A DLC coating equipment

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of vacuum coating equipment, and discloses a DLC coating coating equipment, including a vacuum chamber and a substrate, wherein a base for carrying the substrate is fixedly arranged at the bottom end of the inner wall of the vacuum chamber, a servo motor is fixedly connected to the top end of the vacuum chamber, a transmission shaft is fixedly connected to the output end of the servo motor, a support rod is fixedly connected to the bottom end of the transmission shaft, a target ring used as a target material is arranged at the top end of the inner side of the vacuum chamber, and a pole plate is arranged at the top end of the inner side of the vacuum chamber. The present invention drives the pole plate and the target ring to rotate by the transmission shaft in coordination with the support rod, so that the target ring rotates at a uniform speed relative to the high-density plasma regions corresponding to the respective lower parts of several magnetron devices, avoids the formation of a corresponding "racetrack"-shaped etching annular region under a single magnetron device, makes the sputtering surface at the bottom of the target ring uniformly etched, ensures the angle between the sputtering surface and the substrate, and ensures the stability of the sputtering process and the quality of the coating.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of vacuum coating equipment, in particular to a DLC coating equipment. Background Art

[0002] In the field of semiconductor manufacturing, direct current magnetron sputtering coating equipment is often used to coat semiconductor crystals with DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) coatings. Existing DC magnetron sputtering equipment usually installs a strong magnetic field device on the back plate of the cathode target, and inert gas argon gas at rated pressure is introduced into the vacuum reaction chamber. A DC voltage is continuously applied to the cathode target, and the target is connected to the negative high voltage of the DC power supply. The substrate is grounded. Under the action of the DC high voltage, Ar gas molecules are ionized into Ar+ and electrons, generating a glow discharge. In the process of accelerating the electrons to fly to the substrate, the movement direction of the electrons is deflected under the action of the magnetic field and is bound in the plasma region on the surface of the target. The electrons move along the surface of the target in a cycloidal manner. During the movement, the electrons continuously collide with Ar gas molecules to generate a large amount of Ar+ and electrons. The electrons generated by the secondary collision continue to collide with the Ar gas molecules to ionize Ar+ and electrons, forming a high-density plasma region in the area near the cathode target, and a large amount of Ar+ is ionized in the region to bombard the target, transferring the kinetic energy carried by the target atoms to the target atoms. The target atoms escape from the surface of the target and fly to the substrate and are deposited on the substrate to form a DLC coating. As the number of electron collisions increases, the energy carried by the secondary electrons is weakened, and finally deposited on the substrate or in the vacuum reaction chamber.

[0003] However, during the use of traditional DC magnetron sputtering equipment, the uneven etching of plasma under the combined action of magnetic field and electric field will cause the local loss of target material to be faster, resulting in uneven sputtering etching of the target surface and forming a "runway"-like annular surface profile. In particular, areas with high plasma density, that is, the annular magnetic field control area for the movement of secondary electrons, will also experience severe sputtering etching and present deeper grooves, which will reduce the number of target atoms effectively deposited on the substrate in the recessed area bombarded by the same Ar+, thereby reducing the deposition rate. The sputtering etching depth of other parts of the target is relatively shallow, which reduces the utilization rate of the target material and even affects the stability of the sputtering process and the quality of the coating. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the shortcomings of the existing DC magnetron sputtering coating equipment during use mentioned in the background technology, the present invention provides a DLC coating coating equipment, which has the advantages of uniform sputtering of the target surface, high utilization rate and stable sputtering process, and solves the technical problems raised in the above background technology.

[0005] The present invention provides the following technical solution: a DLC coating film plating device, comprising a vacuum chamber, a base for carrying a substrate is fixedly arranged at the bottom end of the inner wall of the vacuum chamber, a servo motor is fixedly connected to the top end of the vacuum chamber, a transmission shaft is fixedly connected to the output end of the servo motor, an adjustment mechanism is arranged at the bottom end of the transmission shaft, a target ring used as a target material is arranged at the top end of the inner side of the vacuum chamber, a pole plate is arranged at the top end of the inner side of the vacuum chamber, and a fixing rod is fixedly connected to the top end of the inner wall of the vacuum chamber;

[0006] The bottom end of the fixed rod is fixedly connected with a magnetron device for providing a sputtering magnetic field. The adjustment mechanism includes a mechanism for driving the target ring and the pole plate to rotate so that the magnetron device scans the sputtering surface of the target ring relative to the target ring in the corresponding sputtering area, and adjusts the flatness of the sputtering surface of the target ring. A sliding contact rod is fixedly connected to the top of the inner wall of the vacuum chamber near the midpoint.

[0007] Preferably, the shape of the target ring is set to be ring-shaped and the ring width is adapted to the specifications of the substrate, the number of the substrates is set to be several and the several substrates are evenly spaced, the number of the fixing rods is set to be several, and the number and position of the magnetic control devices correspond to the number and position of the substrates respectively.

[0008] Preferably, the sliding contact rod is electrically connected to the electrode plate in a sliding contact manner, the sliding contact rod is electrically connected to a DC power supply, and the electrode plate is electrically connected to a target ring.

[0009] Preferably, the adjustment mechanism comprises a connecting rod for driving the electrode plate to rotate, and the bottom end of the connecting rod is fixedly connected to a supporting rod for carrying the target ring and driving the target ring to rotate through friction.

[0010] Preferably, guide blocks are fixedly connected to both sides of the electrode plate, and the guide blocks are slidably sleeved with the connecting rod. The guide blocks can slide relative to the connecting rod so that the connecting rod drives the electrode plate to rotate and the electrode plate can drop synchronously with the target ring due to gravity.

[0011] Preferably, the adjustment mechanism further comprises a protrusion and a protrusion rod, wherein the protrusion is fixedly connected to the bottom of the sliding contact rod, the protrusion rod is adapted to the protrusion and fixedly connected to the target ring, and one side of the protrusion rod and the protrusion are both configured as mutually matching arc surfaces.

[0012] Preferably, the convex block is used to resist and push the convex rod to move through the arc surface during the rotation of the convex rod, thereby driving the target ring to move.

[0013] Preferably, the support rod is arranged in a cross shape.

[0014] Preferably, the front and rear ends of the support rod are fixedly connected with guide plates, the number of the protrusions is set to two and they are symmetrically arranged about the center of the support rod, and the two protrusions are used to cooperate with the protrusion rod to push the target ring to move back and forth.

[0015] The present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0016] 1. The present invention drives the target ring to rotate at a uniform speed through a servo motor in conjunction with a transmission shaft and a support rod. During the magnetron sputtering process, the plasma forms corresponding high-density plasma areas in several magnetron devices. The rotation of the target ring causes the high-density plasma to rotate at a uniform speed relative to the target ring and sweep and sputter and etch the target material, making the target material sputtering time uniform, thereby avoiding Ar+ bombardment to the uneven sputtering area, resulting in a reduction in the number of target material atoms effectively deposited on the substrate, ensuring the rate and quality of magnetron sputtering, and at the same time ensuring that the depth of the sputtering surface is uniform, improving the utilization efficiency of the target material, and improving the quality and rate of the DLC coating coating equipment.

[0017] 2. The present invention drives the support rod to rotate through a transmission shaft, and the pole plate and the target ring are stacked on the support rod. The target ring can deform due to thermal expansion relative to the pole plate and the support rod. The connecting rod cooperates with the protrusion and the protrusion rod, so that the target ring is delayed in rotation and reciprocatingly translated relative to the support rod during the rotation of the target ring, thereby further ensuring uniform sputtering and etching of the sputtering surface of the target ring, while avoiding mismatch in thermal expansion coefficients between the target ring and the pole plate, which may cause excessive stress in the target ring and cause cracking, affecting the quality and rate of coating, and the uniformly sputtered etched surface of the target ring is always attached to the support rod due to gravity, so that the distance between the sputtering surface of the target ring and the magnetron device keeps the magnetic field distribution of the sputtering surface of the target ring unchanged, and the target-substrate distance remains unchanged, thereby avoiding changes in the magnetic field and changes in the target-substrate distance affecting the quality and rate of magnetron sputtering, and further improving the quality and rate of coating of the DLC coating equipment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 It is a schematic cross-sectional view of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 For the present invention Figure 1 Schematic diagram of partial structural cross section;

[0020] Figure 3 It is a partial structural schematic diagram of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 4 It is a schematic cross-sectional view of a part of the structure of the target ring of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 5 For the present invention Figure 4 Schematic diagram of part of the structure viewed from above.

[0023] In the figure: 1, vacuum chamber; 2, base; 3, substrate; 4, fixing rod; 5, magnetron device; 6, convex rod; 7, servo motor; 8, transmission shaft; 9, support rod; 10, target ring; 11, pole plate; 12, connecting rod; 13, sliding contact rod; 14, convex block; 15, guide plate; 16, guide block. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0025] Embodiment 1

[0026] See also Figure 1-Figure 3 A DLC coating film coating device includes a vacuum chamber 1 and a substrate 3. A base 2 for carrying the substrate 3 is fixedly arranged at the bottom end of the inner wall of the vacuum chamber 1. A servo motor 7 is fixedly connected to the top of the vacuum chamber 1. A transmission shaft 8 is fixedly connected to the output end of the servo motor 7. A support rod 9 is fixedly connected to the bottom end of the transmission shaft 8. A target ring 10 used as a target material is arranged at the top end of the inner side of the vacuum chamber 1. A pole plate 11 is arranged at the top end of the inner side of the vacuum chamber 1. The support rod 9 is used to drive the target ring 10 and the pole plate 11 to rotate. The shape of the target ring 10 is set to be annular and the ring width is adapted to the specifications of the substrate 3. The number of substrates 3 is set to be several, the electrode plate 11 is electrically connected to the target ring 10, the top of the inner wall of the vacuum chamber 1 is fixedly connected with a fixing rod 4, the number of the fixing rods 4 is set to be several, the bottom end of the fixing rod 4 is fixedly connected with a magnetron device 5 for providing a sputtering magnetic field, the number and positions of the magnetron devices 5 correspond to the number and positions of the substrates 3, respectively, the top of the inner wall of the vacuum chamber 1 is fixedly connected with a sliding rod 13 near the midpoint, the sliding rod 13 is electrically connected to the electrode plate 11 in a sliding contact manner, and the sliding rod 13 is electrically connected to a DC power supply. Specifically, the sliding rod 13 is connected to the negative high voltage of the DC power supply.

[0027] During the magnetron sputtering process, the servo motor 7 is started, and the servo motor 7 drives the transmission shaft 8 to rotate at a uniform speed. The rotation of the transmission shaft 8 drives the support rod 9 to rotate, and the rotation of the support rod 9 drives the target ring 10 and the pole plate 11 to rotate coaxially. The magnetron device 5 cooperates with the pole plate 11 and the target ring 10 to make the plasma sputter the target atoms at the bottom end of the target ring 10. The target atoms fly to the substrate 3 corresponding to the magnetron device 5 and are deposited to form a DLC coating. The plasma forms a number of corresponding high-density plasma areas below the target ring 10 corresponding to the magnetron device 5, so that the plasma sputters the target ring 10. The bottom surface is unevenly sputtered and etched. As the target ring 10 rotates, the relative position of the uneven sputtered and etched area on the bottom surface of the target ring 10 changes, and the high-density plasma area uniformly sweeps over the shallower sputtered and etched portion of the target ring 10, so that the etching depth of the sputtered area on the target ring 10 is equal, thereby ensuring that the number of target material atoms bombarded by Ar+ to the sputtered area is effectively deposited on the substrate 3, increasing the sputtering rate, and allowing the high-density plasma area to pass through the relatively shallower portion of the original sputtered and etched depth, thereby improving the utilization rate of the target material and ensuring the stability and quality of the sputtering process.

[0028] Embodiment 2

[0029] See also Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 4 On the basis of the first embodiment, connecting rods 12 for driving the pole plate 11 to rotate are fixedly connected on both sides of the support rod 9, and guide blocks 16 are fixedly connected on both sides of the pole plate 11. The guide blocks 16 are slidably sleeved with the connecting rods 12. The support rods 9 are located at the bottom end of the target ring 10. The support rods 9 are used to carry the target ring 10 and drive the target ring 10 to rotate through friction. The target ring 10 supports the pole plate 11. The support rods 9 rotate to drive the connecting rods 12 to rotate. The connecting rods 12 drive the guide blocks 16 to rotate. The guide blocks 16 drive the pole plate 11 to rotate. When the servo motor 7 is started, the transmission shaft 8 cooperates with the support rods 9 to accelerate from static to rated uniform speed, or the motor stops suddenly after the magnetron sputtering is completed. The target ring 10 can rotate relative to the support rods 9 due to inertia, changing the position blocked by the support rods 9 to ensure uniform sputtering of the bottom surface of the target ring 10.

[0030] As the magnetron sputtering coating of the DLC coating coating equipment proceeds, the distance between the uniform sputtering and etching surface of the bottom surface of the target ring 10 and the magnetron device 5 decreases, and the distance to the substrate 3 (target-substrate distance) increases, while the uniform sputtering and etching surface of the bottom surface of the pole plate 11 is supported by the support rod 9, thereby ensuring that the relative height of the target ring 10, the magnetron device 5 and the substrate 3 remains unchanged, thereby maintaining the magnetic field strength and distribution of the plasma and the sputtering area of ​​the bottom surface of the target ring 10 unchanged, ensuring the uniformity and rate of the magnetron sputtering deposited film, and compensating for the target-substrate distance, ensuring the rate of film deposition, and avoiding a decrease in the deposition rate of the DLC coating due to an increase in the target-substrate distance.

[0031] Embodiment 3

[0032] See also Figure 1-Figure 5 This embodiment replaces the solution of the second embodiment. The two sides of the support rod 9 are fixedly connected with connecting rods 12 for driving the electrode plate 11 to rotate. The two sides of the electrode plate 11 are fixedly connected with guide blocks 16. The guide blocks 16 are slidably sleeved with the connecting rod 12. Different from the second embodiment, the bottom end of the sliding contact rod 13 is fixedly connected with a protrusion 14, and the inner side of the target ring 10 is fixedly connected with a protrusion 6 adapted to the protrusion 14. The support rod 9 drives the target ring 10 to rotate and cooperates with the connecting rod 12 and the guide block 16 to drive the electrode plate 11 to rotate. The target ring 10 drives the protrusion 6 to rotate, and the protrusion 6 rotates relative to the protrusion 14. The protrusion 6 rotates until it contacts the protrusion 14. One side of the protrusion 6 and the protrusion 14 are both set to mutually matching arc surfaces. The protrusion 14 resists the protrusion 6 and pushes the protrusion 6 to move. The support rod 9 is set in a "cross" shape, and can also be a structure with other supporting functions such as a grid plate.

[0033] (See Figure 5 ) The front and rear ends of the support rod 9 are fixedly connected with guide plates 15, which are used to provide guidance for the movement of the target ring 10. The convex rod 6 is pushed by the convex block 14 to drive the target ring 10 to move horizontally. The number of convex blocks 14 is set to two and they are symmetrically arranged about the center of the support rod 9, so that the convex rod 6 and the convex block 14 cooperate to drive the target ring 10 to move back and forth, further improving the uniformity of sputtering etching of the target ring 10, ensuring the rate of magnetron sputtering, and ensuring that the target ring 10 can be consumed as sputtering, and the uniform sputtering surface at the bottom of the target ring 10 is attached to the support rod 9, further ensuring that the distribution of the magnetic field in the sputtering area of ​​the target ring 10 remains unchanged and the target-substrate distance remains unchanged.

[0034] Embodiment 4

[0035] See also Figure 1-Figure 5 On the basis of the third embodiment, when the protrusion 14 cooperates with the protrusion rod 6, the protrusion rod 6 drives the target ring 10 to rotate lagging relative to the support rod 9 due to the reaction force, so that in the process of the support rod 9 driving the target ring 10 to rotate, due to each lagging rotation of the target ring 10, the support rod 9 is allowed to block the part of the target ring 10, further ensuring the etching uniformity of the sputtering area of ​​the target ring 10 and the effective use of the target material. The target material for DLC coating in the traditional magnetron sputtering coating equipment is usually a graphite target, and the graphite target is fixedly connected to the electrode plate 11 by welding. The thermal expansion coefficient of the graphite target does not match that of the pole plate 11 material, which can easily lead to excessive stress and cracking during the magnetron sputtering coating process, resulting in uneven DLC coating and even target material falling off, leading to coating interruption. The target ring 10 in the DLC coating coating equipment is preferably a graphite target, and due to the non-rigid connection between the target ring 10 and the support rod 9 and the pole plate 11, the target ring 10 can be deformed relative to the pole plate 11 and the support rod 9, thereby ensuring the safety of the coating process without affecting the stability and quality of the magnetron sputtering process.

[0036] The method of use (working principle) of the present invention is as follows:

[0037] During the magnetron sputtering process, a high-density plasma region is formed near the bottom surface of the target ring 10 corresponding to a plurality of magnetron devices 5. During the process of the plasma sputtering and etching the target ring 10, the servo motor 7 drives the target ring 10 to rotate relative to the magnetron device 5, so that the high-density plasma corresponding to the magnetron device 5 sputters and evenly sweeps over different parts of the target ring 10, thereby ensuring that the sputtering and etching degrees of different regions of the target ring 10 are equal, improving the sputtering rate and the utilization rate of the target material. During the rotation of the target ring 10, the convex rod 6 cooperates with the convex block 14 to drive the reciprocating translation of the target ring 10 and the delayed rotation relative to the support rod 9, further ensuring that the target ring 10 The sputtering surface is etched evenly, so that after the target ring 10 is sputtered, the bottom surface of the target ring 10 is always in contact with the support rod 9 under the action of gravity, so that the relative distance between the target ring 10, the magnetron device 5 and the substrate 3 remains unchanged, and the magnetic field distribution on the sputtering surface of the bottom surface of the target ring 10 remains unchanged, while the target-substrate distance does not change, further ensuring the deposition rate and effect of the DLC coating. At the same time, the pole plate 11 and the support rod 9 do not affect the thermal expansion deformation of the target ring 10, so as to ensure the uniform sputtering etching and utilization efficiency of the target ring 10, avoid the target ring 10 and the pole plate 11 from being cracked due to heat due to the mismatch of the thermal expansion coefficients, and improve the stability of the sputtering process.

Claims

1. A DLC coating device, comprising a vacuum chamber (1), wherein a base (2) for carrying a substrate (3) is fixedly arranged at the bottom end of the inner wall of the vacuum chamber (1), and characterized in that: A servo motor (7) is fixedly connected to the top of the vacuum chamber (1); a transmission shaft (8) is fixedly connected to the output end of the servo motor (7); an adjustment mechanism is provided at the bottom end of the transmission shaft (8); a target ring (10) used as a target material is provided at the top end of the inner side of the vacuum chamber (1); an electrode plate (11) is provided at the top end of the inner side of the vacuum chamber (1); and a fixing rod (4) is fixedly connected to the top end of the inner wall of the vacuum chamber (1); The bottom end of the fixed rod (4) is fixedly connected to a magnetron device (5) for providing a sputtering magnetic field, the adjustment mechanism is used to drive the target ring (10) and the pole plate (11) to rotate, so that the magnetron device (5) corresponding to the sputtering area scans the sputtering surface of the target ring (10) relative to the target ring (10), and adjusts the flatness of the sputtering surface of the target ring (10), and the top end of the inner wall of the vacuum chamber (1) is fixedly connected to a sliding contact rod (13) at the midpoint; The adjustment mechanism comprises a connecting rod (12) for driving the electrode plate (11) to rotate, and a supporting rod (9) for carrying the target ring (10) and driving the target ring (10) to rotate by friction is fixedly connected to the bottom end of the connecting rod (12); Guide blocks (16) are fixedly connected to both sides of the electrode plate (11); the guide blocks (16) are slidably sleeved with the connecting rod (12); the guide blocks (16) can slide relative to the connecting rod (12) so that the connecting rod (12) drives the electrode plate (11) to rotate, and the electrode plate (11) can descend synchronously with the target ring (10) due to gravity.

2. A DLC coating film coating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shape of the target ring (10) is set to be annular and the ring width is adapted to the specifications of the substrate (3); the number of the substrates (3) is set to be a plurality and the plurality of substrates (3) are evenly spaced; the number of the fixing rods (4) is set to be a plurality; and the number and position of the magnetic control devices (5) respectively correspond to the number and position of the substrates (3).

3. A DLC coating film coating device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The sliding contact rod (13) is electrically connected to the electrode plate (11) in a sliding contact manner, the sliding contact rod (13) is electrically connected to a direct current power supply, and the electrode plate (11) is electrically connected to a target ring (10).

4. The DLC coating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The adjustment mechanism further comprises a convex block (14) and a convex rod (6); the convex block (14) is fixedly connected to the bottom of the sliding contact rod (13); the convex rod (6) is adapted to the convex block (14) and is fixedly connected to the target ring (10); one side of the convex rod (6) and the convex block (14) are both arranged as mutually matching arc surfaces.

5. A DLC coating device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The convex block (14) is used to resist and push the convex rod (6) to move through the arc surface during the rotation of the convex rod (6), thereby driving the target ring (10) to move.

6. A DLC coating device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The support rod (9) is arranged in a cross shape.

7. A DLC coating device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The front and rear ends of the support rod (9) are fixedly connected to a guide plate (15), the number of the protrusions (14) is set to two and they are symmetrically arranged about the center of the support rod (9), and the two protrusions (14) are used to respectively cooperate with the protruding rod (6) to push the target ring (10) to move back and forth.

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