KR20160115783A - Sputter apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A sputtering system in accordance with the present invention, comprises: a chamber with an internal space; a substrate support positioned in the chamber, wherein a substrate to be sputtered is mounted on one surface; a target installed in the chamber such that a front surface opposes the substrate to provide a deposition raw material for the substrate; and a shielding member which is positioned between the target and the substrate support to be relatively adjacent to the substrate mounted on the substrate support in comparison to the target, shields a positive ion among plasmas generated in the chamber toward the substrate, and lets a film deposition material omitted from the target pass. According to an embodiment of the present invention, therefore, the sputtering system can prevent damage of a previously formed thin film, e.g., caused by a collision between the positive ion and an organic matter layer, by shielding movement of the positive ion toward the substrate, thereby preventing degradation of organic light emitting display characteristics due to damage of the organic matter layer, such as degradation of brightness.

Description

Sputter apparatus [0001]

The present invention relates to a sputtering apparatus, and more particularly, to a sputtering apparatus capable of forming a thin film by minimizing damage to a preformed thin film.

The organic light emitting display has a wide viewing angle and a fast response speed, so that a high-quality display can be realized. Such an OLED display is formed by laminating a substrate, a lower electrode, an organic layer, and an upper electrode. Here, since the organic substances are vulnerable to oxygen, moisture and heat, they are accompanied by encapsulation processes for protecting them.

Here, the encapsulation may be covered by using a cover provided separately, or a method of forming a thin film, that is, a protective film. An electronic sealing method is a method in which a cover made of glass or metal is separately provided and the cover is attached on the substrate so as to cover the lower electrode, the organic layer, and the upper electrode formed on the substrate. The latter sealing method forms a protective film in the form of a thin film, as described above. The protective film can be formed by separately providing a protective film, or by directly depositing a protective film on the substrate. The protective film can be formed as a single layer or a plurality of layers .

The encapsulation in the form of a protective film is generally formed by any one of chemical vapor deposition (CVD), plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD). However, devices for chemical vapor deposition (CVD), plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), and atomic layer deposition (ALD) are expensive problems.

Therefore, in recent years, in order to replace the above-mentioned expensive deposition apparatus, a protective film-type encapsulation is carried out by using a relatively inexpensive sputtering apparatus.

On the other hand, a sputtering deposition apparatus forms plasma in the chamber to form a thin film. That is, when argon (Ar) gas is supplied into the chamber and RF or DC power is applied to the target disposed in the chamber, the electrons generated by the discharge collide with the argon gas to generate Ar ⁺ ions, do. Then, the Ar ⁺ ions move to the target and collide, and the target atoms protrude from the target by collision to move to the substrate to form a thin film.

On the other hand, as described above, when the Ar ⁺ ions move to the target, the film forming material collides with the target and the material for film formation is dropped from the target. When the Ar ⁺ ions move to and collide with the substrate, That is, it collides with the organic material layer and is damaged. Such damage to the organic layer results in a decrease in luminance and the like.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2008-0095413

The present invention provides a sputtering apparatus capable of forming a thin film while minimizing damage to the preformed thin film.

The present invention provides a sputtering apparatus capable of shielding positive ions accelerated toward a substrate.

A sputtering apparatus according to the present invention includes: a chamber having an inner space; A substrate support positioned within the chamber and having a substrate to be sputtered on one side; A target disposed in the chamber so that a front surface thereof faces the substrate, the target providing deposition material to the substrate; And a substrate positioned between the target and the substrate support, the substrate being relatively positioned relative to the target and resting on the substrate support, wherein shielding the positive ions in the plasma generated in the chamber from being directed to the substrate, And a shielding member for allowing the deposited film forming material to pass therethrough.

The shielding member may be in the form of a grid or mesh having a plurality of openings spaced from one another.

The shielding member includes a metal and is grounded.

The shielding member may be formed to extend in a direction corresponding to the substrate support, be seated on the substrate support, and be parallel to a front surface of the substrate facing the front surface of the target.

The shielding member may be formed on the upper side of the substrate so as to cover a front surface of the substrate and a side surface of the substrate.

The plurality of shielding members may be provided and spaced apart from each other.

In the case where a plurality of the shielding members are provided in a multi-layer structure, the openings are preferably arranged so as to be alternated with each other.

A lower electrode and an organic material layer for manufacturing an organic light emitting display device are stacked on a front surface of the substrate facing the target, and an organic material layer provided on the upper electrode or the upper electrode Thereby forming a protective film for encapsulation.

 According to the embodiment of the present invention, by providing the shielding member at a position adjacent to the substrate, it is possible to prevent the migration of the positive ions toward the substrate, thereby preventing the thin film, for example, the organic layer formed earlier from being damaged by the collision with the positive ions. Therefore, it is possible to prevent degradation of the characteristics of the organic light emitting display device such as lowering of luminance due to damage of the organic material layer.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a sputtering apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a cross-sectional view showing a sputtering apparatus according to a modification of the first embodiment
Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of Fig. 2
4 is a cross-sectional view showing a sputtering apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention
5 is a view showing a sputtering apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention
6 is a cross-sectional view showing a sputtering apparatus according to a modification of the third embodiment

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but is capable of other various forms of implementation, and that these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, It is provided to let you know completely.

The sputtering apparatus according to the embodiments of the present invention is a sputtering apparatus capable of reducing or minimizing damage of a thin film formed in a thin film formed on a substrate by a sputtering method. In other words, the present invention provides a sputtering apparatus capable of preventing thin film damage due to collision with cations by blocking positive ions generated during the sputtering process in the sputtering apparatus by accelerating to the substrate.

Hereinafter, a sputtering apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. FIG.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a sputtering apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a sputtering apparatus according to a modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of FIG. 2 A. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a sputtering apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a view showing a sputtering apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a sputtering apparatus according to a modification of the third embodiment.

1, a sputtering apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes a chamber 100 having a substrate processing space or a thin film forming space, a substrate 100 located inside the chamber 100, And a target T (hereinafter, referred to as a " T "), which is provided in the chamber 100 so as to face the substrate support 200 and faces the substrate support 200, A shielding member 300 positioned adjacent to and relatively abutting the substrate support 200 on the substrate support 200 between the target T and the substrate support 200, And a power supply 400 connected to the target T to apply power to the target T for sputtering. Although not shown, a rotation driving unit connected to the target T to rotate the target T and an inert gas for generating plasma into the chamber 100, for example, argon (Ar) gas, and a magnet portion provided so as to face the back surface of the target. At this time, when the magnet unit is provided, the rotation driving unit may be installed to be connected to the magnet unit.

The sputtering apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention to be described below may be applied to an RF type sputtering apparatus for applying an RF (Radio Frequency) voltage or a DC type sputtering apparatus for applying a DC voltage.

The sputter apparatus according to the first to third embodiments will be described in more detail. A substrate support 200 is installed in the lower part of the interior of the chamber 100, For example, on the upper side of the support table 200. The arrangement of the target T and the substrate support 200 within the chamber 100 may be such that the substrate support 200 is positioned above the chamber 100 and the target T is positioned below the chamber 100, The target 200 and the target T may be disposed apart from each other in the left-right direction of the chamber 100, not in the vertical direction.

The chamber 100 has a cylindrical shape having an inner space capable of performing a sputtering process with respect to the substrate S. For example, the chamber may be divided into a lower chamber having an upper portion opened and an upper chamber covering an upper opening of the lower chamber, but is not limited thereto, and may be integrally formed without being divided into an upper chamber and a lower chamber.

The substrate support 200 is positioned below the chamber 100 to support the substrate S loaded into the chamber 100. A driving unit may be connected to the substrate support 200 so as to be able to move up and down and rotate. Various supporting means for holding the substrate by using a mechanical force, a vacuum suction force, or an electrostatic force may be additionally provided to the substrate support 200.

The substrate S mounted on the substrate support 200 may be a substrate having at least one thin film formed on the entire surface, that is, the upper surface facing the target T. For example, the lower electrode, the organic layer, and the lower electrode, the organic layer, and the upper electrode may be formed on the upper surface of the substrate S.

The substrate support 200 is made of a conductive material and is ground connected. So that the substrate placed on the substrate support 200 is grounded.

Here, the lower electrode formed on the upper surface of the substrate may be formed by sputtering a transparent conductive material such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide), IZO (Indium Zinc Oxide), ZnO (Zinc Oxide) and In ₂ O ₃ as an anode, And then depositing it through a process. Of course, the lower electrode can be formed by applying various deposition processes in addition to the sputtering process according to the transparent conductive material.

The organic material layer is formed between the lower electrode and the upper electrode, and is formed by stacking a plurality of organic material layers. That is, an organic material layer made of different organic material is formed between the lower electrode and the upper electrode. For example, the organic material may be deposited by thermal evaporation. The plurality of organic layers formed between the lower electrode and the upper electrode may include, for example, a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a light emitting layer, and an electron transport layer, and may include a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, . ≪ / RTI > Of course, organic layers other than the hole injection layer, the hole transport layer light emitting layer, and the electron transport layer described above may be further included.

The upper electrode is formed on the organic material layer and functions as a cathode for providing electrons to the organic material layer. The upper electrode may be formed of, for example, Al or LiF-Al. Alternatively, the upper electrode may be formed using the sputtering apparatus according to the embodiment, or may be formed using a thermal evaporation process.

In addition, a protective film for encapsulation is formed on the upper electrode, and the protective film is formed using the sputtering apparatus according to the present invention. The protective film may be a metal, for example, Al, but is not limited thereto. Various materials such as ITO (indium-tin oxide), IZO (Indium- Zinc oxide) and IO (Indium Oxide) can be formed as a protective film.

The target T is a source for providing a raw material to be deposited on the substrate S in the sputtering process. The target T is located inside the chamber 100 on the upper side of the substrate support 200 and the front surface (or the lower surface) of the substrate T is installed so as to face the upper surface of the substrate S. The target T according to the embodiment extends in the horizontal direction, and the shape of the cross section of the target T is formed in a shape corresponding to the substrate S. In addition, the target T is made of a raw material to be deposited on the substrate S, and may be made of an upper electrode or a material for forming a protective film. More specifically, the target T may be formed of a metal material such as aluminum (Al) and nickel (Ni), a metal such as ITO (Indium-Tin Oxide), IZO (Indium-Zinc Oxide) Can be fabricated using an oxide material. Of course, the target T is not limited to the above-described materials, and can be changed into various materials depending on the object of the substrate processing process.

The power supply unit 400 is a means for supplying a power supply signal for plasma generation, and the power supply unit 400 according to the embodiment applies RF power to the target. That is, the power supply unit 400 alternately applies a negative voltage and a positive voltage to the target T in a regular or patterned period, at which time the substrate S is ground. More specifically, when the power supply unit 400 supplies the negative voltage to the target T, when the positive ions in the plasma are accelerated and collided with the target T and the positive ions are collected in the target T, 400) is applied to the target (T) with a positive voltage. At this time, the positive ions are repelled by the repulsive force in the direction opposite to the target T, so that the positive ions on the surface of the target T are not removed and accumulated. The power supply unit 400 alternately turns on and applies the negative voltage and the positive voltage as described above.

On the other hand, as described above, when RF power is applied to the target T and an inert gas such as Ar gas is supplied into the chamber 100, glow discharge is caused. When electrons generated by this discharge are Ar By colliding with the gas, Ar ⁺ ions are generated, and a plasma is generated. The Ar.sup. ⁺ Ions move to the target T and collide with the target T. At this time, the atoms are dropped or protruded from the target T by the collision, To form a thin film. If Ar ⁺ moves to the target T and collides with the target T, the atoms to be deposited are separated from the target. However, if Ar ⁺ moves to the substrate S, For example, the organic layer.

Accordingly, in the present invention, in order to reduce or minimize the damage of the thin film, the shielding member 300 is provided at a position adjacent to the substrate S that is seated on the substrate support 200 so that the Ar ⁺ Shield or block. That is, a shielding member 300 is provided between the target T and the substrate support 200, and the shielding member 300 is relatively positioned on the substrate support 200 or the substrate support 200 And is disposed adjacent to the substrate S that is seated on the substrate S.

The shielding member 300 according to the first embodiment is disposed between the target T and the substrate support 200 as opposed to the substrate support 200 and relatively to the substrate support 200 . More preferably, the shielding member 300 is disposed adjacent to the substrate S that is seated on the substrate support 200, and is positioned to face at least the front surface of the substrate S. [ The shielding member 300 is installed so as to be parallel to or parallel to the substrate S at a position opposite to the front surface of the substrate S so that the position of the shielding member 300 is set so as to be adjacent to the substrate S do. More specifically, the shielding member 300 is disposed to be relatively adjacent to the substrate S relative to the target T, and is located at a position 2 mm away from the upper surface of the substrate S or 5 cm apart from the substrate upper surface As shown in Fig. That is, the lowest position at which the shielding member 300 is installed is a position at least 2 mm away from the upper surface of the substrate S, and the highest position is a position at a distance of 5 cm from the upper surface of the substrate.

The shielding member 300 may have a structure such that a plurality of openings are spaced apart from each other and patterned, for example, in the form of a grid or a mesh. The shielding member 300 is made of a conductive material such as a metal.

This shielding member 300 is connected to the ground to shield positive ions from being attracted to the substrate S. That is, when the shielding member 300 is connected to the ground, it attracts both negative charge particles such as electrons and Ar ⁺ ions, so that both negative charge particles such as electrons and Ar ⁺ ions flow into the shielding member 300 And is adsorbed. That is, before the electrons and Ar ⁺ ions move to the substrate S by the shielding member 300 in a ground state, the shielding member 300 is attracted to the shielding member 300 and adsorbed to the shielding member 300. As a result, the shielding member 300 shields Ar ⁺ ions from being directed toward the substrate S, thereby preventing damage to the organic layer.

In the first embodiment, one shielding member 300 is provided. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a plurality of shielding members 300 may be provided.

That is, a plurality of shielding members 300 may be provided, and a plurality of shielding members 300 (310, 320) may be spaced apart in the vertical direction as in the modification of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 . In other words, a plurality of shielding members 300 are provided and arranged in a multi-layered structure. In arranging the plurality of shielding members 300 (310, 320) in the vertical direction, the openings 311, 312 of the shielding member 300 are arranged so as to be shifted from each other.

For example, when the two shielding members 310 and 320 are provided as in the modification shown in FIG. 2, the first shielding member 310 and the second shielding member 320 are referred to from the upper side to the lower side. 3, the position of the opening 311 of the first shielding member 310 and the position of the opening of the second shielding member 312 are the same as the positions of the first shielding member 310 and the second shielding member 320, .

Ar ⁺ ions which are not adsorbed on the first shielding member 310 may be shielded by the second shielding member 320 located below the first shielding member 310 in the arrangement structure of the plurality of shielding members 310 and 320 ). ≪ / RTI > Therefore, the movement of Ar ⁺ ions to the substrate 100 can be more effectively reduced.

In the above-described first embodiment, it has been described that one target is provided in the chamber 100. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. As in the second embodiment shown in Fig. 4, the shielding member 300 can be applied to a sputtering apparatus having a pair of opposing targets T1 and T2 provided to face each other.

That is, in the sputtering apparatus according to the second embodiment, the pair of targets T1 and T2 face each other in the chamber, the substrate support 200 is installed below the pair of targets T1 and T2 A shielding member 300 is provided at a position adjacent to the substrate S between the pair of targets T1 and T2 and the substrate support 200. [ Here, the shielding members 300 may be formed as a single layer as shown in FIG. 4, or a plurality of shielding members 300 may be arranged in a multi-layer structure spaced apart in the vertical direction.

In the first and second embodiments, it has been described that the shielding member 300 is configured to face only the front surface of the substrate, that is, the top surface of the substrate S. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the shielding member 300 can be provided so as to face not only the upper surface of the substrate S but also the side surface of the substrate S.

That is, as in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the shielding member 300 is configured in a form having a region facing the upper surface of the substrate S and a region facing the side surface of the substrate S, It is possible to enclose the front side and the lateral direction of the saddle S. Specifically, the shielding member 300 according to the third embodiment includes a first member 301 located opposite to the upper surface of the substrate S, a second member 301 connected to the first member 301, And a plurality of second members 302 extending in a direction in which the first member 302 is located. At this time, the connecting portion between the first member 301 and the second member 302 is curved so as to have a curvature, so that the overall shape of the shield member 300 may be a dome shape. Of course, the connecting portion of the first member 301 and the second member 302 may be connected such that the first member 301 and the second member 302 are orthogonal to each other in a planar shape having no curvature.

Here, the substrate S refers to a substrate S in which a lower electrode and an organic material layer are stacked, a substrate S on which a lower electrode, an organic material layer and a lower electrode are formed. In the shielding member 300 according to the third embodiment, The uppermost layer such as the uppermost layer of the organic material layer formed on the substrate S and the side surface of the lower electrode and the organic material layer formed on the substrate S. [

Thus, the structure of the shielding member 300 according to the third embodiment can shield Ar ⁺ ions not only on the upper side of the substrate but also on the substrate side.

In the third embodiment, one shielding member 300 is provided. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a plurality of shielding members 300 may be provided.

6, a plurality of shielding members 300 may be provided, and a plurality of shielding members 310 and 320 may be spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction. At this time, the plurality of shielding members 310 and 320 are disposed such that the positions of the openings 311 and 312 are shifted from each other. 6, when the two shielding members 310 and 320 are provided, the first shielding member 310 and the second shielding member 320 are arranged in the same manner as in the modification shown in FIG. 6, The positions of the openings 311 of the first shielding member 310 and the openings 312 of the second shielding member 320 are shifted from each other.

In the above description, the RF type sputtering apparatus according to the embodiment has been described as an example, but it may be a DC type. At this time, the target T is a negative electrode and the substrate S is both electrodes. When a negative voltage is applied to the target T and a positive voltage is applied to the substrate support 200, a plasma is generated by the discharge, and Ar ⁺ ions move to and collide with the target T, which is a cathode. The source material is removed from the target T and is moved onto the substrate S to form a film. At this time, the shielding member 300 made of metal is connected to the ground, and Ar ⁺ directed toward the substrate S can not move to the substrate S and is adsorbed to the shielding member 300. Therefore, the thin film damage formed on the substrate S by the shielding member 300 can be prevented.

Hereinafter, a thin film deposition method using the sputtering apparatus according to the present invention will be described. At this time, the sputtering apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described as an example. In addition, the substrate S deposited by the sputtering apparatus according to the present invention has a lower electrode and an organic layer formed on the upper surface thereof, and the upper electrode is formed on the organic layer by a sputtering method. The target T is a material for forming the upper electrode, for example, a target made of Al is described as an example.

First, a substrate S for depositing an upper electrode is charged into the chamber 100, and the substrate S is placed on the substrate support 200. Then, Ar gas is supplied into the chamber 100, power is applied to each of the target T and the substrate S, and the shielding member 300 is grounded. The sputtering apparatus according to the embodiment is, for example, an RF sputtering apparatus, and alternately applies a negative voltage and a positive voltage to the target T. At this time, a glow discharge occurs in the chamber 100, and electrons collide with the Ar gas at this time to generate Ar ⁺ , thereby generating a plasma. At this time, the atoms of the thin film material to be deposited from the target T are removed and moved to the substrate S. The Ar ⁺ ions move to pass through the opening of the shielding member 300, The upper electrode thin film made of Al is formed.

At this time, the Ar.sup. ⁺ Ions moving toward the substrate S are adsorbed on the shielding member, and the movement thereof is blocked, so that the Ar.sup. ⁺ Ions can not be moved to the substrate S. Therefore, the damage of the organic material layer due to Ar < ⁺ > by the shielding member 300 can be reduced.

Although the case of forming the upper electrode is described above, the same deposition method is applied to the case of forming the protective film on the upper electrode, and the damage of the thin film formed on the lower side of the protective film due to the shielding member 300 is prevented .

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the shielding member 300 is provided at a position adjacent to the substrate S to shield the movement of positive ions toward the substrate S, It is possible to prevent damage due to collision. Therefore, degradation of the characteristics of the organic light emitting display device such as lowering of luminance due to damage of the organic material layer can be prevented.

100: chamber 200: substrate support
300, 310, 320: shield member
311, 312: opening T: target
S: substrate

Claims (8)

A chamber having an internal space;
A substrate support positioned within the chamber and having a substrate to be sputtered on one side;
A target disposed in the chamber so that a front surface thereof faces the substrate, the target providing deposition material to the substrate; And
A substrate support positioned between the target and the substrate support, the substrate being relatively positioned relative to the target, the substrate being configured to shield positive ions in the plasma generated in the chamber from being directed to the substrate, A shielding member through which the film forming material passes;
≪ / RTI > The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the shield member is in the form of a grid or mesh having a plurality of spaced-apart openings. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the shielding member comprises metal and is connected to ground. The method of claim 3,
The shielding member is formed to extend in a direction corresponding to the substrate support and is mounted on the substrate support and is arranged to be parallel to a front surface of the substrate facing the front surface of the target. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the shielding member covers the front side of the substrate and the side surface of the substrate on the upper side of the substrate. The method according to claim 4 or 5,
Wherein the shielding member is provided in a plurality of spaces and is spaced apart in a multilayered manner. The method of claim 6,
Wherein the plurality of shielding members are arranged in a multi-layer structure, the openings being arranged so as to be offset from each other. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A lower electrode and an organic material layer for manufacturing an organic light emitting display device are stacked on a front surface of the substrate facing the target,
And forming a protective film for sealing on the upper electrode or the upper electrode on the organic material layer using the evaporation material provided from the target.

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