A physical vapor deposition device

Abstract

The present invention discloses a physical vapor deposition device, which includes a coating chamber, a conveying device for conveying through the coating chamber, a gas introduction system and a vacuum exhaust system. A cathode assembly and an anode assembly are respectively arranged above and below the conveying device in the coating chamber; the cathode assembly includes a rotating motor and a cathode target driven by the rotating motor to rotate; the gas introduction system includes a guide plate arranged on the top of the inner wall of the coating chamber, and the guide plate includes a first spray plate, a second spray plate and a third spray plate from top to bottom; m strip-shaped notches are arranged in the middle of the first spray plate, 2m rows of first air inlet groups are arranged on the second spray plate, and 4m rows of second air inlet groups are arranged on the third spray plate, and the two rows of first air inlet groups are symmetrically located on both sides below the strip-shaped notches, and m≥1. The present invention can solve the problems of uneven ion distribution and uneven film deposition caused by unstable airflow.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of film coating devices, and in particular relates to a physical vapor deposition device. Background Art

[0002] Magnetron sputtering is a type of physical vapor deposition. The general sputtering method can be used to prepare a variety of materials such as metals, semiconductors, insulators, etc., and has the advantages of simple equipment, easy control, large coating area and strong adhesion.

[0003] In the magnetron sputtering coating process, the uniformity of film thickness is an important indicator of film formation properties. Therefore, it is necessary to study the factors that affect the uniformity of magnetron sputtering in order to better achieve uniform magnetron sputtering coating. Magnetron sputtering is a process in which electrons are bounded by a closed magnetic field in an orthogonal electromagnetic field and move in a spiral around the target surface. During the movement, they continuously collide with the working gas argon to ionize a large number of argon ions. The argon ions are accelerated to bombard the target material under the action of the electric field, and the neutral target atoms are sputtered and deposited on the substrate to form a film. Therefore, to achieve uniform coating, it is necessary to sputter the target atoms uniformly, which requires that the argon ions bombarding the target material are uniform. Argon ions come from the working gas argon that is constantly collided by electrons bound by a closed magnetic field during movement, which requires uniform magnetic field and uniform working gas argon; in actual magnetron sputtering devices, these factors are not uniform.

[0004] Patent publication number CN112342516B in the prior art discloses a magnetron sputtering coating device, which evenly arranges a number of sputtering cathodes at intervals on the periphery of the coating chamber to uniformly coat the outer surface of the workpiece in the coating chamber, but this also increases the cost and the volume of the equipment; and for the continuous magnetron sputtering production line coating process, the coating device is a single-in and single-out structure, so it cannot achieve continuous coating. For continuous coating equipment, the conveying device conveys the substrate to move horizontally, which easily disturbs the airflow in the coating chamber and affects the uniformity of the coating; therefore, it is necessary to take corresponding measures to stabilize the process airflow. Summary of the invention

[0005] The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a physical vapor deposition device to solve the problem of uneven ion distribution and uneven film deposition caused by unstable airflow.

[0006] The present invention achieves the above-mentioned purpose through the following technical scheme: a physical vapor deposition device, which includes a coating chamber, a conveying device for conveying gas through the coating chamber, a gas introduction system and a vacuum exhaust system, wherein a cathode assembly and an anode assembly are respectively arranged above and below the conveying device in the coating chamber; the cathode assembly includes a rotating motor and a cathode target material driven by the rotating motor to rotate, and the gas introduction system includes a guide plate arranged on the top of the inner wall of the coating chamber, and the guide plate includes a first spray plate, a second spray plate and a third spray plate from top to bottom; m strip-shaped slots are arranged in the middle of the first spray plate, 2m rows of first air inlet hole groups are arranged on the second spray plate, and 4m rows of second air inlet hole groups are arranged on the third spray plate, and the two rows of first air inlet hole groups are symmetrically located on both sides below the strip-shaped slot, and m≥1.

[0007] Furthermore, the gas introduction system and the vacuum exhaust system are both arranged on the top of the coating chamber.

[0008] Furthermore, the coating chamber includes a top plate and a bottom plate, the anode assembly is fixedly arranged on the bottom plate of the coating chamber, and the cathode assembly is hung on the top plate through a bracket.

[0009] Furthermore, the number of the anode components is n, and the number of the cathode components is n+1, where n≥1.

[0010] Furthermore, an input port is arranged on the left side of the coating chamber, and an output port is arranged on the right side, and gate valves are arranged at the input port and the output port.

[0011] Furthermore, a shielding plate is arranged at the periphery of the cathode target material, the shielding plate is provided with an opening facing the conveying device, and a cooling plate is arranged at the periphery of the shielding plate, and the cooling plate is connected to the cooling device.

[0012] Furthermore, the gas introduction system includes the guide plate, a gas source connected to the guide plate, and a gas mass flow controller arranged on a pipeline connecting the guide plate and the gas source.

[0013] Furthermore, the gas source includes more than two reaction gases.

[0014] Furthermore, the vacuum exhaust system includes an exhaust pipe connected to the interior of the coating chamber, a molecular pump connected to the exhaust pipe, and a front pump connected to the molecular pump, wherein the molecular pump is fixedly arranged on the top of the coating chamber; one end of the exhaust pipe is fixed to the top of the coating chamber, and the guide plate and the exhaust pipe are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the cathode assembly.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of a physical vapor deposition device of the present invention are: the reaction gas is fed in three stages from the cathode side, and the reaction gas is treated to be uniform gas, ensuring uniform gas distribution and stable flow rate, which is beneficial to improving the uniformity of the sputtered film; and the gas introduction system and the vacuum exhaust system are both arranged above the conveying device to avoid the disturbance of the conveying device on the reaction gas flow field, thereby effectively solving the technical problems of uneven ion distribution and uneven film deposition caused by unstable air flow; in addition, the rotating cathode target, spray plate and molecular pump are integrated in the equipment at the top of the coating chamber, which improves the space utilization of the equipment and reduces the process line length of the equipment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 It is a side view structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the guide plate in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the top view of the first shower plate in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the top view of the second shower plate in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the top structure of the third spray plate in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the structure of the cathode assembly in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] The numbers in the figure represent:

[0023] 100-physical vapor deposition equipment; 200-substrate;

[0024] 1- coating chamber, 11- top plate, 12- bottom plate; 2- conveying device; 3- carrier plate; 4- gas introduction system, 41- guide plate, 411- first spray plate, 4111- strip notch, 412- second spray plate, 4121- first air inlet hole group, 413- third spray plate, 4131- second air inlet hole group, 42- gas source, 43- gas mass flow controller; 5- vacuum exhaust system, 51- molecular pump, 52- fore pump; 6- cathode assembly, 61- rotating motor, 62- cathode target, 63- shielding plate, 631- opening, 64- cooling plate, 65- pressure controller; 7- anode assembly. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] Embodiment 1:

[0026] Please refer to Figure 1-Figure 6 The present embodiment is a physical vapor deposition device 100, which includes a coating chamber 1, a conveying device 2 that conveys from left to right through the coating chamber 1, a carrier plate 3 arranged on the conveying device 2 and used to fix the substrate 200, a gas introduction system 4 that introduces reaction gas into the coating chamber 1, and a vacuum exhaust system 5 that allows the coating chamber 1 to reach a set vacuum degree. A cathode assembly 6 is arranged above the conveying device 2 in the coating chamber 1, and an anode assembly 7 is arranged below the conveying device 2.

[0027] The coating chamber 1 includes a top plate 11 and a bottom plate 12, the anode assembly 7 is fixedly arranged on the bottom plate 12 of the coating chamber 1, and the cathode assembly 6 is hung on the top plate 11 through a bracket. In this embodiment, one anode assembly 7 is provided, and two cathode assemblies 6 are provided, and the anode assembly 7 is arranged corresponding to the midline of the two cathode assemblies 6. In other embodiments, the number of anode assemblies 7 and cathode assemblies 6 can be flexibly designed according to process requirements. n+1 (n≥1) cathode assemblies 6 and n anode assemblies 7 can be arranged in a single coating chamber. According to process requirements and film thickness requirements, multiple groups of coating chambers 1 can be connected in series or integrated with other coating processes. Taking the preparation of doped amorphous silicon thin film as an example, the film thickness is 80~160nm. The preparation of doped amorphous silicon film layer of the required thickness is achieved by matching the number of coating chambers, the number of targets in the chamber and the transmission speed, and a total of 6~12 Si rotating targets are required.

[0028] An input port is arranged on the left side of the coating chamber 1 , and an output port is arranged on the right side, and gate valves (not shown in the figure) are arranged at the input port and the output port.

[0029] The cathode assembly 6 includes a rotating motor 61 and a cathode target 62 driven to rotate by the rotating motor 61. A shielding plate 63 is provided on the periphery of the cathode target 62, and an opening 631 facing the conveying device 2 is provided on the shielding plate 63. A cooling plate 64 is provided on the periphery of the shielding plate 63, and the cooling plate 64 is connected to the cooling device. The shielding plate 63 is mainly used to absorb high-energy electrons and shield the target sputtered by the uneven magnetic field to achieve a uniform and low-damage film sputtering effect. The cooling plate 64 is mainly used to cool the shielding plate 63 to prevent the film layer on the shielding plate from falling off at high temperature and causing contamination of the substrate.

[0030] The gas introduction system 4 includes a guide plate 41, a gas source 42 connected to the guide plate 41, and a gas mass flow controller 43 arranged on the pipeline connecting the guide plate 41 and the gas source 42. The gas source 42 includes more than two reactive gases. As described, the reactive gas may be doped phosphine gas and argon gas. Different gas sources 42 can be provided with pipelines to be introduced into the guide plate 41 separately, or they can be mixed uniformly according to a set ratio before entering the guide plate 41 and then introduced into the guide plate 41. In this embodiment, the gas source 42 is introduced into the guide plate 41 through a separate pipeline, and a gas mass flow controller 43 is provided on each separate pipeline. Through the gas mass flow controller 13, the reactive gas can be accurately controlled and mixed before entering the coating chamber 1. In order to improve the uniformity and stability of the reactive gas entering the coating chamber 1, and then improve the uniformity and stability of the gas flow field, the structure of the guide plate 41 is improved in this embodiment. The guide plate 41 is integrally arranged on the lower surface of the top plate 11 of the coating chamber 1, and includes, from top to bottom, a first spray plate 411, a second spray plate 412, and a third spray plate 413. The first spray plate 411 is provided with m (m ≥ 1) strip-shaped slots 4111 in the middle, the second spray plate 412 is provided with 2m rows of first air inlet hole groups 4121, and the third spray plate 413 is provided with 4m rows of second air inlet hole groups 4131, and the two rows of first air inlet hole groups 4121 are symmetrically located on both sides below the strip-shaped slots 4111. In this embodiment, the strip-shaped slot 4111 is provided with one slot, m=1, and through the structural design of the first spray plate 411, the second spray plate 412 and the third spray plate 413, the reaction gas is evenly divided into two slots from one slot, entering the space area between the second spray plate 412 and the third spray plate 413, and then evenly divided into four slots, sprayed from the third spray plate 413 into the coating chamber 1, thereby improving the uniformity of the introduction of the reaction gas. In other embodiments, the number of strip-shaped slots 4111 can be flexibly designed according to needs.

[0031] The vacuum exhaust system 5 includes an exhaust pipe (not shown) connected to the inside of the coating chamber 1, a molecular pump 51 connected to the exhaust pipe, and a pre-stage pump 52 connected to the molecular pump 51. The molecular pump 51 is fixedly arranged at the top of the coating chamber 1 to improve the space utilization of the equipment. One end of the exhaust pipe is fixed to the top of the coating chamber 1, and the guide plate 41 and the exhaust pipe are respectively arranged on both sides of the cathode assembly 6, so that a flow field approximately parallel to the conveying device 2 is formed in the space above the conveying device 2 in the coating chamber 1, avoiding the disturbance of the flow field caused by the cutting off of the flow field by the conveying device 2, thereby ensuring the uniformity of the coating.

[0032] The above are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, several modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the creative concept of the present invention, which all belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A physical vapor deposition device, characterized in that: It includes a coating chamber, a conveying device for conveying gas through the coating chamber, a gas introduction system and a vacuum exhaust system. A cathode assembly and an anode assembly are respectively arranged above and below the conveying device in the coating chamber; the cathode assembly includes a rotating motor and a cathode target driven by the rotating motor to rotate, and the gas introduction system includes a guide plate arranged on the top of the inner wall of the coating chamber, and the guide plate includes a first spray plate, a second spray plate and a third spray plate from top to bottom; m strip-shaped notches are arranged in the middle of the first spray plate, 2m rows of first air inlet hole groups are arranged on the second spray plate, and 4m rows of second air inlet hole groups are arranged on the third spray plate, and the two rows of first air inlet hole groups are symmetrically located on both sides below the strip-shaped notches, and m≥1; n anode assemblies are arranged, and n+1 cathode assemblies are arranged, and n≥1; the anode assembly is arranged corresponding to the midline of the two cathode assemblies above.

2. The physical vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that: The gas introduction system and the vacuum exhaust system are both arranged on the top of the coating chamber.

3. The physical vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The coating chamber comprises a top plate and a bottom plate, the anode assembly is fixedly arranged on the bottom plate of the coating chamber, and the cathode assembly is hung on the top plate through a bracket.

4. The physical vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The coating chamber is provided with an input port on the left side and an output port on the right side, and gate valves are provided at the input port and the output port.

5. The physical vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: A shielding plate is disposed on the periphery of the cathode target material, an opening facing the conveying device is disposed on the shielding plate, a cooling plate is disposed on the outer periphery of the shielding plate, and the cooling plate is connected to the cooling device.

6. The physical vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The gas introduction system includes the guide plate, a gas source connected to the guide plate, and a gas mass flow controller arranged on a pipeline connecting the guide plate and the gas source.

7. The physical vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 6, wherein: The gas source includes two or more reaction gases.

8. The physical vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The vacuum exhaust system includes an exhaust pipe connected to the interior of the coating chamber, a molecular pump connected to the exhaust pipe, and a front pump connected to the molecular pump, wherein the molecular pump is fixedly arranged on the top of the coating chamber; one end of the exhaust pipe is fixed to the top of the coating chamber, and the guide plate and the exhaust pipe are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the cathode assembly.

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