KR20190102338A - Continuous electron trap sputtering cathode, And the coating product including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A technology disclosed in the present specification relates to a vacuum deposition method using a continuous electron trap sputtering cathode and a coating product using the same, and more specifically relates to a sputtering deposition method in which various substrates or various components such as a glass, a metal, a polymer, a fiber, a paper, and the like are formed with a stable continuous electron trap in a thin film deposition process of a metal, an oxide, a compound, and the like to induce and provide a constant charge flow, and minimizes damage to a thermal substrate through control of a charge flow. By using the method, metal, oxide, and compound coating of display application products such as an organic light emitting device, an inorganic EL, and the like can be performed. In addition, a cover color coating can be performed for as various cases, a glove ball, inner and outer materials, an accessory, and the like.

Description

Continuous electron trap sputtering cathode, And the coating product including the same}

The technology disclosed herein relates to a vacuum deposition method using a continuous electron trap sputtering cathode and a coating product using the same, and more particularly, to glass, metal, polymer, fiber, paper, etc. in a thin film deposition process such as metal, oxide, and compound. It is a sputtering deposition method that minimizes damage to a thermal substrate by controlling charge flow while inducing and providing a constant charge flow by forming stable continuous electron traps on various substrates or various components. Metal, oxide, and compound coating in display devices such as organic light emitting diodes, inorganic ELs, and the like can be used, and they are applied to cover color coatings such as various cases, golf balls, interior and exterior materials, and accessories.

Various methods such as physical vapor deposition (PVD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) are used to form a thin film on a substrate. Sputtering is an example of PVD and is a technique widely used to form a thin film on a substrate. Sputtering is a technique of forming a thin film on a substrate by colliding cations on the plasma with the target to deposit a material scattered from the target on the substrate.

Recently, it is widely used in flexible substrates in which thin films are deposited on displays, solar cells, touch panels, and window films.

In the conventional sputtering apparatus illustrated as an example in FIG. 1, the arrangement of particles to be deposited also results in a curved shape due to the curve of the main drum being deposited, and thus, the quality of the thin film deposited on the substrate in the process of depositing the thin film on the substrate. There is a problem with this deterioration.

In the present specification, a sputtering method using a deposition apparatus for inducing a constant charge flow by forming a stable continuous electron trap in which a conventional cylindrical deposition main drum is replaced with a structure parallel to the cathode is proposed. Through the sputtering method of forming a stable continuous electron trap disclosed herein, it is possible to sputter a flexible film such as a horizontal film, fiber, paper, or the like to cover various components including sheets or rolls. Through this, it is possible to minimize the curved shape of the deposition particles of the thin film derived by the deposition apparatus using the conventional main drum.

The technique disclosed in this specification is derived to solve the above problems of the prior art, and the sputtering method using the deposition apparatus disclosed in this specification has a structure parallel to the cathode without using a conventional cylindrical deposition main drum. We propose a sputtering method using a deposition apparatus that induces a constant charge flow by forming an alternative stable continuous electron trap. Development technology can apply sheet or roll process to flexible substrates such as film, fiber, paper, etc., and vacuum deposition sputtering to realize colors covering components such as various cases, golf balls, interior and exterior materials, and accessories. This is possible.

In one embodiment, a sputtering method using a deposition apparatus is disclosed. The sputtering method using the deposition apparatus includes a substrate arrangement process and a plasma generation process.

In the substrate placement process, the flexible substrate and the target are disposed to face each other in the sputtering chamber disposed to face each other. The substrate is kept at a distance from the target. In the plasma generation process, a sputtering gas is injected into the chamber, and a plasma is generated inside the chamber by applying a voltage between the substrate and the target through a power supply unit.

Forming a stable continuous electron trap according to the magnet array has the advantage of controlling the plasma density and temperature through the electron density.

One surface of the target is disposed to face the substrate, and a film is deposited on one surface of the substrate by sputtering by the plasma.

The technique disclosed herein may increase the electron density in a region adjacent to one surface of the target facing the substrate through a magnetic field application process through the magnet array, thereby providing an effect of increasing the thin film deposition rate.

In addition, the technique disclosed herein can easily secure a range of effective magnetic fields for large area cathodes by using meandering fixed magnet arrays, and increasing the repetition form of the same magnet array increases the deposition rate. .

The foregoing provides only optional concepts in a simplified form for the details that follow. This disclosure is not intended to limit the main or essential features of the claims or to limit the scope of the claims.

1 is a view showing a conventional sputtering device.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a basic apparatus used in a sputtering method in which a sputter gun and a substrate are disposed to face each other to form a stable continuous electron trap disclosed herein to induce a constant charge flow.
3 and 4 are diagrams for explaining the structure of the magnet arrangement used in the sputtering method disclosed herein.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments disclosed herein will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Unless otherwise indicated in the text, like reference numerals in the drawings indicate like elements. The illustrative embodiments described above in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting, other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the technology disclosed herein. Those skilled in the art can arrange, configure, combine, and designate the components of the present disclosure, that is, the components generally described herein and described in the figures, in a variety of different configurations, all of which are expressly devised and It will be readily understood that they form part of.

Description of the disclosed technology is only an embodiment for structural or functional description, the scope of the disclosed technology should not be construed as limited by the embodiments described in the text. That is, the embodiments may be variously modified and may have various forms, and thus, the scope of the disclosed technology should be understood to include equivalents capable of realizing the technical idea.

In order to explain the sputtering method using the roll-to-roll deposition apparatus disclosed herein, the structure of the conventional roll-to-roll sputtering apparatus and the sputtering apparatus used in the present technology will be described first with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

1 is a view showing a conventional sputter base apparatus. Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional sputtering apparatus is composed of a sputter gun 1, a deposition main drum 2, and a plasma distribution 3.

In the conventional sputtering apparatus, the substrate is in close contact with the deposition main drum 2.

On the other hand, the conventional sputtering apparatus deposits a thin film on the surface of a board | substrate by the several sputter gun 1 which has the surface corresponding to the surface curvature of the deposition main drum 2. As shown in FIG. In this case, the thin film deposited on the surface of the rotating substrate due to the spacing between the fixed sputter gun 1 is made to grow the particle array is bent in a specific direction, which is difficult to control precisely.

2 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an apparatus disclosed herein. FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a substrate operation opposed to a sputter gun disclosed in the present specification. 3 and 4 are diagrams for explaining various arrangements of targets applicable to the apparatus disclosed herein.

In some other embodiments, FIG. 2 may optionally further include a magnet arrangement 190. In some other embodiments, the device of FIG. 2 may optionally further include a support.

A flexible substrate refers to a polymer material such as synthetic resin, plastic, fiber, or paper. For example, the flexible substrate may be a flexible substrate used for a display, a solar cell, a touch panel, a window film, or the like having a flexible property. As a material of the flexible substrate, various materials including polymers such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polycarbonate (PC), polyethersulphone (PES), polyarylate (PAR), and polyimide (PI) may be used. . The above example is an example for understanding, in addition to the above example, a material having a flexible property applicable to the apparatus of FIG. 2 may be used as the substrate.

As the material of the target 180, various metal materials, alloy materials, oxide materials, and the like may be used. Target atoms scattered by sputtering may be deposited on the one surface of the flexible substrate to form a film, or may be deposited on the one surface of the flexible substrate by reaction with reactive gas ions injected into the chamber. For example, when aluminum (Al) is used as the material of the target 180 and argon (Ar) gas is injected into the chamber, an aluminum (Al) film may be formed on the flexible substrate. As another example, when aluminum (Al) is used as the material of the target 180 and argon (Ar) gas and oxygen (O ₂ ) gas are injected into the chamber, an aluminum oxide (Al _x O _y ) film is formed on the flexible substrate. Can be formed. The above examples are examples for understanding, and in addition to the above examples, various materials and gases may be used as the materials of the target 180 and the reactive and non-reactive gases, respectively.

The process of depositing a film on the one surface of the flexible substrate in connection with the target 180 will be described in detail as follows.

When a voltage is applied to the target 180 through a power source in a vacuum atmosphere formed inside the chamber, plasma is generated around the target 180. The plasma is formed by the gas injected into the chamber. As the gas, a non-reactive gas including an inert gas such as argon (Ar) and a reactive gas including oxygen (O ₂ ), nitrogen (N ₂ ), or the like may be used. In the case of injecting the reactive gas into the chamber, reactive sputtering may be performed.

The cations in the plasma discharge region, for example Ar cations, are accelerated by the electric field formed between the flexible substrate and the target 180 to move with the target 180. Accordingly, target atoms are emitted from the target 180, and the target atoms are coated on the surface of the flexible substrate to form a film. A magnetron sputtering method of installing a magnet on the back of the target 180 may be used. In the sputtering process, electrons may be trapped in a region adjacent to one surface of the target 180 to promote the generation of cations, for example, an Ar cation. For convenience of explanation, the area adjacent to the one surface of the target 180 will be referred to as an electronic trap area. When the formation of cations in the electron trap region is promoted, the formation of target 180 atoms that collide with the cations and scattered may be promoted to thereby increase the deposition rate of the film formed on the flexible substrate. In addition, it is possible to easily control the uniformity of the film formed on the flexible substrate through the proper arrangement of the magnets.

The magnet array 190 is disposed to face the other surface of the target 180, generates a magnetic field to capture electrons in the plasma to the electron trap region to increase the electron density in the electron trap region to increase the electron trap region. It is possible to increase the density of the plasma. Electrons trapped in the electron trap region are vortexed by a magnetic field generated by the magnet array 190 and an electric field formed between the flexible substrate and the target 180. The electrons are trapped in the electron trap region by the vortex motion, and the trapped electrons collide with the gas in the chamber, thereby increasing the plasma density in the electron trap region. This can increase the sputtering speed.

In one embodiment, the magnet array 190 may include an inner magnet 190a, an outer magnet 190b and a nonmagnetic member 190c. The inner magnet 190a may extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to the one surface of the target 180, and may be disposed such that the N pole or the S pole faces the target 180. The outer magnet 190b extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the one surface of the target 180, is spaced apart from the inner magnet 190a, surrounds the inner magnet 190a, and has an inverse magnetic pole with the inner magnet 190a. It may be disposed to face the target 180. The nonmagnetic member 190c may be disposed between the inner magnet 190a and the outer magnet 190b and may maintain a gap between the inner magnet 190a and the outer magnet 190b. The inner magnet 190a and the outer magnet 190b are obtained by arranging a plurality of circular permanent magnets, or by arranging a plurality of square-shaped permanent magnets, as shown by way of example in FIG. For example, it can be implemented by arranging one lump permanent magnet. The above example is for the sake of understanding, and the inner magnet 190a and the outer magnet 190b may be implemented by magnets having various shapes and a combination thereof.

3 illustrates the structure of the magnet arrangement 190 as an example. Figure 3 (a) is a view showing an example of the structure of the conventional magnet arrangement, (b) is a view showing an example of the structure of the magnet arrangement 190 applied to the vapor deposition apparatus of Figure 2 disclosed herein. to be. 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating examples of the structure of the magnet array 190 disclosed herein and the form of unit magnets constituting the magnet array 190.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, magnetic fields are formed between the inner magnet 190a and the outer magnet 190b having different magnetic poles opposed to the target 180.

The magnet array 190 used in the vapor deposition apparatus of FIG. 2 disclosed herein has an outer magnet 190b having a pattern protruding in the direction of the inner magnet 190a, as shown by way of example in FIG. And an inner magnet 190a spaced apart from the protruding pattern of the outer magnet 190b and alternately connected to the protruding pattern of the outer magnet 190b to have a meander shape. can do. In this case, the magnet array 190 may increase the area of the electronic trap region through the shape of the meandering line to implement a large area cathode. In other words, when the magnet array 190 having a meander shape is used, electrons may continuously perform cyclone movement in an area adjacent to the target 180 or in the electron trap area. This can increase the density of the plasma providing the cations utilized for sputtering. In addition, the magnet array 190 having a meandering shape can minimize corners unlike a magnet array implemented through a plurality of race track-shaped magnet arrays, thereby reducing problems of electron density in the vicinity of corners. Can be reduced. In addition, the magnet array 190 having the meandering shape can adjust the shape or spacing of the inner magnet 190a and the outer magnet 190b to easily secure a range of effective magnetic fields for a large area cathode. can do.

The deposition apparatus disclosed herein having the above-described advantages is applicable to various industrial fields, such as existing touch screens, displays, flexible displays, semiconductors, aviation, architecture, solar cells, and printing. In addition, the vacuum deposition apparatus using the continuous electron trap cathode disclosed herein can increase the plasma density by increasing the electron density in the same space, and the temperature on the substrate to be deposited is relatively low, and the thermal substrate is deformed due to the low temperature. Also lowers. It is possible to provide an apparatus capable of a sputtering process that increases the plasma density to provide high deposition thickness and film uniformity. The material to be deposited may be various materials such as metals, oxides, and compounds. It is possible to apply inorganic sealing process technology for display such as organic light emitting device and inorganic EL due to low temperature and film uniformity, and cover hard coating and cover color coating such as various cases, golf balls, interior and exterior materials, and accessories. In addition, the deposition apparatus disclosed in the present specification is applicable to a pulse direct current sputtering method. In addition, the roll-to-roll deposition apparatus disclosed herein can be applied to the AC sputtering method. In addition, the roll-to-roll deposition apparatus disclosed herein can increase the film deposition rate by utilizing the magnet array 190.

1: Sputter Gun
2: main deposition drum
3: plasma distribution region
180: target
190 magnetic array
190a: inner magnet
190b: Outside magnet
190c ： Nonmagnetic member
200: substrate

Claims (8)

A process in which a flexible substrate and a target are formed in a sputtering chamber disposed to face each other, the cathode gun including a magnet array form inducing a constant charge flow by forming a continuous electron trap;
Injecting a sputtering gas into the chamber and applying a voltage between the substrate and the target through a power supply unit to generate a plasma inside the chamber,
The target includes a plasma generation process for generating a plasma inside the chamber containing a metal, oxide, compound, etc.,
The magnet array is disposed below the target, and includes a plasma generation process for generating a plasma inside the chamber including the magnet array and the repetitive magnet array form,
The target is disposed on the surface facing the substrate, the sputtering deposition method for depositing a film on one surface of the substrate by the sputtering by the plasma. The method of claim 1,
A sputtering deposition method disposed opposite the substrate and depositing an encapsulation film on one surface of the organic light emitting device by sputtering by the plasma. The method of claim 1,
A sputtering deposition method disposed opposite the substrate and depositing an encapsulation film on one surface of the inorganic EL element by sputtering by the plasma. The method of claim 1,
A sputtering deposition method disposed opposite the substrate and depositing an encapsulation film on one surface of the various display elements by sputtering by the plasma. The method of claim 1,
A sputtering deposition method disposed opposite the substrate and depositing an encapsulation film on one surface of the various electronic devices by sputtering by the plasma. The method of claim 1,
Sputtering deposition method disposed to face the substrate, by depositing a metal, oxide, compound, etc. on various components such as the case, golf ball, interior / exterior materials, accessories by sputtering by the plasma to implement a variety of colors The method of claim 1,
A sputtering deposition method disposed opposite the substrate and depositing a metal, an oxide, a compound, or the like on the various polymers, glasses, fibers, papers, metals, etc. by sputtering by the plasma. The method of claim 1,
Sputtering is disposed to face the substrate, and the deposition of metals, oxides, compounds, etc. in the various display devices and electronic devices based on the various polymers, glass, fibers, paper, metal, etc. by the sputtering by the plasma Deposition method

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