35 to vertically move the lower chamber 31 supported by the elevating member 35 (36).

Here, the chamber elevating means may be configured to simultaneously lift all of the lower chambers 31 of the plurality of process modules 20 constituting one process module group.

The lower chamber 31 may be formed with a flange portion 34 supported by the elevating member 35.

Meanwhile, when the upper chamber 32 and the lower chamber 31 are coupled, the inner space needs to be sealed. Therefore, the process module 30 requires a sealing means for sealing the inner space when the upper chamber 32 and the lower chamber 31 are coupled.

For example, the sealing means may include a pair of tapered members 37, 38 formed to be inclined outwardly in a state where the upper chamber 32 and the lower chamber 31 are coupled to each other, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 And a moving block 39 which is installed in the main chamber 10 and linearly moved toward the process module 30 and in which the tapered members 37 and 38 are inserted to bring the upper chamber 32 and the lower chamber 31 into close contact with each other And a block 40 for moving the moving block 39 linearly.

Since the lower chambers 31 of the process modules 20 are simultaneously moved when all of the lower chambers 31 of the plurality of process modules 20 constituting one process module group are moved at the same time, The manufacturing cost can be reduced.

The lifting portion includes a plurality of lift pins (33) mounted in a state of being fitted in the lower chamber (31).

When the lower chamber 31 is lowered, the plurality of lift pins 33 are pushed up by the structure located on the lower side and protrude upward of the lower chamber 33 to move the substrate S upward, ).

The structure may be an upper chamber 32 located just below the lower chamber 31 or a separate member provided in the main chamber 10 so that the lift pins 33 are pushed up when the lower chamber 31 is lowered. have.

The upper chamber 32 includes a gas injection part 41 for supplying gas from the gas supply devices 51 and 52 and injecting gas into the closed space of the process module 30 and a gas injection part 41 connected to the exhaust pumps 53 and 54 A gas discharge portion 42 for discharging gas from the closed space of the processing module 30 can be provided.

The gas injecting section 41 can be configured to inject gas toward the closed space, that is, toward the substrate S, so long as the gas injecting section 41 is capable of injecting gas.

The gas discharging portion 42 is provided so as to face the gas discharging portion 41 in the horizontal direction so as to suck and discharge the gas injected by the gas injecting portion 41 as long as it can suck and discharge gas .

Here, the gas jetting section 41 may be configured to jet two or more gases according to process conditions.

For example, the gas injecting section 41 includes a source gas supply device 51 for supplying a source gas, a reaction gas supply device 52 for supplying a reaction gas, and a purge gas supply device (not shown) for supplying purge gas, Any one of the source gas, the reactive gas, and the purge gas may be injected into the closed space of the process module 30 according to process conditions.

The gas injection method includes a rotary valve capable of selectively transmitting the source gas, the reaction gas, and the purge gas to the gas injection unit 41, and selectively supplies the source gas, the reaction gas, and the purge gas in the process module It can be sprayed.

Further, the source gas supply device 51, the reaction gas supply device 52 and the purge gas supply device are sequentially connected to the process modules 30 constituting one process module group, for example, three process modules 30 A rotary valve may be provided to supply the corresponding gas to each of the process modules 30 in sequence.

More concretely, the source gas supply device 51, the reaction gas supply device 52 and the gas supply pipe for supplying the gas from the purge gas supply device are both connected to the rotary valve, and the respective source gas supply devices 51, The reaction gas supply device 52 and the purge gas supply device can supply the corresponding gas to each process module.

The lower and upper chambers 31 and 32 are coupled to each other by the relative movement of the process module 30 in the vertical direction, thereby forming a closed space in which the process can be performed. And a plurality of the process modules 30 are installed in the vertical direction, so that the process is performed in the closed inner space. Accordingly, the plurality of process modules 30 are installed in the vertical direction while the deposition efficiency is high, thereby improving the space efficiency and throughput efficiency.

S ... substrate
10 ... main chamber 20 ... conveying module
30 ... process module
41 ... gas injection part 42 ... gas discharge part

Claims

An atomic layer deposition apparatus including a main chamber for forming a substrate processing environment therein, and at least one process module group arranged in a vertical direction,
Wherein each of the process module groups includes a plurality of process modules arranged in a vertical direction,
Wherein each of the process modules includes a lower chamber on which a substrate is loaded, an upper chamber detachably coupled to the lower chamber to form a closed space, and a lower chamber that, when the upper chamber and the lower chamber move relative to each other, And a chamber elevating means for moving the upper chamber and the lower chamber relative to each other in the vertical direction to couple or separate the upper chamber and the lower chamber.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein one of the upper chamber and the lower chamber is fixed to the main chamber and the other is moved up and down by the chamber elevating means.

3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the chamber elevating means includes an elevating member for supporting the lower chamber and a screw jack for moving the elevating member up and down to raise and lower the lower chamber supported by the elevating member.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the lifting portion includes a plurality of lift pins installed in a state of being fitted in the lower chamber,
Wherein the plurality of lift pins are pushed up by a structure positioned at a lower side when the lower chamber descends and are protruded upward from the lower chamber to move the substrate upward or support a new substrate.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the upper chamber is provided with a gas injecting part for injecting gas into the closed space of the process module after receiving gas from the gas supplying device and a gas discharging part connected to the exhaust pump for exhausting gas from the closed space of the process module And the atomic layer deposition apparatus.

6. The method of claim 5,
The gas injection unit is connected to a source gas supply device for supplying a source gas, a reaction gas supply device for supplying a reaction gas, and a purge gas supply device for supplying a purge gas, so that the source gas, the reaction gas and the purge gas One of which is injected into the closed space of the process module

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the main chamber is provided with a substrate transfer robot for transferring or transferring the substrate from the lower chamber of the process module.

8. The method of claim 7,
The substrate transfer robot includes a substrate supporting member linearly reciprocating with respect to the process module, a linear moving unit moving the substrate supporting member linearly, and a robot lifting unit moving the linear moving unit vertically Wherein the atomic layer deposition apparatus comprises:

9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the process module groups are installed in a plurality of up and down directions,
Wherein the substrate supporting member and the linear moving unit are installed in a plurality corresponding to the number of the process modules of each of the process module groups so that the process modules of each process module group are subjected to substrate removal or substrate loading once,
Wherein the robot ascending / descending part elevates / descends the plurality of linear moving parts into a group of process modules requiring a substrate removal or a substrate loading.

The method according to claim 1,
And a transporting robot including a transporting chamber connected to the main chamber so as to be able to communicate with the main chamber, and a transporting robot installed in the transporting chamber and performing a substrate removal or a substrate loading with respect to the substrate holding member of the substrate transporting robot Wherein the atomic layer deposition apparatus comprises: