TWI608119B - Atomic layer deposition equipment and pumping speed controlling method therefor - Google Patents

Description

Atomic layer deposition equipment and pumping rate control method thereof

The present invention relates to an atomic layer deposition apparatus, and more particularly to a method for controlling a pumping rate of an atomic layer deposition apparatus.

The atomic layer deposition (ALD) process is to alternately soak the substrate in two different reaction gas (precursor) environments, and then form a monolayer on the reaction. Two different reaction gases cannot exist in the reaction chamber at the same time, otherwise the two reaction gases react to generate a large amount of particulate contaminants, so the alternate process of the reaction gases is subjected to a proper purge procedure (for example, to purge gas) Clean the reaction chamber). In order to increase the utilization rate of the reaction gas, the smaller the volume of the reaction chamber, the better. In addition, closing the suction valve in the immersion state can further increase the reaction gas usage rate. However, the instantaneously initiated vacuum (exhaust) tends to cause dust (including contaminants present in the reaction chamber) to rise and destroy the quality of the coating, and in smaller reaction chambers, the problem will be more severe. For this problem, usually in the immersion state, the reaction chamber can be evacuated so that the gas in the reaction chamber can maintain a certain degree of flow, thereby suppressing the dust from rising. At this time, in order to avoid excessive waste of the reaction gas, the pumping pump usually operates at a lower pumping rate. However, during the cleaning process, the pumping pump needs to increase the pumping rate to shorten the time required for the cleaning process.

This pumping rate requirement currently has the effect of changing (or switching) the gas flow path (for example, using a specially designed inlet or air intake (Shower) or fast turning hole-shaped wheel), but the reaction chamber The mechanism is complicated, and the switching actions are mechanical, the speed is slow, and the processing time is increased. There is also a way to change the valve body design of the suction valve (such as throttle valve, butterfly valve), but the valve body action is mechanical, the speed is still not fast enough, and it is easy to accumulate between the components of the valve body. Dust, which in turn affects the quality of the coating. There are also ways to change the pumping end of the pump (for example, the size of the suction line is adjustable), but the design of the reaction chamber mechanism is quite complicated, and may affect its plasma impedance, and its switching action is mechanical. Type, the speed is slow, it is easy to accumulate dust in the tortuous place, which affects the coating quality. There is also a way to change the pumping exhaust of the pump to reduce the pumping efficiency of the pump, but this is only applicable to turbo molecular pumps, and other types of pumps have oil and gas recirculation. doubt.

In view of the problems in the prior art, the present invention provides a pumping rate control method for an atomic layer deposition apparatus. The pumping rate control method utilizes a change in the pumping load of the pumping device to achieve the purpose of changing the pumping rate of the pumping device to the reaction chamber.

The pumping rate control method according to the present invention is applied to an atomic layer deposition apparatus, the atomic layer deposition apparatus comprising a reaction chamber, a gas supply means, an air suction means, and a parallel line, the gas supply means being connected to the reaction The chamber selectively provides at least two reaction gases and at least one purge gas in the reaction chamber, the suction device is connected to the reaction chamber to pump the reaction chamber, and the parallel pipeline connects the gas supply device and the air suction device And comprising a parallel control valve, the gas supply device provides a load gas that does not react with the at least two reaction gases via the parallel pipeline. The pumping rate control method includes the following steps: when the gas supply device provides one of the at least two reaction gases in the reaction chamber, opening the parallel control valve to cause the pumping device to simultaneously pump the reaction chamber and the parallel pipeline Gas, reducing the pumping rate of the reaction chamber; and when the gas supply device provides the at least one purge gas of the reaction chamber, closing the parallel control valve to cause the suction device to pump the reaction chamber but not Parallel pipeline pumping. Thereby, the air extracting device keeps pumping the reaction chamber at all times, thereby avoiding lifting dust, and when the reaction chamber performs the flushing procedure, the pumping device can pump the reaction chamber to a larger extent. The pumping rate is controlled, so the pumping rate control method has the advantages of maintaining the coating quality and shortening the time for switching the reaction chamber to different reaction gases.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an atomic layer deposition apparatus having a parallel pipeline through which the pumping load of the air extracting device can be changed to change the pumping rate of the pumping device to the reaction chamber. the goal of.

The atomic layer deposition apparatus according to the present invention comprises a reaction chamber, an aspirating device, a gas supply device, and a parallel line. The suction device is connected to the reaction chamber. The gas supply device comprises at least three gas sources for providing a first reaction gas, a second reaction gas, a purge gas and a load gas, and the gas supply device is connected to the reaction chamber to selectively provide the reaction The first reaction gas, the second reaction gas, and the purge gas, the purge gas and the load gas are not reacted with the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas. The parallel pipeline is directly connected to the air extracting device and a gas source for providing the load gas, and the parallel pipeline includes a parallel control valve, and the air supply device supplies the load gas to the air extracting device via the parallel pipeline. Wherein, when the gas supply device provides the first reaction gas or the second reaction gas of the reaction chamber, the parallel control valve is opened to enable the suction device to simultaneously pump the reaction chamber and the parallel pipeline, and when When the gas supply device provides the at least one purge gas in the reaction chamber, the parallel control valve is closed to cause the suction device to pump the reaction chamber without pumping the parallel pipeline. Thereby, the air extracting device keeps pumping the reaction chamber at all times, thereby avoiding lifting dust, and when the reaction chamber performs the flushing procedure, the pumping device can pump the reaction chamber to a larger extent. The pumping rate is controlled, so the pumping rate control method has the advantages of maintaining the coating quality and shortening the time for switching the reaction chamber to different reaction gases.

Compared with the prior art, the atomic layer deposition apparatus and the pumping rate control method thereof according to the present invention utilize an additional pumping space (ie, the parallel line) to adjust the pumping load of the air extracting device, the atomic layer deposition Other components of the device need not be modified, that is, other components can remain unchanged. Therefore, the atomic layer deposition apparatus can easily satisfy the immersion state to maintain the pumping chamber to avoid lifting via a structurally simple change (i.e., increasing the parallel piping relative to a conventional atomic layer deposition apparatus). Dust and accelerated evacuation of the reaction chamber during the purge procedure to shorten the time required to switch the reaction gas.

The advantages and spirit of the present invention will be further understood from the following detailed description of the invention.

Please refer to Figure 1. An atomic layer deposition apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a reaction chamber 10, a gas supply unit 12, an air suction unit 14, a parallel line 16 and a control system (not shown). The air suction device 14 is connected to the reaction chamber 10. The gas supply device 12 includes a first gas source 122, a second gas source 124, a third gas source 126, and a fourth gas source 127. The first gas source 122 is configured to provide a first reaction gas and a second gas. The source 124 is for providing a second reactive gas, the third source 126 is for providing a purge gas, and the fourth source 127 is for providing a load gas. The gas supply device 12 is connected to the reaction chamber 10 to selectively provide the first reaction gas, the second reaction gas and the purge gas of the reaction chamber 10, and the purge gas and the load gas are not combined with the first reaction gas. And the second reaction gas is reacted; in practice, the purge gas and the load gas may be an inert gas or a nitrogen gas, but the invention is not limited thereto; for example, other reaction gases not in the reaction chamber 10 ( That is, the gas reacted by the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas). The parallel line 16 is directly connected to the air extracting device 14 and the fourth gas source 127 for supplying the load gas and includes a parallel control valve 162. The gas supply device 12 supplies the pumping device 14 with the load gas via the parallel line 16.

Specifically, in the embodiment, the air supply device 12 includes a first connecting line 128, a second connecting line 130, a first bypass line 132, and a second bypass line 134. The first connecting line 128 is connected to the reaction chamber 10 and is connected to the first gas source 122 via a valve V1a, the third gas source 126 is connected to the first connecting line 128 via a valve V3a; the second connecting line 130 is connected to The reaction chamber 10 is connected to the second gas source 124 via a valve V2a, and the third gas source 126 is connected to the second connecting line 130 via a valve V3b; the first bypass line 132 is connected to the suction device 14 and via the valve V1b is coupled to the first source 122; the second bypass line 134 is coupled to the aspirator 14 and is coupled to the second source 124 via valve V2b. The parallel line 16 is connected to the aspirator 14 and is connected to the fourth gas source 127 via a valve V4. The parallel line 16 is independent of the first connecting line 128, the second connecting line 130, the first bypass line 132 and the second bypass line 134, so the parallel line 16 does not have the first reaction gas and The second reaction gas is circulated. The air suction device 14 is connected to the reaction chamber 10 via an air suction valve 142. The control system is electrically connected to the electrical connection reaction chamber 10, the air supply device 12, the air suction device 14, and the valves V1a, V1b, V2a, V2b, V3a, V3b, V4, 142, 162 to control the atomic layer deposition apparatus 1. Operation. The air extraction device 14 discharges the gas via its exhaust gas guide. In practice, the atomic layer deposition apparatus 1 can be implemented by a general atomic layer deposition apparatus plus a parallel line 16. Therefore, for other descriptions of the atomic layer deposition apparatus 1, a general atomic layer deposition apparatus can be considered, and no further description is made, for example, pumping. The gas device 14 uses a general pumping pump. In addition, in practice, the valves V1a, V2a, V3a, V3b, 162 are all implemented by the diaphragm valve for quick actuation.

When the atomic layer deposition apparatus 1 is in operation, when the gas supply unit 12 sequentially alternately supplies the reaction chamber 10 to the first reaction gas or the second reaction gas to form a coating on one of the substrates W disposed in the reaction chamber 10 (ie, The reaction chamber 10 is in a soaking state), and the control system opens the parallel control valve 162 to cause the pumping device 14 to simultaneously draw the reaction chamber 10 and the parallel line 16. In other words, at this time, the pumping load of the air extracting device 14 includes the reaction chamber 10 and the parallel line 16 (i.e., the space formed therein is logically represented by a load space 16a, as shown by the dashed box in FIG. 1); On the other hand, at this time, the air suction device 14 continuously extracts the gas in the reaction chamber 10 (i.e., the first reaction gas or the second reaction gas) and extracts the load gas via the parallel line 16. Therefore, the pumping rate of the reaction chamber 10 at this time is low. In addition, when the gas supply device 12 provides the reaction chamber 10 for the purge gas for the reaction gas (ie, the first reaction gas or the second reaction gas) in the reaction chamber 10, the control system closes the parallel control valve 162. The pumping device 14 is forced to pump the reaction chamber 10 without pumping the parallel line 16. In other words, at this time, the pumping load of the air extracting device 14 does not include the parallel line 16, so that the reaction chamber 10 can obtain a higher pumping rate, which is advantageous for the switching operation of the reaction gas in the reaction chamber 10.

In the embodiment, when the atomic layer deposition apparatus 1 is in the coating deposition operation, the suction valve 142 is kept open, and the air suction device 14 keeps pumping the reaction chamber 10 at all times, thereby avoiding lifting dust and in the reaction chamber 10 When the flushing process is performed, the pumping of the reaction chamber 10 by the air extracting device 14 can be performed at a large pumping rate. Therefore, the pumping rate control method adopted by the atomic layer deposition apparatus 1 has both the maintenance coating quality and the shortening of the reaction chamber. 10 switch the time of different reaction gases. In addition, in practice, the parallel line 16 can physically include a load cavity 164 (shown in FIG. 2) for receiving the load gas. The parallel control valve 162 is located in the load cavity 164 and the air extracting device 14. between. Therefore, when the parallel control valve 162 is opened, the air extracting device 14 draws air to the load chamber 164, also to the space in the parallel line 16 (ie, the aforementioned load space 16a); when the parallel control valve 162 is closed, the pump The gas device 14 does not pump the load chamber 164. Therefore, the load chamber 164 increases the pumping load of the air extracting device 14, and controls the volume of the load chamber 164 to help control the pumping rate of the pumping device 14 to the reaction chamber 10. For example, when the load chamber 164 is the same volume as the reaction chamber 10, in general, the pumping rate of the reaction chamber 10 in the immersion state is about half of that when the purge program is implemented; in practice, the volume of the load chamber 164 is a reaction. The volume of the chamber 10 is 1/5 to 5 times, but the invention is not limited thereto.

Please also refer to Figure 3. 3 is a flow chart of a pumping rate control method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the pumping rate control method is implemented in the atomic layer deposition apparatus 1 (shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2) as described above, and the related description of the atomic layer deposition apparatus 1 is as described above and will not be described again. When the atomic layer deposition apparatus 1 is in operation, the valves 142 and V4 remain open, and the air suction device 14 maintains the pumping state, so the valves 142 and V4 can be used as the valve with a slower moving speed, but the invention is not limited thereto; Valves V1b, V2b remain closed. The valves V1a, V2a, V3a, and V3b are initially in a closed state, and the atomic layer deposition apparatus 1 performs the pumping control according to the pumping rate control method. As shown in FIG. 3, the pumping rate control method evacuates the reaction chamber 10 to an expected background pressure as shown in step S110; then, opens the parallel control valve 162 to lower the pumping rate of the reaction chamber 10, and The first reaction gas enters the reaction chamber 10, for example, the valves V2a, V3a, V3b are closed, and the valve V1a is opened to enable the first reaction gas to enter the reaction chamber 10 via the first connecting line 128, so that the reaction chamber 10 can be in the first A reaction gas soaking state is as shown in step S120.

After the first reaction gas is reacted with the substrate W (including the film layer thereon), the pumping rate control method closes the valve V1a so that the first reaction gas stops entering the reaction chamber 10 via the first connecting line 128, and is closed. The valve 162 is controlled in parallel to increase the pumping rate of the pumping device 14 to the reaction chamber 10, and the purge gas is introduced into the reaction chamber 10, for example, the valve V3b is closed, and the valve V3a is opened to enable the purge gas to pass through the first connecting line. 128 enters the reaction chamber 10 to clean the reaction chamber 10 as shown in step S130.

After the cleaning of the reaction chamber 10 is completed, the pumping rate control method closes the valve V3a so that the purge gas stops entering the reaction chamber 10 via the first connecting line 128, and opens the parallel control valve 162 to reduce the pumping rate of the reaction chamber 10. And the second reaction gas is introduced into the reaction chamber 10, for example, the valves V1a, V3a, V3b are closed, and the valve V2a is opened to enable the second reaction gas to enter the reaction chamber 10 via the second connecting line 130, so that the reaction chamber 10 can In the second reaction gas soak state, as shown in step S140.

After the reaction of the second reaction gas with the substrate W (including the film layer thereon), the pumping rate control method closes the valve V2a so that the second reaction gas stops entering the reaction chamber 10 via the second connecting line 130, and is closed. The valve 162 is controlled in parallel to increase the pumping rate of the pumping device 14 to the reaction chamber 10, and the purge gas is introduced into the reaction chamber 10, for example, the valve V3a is closed, and the valve V3b is opened to enable the purge gas to pass through the second connecting line. 130 enters the reaction chamber 10 to clean the reaction chamber 10 as shown in step S150.

After the cleaning of the reaction chamber 10 is completed, the deposition of the plating on the substrate W is completed. Next, the pumping rate control method determines whether the plating film on the substrate W reaches a predetermined thickness as shown in step S160. If it is judged that the predetermined thickness has not been reached, the flow returns to step S120, and steps S120 to S150 are repeated; if it is judged that the predetermined thickness has been reached, the deposition operation is ended. Next, the pumping rate control method inflates the reaction chamber 10, as shown in step S170; for example, closing the pumping valve 142, and then opening the valves V3a, V3b to the purge gas or other gases (via existing pipelines or separately) The reaction chamber 10 is inflated in cooperation with the set pipe. After the charge is completed, the substrate W on which the film is deposited can be taken out from the reaction chamber 10.

It should be noted that the foregoing embodiments are based on two kinds of reaction gases, but the invention is not limited thereto; in practice, the general knowledge in the art can be based on the foregoing description, and more kinds of reaction gases can be formed into coatings. Atomic layer deposition equipment and its pumping rate control method are not described here. In addition, in the foregoing embodiment, the same purge gas is used to remove the gas (including the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas) in the reaction chamber 10, but the invention is not limited thereto. In practice, different purge gases may be used in combination with different reaction gases, and the load gas may be the same as one of the purge gases or may be implemented as other gases. In addition, in the foregoing embodiment, the load gas and the purge gas are respectively supplied by the third gas source 126 and the fourth gas source 127, so the load gas and the purge gas may be different gases. In practice, the load gas and the purge gas may be the same gas, and the fourth gas source 127 may be omitted and the third gas source 126 may be omitted (or the third gas source and the fourth gas source). The combined gas and the purge gas are simultaneously supplied as shown in FIG. The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and all changes and modifications made to the scope of the present invention should be within the scope of the present invention.

1‧‧‧Atomic layer deposition equipment
10‧‧‧Reaction room
12‧‧‧ gas supply
122‧‧‧First gas source
124‧‧‧Second gas source
126‧‧‧ Third gas source
127‧‧‧fourth gas source
128‧‧‧First connecting line
130‧‧‧Second connection line
132‧‧‧First bypass line
134‧‧‧Second bypass line
14‧‧‧Exhaust device
142‧‧‧Exhaust valve
16‧‧‧Parallel piping
16a‧‧‧Load space
162‧‧‧Parallel control valve
164‧‧‧Load cavity
V1a, V1b, V2a, V2b, V3a, V3b, V4‧‧‧ valves
W‧‧‧Substrate
S110~S170‧‧‧ implementation steps

1 is a schematic view showing the configuration of an atomic layer deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a schematic view showing the configuration of an atomic layer deposition apparatus according to another embodiment. 3 is a flow chart of a pumping rate control method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a schematic view showing the configuration of an atomic layer deposition apparatus according to another embodiment.

1‧‧‧Atomic layer deposition equipment

10‧‧‧Reaction room

12‧‧‧ gas supply

122‧‧‧First gas source

124‧‧‧Second gas source

126‧‧‧ Third gas source

127‧‧‧fourth gas source

128‧‧‧First connecting line

130‧‧‧Second connection line

132‧‧‧First bypass line

134‧‧‧Second bypass line

14‧‧‧Exhaust device

142‧‧‧Exhaust valve

16‧‧‧Parallel piping

16a‧‧‧Load space

162‧‧‧Parallel control valve

V1a, V1b, V2a, V2b, V3a, V3b, V4‧‧‧ valves

W‧‧‧Substrate

Claims (12)

A pumping rate control method for an atomic layer deposition apparatus, the atomic layer deposition apparatus comprising a reaction chamber, a gas supply device, an air extraction device and a parallel pipeline, the gas supply device being connected to the reaction chamber Selectively providing at least two reaction gases and at least one purge gas in the reaction chamber, the suction device is connected to the reaction chamber to pump the reaction chamber, and the parallel pipeline is connected to the gas supply device and the suction device and includes a parallel control valve, the gas supply device provides a load gas that does not react with the at least two reaction gases via the parallel pipeline, and the pumping rate control method comprises the following steps: when the gas supply device provides the reaction When the chamber is at least one of the reactive gases, the parallel control valve is opened to cause the suction device to simultaneously pump the reaction chamber and the parallel pipeline; and when the gas supply device provides the reaction chamber, the at least one purge gas The parallel control valve is closed to allow the aspirator to pump the reaction chamber without pumping the parallel line. The pumping rate control method according to claim 1, wherein the parallel pipeline includes a load chamber for accommodating the load gas, and the parallel control valve is located between the load chamber and the air extracting device. When the parallel control valve is opened, the air suction device pumps the load chamber, and when the parallel control valve is closed, the air suction device does not pump the load chamber. The pumping rate control method according to claim 2, wherein the load chamber volume is 1/5 to 5 times the volume of the reaction chamber. The pumping rate control method according to claim 1, wherein the purge gas is nitrogen or an inert gas. The pumping rate control method according to claim 1, wherein the load gas is nitrogen or an inert gas. The pumping rate control method according to claim 1, wherein the purge gas and the load gas are not reacted with the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas. An atomic layer deposition apparatus comprising: a reaction chamber; an air extraction device connected to the reaction chamber; a gas supply device comprising at least three gas sources for providing a first reaction gas, a second reaction gas, a purge gas and a load gas, the gas supply device is connected to the reaction chamber to selectively provide the first reaction gas, the second reaction gas and the purge gas of the reaction chamber, the purge gas and the load gas All are not reacting with the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas; and a parallel pipeline directly connecting the air suction device and a gas source for providing the load gas, the parallel pipeline including a parallel control valve The gas supply device supplies the load gas to the suction device via the parallel pipeline; wherein, when the gas supply device supplies the first reaction gas or the second reaction gas of the reaction chamber, the parallel control valve is opened to enable The air extracting device simultaneously pumps the reaction chamber and the parallel pipeline, and when the air supply device supplies the at least one purge gas of the reaction chamber, the parallel control valve is closed to enable the air suction device The reaction chamber is not evacuated, but the parallel exhaust line. The atomic layer deposition apparatus of claim 7, wherein the parallel pipeline comprises a load cavity for accommodating the load gas, the parallel control valve is located between the load cavity and the air suction device, when When the parallel control valve is opened, the air suction device pumps the load chamber, and when the parallel control valve is closed, the air suction device does not pump the load chamber. The atomic layer deposition apparatus of claim 8, wherein the load chamber volume is 1/5 to 5 times the volume of the reaction chamber. The atomic layer deposition apparatus of claim 7, wherein the purge gas is nitrogen or an inert gas. The atomic layer deposition apparatus of claim 7, wherein the load gas is nitrogen or an inert gas. The atomic layer deposition apparatus of claim 7, wherein the purge gas and the load gas are not reacted with the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas.