Method of forming an electrode

Abstract

The method for forming an electrode according to an exemplary embodiment includes a shielding pattern formation process, a loading process, and a conductive layer formation process. In the shielding pattern formation process, a shielding pattern is formed on a surface of a substrate using a shielding material to expose a localized area of ​​that surface. The shielding material is a polymer comprising ends having at least one bond structure having covalent and double bonds. In the loading process, the substrate on which the shielding pattern is formed is loaded into a chamber. In the conductive layer formation process, a copper-containing source material and a reactive material reacting with the source material are alternately sprayed into the chamber using atomic layer deposition to form a copper-containing conductive layer on the exposed surface of the substrate. Therefore, according to the method for forming an electrode according to the exemplary embodiment, a thin film made of the material used to form the electrode is not formed on the surface of the shielding pattern. No residue is left when the shielding pattern is removed, preventing defects caused by residue.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a method for forming an electrode, and more particularly to a method for forming an electrode that can prevent defects and insulation breakdown from occurring. Background Technology

[0002] Thin-film transistors (TFTs) can function as circuits to independently drive individual pixels in liquid crystal displays (LDCs), organic light-emitting diode (EL) displays, and the like. TFTs are formed together with gate lines and data lines on the lower substrate of the display device. That is, a TFT includes a gate electrode (which forms the gate line portion), an active layer (which serves as the channel), source and drain electrodes (which form the data lines), and a gate insulating layer.

[0003] When forming a gate electrode on a substrate, a process for forming a conductive layer and a process for patterning the conductive layer are generally used. Moreover, when patterning the conductive layer, a wet etching method using an etchant or a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) method is performed.

[0004] Therefore, during the patterning process, residues may be left in the areas where the conductive layer is removed from the substrate surface. These residues can cause limitations such as defects or insulation failure, leading to thin-film transistor malfunctions or quality degradation.

[0005] Furthermore, since the patterned conductive layer is inevitably formed after the conductive layer is formed to create the electrodes, the entire process becomes more complex. (Refer to Korean Patent Publication No. 2001-0003400.)

[0006] [Related Literature]

[0007] [Patent Literature]

[0008] Patent Document 1: Korean Patent Publication Case 2001-0003400 Summary of the Invention

[0009] The present invention provides a method for forming electrodes that can prevent defects and insulation failure.

[0010] The present invention also provides a simple method for forming electrodes.

[0011] According to an example embodiment, the method of forming an electrode includes: a process in which a substrate is loaded into a chamber through a process of exposing a local area of ​​a surface of a substrate by forming a shielding pattern made of a polymer on a surface of a substrate; and a conductive layer forming process, including forming a copper-containing conductive layer on a local area of ​​a surface of a substrate by alternately spraying a copper-containing source material and a reactive material that reacts with the source material into the chamber.

[0012] In one example embodiment, a polymeric material whose ends do not have hydroxyl (-OH) and amine (-NH) functional groups can be used as a shielding material for forming a shielding pattern.

[0013] In one example embodiment, at least one of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), poly(tert-butyl methyl methacrylate) (PtBMA), poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP), poly(methyl methacrylamide) (PMAM), and polystyrene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) can be used as the shielding material.

[0014] In one example embodiment, a conductive layer can be formed on the surface of the exposed substrate by adsorbing the source material injected into the chamber onto a surface of the exposed substrate and reacting the reactive material with the source material adsorbed on the substrate. The steps of adsorbing the source material and reacting the reactive material with the source material can be repeated multiple times.

[0015] In one example embodiment, diethyl zinc (Zn(C2H5)2, DEZ) can be used as the reaction material.

[0016] In one example embodiment, the internal temperature of the chamber may be adjusted to below 350°C during the conductive layer formation process.

[0017] In one example embodiment, the conductive layer formation process may include forming a secondary layer after forming a primary layer, the primary layer being formed from a conductive layer on a surface of a substrate, by using the conductive layer formed in the formation of the primary layer as a seed layer for electroplating, and forming another conductive layer on the conductive layer formed in the formation of the primary layer.

[0018] In one example embodiment, the method may further include a shielding pattern removal process, comprising removing the shielding pattern by using an organic solvent or plasma generated by using at least one of oxygen and hydrogen after the conductive layer formation process is completed.

[0019] In one example embodiment, the substrate may be one of a metal substrate, a substrate on which a metal oxide layer is formed, a glass substrate, a flexible plastic substrate, and a substrate on which an organic layer is formed.

[0020] In one example embodiment, the metal substrate may include at least one of silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge), and the substrate on which a metal oxide layer is formed may be a substrate on which a thin film made of at least one of silicon dioxide (SiO2), zirconium oxide (ZrO2, Zr2O3), hafnium oxide (HfO2, Hf2O3), aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) is formed. Attached Figure Description

[0021] The exemplary embodiments can be understood in more detail from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0022] Figures 1 to 3 The figure illustrates a method for forming an electrode according to an example embodiment.

[0023] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for forming an electrode according to an example embodiment.

[0024] Figure 5 This is a photograph of a sample from an example embodiment of a process for forming a copper (Cu) conductive layer.

[0025] Figure 6 and Figure 7 This is an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) chart of a sample that has undergone a process of forming a copper (Cu) conductive layer.

[0026] Figure 8 The diagram illustrates a thin-film transistor in which electrodes are formed according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0027] Specific embodiments will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the invention may be embodied in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. These embodiments are provided rather than being exhaustive and thorough in conveying the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the scale of layers and regions is exaggerated for clarity. Throughout the text, similar reference numerals indicate similar components.

[0028] Figures 1 to 3 The figure illustrates a method for forming an electrode according to an example embodiment. Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for forming an electrode according to an example embodiment.

[0029] Reference Figures 1 to 4 The method for forming an electrode according to an example embodiment includes processes S100 and S200. Process S100 includes forming a shielding pattern 12 on a target object (hereinafter referred to as substrate 11) for which the electrode 13 is formed. Process S200 includes forming a conductive layer (i.e., electrode 13) by spraying material onto the substrate 11 on which the shielding pattern 12 is formed. Furthermore, the method for forming an electrode may further include a process S300, in which the shielding pattern 12 is removed after the electrode 13 is formed.

[0030] The substrate 11 may be a metal substrate, a substrate on which a metal oxide layer is formed, a glass substrate, or a flexible plastic substrate such as PE, PES, PET, and PEN.

[0031] Here, the metal substrate may be made of metal and may contain at least one of silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge).

[0032] Furthermore, a substrate on which a metal oxide layer is formed can be formed, such that the metal oxide layer is formed on a substrate made of at least one of metal, glass, and plastic. Here, the metal oxide layer can be made of at least one of silicon dioxide (SiO2), zirconium oxide (ZrO2, Zr2O3), hafnium oxide (HfO2, Hf2O3), aluminum oxide (Al2O3), and indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO). IGZO can be formed by doping zinc oxide (ZnO) with indium (In) and gallium (Ga).

[0033] Since the substrate 11 is used as described above, including a metal substrate, a substrate on which a metal oxide layer is formed, a glass substrate, or a flexible plastic substrate, the substrate 11 can be described as including any of metal, metal oxide, glass, and plastic.

[0034] The substrate 11 may be a substrate having a gate electrode formed thereon for manufacturing a thin-film transistor, or it may be a substrate on which a gate electrode, a gate insulating layer and an active layer are stacked, and an active electrode and a drain electrode are formed on the active layer for manufacturing a thin-film transistor. Furthermore, the substrate 11 may be a substrate on which an anode electrode is formed for manufacturing an organic light-emitting device.

[0035] Furthermore, both metal substrates and substrates with metal oxide layers formed thereon can be used as substrates for manufacturing thin-film transistors. Additionally, both glass substrates and flexible plastic substrates can be used as substrates for manufacturing thin-film transistors or organic light-emitting devices.

[0036] Furthermore, the substrate 11 can be a substrate on which an organic layer is formed. More specifically, the substrate can be manufactured by stacking an anode electrode and an organic layer on a glass substrate or a flexible plastic substrate to manufacture an organic light-emitting device. Thus, the substrate 11 can be described as including a substrate and an organic layer formed on the substrate. Moreover, the organic layer may include a hole injection layer, an electrokinetic transport layer, a light-emitting layer, and an electron transport layer sequentially stacked on the anode.

[0037] Therefore, the electrode 13 formed on the substrate 11 by the method according to the exemplary embodiment can be an electrode of a thin-film transistor or an electrode of an organic light-emitting device. More specifically, the electrode 13 formed by the method according to the exemplary embodiment can be at least one of the gate electrode and drain electrode of a thin-film transistor, or at least one of the anode electrode and cathode electrode of an organic light-emitting device. In other words, by the electrode forming method according to the exemplary embodiment, at least one of the gate electrode, source electrode, drain electrode of a thin-film transistor, and anode electrode and cathode electrode of an organic light-emitting device can be formed.

[0038] In an example embodiment, a shielding pattern 12 is formed on a substrate 11, and then a copper (Cu) electrode 13 is formed.

[0039] First, the method for forming the copper (Cu) electrode 13 will be briefly described. In an example embodiment, the electrode 13 is formed by atomic layer deposition (ALD). That is, the electrode is formed by alternately spraying a precursor of a copper-containing source material and a reactive material that reacts with the source material into a chamber in which the substrate 11 is disposed. When the source material is sprayed into the chamber, the source material is adsorbed onto the surface of the substrate 11, and then when the reactive material is sprayed, the reactive material reacts with the source material adsorbed on the substrate 11 to form a conductive layer. Here, the conductive layer exposed through the shielding pattern 12 and formed on the surface of the substrate 11 is the electrode 13.

[0040] At least one of bis(dimethylamino-methyl-butoxy)copper(II), Cu(dmamb)2 and bis(dimethylamino-2-methyl-2-propoxy)copper(II), Cu(dmamp)2 can be used as a copper-containing source material (i.e., a precursor). Furthermore, diethyl zinc (Zn(C2H5)2, DEZ) can be used as a reactant.

[0041] When a conductive layer (i.e., electrode 13) is formed on a surface of the substrate, the electrode 13 is formed on a localized area of ​​this surface. That is, the electrode 13 is selectively formed only on a localized area of ​​a surface of the substrate 11, rather than being formed on the entire surface of the substrate 11.

[0042] Therefore, in the example embodiment, such as Figure 1 As shown, prior to the formation of electrode 13, a shielding pattern 12 is formed on a surface of substrate 11. That is, on a surface of substrate 11, the area on which electrode 13 is formed is exposed, and a shielding pattern 12 forming a layer (hereinafter referred to as shielding layer 12a) is formed on the remaining area. As described above, since the shielding pattern 12 is formed by forming shielding layer 12a on a surface of substrate 11 to expose the area on which electrode 13 is formed, the shielding pattern 12 can be described as including shielding layer 12a.

[0043] When the shielding pattern 12 is formed on a surface of the substrate 11, the electrode 13 is formed only on the area exposed through the shielding pattern 12. That is, the source material is only adsorbed on the area exposed through the shielding pattern 12, and the adsorbed source material reacts with the reactive material to form the electrode 13. Moreover, in a surface of the substrate 11, since the shielding layer 12a is formed in the remaining area other than the area exposed through the shielding pattern 12, the source material (i.e., the source material) and the reactive material used to form the electrode will not reach the area shielded by the shielding layer 12a, and no electrode will be formed thereon.

[0044] In an example embodiment, on one surface of the substrate 11, the thin film formed by the material used to form the electrode is neither formed on the area covered by the shielding pattern 12 nor on the shielding pattern 12.

[0045] Therefore, since the polymer does not chemically bond or react with the material used to form the electrode, and the material used to form the electrode does not adsorb or hardly adsorbs onto the polymer, the polymer is used as the material for forming the shielding pattern 12 (hereinafter referred to as the shielding material). Preferably, the shielding material may be a material that does not adsorb or hardly adsorb onto the source material used to form the electrode 13 and does not chemically bond or react with the source material.

[0046] Furthermore, the shielding material can be a material that does not adsorb or hardly adsorbs with the source material used to form the electrode 13 and does not chemically bond or react with the source material at temperatures below 350°C (preferably in the range of 100°C to 300°C). Moreover, the shielding material can be a polymer material that does not dissociate or whose bonds do not break at temperatures below 350°C.

[0047] Therefore, in the example embodiment, a polymer material with ends that form covalent or double bonds in its chemical structure, rather than with functional groups composed of hydroxyl (-OH) or amino (-NH) groups at the ends, is used as the shielding material.

[0048] Covalent or double bond structures have a higher bonding energy than single bonds of hydroxyl (-OH) or amino (-NH) groups. Furthermore, the stability of the bond structure increases with increasing bonding energy. Therefore, materials with ends forming covalent or double bonds will not react with or chemically bond with other materials, nor will they undergo adsorption.

[0049] As a specific example, the shielding material may be at least one of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), poly(tert-butyl methyl methacrylate) (PtBMA), poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP), poly(methyl methacrylamide) (PMAM), and polystyrene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA).

[0050] When the shielding pattern 12 is made of a material having hydroxyl (-OH) or amine (-NH) functional groups at its ends, the material used to form the electrode 13 (i.e., the source material) may adsorb onto or chemically bond to the surface of the shielding pattern 12, or react with the shielding pattern 12. Therefore, a thin film (i.e., a conductive layer) made of the source material may be formed on the shielding pattern 12. This occurs because materials having hydroxyl (-OH) or amine (-NH) functional groups readily chemically bond or react with another material. This creates a limitation during the electrode formation process, preventing the conductive layer from being formed not only on the exposed area of ​​the substrate but also on the surface of the shielding pattern 12, and ensuring that the conductive layer is connected to the electrode 13 formed in the exposed area through the shielding pattern 12.

[0051] However, in the example embodiment, since the shielding pattern 12 is formed using a polymer material that does not have hydroxyl (-OH) or amine (-NH) functional groups at the ends, more specifically, the polymer material as described in the example embodiment above, the material used to form the electrode (i.e., the source material) does not adsorb onto the shielding pattern 12, does not chemically bond to the shielding pattern 12, or reacts with the shielding pattern 12. Therefore, the material used to form the electrode does not deposit on the surface of the shielding pattern 12 or form a thin film on the surface of the shielding pattern 12. That is, the source material only adsorbs onto the area exposed by the shielding pattern 12 on one surface of the substrate 11, and the adsorbed source material reacts with the reactive material to form an electrode only on the exposed area and not on the shielding pattern 12. Here, although the source material can be adsorbed onto or disposed on the surface of the shielding pattern 12, because only a very small amount of the source material can be adsorbed onto or disposed thereon, a thin film is not formed thereon.

[0052] The process of forming a shielding pattern 12 on a surface of a substrate 11 may include a process of forming a coating layer on a surface of a substrate 11 by using a shielding material, and a process of patterning the coating layer to expose an area on a surface of a substrate 11 for forming of an electrode 13.

[0053] The shielding material can be in the form of a gel, liquid, or film with a predetermined viscosity.

[0054] Furthermore, when forming a coating layer using a shielding material, the shielding material can be applied by spin coating or printing to form the coating layer. Moreover, a coating layer can be formed by applying the shielding material and then curing the applied shielding material using a thermosetting or photocuring method.

[0055] In the process of patterning the coating layer, the coating layer formed on a surface of the substrate 11 in the area where the electrode 13 is formed is removed to expose the removed area. When patterning the coating layer as described above, a shielding pattern 12 is formed so that a shielding layer 12a is formed on the remaining area other than the area where the electrode 13 is formed. The process of patterning the coating layer described above can be performed by electron beam lithography.

[0056] The foregoing describes a process for forming a shielding pattern by forming a coating layer on the surface of substrate 11 and subsequently patterning the coating layer. However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited thereto. For example, the shielding pattern 12 can be formed directly by inkjet printing. That is, the shielding pattern 12 can be formed by directly forming a shielding layer 12a on a surface of substrate 11, excluding the area on which the electrode 13 is formed.

[0057] When a shielding pattern 12 is formed to expose an area on a surface of the substrate 11 for forming an electrode 13, an electrode 13 is formed on the substrate 11. For this purpose, the substrate 11 is loaded into the cavity of a substrate processing apparatus for forming the electrode 13.

[0058] Here, the substrate processing apparatus can form a thin film using atomic layer deposition (ALD). More specifically, the substrate processing apparatus may include a chamber with an internal space, a susceptor disposed within the chamber and on which a substrate 11 is placed, and a spraying unit for spraying material for forming electrodes toward the substrate. Here, the spraying unit can alternately spray the source material for forming electrodes, the reactive material for reacting with the source material, and the purge material toward the substrate.

[0059] When the substrate 11, on which the shielding pattern 12 is formed, is placed on the base in the chamber, the substrate 11 is heated to a temperature below 350°C (preferably between 100°C and 300°C). Then, the spraying unit repeatedly sprays the source material, the reaction material, and the purging material toward the substrate 11 in an alternating manner.

[0060] Thus, electrode 13 is formed on a surface of substrate 11 on which shielding pattern 12 is formed. That is, as source material is adsorbed onto the area exposed by shielding pattern 12 on a surface of substrate 11 and the adsorbed source material reacts with the reactant material, a conductive layer, i.e., electrode 13, is formed. More specifically, copper-containing source material, such as bis(dimethylamino-methyl-butoxy)copper(II), Cu(dmamb)2, and bis(dimethylamino-2-methyl-2-propoxy)copper(II), Cu(dmamp)2, is adsorbed onto the area exposed by shielding pattern 12 on a surface of substrate 11. Subsequently, the adsorbed source material reacts with diethyl zinc (Zn(C2H5)2, DEZ), which is the reactant material, to form a copper (Cu) conductive layer, i.e., electrode 13.

[0061] When the characteristics of sequentially spraying "source material, reaction material and purging material" are considered as a cycle, this cycle is repeated multiple times to form an electrode with a target thickness.

[0062] Furthermore, when forming an electrode 13 with a thickness of 100 nm or more, the electrode can be formed by two processes. That is, the electrode 13 can be formed such that the main conductive layer (hereinafter referred to as the first layer) is first formed by atomic layer deposition, and then the secondary conductive layer (hereinafter referred to as the second layer) is formed on the first layer by a method with a faster layer growth rate than atomic layer deposition (e.g., electroplating).

[0063] When the second layer is formed by electroplating, the first layer can be used as a seed layer for electroplating. That is, a copper-containing seed layer (first layer) is formed by atomic layer deposition, and the second layer is formed on the seed layer by electroplating.

[0064] To form a second layer by electroplating, an electrolyte solvent containing copper (Cu) is prepared, and a copper (Cu) plate is also prepared. Furthermore, a substrate 11, on which a first layer, i.e., a seed layer, is formed, and the copper plate are immersed in the electrolyte solvent. Then, when a direct current power supply is applied using the substrate 11 as the negative electrode (-) and the copper plate as the positive electrode (+), copper (Cu) is plated onto the seed layer to form the second layer.

[0065] When an electrode is formed on one surface of the substrate 11, such as Figure 3 The shielding pattern 12 is shown to be removed. Here, the shielding pattern 12 can be cleaned and removed using an organic solvent such as isopropyl alcohol (IPA). Since an organic solvent is used to clean and remove the shielding pattern 12, even if an oxide layer or organic layer forms on the shielding pattern 12, it does not affect the cleaning and removal of the shielding pattern 12. Therefore, the oxide layer or organic layer is not removed, or its properties are not degraded.

[0066] Although the method of removing the shielding pattern 12 using organic solvents has been described above, the exemplary embodiments are not limited thereto. For example, the shielding pattern 12 can be removed by a dry cleaning method using plasma, the plasma being formed using a material containing at least one of oxygen (O2) and hydrogen (H2).

[0067] As described above, in the example embodiment, by performing a process of forming electrodes on a substrate 11 on which a shielding pattern 12 is formed, electrodes 13 can be selectively formed on one surface of the substrate 11. Thus, the process of forming a conductive layer on the substrate 11 for forming the electrodes and subsequent processes such as patterning the conductive layer (e.g., wet etching or chemical mechanical polishing (CMP)) can be omitted. Therefore, the process of forming the electrodes 13 can be further simplified, and thus productivity can be increased.

[0068] Furthermore, since the shielding pattern 12 is made of a polymer material that does not adsorb or hardly adsorbs to the material used to form the electrode and does not chemically bond or react with the material used to form the electrode, a conductive layer made of the material used to form the electrode will not be formed on the surface of the shielding pattern 12. Also, since a conductive layer is not formed on the shielding pattern during electrode formation, it can be described that a conductive layer connected to the electrode is not formed on the shielding pattern 12.

[0069] As described above, since the conductive layer is not formed on the shielding pattern 12 when the electrode 13 is formed, no residue remains on the area of ​​the substrate 11 on which the shielding pattern 12 is formed when the shielding pattern 12 is removed. Therefore, limitations such as defect generation and insulation damage caused by residue can be prevented.

[0070] Furthermore, since the conductive layer connected to the electrode is not formed on the shielding pattern 12, the electrode can be protected from damage during the process of removing the shielding pattern 12, thus preventing insulation failure of the electrode 13.

[0071] Figure 5 This is a photograph of a sample from an example embodiment of a process for forming a copper (Cu) conductive layer. Figure 6 and Figure 7 This is an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) chart of a sample that has undergone a process of forming a copper (Cu) conductive layer.

[0072] Table 1 shows the atomic ratio (at%) of the material detected at the first position (#1) and the fourth position (#4) on the surface of the sample that has undergone the process of forming a copper (Cu) conductive layer.

[0073] [Table 1]

[0074] Cu(at%) C(at%) O(at%) N(at%) First position (#1) 21.04 58.58 12.00 8.37 Fourth position (#4) 1.22 75.49 23.29 0

[0075] To prepare the same substrate for the experiment (i.e., a metal substrate (or silicon wafer) made of silicon).

[0076] Furthermore, on a substrate, a coating made of PMMA polymer material is formed at positions four (#4), five (#5), and six (#6), but not at positions one (#1), two (#2), and three (#3). Next, a copper (Cu) conductive layer is formed on the substrate using atomic layer deposition.

[0077] Reference Figure 6 , Figure 7As shown in Table 1, almost no copper (Cu) was detected on the surface of the sample with the PMMA coating, while a large amount of copper (Cu) was detected on the surface of the sample without the coating. At the fourth position (#4) with the PMMA coating, only a very small amount of copper (Cu) was detected, which could not form a thin film.

[0078] As can be seen from the above results, when the electrode forming process is carried out in accordance with the exemplary embodiment, the conductive layer made of the material used to form the electrode (i.e. the source material) is not formed or is hardly formed on the substrate on which the shielding pattern is formed.

[0079] Figure 8 The diagram illustrates a thin-film transistor in which electrodes are formed according to the method of an example embodiment.

[0080] The following is for reference Figures 1 to 4 and Figure 8 This section will describe a method for forming thin-film transistors and electrodes using a method according to an example embodiment.

[0081] First, prepare the substrate. Here, the substrate can be a metal substrate, a substrate on which a metal oxide layer is formed, a glass substrate, or a flexible plastic substrate such as PE, PES, PET, and PEN.

[0082] The following Figure 8 In this context, the substrate on which the gate electrode is formed for manufacturing a thin-film transistor is called the substrate, and is designated by reference numeral 110. Furthermore, the electrode formed on the substrate 110 is called the gate electrode, and is designated by reference numeral 120.

[0083] When preparing the substrate 110, a shielding pattern 12 is formed on one surface of the substrate 110. Here, as... Figure 1 As shown, a shielding pattern is formed to form a shielding layer 12a in areas other than the area where the gate electrode 120 is formed. Here, the shielding pattern is made of at least one of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), poly(tert-butyl methyl methacrylate) (PtBMA), poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP), poly(methyl methacrylamide) (PMAM), and polystyrene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA).

[0084] When the shielding pattern 12 is formed on a surface, such as Figure 2 and Figure 4 A gate electrode 120 is formed on one surface of a substrate 110. For this purpose, the substrate 110, on which a shielding pattern 12 is formed, is loaded into the cavity of a substrate processing apparatus for forming electrodes and placed on a pedestal. Then, the substrate 110 is heated to a temperature below 350°C (preferably between 100°C and 300°C).

[0085] Furthermore, a copper-containing source material, a reactant material that reacts with the source material, and a purging material are alternately injected into the chamber using an injection unit. Here, the source material can be at least one of bis(dimethylamino-methyl-butoxy)copper(II), Cu(dmamb)2, and bis(dimethylamino-2-methyl-2-propoxy)copper(II), Cu(dmamp)2; the reactant material can be diethyl zinc (Zn(C2H5)2, DEZ); and the purging material can be nitrogen.

[0086] When the source material is injected into the chamber, it adheres to the area exposed by the shielding pattern 12 on one surface of the substrate 110. Furthermore, when the source material adsorbed on the substrate 110 reacts with the reactive material, a copper (Cu) conductive layer (e.g., an electrode containing a Cu3N layer) is formed on the surface of the substrate 110 exposed by the shielding pattern 12.

[0087] When the gate electrode 120 is formed on a surface of the substrate 110 as described above, the conductive layer is not formed on the surface of the shielding pattern 12. In other words, the source material used to form the electrode is not adsorbed or chemically bonded to the surface of the shielding pattern 12, and does not react with the shielding pattern 12. Thus, the Cu3N layer formed from the source material is formed only on a surface of the substrate 11 exposed through the shielding pattern 12, and not on the surface of the shielding pattern 12.

[0088] When the process of forming the gate electrode 120 is completed, the substrate 110 is removed from the chamber. Then, the shielding pattern 12 formed on the substrate 110 is removed.

[0089] Next, the gate insulating layer 130, the active layer 140, and the source electrode 150a and drain electrode 150b are sequentially formed on the electrode formed by using the method according to the example embodiment, that is, on the substrate 110 on which the gate electrode 120 is formed.

[0090] Here, the gate insulating layer 130 can be formed of either an oxide layer or a nitride layer. The active layer 140 can be formed of an indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) thin film obtained by doping indium (In) and gallium (Ga) into zinc oxide (ZnO). Alternatively, the active layer 140 can be formed of an indium zinc oxide (IZO) thin film obtained by doping indium (In) into zinc oxide (ZnO), or it can be formed of a gallium zinc oxide (GZO) thin film obtained by doping gallium (Ga) into zinc oxide (ZnO). Both the gate insulating layer 130 and the active layer 140 can be formed using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or atomic layer deposition (ALD).

[0091] Source electrode 150a and drain electrode 150b are disposed on the active layer 140 at intervals between each other, and a gate electrode 120 is located between them and the gate electrode 120 is partially overlapped. That is, source electrode 150a and drain electrode 150b can be spaced apart from each other on the active layer 140. Furthermore, source electrode 150a and drain electrode 150b can be formed by sputtering.

[0092] The above describes a method for forming a gate electrode using the electrode forming method according to the exemplary embodiment. However, the exemplary embodiment is not limited thereto. For example, at least one of the source electrode 150a and the drain electrode 150b may be formed using the electrode forming method according to the exemplary embodiment.

[0093] For this purpose, a shielding pattern 12 is formed on the active layer 140 to expose the area thereon for the formation of the source electrode 150a and the drain electrode 150b. Then, by atomic layer deposition, a source material containing copper (Cu) and diethyl zinc (Zn(C2H5)2, DEZ) as a reactant are sprayed to form the source electrode 150a and the drain electrode 150b made of Cu3N.

[0094] When the source electrode 150a and drain electrode 150b are formed, the shielding pattern 12 is removed by using an organic solvent or a plasma formed from oxygen and hydrogen. Even during the process of removing the shielding pattern 12, the active layer and gate insulating layer disposed below the source electrode 150a and drain electrode 150b are not affected.

[0095] When the source electrode 150a and drain electrode 150b are formed as described above according to the method of the example embodiment, the etching process to expose the active layer can be omitted. Therefore, the process of forming the source electrode 150a and drain electrode 150b can be simplified.

[0096] The above describes an example of forming the source electrode 150a and drain electrode 150b of a thin-film transistor with the gate electrode 120 using a method according to an exemplary embodiment. However, the exemplary embodiment is not limited thereto. For example, as described above, this method can be applied to processes for forming an anode electrode on a glass substrate or a flexible plastic substrate or a cathode electrode on an organic layer for manufacturing an organic light-emitting device.

[0097] As described above, in the example embodiment, the electrode 13 can be selectively formed on a surface of the substrate 11 by performing a process of forming the electrode on a substrate 11 on which the shielding pattern 12 is formed. Thus, the process of patterning the conductive layer after forming the conductive layer for forming the electrode on the substrate 11 can be omitted. Therefore, the process of forming the electrode 13 can be further simplified, and thus productivity can be increased.

[0098] Furthermore, since the shielding pattern 12 is made of a polymer material that does not adsorb or hardly adsorbs to the material used to form the electrode and does not chemically bond or react with the material used to form the electrode, a conductive layer made of the material used to form the electrode will not be formed on the surface of the shielding pattern 12.

[0099] Furthermore, since the conductive layer is not formed on the shielding pattern 12 when the electrode 13 is formed, no residue remains on the area of ​​the substrate 11 on which the shielding pattern 12 is formed when the shielding pattern 12 is removed. Therefore, defects caused by residue can be prevented.

[0100] Furthermore, since the conductive layer connected to the electrode is not formed on the shielding pattern 12, the electrode can be protected from damage during the process of removing the shielding pattern 12, thus preventing insulation failure of the electrode 13.

[0101] In an example embodiment, electrodes can be selectively formed on one surface of the substrate by performing a process of forming electrodes on a substrate on which a shielding pattern made of a polymer is formed. Thus, the process of patterning the conductive layer after forming the conductive layer for forming the electrodes on the substrate can be omitted. Therefore, the electrode formation process can be further simplified, and thus productivity can be increased.

[0102] Furthermore, since the shielding pattern is made of a polymer material that does not adsorb or hardly adsorbs to the material used to form the electrode, and does not chemically bond or react with the material used to form the electrode, a thin film made of the material used to form the electrode will not form on the surface of the shielding pattern. As described above, since a thin film will not form on the shielding pattern during electrode formation, residues will not remain on the area of ​​the substrate on which the shielding pattern 12 is formed. Therefore, defects caused by residues can be prevented.

[0103] Furthermore, since the thin film attached to the electrode does not form on the shielding pattern, the electrode can be protected from damage during the process of removing the shielding pattern, thus preventing electrode quality degradation.

[0104] Although exemplary embodiments of the invention have been described, it should be understood that the invention should not be limited to these exemplary embodiments, and various changes and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed in the claims.

Claims

1. A method for forming an electrode on a substrate in a thin-film transistor, the thin-film transistor comprising the substrate, the electrode formed on the substrate, a gate insulating layer formed on the electrode and formed of one of an oxide layer and a nitride layer, an active layer formed on the gate insulating layer, and a source electrode and a drain electrode formed on the active layer, the method comprising: In one process, the substrate, through which a partial area of ​​a surface is exposed due to a shielding pattern made of a polymer formed on a surface of the substrate, is loaded into a chamber; A conductive layer forming process includes alternatingly spraying a copper-containing source material and a reactive material that reacts with the source material into a chamber to form a copper-containing conductive layer on a local area of ​​a surface of a substrate; and A shielding pattern removal process includes removing the shielding pattern using hydrogen-generated plasma after the conductive layer formation process is completed. The process for forming the conductive layer includes: A copper-containing main layer is formed on a local area of ​​a surface of the substrate by alternately injecting a copper-containing source material and a reactive material that reacts with the source material into the chamber; and After the main layer is formed, an additional copper-containing primary layer is formed on the main layer by electroplating using the conductive layer formed in the formation of the main layer as a layer. During the formation of this main layer, the internal temperature of the chamber is adjusted to a temperature of 100°C to 300°C; The shielding pattern is formed using at least one of the following: poly(tert-butyl methylacrylate) (PtBMA), poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP), poly(methyl methacrylamide) (PMAM), and polystyrene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA). The conductive layer is formed on the exposed surface of the substrate by adsorbing the source material injected into the chamber onto the surface of the exposed substrate, and by reacting the reactive material with the source material adsorbed on the substrate. Diethyl zinc (Zn(C2H5)2, DEZ) was used as the reaction material.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate is one of a metal substrate, a substrate on which a metal oxide layer is formed, a glass substrate, a flexible plastic substrate, and a substrate on which an organic layer is formed.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the metal substrate comprises at least one of silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge), and The substrate on which the metal oxide layer is formed is a substrate on which a thin film made of at least one of silicon dioxide (SiO2), zirconium oxide (ZrO2, Zr2O3), hafnium oxide (HfO2, Hf2O3), aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) is formed.

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