Vacuumizing method and sputtering method

Abstract

The application provides a vacuum pumping method and a sputtering coating method. The vacuum pumping method comprises the following steps: installing a target material in a coating chamber; isolating the coating chamber from the atmosphere, and then starting a vacuum pump; conveying a plate into the coating chamber; introducing working gas (Ar) into the coating chamber, starting a sputtering power supply, and forming a first electric field in the coating chamber, so that the working gas is converted into plasma, ions in the plasma bombard the plate, plate particles sputtered from the plate react with gas to be removed in the coating chamber and generate non-gaseous substances; eliminating the first electric field, stopping the introduction of the working gas, and continuing to pump high vacuum. The vacuum pumping method can shorten the vacuum pumping time required by the coating chamber.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of coating technology, and more particularly to a vacuuming method. Background Technology

[0002] Magnetron sputtering is a common coating technology, frequently used in industries such as semiconductors, solar energy, and display panels. The working principle of magnetron sputtering is roughly as follows: Ar atoms form Ar atoms under the influence of an electric field. + (Argon ions), Ar + After being accelerated by an electric field, the target surface is bombarded, causing sputtering. The sputtered target atoms or molecules are deposited on the substrate to form a thin film. Magnetron sputtering coating equipment typically includes a coating chamber in which the target and substrate can be placed. During the coating process, the coating chamber needs to be in a vacuum environment.

[0003] When the target material is depleted, the user needs to open the coating chamber and replace the target. After replacement, the user needs to evacuate the coating chamber until the vacuum level meets the coating requirements. However, in existing technologies, the evacuation time required for the coating chamber is relatively long. Due to this long evacuation time, the overall production efficiency is low when a batch of substrates needs to be coated continuously. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This invention aims to at least solve one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, this invention proposes a vacuuming method that helps to shorten the time required for vacuuming the coating chamber.

[0005] The present invention also provides a sputtering coating method including the above-described vacuuming method.

[0006] A vacuuming method according to a first aspect of the present invention includes the following steps:

[0007] The target material is installed in the coating chamber;

[0008] The coating chamber is isolated from the atmospheric environment, and then the vacuum pump is turned on to evacuate the coating chamber.

[0009] A plate is conveyed into the coating chamber, such that the plate and the target are positioned opposite each other and spaced apart;

[0010] The working gas is introduced into the coating chamber;

[0011] Turn on the sputtering power supply to form a first electric field in the coating chamber. The first electric field causes the working gas to be converted into plasma. The ions in the plasma bombard the plate. The plate particles sputtered from the plate react with the gas to be removed in the coating chamber and generate non-gaseous substances.

[0012] Eliminate the first electric field, stop the supply of working gas, and continue to allow the vacuum pump to evacuate the coating chamber.

[0013] The vacuuming method according to the first aspect of the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects: the vacuuming method of the present invention reduces the amount of gas in the coating chamber by having the plate particles sputtered from the plate react with the gas to be removed in the coating chamber to generate non-gaseous substances, thereby reducing the amount of gas that the vacuum pump needs to remove and shortening the vacuuming time required for the coating chamber.

[0014] Furthermore, after the working gas is converted into plasma, the heat released by the plasma can rapidly release gas molecules that were originally attached to the walls of the coating chamber. In the prior art, gas molecules attached to the walls of the coating chamber can only be released when the pressure in the coating chamber reaches a relatively low level. This means that during the evacuation process of the vacuum pump in the coating chamber, even when the pressure in the coating chamber is low, a small amount of gas is still gradually released, causing the vacuum pump to continue running for a longer period of time to achieve the required vacuum level in the coating chamber. The method of the present invention enables the gas attached to the walls of the coating chamber to be released as early and rapidly as possible, thereby shortening the evacuation time required for the coating chamber.

[0015] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the working gas is argon, and the ions are argon ions.

[0016] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the plate is made of titanium and the plate particles are titanium particles; or, the plate is made of aluminum and the plate particles are aluminum particles.

[0017] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the target material is one of copper, aluminum, gold, tungsten, indium tin oxide, and indium zinc oxide.

[0018] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the gas to be removed includes at least one of oxygen, nitrogen, and water vapor.

[0019] According to some embodiments of the present invention, after the vacuum pump is turned on, the vacuum level in the coating chamber reaches 1.0 × 10⁻⁶. -3 After Pa, the plate is then transferred to the coating chamber; when the vacuum level of the coating chamber reaches 1.0 × 10⁻⁶, the plate is transferred to the coating chamber. -4 Pa, the coating equipment begins coating.

[0020] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the coating apparatus further includes a lifting mechanism and a substrate stage, the substrate stage being disposed in the coating chamber, and the lifting mechanism being used to drive the substrate stage to move up and down;

[0021] The step of conveying a plate into the coating chamber, such that the plate and the target are positioned opposite each other and spaced apart, includes:

[0022] The board is transferred to the substrate stage, and then the lifting mechanism drives the substrate stage to rise, so that the substrate stage is in the process position; wherein, the process position is the position of the substrate stage when the coating equipment coats the production substrate.

[0023] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the vacuuming method includes the following steps:

[0024] A target material is installed in the coating chamber. The target material includes a main layer and a surface layer, and the main layer and the surface layer are made of different materials.

[0025] The coating chamber is isolated from the atmospheric environment, and then the vacuum pump is turned on to evacuate the coating chamber.

[0026] The pre-sputtered substrate is transferred to the substrate stage such that: the pre-sputtered substrate is disposed opposite to and spaced apart from the target, and the surface layer is located on the side of the target facing the pre-sputtered substrate;

[0027] Working gas is introduced into the coating chamber;

[0028] Turn on the sputtering power supply to form a second electric field between the substrate stage and the target material. The second electric field causes the working gas to be converted into plasma, and the ions in the plasma to bombard the surface layer. The particles of the surface layer are sputtered out and react with the gas to be removed in the coating chamber to generate non-gaseous substances.

[0029] Eliminate the second electric field, stop the supply of working gas, and continue to allow the vacuum pump to evacuate the coating chamber.

[0030] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a sputtering deposition method includes the following steps:

[0031] The pre-sputtered substrate is transferred to the substrate stage, such that the pre-sputtered substrate and the target are positioned opposite each other and spaced apart.

[0032] The working gas is introduced to form a second electric field between the substrate stage and the target. The second electric field causes the plate particles attached to the working surface of the target to be sputtered onto the pre-sputtered substrate. The working surface is the side surface of the target facing the pre-sputtered substrate.

[0033] After the plate particles attached to the working surface are completely removed, the pre-sputtered substrate is sent out of the coating chamber and the production substrate is transferred into the coating chamber, such that the production substrate and the target are arranged opposite to each other and spaced apart.

[0034] The second electric field is then formed between the substrate stage and the target material to perform sputtering coating on the production substrate.

[0035] The sputtering coating method according to the second aspect of the present invention has at least the following advantages: it enables sputtering coating of production substrates, and when a batch of production substrates is continuously produced, it can significantly improve the overall production efficiency.

[0036] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the sputtering coating method includes the following steps:

[0037] A working gas is introduced and a second electric field is formed between the substrate stage and the target, thereby sputtering the particles of the surface layer onto the pre-sputtered substrate;

[0038] After the surface layer is completely removed from the main layer, the pre-sputtered substrate is sent out of the coating chamber and the production substrate is transferred to the substrate stage, such that the production substrate is disposed opposite to and spaced apart from the main layer.

[0039] The second electric field is then formed between the substrate stage and the target material to perform sputtering coating on the production substrate.

[0040] Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Attached Figure Description

[0041] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments, wherein:

[0042] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the vacuuming method according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the coating equipment when plate particles are sputtered out in the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 3This is a schematic diagram of the coating equipment when plate particles adhere to the target material in the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a sputtering coating method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the coating equipment after the titanium film is transferred to the pre-sputtered substrate;

[0047] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the vacuuming method according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

[0048] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the coating equipment when surface layer particles are sputtered out in the second embodiment of the present invention;

[0049] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of a sputtering coating method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0050] Figure label:

[0051] 301-Coating equipment, 302-Coating chamber, 303-Coating chamber, 304-Lifting mechanism, 305-Back plate, 306-Target material, 307-Substrate stage, 308-Plate, 309-Plate particles, 310-Titanium film, 311-Pre-sputtering substrate, 312-Main layer, 313-Surface layer, 314-Surface layer particles, 315-Sputtering power supply. Detailed Implementation

[0052] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below. Examples of these embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0053] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the orientation descriptions, such as up, down, front, back, left, right, etc., are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limiting this invention.

[0054] In the description of this invention, "several" means one or more, "multiple" means two or more, "greater than," "less than," and "exceeding" are understood to exclude the stated number, while "above," "below," and "within" are understood to include the stated number. The use of "first" and "second" in the description is merely for distinguishing technical features and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features, or implicitly indicating the order of the indicated technical features.

[0055] In the description of this invention, unless otherwise explicitly defined, terms such as "set up," "install," and "connect" should be interpreted broadly, and those skilled in the art can reasonably determine the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention in conjunction with the specific content of the technical solution.

[0056] Figure 1 A vacuuming method according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown. For example... Figure 1 As shown, the vacuuming method S100 includes the following steps:

[0057] S101: Install the target material 306 in the coating chamber 303;

[0058] S102: Isolate the coating chamber 303 from the atmospheric environment, and then turn on the vacuum pump to evacuate the coating chamber 303.

[0059] S103: A plate 308 is transferred to the coating chamber 303, so that the plate 308 and the target 306 are positioned opposite each other and spaced apart.

[0060] S104: Introduce the working gas into the coating chamber 303;

[0061] S105: Turn on the sputtering power supply 315, connect the cathode to the substrate side, and ground the target side as the anode to form a first electric field in the coating chamber 303. The first electric field causes the working gas to be converted into plasma. The ions in the plasma bombard the plate 308. The plate particles 309 sputtered from the plate 308 react with the gas to be removed in the coating chamber 303 and generate non-gaseous substances.

[0062] S106: Turn off sputtering power supply 315, stop working gas supply, and continue vacuuming.

[0063] This vacuuming method is used to evacuate the coating chamber 303 of the coating equipment 301, which is a magnetron sputtering coating equipment 301. The magnetron sputtering component is not shown in the accompanying drawings. The following is in conjunction with... Figures 3 to 6 The above method will be explained.

[0064] Reference Figure 2The coating equipment 301 includes a coating chamber 302, a back plate 305, a substrate stage 307, a lifting mechanism 304, and a sputtering power supply 315. The sputtering power supply 315 supplies power to the back plate 305 or the substrate stage 307. The cavity inside the coating chamber 302 is a coating chamber 303. The back plate 305 and the substrate stage 307 are disposed in the coating chamber 303. The back plate 305 is spaced above the substrate stage 307. The back plate 305 is used to mount the target material 306, and the substrate stage 307 is used to place the plate 308 and the substrate (the substrate can be the pre-sputtering substrate 311 mentioned below and the production substrate). Figure 2 In the process, a target 306 is mounted on the bottom of the backplate 305, and a substrate 308 is placed on top of the substrate stage 307. At least a portion of the lifting mechanism 304 is disposed in the coating chamber 303. The lifting mechanism 304 is connected to the substrate stage 307 and is used to drive the substrate stage 307 to rise and fall, thereby switching the substrate stage 307 between the loading / unloading position and the process position. When the substrate stage 307 is in the loading / unloading position, the substrate 308 or the substrate can be transferred onto or removed from the substrate stage 307; when sputtering coating is required on the substrate, the substrate stage 307 moves to the process position (e.g., when sputtering coating is required on the substrate). Figure 2 (See indicated position). During the movement of the substrate stage 307 from the loading / unloading position to the process position, the lifting mechanism 304 drives the substrate stage 307 to rise. It should be noted that if a portion of the lifting mechanism 304 is located outside the coating chamber 303, the portion of the coating chamber 303 through which the lifting mechanism 304 penetrates needs to be sealed to prevent atmospheric gases from entering the coating chamber 303 through this connection and affecting the vacuum level of the coating chamber 303. The lifting mechanism 304 can be configured as a cylinder, a lead screw module, etc.

[0065] The coating chamber 302 has an openable door (not shown). When the user needs to install the target material 306, the user can open the door of the coating chamber 302. In this embodiment, the target material 306 is made of copper. For step S102, after the target material 306 is installed, the user closes the door of the coating chamber 302 to isolate the coating chamber 303 from the external atmosphere, thus preventing air from entering the coating chamber 303. A vacuum pump (not shown) is connected to the coating chamber 302 via a pipeline. The wall of the coating chamber 303 has an outlet (not shown). After the vacuum pump is started, the gas in the coating chamber 303 leaves the coating chamber 303 through the outlet. It should be noted that from step S102 until the next time the target material 306 needs to be replaced, the coating chamber 303 remains isolated from the external atmosphere to prevent the vacuum in the coating chamber 303 from being disrupted.

[0066] It should be noted that after the vacuum pump is turned on in step S102, it remains on in subsequent steps (S103 to S106). The working gas begins to be introduced into the coating chamber 303 in step S104, and in step S105, the working gas can be continuously introduced into the coating chamber 303. Because the working gas continuously enters the coating chamber 303, and the vacuum pump continuously extracts gas from the coating chamber 303, the gas pressure inside the coating chamber 303 can maintain a dynamic balance, and the gas pressure inside the coating chamber 303 will not rise significantly due to the introduction of the working gas.

[0067] In step S103, the plate 308 is transferred to the substrate stage 307, allowing the plate 308 and the target material 306 to be positioned opposite each other and spaced apart. The coating equipment 301 also includes a transfer chamber and a transfer device. The transfer chamber and the coating chamber 303 are separated by a movable partition. The transfer chamber is also isolated from the atmospheric environment. The transfer device may include a conveyor belt, a robotic arm, etc., and is used to transfer the plate 308 and the substrate between the coating chamber 303 and the transfer chamber. When the partition is removed, the transfer chamber and the coating chamber 303 are connected, and the transfer device transfers the plate 308, substrate, and other objects. Furthermore, when the transfer chamber and the coating chamber 303 are connected, the vacuum level of the transfer chamber is equal to that of the coating chamber 303 (the transfer chamber is maintained by a separate vacuum pump). During the transfer of the plate 308 and the substrate, the vacuum level of the coating chamber 303 is not affected. The structure of the transfer chamber is well-known in the art and will not be described in detail here.

[0068] For step S104, the working gas is set to argon. Correspondingly, in step S105, the ion is argon ions (Ar+). In this embodiment, the material of plate 308 is titanium, that is, plate 308 is a titanium plate. The formation of the first electric field within the coating chamber 303 can be specifically achieved as follows: Figure 2As shown, the substrate stage 307 serves as the cathode, and the backplate 305 is grounded, thus serving as the anode. The voltage between the cathode and anode needs to be sufficient to convert argon gas into plasma. A first electric field is actually formed between the substrate stage 307 and the backplate 305. Under the action of the first electric field, argon ions move towards the plate 308, bombarding the surface of the plate 308. After being bombarded by argon ions, the plate 308 sputters plate particles 309, which react with the gas to be removed in the coating chamber 303. In this embodiment, the plate particles 309 are titanium particles (titanium atoms). The gas to be removed includes at least one of oxygen, nitrogen, and water vapor. Accordingly, the substances generated after the plate particles 309 react with the gas to be removed may include titanium nitride, titanium oxide, etc., and these products are solid. Subsequently, the sputtering power supply 315 stops supplying power, the first electric field is eliminated, and the gas supply stops. After the first electric field is eliminated and the working gas stops flowing into the coating chamber 303, the vacuum pump continues to evacuate the gas from the coating chamber 303.

[0069] The vacuuming method of the present invention reduces the amount of gas in the coating chamber 303 by reacting the plate particles 309 sputtered from the plate with the gas to be removed in the coating chamber 303 to generate non-gaseous substances, thereby reducing the amount of gas that the vacuum pump needs to remove and shortening the vacuuming time required for the coating chamber 303.

[0070] Furthermore, after the working gas is converted into plasma, the heat released by the plasma can rapidly release the gas molecules that were originally attached to the wall of the coating chamber 303. In the prior art, the gas molecules attached to the wall of the coating chamber 303 need to reach a low pressure level in the coating chamber 303 before they can be released. This means that during the evacuation process of the vacuum pump in the coating chamber 303, even when the pressure in the coating chamber 303 is low, a small amount of gas is still gradually released, causing the vacuum pump to continue running for a longer period of time to achieve the required vacuum level in the coating chamber 303. For the evacuation method of the present invention, although the amount of gas in the coating chamber 303 increases in the middle stage of the evacuation process (because argon gas is introduced), this method can release the gas attached to the wall of the coating chamber 303 as early and quickly as possible, thereby shortening the evacuation time required for the coating chamber 303.

[0071] As mentioned above, the working gas is argon. Argon is also commonly used in the sputtering deposition process on substrates. Therefore, the advantage of using argon as the working gas during vacuuming is that the deposition equipment 301 can be used with this method without significant modifications.

[0072] Oxygen, nitrogen, and water vapor are the main components of air. During the process of changing the target material 306, air enters the coating chamber 303. Consequently, the main gases in the coating chamber 303 are oxygen, nitrogen, and water vapor. Since the particles sputtered from the plate 308 can react with oxygen, nitrogen, and water vapor to generate non-gaseous substances, the main gases in the coating chamber 303 can be reduced after step S105.

[0073] In other embodiments, the plate 308 can also be made of aluminum, and correspondingly, the plate particles 309 are aluminum particles. The products generated after the plate particles 309 react with the gas to be removed include aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, etc. Similar to titanium particles, the high-energy aluminum particles sputtered are also prone to react with residual O2, N2, H2O (water vapor), etc. in the chamber, and generate stable non-gaseous substances.

[0074] Besides copper, in some embodiments, the target material 306 can also be made of one of the following: aluminum, gold, tungsten, indium tin oxide (ITO), or indium zinc oxide (IZO). These target materials 306 are commonly used in industries such as semiconductors, solar energy, and display panels.

[0075] In the first embodiment, step S103 is further configured as follows: the plate 308 is transferred to the substrate stage 307, and then the lifting mechanism 304 drives the substrate stage 307 to rise, so that the substrate stage 307 is in the process position. When the substrate stage 307 is in the process position, the distance between the plate 308 and the target 306 is relatively close, which is beneficial to improving the sputtering efficiency of the plate 308. How the plate 308 is transferred and where the process position is have been explained above, and will not be repeated here.

[0076] For the vacuuming method of the first embodiment, after the vacuum pump is turned on (corresponding to step S102), the vacuum pump needs to run for a first preset time to make the vacuum degree of the coating chamber 303 reach 1.0 × 10⁻⁶. -3 After the vacuum level reaches this value, step S103 is executed. Furthermore, after the sputtering power supply 315 is turned off and the working gas supply is stopped, the vacuum pump needs to continue running for a second preset time to ensure that the vacuum level in the coating chamber 303 reaches 1.0 × 10⁻⁶ Pa. -4 Pa. The first preset time is 30 to 60 minutes, and the second preset time is 30 to 60 minutes. The advantage of this setting is that argon gas can be introduced when the gas level in the coating chamber 303 is low, thereby reducing the impact of other gases besides argon gas on the sputtering efficiency or effect of the plate 308. Furthermore, this setting allows the coating chamber 303 to achieve a high vacuum environment. When the vacuum level of the coating chamber 303 reaches 1.0 × 10⁻⁶... -4 After Pa, the coating equipment 301 can begin coating.

[0077] Figure 4 This invention illustrates a sputtering coating method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 The sputtering deposition method includes the vacuuming method S100 of the first embodiment described above. (Refer to...) Figure 4 The sputtering coating method also includes the following steps:

[0078] S107: The pre-sputtering substrate 311 is transferred to the substrate stage 307, so that the pre-sputtering substrate 311 and the target material 306 are positioned opposite each other and spaced apart;

[0079] S108: A working gas is introduced to form a second electric field between the substrate stage 307 and the target 306. The second electric field causes the plate particles 309 attached to the working surface of the target 306 to be sputtered onto the pre-sputtering substrate 311. The working surface is the side surface of the target 306 facing the pre-sputtering substrate 311. Figure 3 In the middle, the working surface is the bottom surface of the target material 306;

[0080] S109: After the plate particles 309 attached to the working surface are completely removed, the pre-sputtered substrate 311 is sent out of the coating chamber 303 and the production substrate is transferred to the coating chamber 303 (achieved by the transfer device mentioned above), so that the production substrate and the target 306 are arranged opposite to each other and spaced apart.

[0081] S110: A second electric field is formed again between the substrate stage 307 and the target material 306 to sputter and deposit a film on the substrate for production.

[0082] like Figure 3 As shown, during the vacuuming process using the vacuuming method, the plate particles 309 (titanium ions) sputtered in step S105 may adhere to the surface of the target material 306, thereby forming a thin film (titanium film 310) on the surface of the target material 306. The above method can remove the plate particles 309 from the surface of the target material 306 before coating the substrate for production, so as to prevent the plate particles 309 from affecting the coating quality of the substrate for production.

[0083] Step S107 is performed after step S106. It should be noted that during the coating process (S107 to S110), the vacuum pump can be kept on to maintain a high vacuum state within the coating chamber 303. The working gas is introduced into the coating chamber 303 starting in step S108, and can be continuously introduced into the coating chamber 303 in subsequent steps S109 and S110.

[0084] The sputtering coating method will be explained below.

[0085] like Figure 5As shown, in step S108, the second electric field can be formed as follows: the backplate 305 is connected to the negative terminal of the sputtering power supply 315, thus making the backplate 305 the anode, and the substrate stage 307 is grounded, thus making the substrate stage 307 the cathode. The direction of the second electric field is opposite to the direction of the first electric field. The working gas in step S108 is also argon. The principle of step S108 is similar to that of step S105. The working gas is converted into plasma, and argon ions bombard the titanium film 310 on the surface of the target 306 under the action of the second electric field. After the titanium film 310 is bombarded, titanium particles are sputtered to the pre-sputtering substrate 311. In this way, the titanium film 310 originally located on the target 306 will gradually transfer to the pre-sputtering substrate 311.

[0086] In step S109, the production substrate and the pre-sputtering substrate 311 are two different substrates. The materials of the production substrate and the pre-sputtering substrate 311 can be the same or different. The production substrate can be made of silicon, glass, sapphire, or an alloy, and the pre-sputtering substrate can also be made of silicon, glass, sapphire, or an alloy. The pre-sputtering substrate 311 is mainly used to remove the titanium film 310 from the surface of the target 306. After step S108 is completed, a layer of titanium film 310 will be deposited on the surface of the pre-sputtering substrate 311. The substrate with the titanium film 310 is not considered a usable product. Taking copper as an example for the target 306, the production substrate is the substrate used in formal production. After step S110 is completed, a copper film will be deposited on the surface of the production substrate. The substrate with the copper film is considered a qualified usable product. Figure 3 and Figure 5 After the plate particles 309 attached to the working surface are completely removed, the titanium film 310 is actually transferred from the target 306 to the pre-sputtered substrate 311.

[0087] Step S110 is similar to step S108. The main difference is that in step S110, argon ions directly bombard the target material 306. At this time, the sputtered material is the particles of the target material 306. The particles of the target material 306 are sputtered onto the production substrate, thereby achieving sputtering coating on the production substrate.

[0088] Figure 6 A vacuuming method according to a second embodiment of the present invention is shown, the vacuuming method S200 including the following steps:

[0089] S201: Install the target material 306 in the coating chamber 303. The target material 306 includes a main layer 312 and a surface layer 313. The main layer 312 and the surface layer 313 are made of different materials.

[0090] S202: Isolate the coating chamber 303 from the atmospheric environment, and then turn on the vacuum pump to evacuate the coating chamber 303;

[0091] S203: The pre-sputtering substrate 311 is transferred to the substrate stage 307, such that: the pre-sputtering substrate 311 and the target 306 are positioned opposite each other and spaced apart, and the surface layer 313 is located on the side of the target 306 facing the pre-sputtering substrate 311 (e.g., Figure 7 (as shown);

[0092] S204: Introduce working gas into coating chamber 303;

[0093] S205: Turn on the sputtering power supply 315 to form a second electric field between the substrate stage 307 and the target 306. The second electric field causes the working gas to be converted into plasma. Ions in the plasma bombard the surface layer 313, and surface layer particles 314 are sputtered out and react with the gas to be removed in the coating chamber 303 to generate non-gaseous substances.

[0094] S206: Eliminate the second electric field (stop energizing) and stop the working gas supply, then continue to allow the vacuum pump to evacuate the coating chamber 303.

[0095] The composition of the working gas, the composition of the gas to be removed, how the second electric field is formed, and the sputtering principle in step S205 can be referred to the above content, and will not be repeated here. The following describes the main body layer 312 and the surface layer 313 of the target material 306. The main body layer 312 of the target material 306 is made of one of copper, aluminum, gold, tungsten, indium tin oxide, or indium zinc oxide, while the surface layer 313 is made of titanium or aluminum. The surface layer 313 can be deposited on the main body layer 312 by sputtering or thermal spraying. In short, the particles sputtered from the main body layer 312 are used for coating the production substrate, and the particles sputtered from the surface layer 313 are used for coating the pre-sputtered substrate 311 and for reacting with the gas to be removed.

[0096] This method utilizes the reaction between particles sputtered from the surface layer 313 and the gas to be removed to generate non-gaseous substances, reducing the amount of gas in the coating chamber 303, reducing the amount of gas that the vacuum pump needs to remove, and shortening the vacuuming time required for the coating chamber 303. Furthermore, after the working gas is converted into plasma, the heat released by the plasma can quickly release gas molecules that were originally attached to the wall of the coating chamber 303, thereby further shortening the vacuuming time required for the coating chamber 303. Taking titanium as an example, the main difference between the vacuuming method of the second embodiment and the vacuuming method of the first embodiment is that in the second embodiment, the target material 306 is first coated with a titanium film 310, and then the target material 306 is installed into the coating chamber 303.

[0097] Figure 8 Another embodiment of the sputtering deposition method is shown, which includes a vacuuming method according to a second embodiment, and includes the following steps:

[0098] S207: A working gas is introduced and a second electric field is formed between the substrate stage 307 and the target 306, thereby sputtering the surface layer particles 314 onto the pre-sputtered substrate 311;

[0099] S208: After the surface layer 313 is completely removed from the main body layer 312, the pre-sputtered substrate 311 is sent out of the coating chamber 303 and the production substrate is transferred to the substrate stage 307, so that the production substrate and the main body layer 312 are arranged opposite to each other and spaced apart.

[0100] S209: A second electric field is formed again between the substrate stage 307 and the target material 306 to perform sputtering coating on the production substrate.

[0101] Step S207 is performed after step S206. This method can also perform sputtering deposition on the production substrate. It should be noted that in step S205, part of the sputtered particles reacts with the gas to be removed, and the other part is sputtered onto the pre-sputtered substrate 311. However, step S205 fails to completely sputter the surface layer 313. Therefore, this sputtering deposition method includes step S207 to ensure that the surface layer 313 is completely sputtered. The principle of step S209 is similar to that of step S110 above, and will not be explained again here. In steps S207 to S209, the vacuum pump can be kept on to keep the deposition chamber 303 in a high vacuum state.

[0102] In the description of this invention, the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "illustrative embodiment," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., refer to specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in connection with that embodiment or example, which are included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

Claims

1. A sputtering coating method, characterized in that, The method includes a vacuum pump to evacuate the coating chamber of a coating equipment, wherein the coating equipment includes a substrate stage disposed within the coating chamber, and the vacuum pumping method includes the following steps: The target material is mounted on the back plate in the coating chamber; The coating chamber is isolated from the atmospheric environment, and then the vacuum pump is turned on to evacuate the coating chamber. A plate is transferred to the substrate stage, such that the plate is positioned opposite to and spaced apart from the target material; The working gas is introduced into the coating chamber; Turn on the sputtering power supply to form a first electric field between the substrate stage and the backplane. The first electric field causes the working gas to be converted into plasma, and the ions in the plasma bombard the plate. The plate particles sputtered from the plate react with the gas to be removed in the coating chamber to generate non-gaseous substances. Eliminate the first electric field, stop the supply of working gas, and continue to allow the vacuum pump to evacuate the coating chamber. The sputtering deposition method further includes the following steps: The pre-sputtered substrate is transferred to the substrate stage, such that the pre-sputtered substrate and the target are positioned opposite each other and spaced apart. The working gas is introduced to form a second electric field between the substrate stage and the target. The second electric field causes the plate particles attached to the working surface of the target to be sputtered onto the pre-sputtered substrate. The working surface is the side surface of the target facing the pre-sputtered substrate. After the plate particles attached to the working surface are completely removed, the pre-sputtered substrate is sent out of the coating chamber and the production substrate is transferred into the coating chamber, such that the production substrate and the target are arranged opposite to each other and spaced apart. The second electric field is then formed between the substrate stage and the target material to perform sputtering coating on the production substrate.

2. The sputtering deposition method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The working gas is argon, and the ions are argon ions.

3. The sputtering deposition method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The plate is made of titanium, and the plate particles are titanium particles; Alternatively, the plate is made of aluminum, and the plate particles are aluminum particles.

4. The sputtering deposition method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The target material is one of copper, aluminum, gold, tungsten, indium tin oxide, or indium zinc oxide.

5. The sputtering deposition method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The gas to be removed includes at least one of oxygen, nitrogen, and water vapor.

6. The sputtering deposition method according to claim 1, characterized in that, After the vacuum pump is turned on, the vacuum level in the coating chamber reaches 1.0 × 10⁻⁶. -3 After Pa, the plate is then transferred to the coating chamber; When the vacuum degree of the coating chamber reaches 1.0 × 10⁻⁶ -4 Pa, the coating equipment begins coating.

7. The sputtering deposition method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The coating equipment also includes a lifting mechanism and a substrate stage. The substrate stage is disposed in the coating chamber, and the lifting mechanism is used to drive the substrate stage to move up and down. The step of conveying a plate into the coating chamber, such that the plate and the target are positioned opposite each other and spaced apart, includes: The board is transferred to the substrate stage, and then the lifting mechanism drives the substrate stage to rise, so that the substrate stage is in the process position; wherein, the process position is the position of the substrate stage when the coating equipment coats the production substrate.

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