Liquid-phase magnetron sputtering source, sputtering equipment and coating method

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a liquid-phase magnetron sputtering source and sputtering equipment, and the magnetron sputtering source comprises a heating assembly which comprises a heating mechanism and a heating container, the heating container is installed on the heating mechanism, and the heating container is provided with a containing cavity with an opening in the upper end; the target material is arranged in the accommodating cavity; the anode plate is arranged above the heating container, and a notch is formed in the position, corresponding to the containing cavity, of the anode plate. According to the magnetron sputtering source provided by the embodiment of the invention, the target material is liquefied through heating of the heating mechanism, and the target material in the etching area can be supplemented due to the fact that the liquid-phase target material has flowability, so that the overall utilization rate of the target material is remarkably improved. Meanwhile, by heating the target material, the utilization rate of the target material can be improved, the activity of target material molecules can be improved, and therefore the coating efficiency is improved. In addition, the embodiment of the invention can effectively reduce the production cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of sputtering coating equipment, and in particular to a liquid phase magnetron sputtering source, sputtering equipment and a coating method. Background Art

[0002] In the related art, the planar magnetron sputtering source is generally composed of a magnetic field source, a target back plate, a planar target plate, a target pressure ring and a shielding cover. In ordinary magnetron sputtering equipment, the magnetic field design of the planar target is basically a closed ring setting, and the magnetron uses an NSN or SNS closed magnetic circuit. During use, it is easy to cause a ring-shaped racetrack-shaped etching area to appear on the sputtered part of the target surface. The etching area is only a small part of the entire target material, and most of the material cannot be reused, resulting in a waste of target material, which makes the manufacturing cost of the film high. Summary of the invention

[0003] The present application aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, the present application proposes a liquid phase magnetron sputtering source, a sputtering device and a coating method, which can effectively improve the overall utilization rate of the target material.

[0004] In one aspect of the present application, a magnetron sputtering source is provided, comprising:

[0005] A heating assembly, comprising a heating mechanism and a heating container, wherein the heating container is mounted on the heating mechanism and has a first accommodating cavity with an opening at the upper end;

[0006] A target material is disposed in the first accommodating chamber; and

[0007] An anode plate is arranged above the heating container, wherein a notch is arranged on the anode plate at a position corresponding to the first accommodating cavity.

[0008] Furthermore, the heating temperature of the heating mechanism is set to 600°C~1200°C.

[0009] Furthermore, the heating mechanism includes an armored heater.

[0010] Furthermore, the shell of the heating mechanism is made of ceramic material.

[0011] Furthermore, it also includes a cooling device, which includes a cooling plate, and the cooling plate is installed on a side of the heating mechanism away from the heating container.

[0012] Furthermore, at least one of the upper end surface and the lower end surface of the cooling plate is formed with a cavity, and the cavity is communicated with the cooling water channel.

[0013] Furthermore, it also includes a cover body and an air circuit assembly, the cover body has a second accommodating cavity, the heating assembly, the target material and the anode plate are arranged in the second accommodating cavity, the second accommodating cavity is provided with a hollow portion at the position corresponding to the target material, the air circuit assembly is arranged in the second accommodating cavity, the interval between the air circuit assembly and the inner wall of the second accommodating cavity defines an air flow channel, and the air circuit assembly is connected to the fluid in the hollow portion through the air flow channel.

[0014] Furthermore, the air path assembly includes a first plate, a second plate and a third plate which are stacked, the first plate being spaced apart at a plurality of air outlet channels, the second plate having at least two second air supply channels spaced apart, each of the second air supply channels being connected to at least two of the air outlet channels, the third plate being provided with a first air supply channel, the first air supply channel being connected to at least two of the second air supply channels.

[0015] A liquid phase magnetron sputtering device according to another embodiment of the present application comprises a shell, a support part and the magnetron sputtering source as described above, wherein the shell has a reaction chamber, the magnetron sputtering source and the support part are both placed in the reaction chamber, and the support part is located above the first accommodating chamber.

[0016] A coating method according to another aspect of the present application is applied to the liquid phase magnetron sputtering device as described above, and the coating method comprises the following steps:

[0017] Mounting the substrate on the support portion, wherein the surface of the substrate to be sputtered is arranged toward one side of the first accommodating cavity;

[0018] The target material is placed in the first accommodating cavity, and the target material is heated to a molten state by a heating mechanism, and then a sputtering process is performed.

[0019] It can be seen from the above technical solutions that the embodiments of the present application have at least the following beneficial effects:

[0020] In the magnetron sputtering source provided in the embodiment of the present application, the target material is heated by a heating mechanism to liquefy the target material. Since the target material in the liquid phase has fluidity, the target material in the non-etching area can flow to the etching area. Therefore, the target material in the etching area can be replenished, thereby significantly improving the overall utilization rate of the target material. At the same time, by heating the target material, not only the utilization rate of the target material can be improved, but also the activity of the target material molecules can be improved, thereby improving the efficiency of the coating. In addition, by improving the utilization rate of the target material, this embodiment can effectively reduce the production cost for expensive target materials. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0022] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the cross-section structure of a magnetron sputtering source provided in one embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of a magnetron sputtering source provided in one embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Figure 3 A schematic structural diagram of a magnetron sputtering source from another perspective provided in one embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 4 A schematic cross-sectional structural diagram of a gas path assembly in a magnetron sputtering source provided in one embodiment of the present application.

[0026] Reference numerals:

[0027] 100, heating assembly; 110, heating mechanism; 120, heating container;

[0028] 200, target material;

[0029] 300, anode plate; 310, notch;

[0030] 410, cooling plate; 411, first cavity; 412, second cavity;

[0031] 500, magnet assembly;

[0032] 600, cover body;

[0033] 700, air path assembly; 710, air flow channel; 720, air supply end; 730, first plate; 740, second plate; 750, third plate. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0035] See also Figures 1 to 3As shown, one embodiment of the present application discloses a magnetron sputtering source, including a heating assembly 100 , a target material 200 , and an anode plate 300 .

[0036] Specifically, the heating assembly 100 includes a heating mechanism 110 and a heating container 120, wherein the heating container 120 is installed on the heating mechanism 110, and the heating container 120 has a first accommodating cavity with an opening at the upper end; the target material 200 is arranged in the first accommodating cavity; and the anode plate 300 is arranged above the heating container 120, wherein a notch 310 is provided at a position of the anode plate 300 corresponding to the first accommodating cavity.

[0037] In the magnetron sputtering source provided in the embodiment of the present application, the target material 200 is liquefied by heating by the heating mechanism 110. Since the target material 200 in the liquid phase has fluidity, the target material in the non-etching area can flow to the etching area. Therefore, the target material 200 in the etching area can be replenished, thereby significantly improving the overall utilization rate of the target material 200. At the same time, by heating the target material 200, not only the utilization rate of the target material 200 can be improved, but also the activity of the target material 200 molecules can be improved, thereby improving the efficiency of the coating. In addition, by improving the utilization rate of the target material 200, this embodiment can effectively reduce the production cost for the expensive target material 200.

[0038] It is worth to understand that the etching area refers to the sputtered portion of the target 200 surface; the non-etching area refers to the area of ​​the target 200 other than the etching area.

[0039] In the embodiment of the present application, the utilization rate of the target material 200 can be improved by heating and liquefying the target material 200; the high temperature makes the Brownian motion of the molecules of the target material 200 more intense, which helps to improve the efficiency of coating the target material 200.

[0040] In the embodiment of the present application, the target material 200 is changed from the original sublimation process to vaporization, which improves the energy conversion efficiency and reduces the requirements for power supply. It can be applicable to more types of target materials, which is beneficial to improving the practicality of the magnetron sputtering source.

[0041] In some embodiments of the present application, the magnetron sputtering source further includes a magnet assembly, and the magnet assembly adopts a NSN or SNS closed magnetic circuit. It is worth understanding that S represents a magnetic pole pointing to the south, called the south pole (S pole); N represents a magnetic pole pointing to the north, called the north pole (N pole).

[0042] In a possible implementation, the heating container 120 may be a crucible, which has a first accommodating cavity, and the first accommodating cavity is used to place the target material 200. The heating mechanism 110 heats the target material 200 in the first accommodating cavity and melts it into a liquid phase by heating the crucible. The crucible has a first accommodating cavity, and the liquefied target material 200 can be stored in the first accommodating cavity, thereby avoiding the overflow of the liquid phase target material 200.

[0043] It is worth to understand that the heating container 120 may also be made of other materials that do not react with the target material 200 and have a higher melting point than the target material 200 .

[0044] In some embodiments of the present application, the heating mechanism 110 includes a heating plate, which is disposed at the bottom of the heating melter. The heating plate heats the heating container 120 to liquefy the target material 200 in the heating container 120 .

[0045] Furthermore, the heating temperature of the heating mechanism 110 is set to 600°C to 1200°C. When setting the temperature of the heating plate, the change of the melting point of the metal in a vacuum environment needs to be considered, and it should not be set too high to ensure the coating effect. In practical applications, the heating temperature can be set to 600°C, 700°C, 800°C, 900°C, 1000°C or other temperature values ​​according to actual needs, which is not limited here.

[0046] In a possible implementation, the heating temperature is set to 600° C. to 1200° C., which may be applicable to heating some expensive metals.

[0047] In some embodiments of the present application, the heating mechanism 110 includes an armored heater. Specifically, the armored heater includes a seamless metal tube and a heating wire, and the heating wire is arranged in the seamless metal tube. In this way, the heating wire can be effectively protected and prevented from being damaged during the sputtering process.

[0048] In some embodiments of the present application, the shell of the heating mechanism 110 is made of ceramic material. The shell of ceramic material has a high melting point, which can reduce the etching corrosion of the heating mechanism 110 during the sputtering process.

[0049] In some embodiments of the present application, the magnetron sputtering source further includes a cooling device, which includes a cooling plate 410, and the cooling plate 410 is installed on the side of the heating mechanism 110 away from the heating container 120. The cooling plate 410 is used to cool the side of the heating mechanism 110 away from the heating container 120, and is used to reduce or isolate the heat of the heating mechanism 110, and prevent the heat of the heating mechanism 110 from being transferred to the sealed chamber of the magnetron sputtering device through the mounting surfaces of various components, which is conducive to improving the coating effect.

[0050] In a possible implementation, the cooling plate 410 is made of copper, that is, the cooling plate 410 is a cooling copper plate. The cooling plate 410 made of copper can increase the heat conduction efficiency, thereby improving the cooling effect.

[0051] In the above embodiment, a heating mechanism 110 is provided to heat the heating container 120. In this process, the heat generated by the heating mechanism 110 is not only transferred to the heating container 120 and the target material 200, but also partially transferred to other components. Such heat may affect the normal operation of other components. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the heat dissipation capacity of the magnetron sputtering source to reduce the influence of the heat of the heating mechanism 110 on other components.

[0052] Specifically in some embodiments of the present application, the cooling plate 410 has an upper end surface and a lower end surface, the upper end surface is the end surface of the cooling plate 410 close to the heating mechanism 110, and the lower end surface is the end surface of the cooling plate 410 away from the heating mechanism 110, and at least one of the upper end surface and the lower end surface is formed with a cavity, and the cavity is connected to the cooling water path. The cavity is in liquid communication with the cooling water path, and the heat dissipation efficiency can be improved by water cooling.

[0053] In one possible implementation, see Figure 1 and Figure 2 At least one first cavity 411 is provided on one side of the cooling plate 410 close to the heating mechanism 110 , and each first cavity 411 is connected to a cooling water path to ensure heat dissipation efficiency.

[0054] In one possible implementation, see Figure 1 and Figure 2 The cooling plate 410 has at least one second cavity 412 on a side away from the heating mechanism 110 , and each second cavity 412 is connected to the cooling water path.

[0055] In this embodiment, see Figure 1 and Figure 2 , cavities are formed on both sides of the cooling plate 410, namely, a first cavity 411 and a second cavity 412, and the first cavity 411 and the second cavity 412 are both connected to the cooling water path to isolate the heat of the heating mechanism 110. In practical applications, the number, shape and setting position of the first cavity 411 and the second cavity 412 can be set according to actual heat dissipation needs, and are not limited here.

[0056] In some embodiments of the present application, see Figure 1 and Figure 4As shown, the magnetron sputtering source also includes a cover body 600 and a gas circuit assembly 700, the cover body 600 has a second accommodating chamber, the heating assembly 100, the target material 200 and the anode plate 300 are arranged in the second accommodating chamber, the second accommodating chamber is provided with a hollow portion corresponding to the position of the target material 200, the gas circuit assembly 700 is arranged in the second accommodating chamber, and the interval between the gas circuit assembly 700 and the inner wall of the second accommodating chamber defines an air flow channel 710, and the gas circuit assembly 700 is connected to the hollow portion fluid through the air flow channel 710. Among them, the position of the hollow portion of the cover body 600 corresponds to the setting position of the notch 310 of the anode plate 300. In practical applications, the gas circuit assembly 700 is used to supply sputtering gas into the air flow channel 710, and the sputtering gas is used to form plasma. Exemplarily, the sputtering gas can be argon (Ar).

[0057] In some embodiments of the present application, see Figure 1 and Figure 4 The gas circuit assembly 700 includes a first plate 730, a second plate 740 and a third plate 750 which are stacked. The first plate 730 is arranged at intervals in a plurality of gas outlet channels. The second plate 740 has at least two second gas supply channels arranged at intervals, each second gas supply channel is connected to at least two gas outlet channels. The third plate 750 is provided with a first gas supply channel, and the first gas supply channel is connected to at least two second gas supply channels. In this way, the uniform gas effect can be improved, thereby ensuring the coating effect.

[0058] In one possible implementation, see Figure 1 , Figure 3 and Figure 4 , the air supply channels of the second plate 740 and the third plate 750 are arranged in a simulated binary tree structure. Specifically, the third plate 750 is provided with a first air supply channel, and a first transverse connecting channel is provided between the second plate 740 and the third plate 750, and the first transverse connecting channel connects at least two second air supply channels; a second transverse connecting channel is provided between the second plate 740 and the first plate 730, and the second transverse connecting channel connects at least two air outlet channels, and so on. Among them, one end of the first air supply channel is connected to the first transverse connecting channel, and the other end is connected to the air supply end 720. In this way, the gas at the air supply end can be gradually transported to the channels of each layer, which is conducive to improving the uniform gas effect, thereby ensuring the coating effect.

[0059] In the above embodiment, one end of the air outlet channel connected to the air flow channel 710 is an air outlet hole. The air outlet hole is arranged on the side of the first plate 730 close to the air flow channel 710. The number of the air outlet holes depends on the overall length of the first plate 730, and the spacing between the air outlet holes can be specifically set to 30-50 mm.

[0060] In another aspect, the present application discloses a liquid phase magnetron sputtering device, comprising a housing, a support, and the magnetron sputtering source as described above, wherein the housing has a reaction chamber, the magnetron sputtering source and the support are both placed in the reaction chamber, and the support is located above the first accommodation chamber. A substrate can be fixed on the support, and the surface of the substrate to be sputtered is arranged toward the side of the heating container 120.

[0061] In the liquid phase magnetron sputtering device of the embodiment of the present application, the target material 200 is liquefied by heating by the heating mechanism 110. Since the target material 200 in the liquid phase has fluidity, the target material 200 in the etching area can be replenished, so that the overall utilization rate of the target material 200 is significantly improved. At the same time, by heating the target material 200, not only the utilization rate of the target material 200 can be improved, but also the activity of the target material 200 molecules can be improved, thereby improving the efficiency of the coating. In addition, by improving the utilization rate of the target material 200, this embodiment can effectively reduce the production cost for the expensive target material 200.

[0062] In another aspect, the present application discloses a coating method, which is applied to the liquid phase magnetron sputtering device as described above, wherein the coating method comprises the following steps:

[0063] The substrate is mounted on the support portion, with the surface of the substrate to be sputtered facing one side of the first accommodating cavity;

[0064] The target material 200 is placed in the first receiving chamber, and the target material 200 is heated to a molten state by the heating mechanism 110 , and then a sputtering process is performed.

[0065] In some embodiments of the present application, the heating temperature of the heating mechanism 110 is set to 600° C. to 1200° C. When setting the temperature of the heating plate, the change of the melting point of the metal in a vacuum environment needs to be considered, and it should not be set too high.

[0066] It should be pointed out that when the heating temperature is lower than 600°C, the target material 200 cannot be completely converted into a liquid phase, nor is it conducive to improving the activity of the target material 200 molecules, thereby ensuring the sputtering efficiency; when the heating temperature is higher than 1200°C, the Brownian motion of the target material 200 molecules is too violent, which is not conducive to ensuring the coating effect.

[0067] In practical applications, the heating temperature can be set to 600° C., 700° C., 800° C., 900° C., 1000° C. or other temperature values ​​according to actual needs, and is not limited here.

[0068] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "center", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships, are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0069] The terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more.

[0070] In the description of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0071] In the description of this specification, specific features, structures, materials or characteristics may be combined in an appropriate manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

[0072] It should be understood that, although the steps in the flowchart of the accompanying drawings are displayed in sequence as indicated by the arrows, these steps are not necessarily executed in sequence in the order indicated by the arrows. Unless otherwise specified herein, there is no strict order restriction on the execution of these steps, and they can be executed in other orders. Moreover, at least a part of the steps in the flowchart of the accompanying drawings may include multiple sub-steps or multiple stages, and these sub-steps or stages are not necessarily executed at the same time, but can be executed at different times, and their execution order is not necessarily sequential, but can be executed in turn or alternately with other steps or at least a part of the sub-steps or stages of other steps.

Claims

1. A magnetron sputtering source, characterized in that: include: A heating assembly, comprising a heating mechanism and a heating container, wherein the heating container is mounted on the heating mechanism and has a first accommodating cavity with an opening at the upper end; A target material is disposed in the first accommodating chamber; and An anode plate is arranged above the heating container, wherein a notch is arranged on the anode plate at a position corresponding to the first accommodating cavity.

2. The magnetron sputtering source according to claim 1, characterized in that The heating temperature of the heating mechanism is set to 600°C~1200°C.

3. The magnetron sputtering source according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The heating mechanism includes an armored heater.

4. The magnetron sputtering source according to claim 3, characterized in that: The shell of the heating mechanism is made of ceramic material.

5. The magnetron sputtering source according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a cooling device, which includes a cooling plate. The cooling plate is installed on a side of the heating mechanism away from the heating container.

6. The magnetron sputtering source according to claim 5, characterized in that: A cavity is formed on at least one of the upper end surface and the lower end surface of the cooling plate, and the cavity is communicated with the cooling water channel.

7. The magnetron sputtering source according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a cover body and an air circuit assembly, the cover body has a second accommodating cavity, the heating assembly, the target material and the anode plate are arranged in the second accommodating cavity, the second accommodating cavity is provided with a hollow portion at the position corresponding to the target material, the air circuit assembly is arranged in the second accommodating cavity, the interval between the air circuit assembly and the inner wall of the second accommodating cavity defines an air flow channel, and the air circuit assembly is connected to the fluid in the hollow portion through the air flow channel.

8. The magnetron sputtering source according to claim 7, characterized in that: The air path assembly includes a first plate, a second plate and a third plate which are stacked together. The first plate is spaced apart at a plurality of air outlet channels. The second plate has at least two second air supply channels spaced apart from each other. Each of the second air supply channels is connected to at least two of the air outlet channels. The third plate is provided with a first air supply channel, which is connected to at least two of the second air supply channels.

9. A liquid phase magnetron sputtering device, characterized in that: It comprises a shell, a support part and the magnetron sputtering source according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the shell has a reaction chamber, the magnetron sputtering source and the support part are both placed in the reaction chamber, and the support part is located above the first accommodating chamber.

10. A coating method, characterized in that: Applied to the liquid phase magnetron sputtering device according to claim 9, the coating method comprises the following steps: Mounting the substrate on the support portion, wherein the surface of the substrate to be sputtered is arranged toward one side of the first accommodating cavity; The target material is placed in the first accommodating cavity, and the target material is heated to a molten state by a heating mechanism, and then a sputtering process is performed.

Images