A thermal atomic layer deposition device

Abstract

The present invention belongs to the technical field of atomic layer deposition, and relates to a thermal atomic layer deposition device, comprising: a reaction chamber for providing a reaction space; an air pump for extracting a vacuum inside the reaction chamber; the air pump is connected to the reaction chamber; a gas detector for detecting the gas in the reaction chamber; the gas detector is arranged in the reaction chamber; a controller for controlling the air pump according to the detection result of the gas detector; the controller is respectively connected to the air pump and the gas detector. The thermal atomic layer deposition device provided in the present application can detect the type and content of the gas in the reaction chamber. If the gas type or content is not required for the reaction, the air pump is turned on to discharge the gas in the reaction chamber, thereby reducing the interference of impurity gas or excess gas to the normal reaction and reducing the generation of reaction impurities.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of atomic layer deposition, and in particular to a thermal atomic layer deposition device. Background Art

[0002] Nickel thin film has outstanding advantages such as low resistivity, continuity and uniformity. Traditional Ni thin films are all deposited with a layer of nickel metal using physical vapor deposition technology. When the device size continues to shrink to 16 nanometers and below, the traditional PVD method can no longer meet the demand. Compared with physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) will be the two most promising methods for depositing thin film metals or metal compounds. The CVD process is a deposition process in which the precursor and reactant exist in the reaction chamber at the same time and occur in the gas phase or on the substrate surface under certain reaction conditions. Strictly speaking, ALD belongs to CVD technology. Unlike traditional CVD, this technology achieves the growth of thin films layer by layer by repeating two or more half reactions. The precursor of each half reaction in the ALD reaction chamber exists separately, and the half reactions are purged with inert gas. In addition, in each half reaction cycle in the ALD, the reaction between the precursor and the substrate surface is self-limited, so ALD can achieve a film growth method with an atomic layer thickness in each cycle. In particular, the process is based on the principle of self-limited chemical adsorption reaction of the precursor surface, and has excellent conformal properties for high aspect ratio holes and complex three-dimensional structure surfaces. In addition, the ALD technology can accurately control the thickness of the film growth by controlling the number of deposition cycles.

[0003] Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a promising deposition method due to its excellent conformality and atomic thickness / composition controllability. Scholars have studied the ALD process of Co thin films using various Co precursors. For most Co precursors, plasma-enhanced ALD (PE-ALD) using NH3 plasma can produce pure Co films with low resistivity. For example, high-purity PE-ALD Co films with resistivity as low as 10μcm were deposited using CoCp2 (biscyclopentadienyl cobalt) and NH3 plasma, but Co films severely contaminated with C were obtained using H2 plasma, which shows that the selection of an appropriate reducing agent is critical to obtaining high-quality Co films.

[0004] ALD technology has been successfully applied to the thin film deposition process of various materials. The deposition of metallic nickel using ALD technology mainly involves plasma hydrogen reduction of nickel precursors - the high activity of plasma hydrogen reaction can greatly reduce the deposition temperature, but at the same time, due to their high activity, they may recombine before entering the groove, ultimately resulting in poor deposition and coating effects in high aspect ratio grooves. At the same time, the storage and safe use of hydrogen bring many inconveniences to the entire process. At present, the precursors required for the deposition of nickel thin films using ALD technology are all solid substances, such as nickel hexafluoroacetylacetonate, nickel tetramethylheptanedione, nickel bis(cyclopentadienyl), nickelocene and other precursors, which are less volatile during use and easily condense into a solid state, clogging manual valves and manual valves.

[0005] ALD technology has been successfully applied to the thin film deposition process of various materials. However, there are currently many problems with the deposition of metal copper films, which is difficult to be satisfactory. The main reason is that the agglomeration temperature of copper atoms is low, while the existing copper film deposition temperature is higher than the agglomeration temperature of copper atoms, which makes the deposited copper film granular, affecting the performance of the copper film. The deposition of metal Cu using ALD technology mainly involves plasma hydrogen reduction of copper precursors - the high activity of plasma hydrogen reaction can greatly reduce the deposition temperature, but at the same time, due to their high activity, they may recombine before entering the groove, ultimately resulting in poor deposition and coating effects in high aspect ratio grooves. At the same time, the storage and use safety of hydrogen bring many inconveniences to the entire process.

[0006] When performing atomic layer deposition, the type or content of the gas in the reaction chamber may not be required by the reaction, which may cause impurities to be generated in the reactants, and thus needs to be improved. Summary of the invention

[0007] In view of this, the present invention provides a thermal atomic layer deposition device.

[0008] Specifically, the present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0009] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thermal atomic layer deposition apparatus, comprising:

[0010] A reaction chamber, used to provide a reaction space;

[0011] An air pump, used for extracting a vacuum inside the reaction chamber; the air pump is connected to the reaction chamber;

[0012] A gas detector, used for detecting the gas in the reaction chamber; the gas detector is arranged in the reaction chamber;

[0013] A controller is used to control the air pump according to the detection result of the gas detector; the controller is connected to the air pump and the gas detector respectively.

[0014] Optionally, it further includes: a one-way valve, wherein the one-way valve is respectively connected to the reaction chamber and the air pump, and the one-way valve only allows gas to flow from the reaction chamber to the air pump.

[0015] Optionally, it further includes: an air inlet pipe, wherein the air inlet pipe is connected to the reaction chamber.

[0016] Optionally, it also includes: a gas regulating valve, which is arranged on the air inlet pipe.

[0017] Optionally, it further includes: a feed pipe, which is connected to the reaction chamber.

[0018] Optionally, it also includes: a feed regulating valve, which is arranged on the feed pipe.

[0019] Optionally, it further comprises: an inert gas delivery pipe, wherein the inert gas delivery pipe is connected to the reaction chamber.

[0020] Optionally, it further comprises: an inert gas regulating valve, wherein the inert gas regulating valve is arranged on the inert gas delivery pipe.

[0021] Optionally, it further includes: a recycling tube, a first end of which is connected to the solid output end of the vacuum pump, and a second end of which is connected to the reaction chamber.

[0022] Optionally, it also includes: a flow meter, which is arranged on the recycling pipe.

[0023] The technical solution provided by the present invention brings at least the following beneficial effects:

[0024] A thermal atomic layer deposition device provided in the present application can detect the type and content of gas in the reaction chamber. If the gas type or content is not required for the reaction, the vacuum pump is turned on to discharge the gas in the reaction chamber, thereby reducing the interference of impurity gas or excess gas on the normal reaction and reducing the generation of reaction impurities. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

[0026] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or related technical descriptions are briefly introduced below. Obviously, for ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative labor.

[0027] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of Example 1 of a thermal atomic layer deposition device provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of Example 2 of a thermal atomic layer deposition device provided in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are 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.

[0030] Figure 1 A thermal atomic layer deposition device suitable for an embodiment of the present invention is schematically shown.

[0031] Reference Figure 1-2 As shown, the present application provides a thermal atomic layer deposition device, comprising:

[0032] A reaction chamber 1, used to provide a reaction space;

[0033] A vacuum pump 2 is used to extract a vacuum inside the reaction chamber 1; the vacuum pump 2 is connected to the reaction chamber 1;

[0034] A gas detector 3, used for detecting the gas in the reaction chamber 1; the gas detector 3 is arranged in the reaction chamber 1;

[0035] The controller 13 is used to control the air pump 2 according to the detection result of the gas detector 3; the controller 13 is connected to the air pump 2 and the gas detector 3 respectively.

[0036] In the embodiment of the present application, the gas detector 3 detects the gas in the reaction chamber 1, mainly to detect whether the type of gas is required for the reaction, and can also detect whether the content of the gas exceeds the required content. If the type of gas is not required for the reaction, the controller 13 controls the vacuum pump 2 to start working, and the vacuum pump 2 extracts the gas in the reaction chamber 1 and discharges it; if the gas content exceeds the content required for the reaction, the controller 13 controls the vacuum pump 2 to start working, and the vacuum pump 2 extracts the gas in the reaction chamber 1 and discharges it until the gas content is reduced to the content required for the reaction, at which time the controller 13 controls the vacuum pump 2 to stop working.

[0037] Illustratively, a thermal atomic layer deposition device provided in the present application also includes: a one-way valve 4, which is respectively connected to the reaction chamber 1 and the vacuum pump 2, and the one-way valve 4 only allows gas to flow from the reaction chamber 1 to the vacuum pump 2.

[0038] In the embodiment of the present application, when the gas is discharged from the reaction chamber 1 through the vacuum pump 2, in order to prevent the gas from flowing back from the vacuum pump 2 to the reaction chamber 1, a one-way valve 4 is specially provided. The one-way valve 4 only allows the gas to flow from the reaction chamber 1 to the vacuum pump 2, but does not allow the gas to flow from the vacuum pump 2 to the reaction chamber 1.

[0039] Illustratively, a thermal atomic layer deposition device provided in the present application further includes: an air inlet pipe 5 , wherein the air inlet pipe 5 is connected to the reaction chamber 1 .

[0040] In the embodiment of the present application, the air inlet pipe 5 is used to input reaction gas into the reaction chamber 1 .

[0041] Illustratively, a thermal atomic layer deposition device provided in the present application further includes: a gas regulating valve 6 , wherein the gas regulating valve 6 is disposed on the air inlet pipe 5 .

[0042] In the embodiment of the present application, the gas regulating valve 6 is used to control the on-off and opening size of the air inlet pipe 5 , so as to change the reaction gas entering the reaction chamber 1 through the air inlet pipe 5 .

[0043] Illustratively, a thermal atomic layer deposition device provided in the present application further includes: a feed pipe 7 , wherein the feed pipe 7 is connected to the reaction chamber 1 .

[0044] In the embodiment of the present application, the feed pipe 7 is used to input reaction solid / liquid raw materials into the reaction chamber 1 .

[0045] Illustratively, a thermal atomic layer deposition device provided in the present application further includes: a feed regulating valve 8 , wherein the feed regulating valve 8 is disposed on the feed pipe 7 .

[0046] In the embodiment of the present application, the feed regulating valve 8 is used to control the on-off and opening size of the feed pipe 7, so as to change the reaction solid / liquid raw materials entering the reaction chamber 1 through the feed pipe 7.

[0047] Illustratively, a thermal atomic layer deposition device provided in the present application further includes: an inert gas delivery pipe 9 , wherein the inert gas delivery pipe 9 is connected to the reaction chamber 1 .

[0048] In the embodiment of the present application, after the vacuum pump 2 discharges the gas, the pressure in the reaction chamber 1 will increase, increasing the possibility of failure of the reaction chamber 1. Therefore, at this time, it is possible to consider adding an inert gas to the reaction chamber 1. On the one hand, the inert gas can reduce the pressure in the reaction chamber 1 and reduce the possibility of failure of the reaction chamber 1; on the other hand, the inert gas does not react with the reaction gas and the reaction raw materials.

[0049] Illustratively, a thermal atomic layer deposition device provided in the present application further includes: an inert gas regulating valve 10 , wherein the inert gas regulating valve 10 is disposed on the inert gas delivery pipe 9 .

[0050] In the embodiment of the present application, the inert gas regulating valve 10 is used to control the on-off and opening size of the inert gas delivery pipe 9, so as to change the inert gas entering the reaction chamber 1 through the inert gas delivery pipe 9.

[0051] Exemplarily, a thermal atomic layer deposition device provided in the present application also includes: a recycling tube 11, a first end of the recycling tube 11 is connected to the solid output end of the vacuum pump 2, and a second end of the recycling tube 11 is connected to the reaction chamber 1.

[0052] In the embodiment of the present application, when the vacuum pump 2 extracts gas, some reaction raw materials will also be carried along with the gas. If the gas is directly discharged, the part of the reaction raw materials will also be discharged, resulting in waste. Therefore, it is possible to consider recycling the part of the reaction raw materials. The reaction raw materials carried in the exhaust gas will be gathered at the solid output end of the vacuum pump 2, and the part of the reaction raw materials will be recycled into the reaction chamber 1 through the recycling pipe 11 for reuse.

[0053] Illustratively, a thermal atomic layer deposition device provided in the present application further includes: a flow meter 12 , and the flow meter 12 is arranged on the recycling pipe 11 .

[0054] In the embodiment of the present application, the flow meter 12 is used to detect the reaction raw materials refluxed into the reaction chamber 1 through the recycling pipe 11, so as to facilitate the statistics and calculation of the generated reactants and the amount of reaction raw materials that need to be replenished through the feed pipe 7.

[0055] A thermal atomic layer deposition device provided in the present application can detect the type and content of gas in the reaction chamber. If the gas type or content is not required for the reaction, the vacuum pump is turned on to discharge the gas in the reaction chamber, thereby reducing the interference of impurity gas or excess gas on the normal reaction and reducing the generation of reaction impurities.

[0056] It should be noted that, in the present application, the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", "back", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "vertical", "horizontal", "lateral", "longitudinal" and the like indicate positions or positional relationships based on the positions or positional relationships shown in the drawings. These terms are mainly used to better describe the present application and its embodiments, and are not used to limit the indicated devices, elements or components to have a specific orientation, or to be constructed and operated in a specific orientation.

[0057] In addition, some of the above terms may be used to express other meanings in addition to indicating orientation or positional relationship. For example, the term "on" may also be used to express a certain dependency or connection relationship in some cases. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of these terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0058] In addition, the terms "installed", "set", "provided with", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral structure; it can be a mechanical connection, or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be an internal connection between two devices, elements, or components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0059] In addition, the terms "first", "second", etc. are mainly used to distinguish different devices, elements or components (the specific types and structures may be the same or different), and are not used to indicate or imply the relative importance and quantity of the indicated devices, elements or components. Unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more.

[0060] The foregoing is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, which enables those skilled in the art to understand or implement the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but rather to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features claimed herein.

Claims

1. A thermal atomic layer deposition device, characterized in that: include: A reaction chamber, used to provide a reaction space; A vacuum pump, used to draw a vacuum inside the reaction chamber; The vacuum pump is connected to the reaction chamber; A gas detector, used for detecting the gas in the reaction chamber; the gas detector is arranged in the reaction chamber; A controller is used to control the air pump according to the detection result of the gas detector; the controller is connected to the air pump and the gas detector respectively.

2. The thermal atomic layer deposition device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: A one-way valve is connected to the reaction chamber and the air pump respectively, and the one-way valve only allows gas to flow from the reaction chamber to the air pump.

3. The thermal atomic layer deposition device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: An air inlet pipe is connected to the reaction chamber.

4. The thermal atomic layer deposition device according to claim 3, characterized in that: Also includes: A gas regulating valve is arranged on the air inlet pipe.

5. The thermal atomic layer deposition device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: A feed pipe is connected to the reaction chamber.

6. The thermal atomic layer deposition device according to claim 5, characterized in that: Also includes: A feed regulating valve is arranged on the feed pipe.

7. The thermal atomic layer deposition device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: An inert gas delivery pipe is connected to the reaction chamber.

8. The thermal atomic layer deposition device according to claim 7, characterized in that: Also includes: An inert gas regulating valve is arranged on the inert gas delivery pipe.

9. The thermal atomic layer deposition device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: A recycling pipe, wherein a first end of the recycling pipe is connected to the solid output end of the vacuum pump, and a second end of the recycling pipe is connected to the reaction chamber.

10. The thermal atomic layer deposition device according to claim 9, characterized in that: Also includes: A flow meter is arranged on the recycling pipe.

Images