In-situ cleaning method for transparent conductive oxide and coating equipment
By using in-situ cleaning methods in coating equipment, using adsorbed gas mixture and plasma-assisted bombardment technology, the problem of shutdown and disassembly in the cleaning process in the prior art is solved, and efficient and low-cost transparent conductive oxide cleaning is achieved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202510326659.4
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-03-19
- Publication Date
- 2025-06-20
AI Technical Summary
In the prior art, the cleaning process of transparent conductive oxides on coating equipment requires shutdown and disassembly of components, resulting in long working hours, complex processes and high maintenance costs.
An in-situ cleaning method is adopted to pass into the reaction chamber of the coating equipment, and the adsorption gas mixture is carried out to react with transparent conductive oxide to form an organometallic by-product, and volatilize under heating conditions. At the same time, the plasma generator is used to perform ion-assisted bombardment to further improve the cleaning effect.
It realizes effective removal of transparent conductive oxide films and particulate matter inside the reaction chamber of the coating equipment without breaking the air, cooling, or disassembling and assembling components, improves cleaning efficiency, reduces maintenance costs, and flexibly arranges cleaning time.
Smart Images
Figure CN120174339A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This application relates to the field of display semiconductor technology, and particularly to an in-situ cleaning method for transparent conductive oxides and coating equipment. Background Art
[0002] Transparent conductive oxides are film layer materials prepared by coating equipment in the semiconductor field. In addition to forming a film layer on the coated workpiece, this product will also remain on equipment structures such as the reaction chamber wall and the spray plate, and needs to be cleaned regularly to ensure the normal operation of the components and the stability of the process. In the prior art, this cleaning process usually requires shutting down the machine, then removing the spray plate, cleaning it, and reinstalling it. There are technical problems such as long working hours, complex cleaning processes, and high maintenance costs.
[0003] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the above background art section is only used to enhance the understanding of the background of this application, and therefore may include information that does not constitute the prior art known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Summary of the Invention
[0004] To have a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosed embodiments, a simple summary is given below. This summary is not a general review, nor is it intended to identify key / important constituent elements or delineate the protection scope of these embodiments, but rather serves as a preface to the subsequent detailed description.
[0005] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an in-situ cleaning method for transparent conductive oxides, including: Introduce an adsorption gas mixture into the reaction chamber of the coating equipment, so that the adsorption gas mixture reacts with the transparent conductive oxide to form an organometallic by-product; Heat the inside of the reaction chamber to volatilize the organometallic by-product; Wherein, the adsorption gas mixture includes an alkane gas.
[0006] Optionally, the alkane gas includes any one of methane and ethane or a mixture of the two.
[0007] Optionally, the ratio of the alkane gas to other gases in the adsorption gas mixture is 1:4 to 1:10.
[0008] Optionally, heating the inside of the reaction chamber to volatilize the organometallic by-product includes: The temperature inside the reaction chamber is 100 to 200 °C.
[0009] Optionally, the pressure inside the reaction chamber is 10 to 40 mTorr.
[0010] Optionally, the in-situ cleaning method further includes: While introducing an adsorption gas mixture into the reaction chamber of the coating equipment, a plasma environment is applied to the interior of the reaction chamber to increase the reaction rate of forming organometallic by-products.
[0011] Optionally, after heating the interior of the reaction chamber to volatilize the organometallic by-products, it further includes: Introducing an ion-assisted bombardment gas into the reaction chamber to remove the redeposited organometallic by-products by plasma bombardment.
[0012] Optionally, the ion-assisted bombardment gas is any one or a mixture of two or more of oxygen, helium, neon, and argon.
[0013] Optionally, the adsorption gas mixture is a mixture of the alkane gas and the ion-assisted bombardment gas.
[0014] Optionally, the transparent conductive oxide includes any one or a laminate of two or more of aluminum oxide, tin oxide, indium oxide, gallium oxide, and zinc oxide.
[0015] Optionally, before introducing an adsorption gas mixture into the reaction chamber of the coating equipment to react the adsorption gas mixture with the transparent conductive oxide to form organometallic by-products, it further includes: Purge the interior of the reaction chamber of the coating equipment; Empty the residual gas inside the reaction chamber and the pipelines of the coating equipment.
[0016] Optionally, the purge gas used for purging the interior of the reaction chamber of the coating equipment is nitrogen or an inert gas.
[0017] In some embodiments, a coating equipment includes a reaction chamber and a shower plate, and the interior of the reaction chamber and the shower plate are in-situ cleaned by an in-situ cleaning method of a transparent conductive oxide.
[0018] Optionally, a plasma generating device is provided inside the reaction chamber, or a plasma generating device is cooperatively provided outside the reaction chamber.
[0019] Optionally, the coating equipment is an ALD equipment or a CVD equipment.
[0020] The in-situ cleaning method of the transparent conductive oxide and the coating equipment provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can achieve the following technical effects: By forming an organometallic byproduct with a low boiling point through the free radicals of alkane gases and a transparent conductive oxide, it can be evaporated and discharged at a certain heating temperature. At the same time, by further utilizing the plasma generating device inherent in the coating equipment, the in-situ cleaning effect can be further enhanced through ion-assisted bombardment. In this way, the transparent conductive oxide film and particulate matter deposited inside the reaction chamber of the coating equipment can be effectively removed without breaking the vacuum, reducing the temperature, or disassembling the components, thereby effectively improving the cleaning efficiency of the coating equipment and reducing the maintenance cost. At the same time, the in-situ cleaning method of the present application does not require the equipment to stop, and the cleaning time can be arranged flexibly, which is more conducive to formulating an effective and reasonable cleaning cycle for the coating equipment and improving the stability of the mass production process.
[0021] The above general description and the following description are only exemplary and explanatory, and are not used to limit the present application. Brief Description of the Drawings
[0022] One or more embodiments are exemplarily illustrated by the corresponding drawings. These exemplary illustrations and the drawings do not constitute a limitation on the embodiments. Elements with the same reference numerals in the drawings are shown as similar elements. The drawings do not constitute a scale limitation, and among them: Figure 1 is a flowchart of an in-situ cleaning method for a transparent conductive oxide provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 2 is a flowchart of another in-situ cleaning method for a transparent conductive oxide provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 3 is a flowchart of another in-situ cleaning method for a transparent conductive oxide provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 4a is a flowchart of an in-situ cleaning method for an ITO film layer provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 4b is a flowchart of an in-situ cleaning method for an IGZO film layer provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 5 is a flowchart of an in-situ cleaning method for an AZO film layer provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 6 is a flowchart of an in-situ cleaning method for an indium oxide film layer provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a coating equipment provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0023] Reference Numerals: 100 - reaction chamber; 200 - spray plate. Detailed Description of the Embodiments
[0024] In order to more comprehensively understand the features and technical content of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the implementation of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are for reference and illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present disclosure. In the following technical description, for the sake of explanation, numerous details are provided to give a full understanding of the disclosed embodiments. However, one or more embodiments may still be implemented without these details. In other cases, well-known structures and devices may be shown in a simplified manner to simplify the drawings.
[0025] In the specification and claims of the embodiments of the present disclosure and in the above-mentioned accompanying drawings, terms such as "first", "second", etc. are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data may be interchanged under appropriate circumstances so as to implement the embodiments of the present disclosure described herein. In addition, the terms "comprising" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion.
[0026] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the orientation or positional relationships indicated by terms such as "upper", "lower", "inner", "middle", "outer", "front", "rear", etc. are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings. These terms are mainly used to better describe the embodiments of the present disclosure and their implementations, and are not used to limit that the indicated devices, elements, or components must have a specific orientation or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. And, in addition to being able to represent orientation or positional relationships, some of the above terms may also be used to represent other meanings. For example, the term "upper" may also be used to represent a certain attachment relationship or connection relationship in some cases. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of these terms in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be understood according to specific circumstances.
[0027] In addition, the terms "arranged", "connected", "fixed" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, "connected" 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 directly connected, or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or there can be internal communication between two devices, elements, or components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be understood according to specific circumstances.
[0028] Unless otherwise specified, the term "plurality" means two or more.
[0029] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the character " / " indicates that the objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B means: A or B.
[0030] The term "and / or" is an associative relationship describing an object and indicates that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B means: A or B, or, A and B these three relationships.
[0031] It should be noted that, without conflict, the embodiments in this disclosure and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other.
[0032] Combined with Figure 1 As shown, an in-situ cleaning method for a transparent conductive oxide provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: Step 101: Introduce an adsorption gas mixture into the reaction chamber of the coating equipment, so that the adsorption gas mixture reacts with the transparent conductive oxide to form an organometallic by-product, wherein the adsorption gas mixture includes an alkane gas.
[0033] Step 102: Heat the inside of the reaction chamber to volatilize the organometallic by-product.
[0034] Optionally, the alkane gas in this application includes any one of methane and ethane or a mixture of the two. Among them, the ratio of the alkane gas to other gases in the adsorption gas mixture is 1:4 to 1:10. Preferably, the alkane gas may include methane, and the other gas may include argon.
[0035] Optionally, during the process of heating the inside of the reaction chamber to volatilize the organometallic by-product, the temperature inside the reaction chamber can be 100 to 200 °C, and the pressure inside the reaction chamber can be 10 to 40 mTorr.
[0036] Specifically, for the reaction of the alkane gas with the transparent conductive oxide, the reaction rate does not increase as the proportion of the alkane gas in the adsorption gas mixture increases. The inventors found through qualitative research that when the ratio of the alkane gas to other gases in the adsorption gas mixture is 1:4 to 1:10, the corresponding reaction rate is greater than that when "the ratio of the alkane gas to other gases in the adsorption gas mixture is greater than 1:4" or "the ratio of the alkane gas to other gases in the adsorption gas mixture is less than 1:10". The ratio of the alkane gas to other gases in the adsorption gas mixture can be 1:4, 1:5, 1:6, 1:7, 1:8, 1:9, 1:10.
[0037] The temperature inside the reaction chamber is set to 100 to 200 °C to enable the effective volatilization of the organometallic by-product within this temperature range for removal. When the temperature inside the reaction chamber is less than 100 °C, the volatilization rate of the organometallic by-product will significantly decrease, resulting in a lower in-situ cleaning efficiency; when the temperature inside the reaction chamber is greater than 200 °C, the energy consumption will further increase significantly, but the improvement in the in-situ cleaning efficiency is limited, and considering the economy, it is relatively poor. The temperature inside the reaction chamber can be 100 °C, 110 °C, 120 °C, 130 °C, 140 °C, 150 °C, 160 °C, 170 °C, 180 °C, 190 °C, 200 °C.
[0038] The pressure inside the reaction chamber can be 10 - 40 mTorr. At this time, the inside of the reaction chamber is in a medium vacuum state, which can not only promote the generation and volatilization of organometallic by-products, but also reach and maintain this vacuum degree by relying on the primary mechanical pump, effectively controlling the equipment cost and energy consumption.
[0039] By using the in-situ cleaning method of the transparent conductive oxide provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure, free radicals of alkane gases react with the transparent conductive oxide to form organometallic by-products with relatively low boiling points, which can be evaporated and discharged at a certain heating temperature. At the same time, by further using the plasma generating device inherent in the coating equipment, the in-situ cleaning effect can be further improved through ion-assisted bombardment. In this way, the transparent conductive oxide film and particulate matter deposited inside the reaction chamber of the coating equipment can be effectively removed without breaking vacuum, reducing temperature, or disassembling components, thereby effectively improving the cleaning efficiency of the coating equipment and reducing the maintenance cost. At the same time, the in-situ cleaning method of the present application does not require the equipment to stop, and the cleaning time can be arranged flexibly, which is more conducive to formulating an effective and reasonable cleaning cycle for the coating equipment and improving the stability of the mass production process.
[0040] Combined Figure 2 As shown in Step 201: Introduce an adsorption gas mixture into the reaction chamber of the coating equipment, so that the adsorption gas mixture reacts with the transparent conductive oxide to form organometallic by-products, wherein the adsorption gas mixture includes alkane gases.
[0041] Step 202: While introducing the adsorption gas mixture into the reaction chamber of the coating equipment, apply a plasma environment to the reaction chamber to increase the reaction rate of forming organometallic by-products.
[0042] Step 203: Heat the inside of the reaction chamber to volatilize the organometallic by-products.
[0043] Step 204: Introduce an ion-assisted bombardment gas into the reaction chamber to remove the re-deposited organometallic by-products by plasma bombardment.
[0044] Optionally, the ion-assisted bombardment gas of the present application can be any one or a mixture of two or more of oxygen, helium, neon, and argon. Further, the adsorption gas mixture of the present application is a mixture of alkane gases and ion-assisted bombardment gases.
[0045] Optionally, the transparent conductive oxide of the present application includes any one or a laminate of two or more of aluminum oxide, tin oxide, indium oxide, gallium oxide, and zinc oxide.
[0046] In this way, in the present application, an organic metal by-product with a relatively low boiling point is formed by adsorbing a gas mixture and a transparent conductive oxide, and in-situ cleaning is achieved by combining ion-assisted bombardment.
[0047] In this way, the transparent conductive oxide and particulate matter deposited inside the reaction chamber of the coating equipment can be effectively removed without breaking vacuum, lowering the temperature, or removing the parts of the coating equipment, and the reaction efficiency of the organic metal by-product can be enhanced by utilizing the plasma environment. When some of the organic metal by-products are not removed by evaporation but remain inside the reaction chamber after redeposition, the ion-assisted bombardment can remove the redeposited organic metal by-products, further effectively improving the cleaning efficiency of the coating equipment, eliminating the need to remove the parts of the coating equipment, simplifying the cleaning process, and reducing the maintenance cost.
[0048] Specifically, the plasma environment in step 202 and the plasma bombardment in step 204 can be either the plasma generated by the plasma generating device inherent in the equipment or the plasma generating device equipped for in-situ cleaning; meanwhile, the plasma generating device can be the plasma generated by the structure inside the process chamber, such as capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP), or the plasma generated by the structure outside the process chamber, such as remote plasma source (RPS).
[0049] The ion-assisted bombardment gas can be any one or a mixture of two or more of oxygen, helium, neon, and argon. Through the plasma generating devices exemplified above, any one or a mixture of two or more of oxygen, helium, neon, and argon can be specifically excited by a radio frequency power supply to generate plasma, thereby realizing ion-assisted bombardment.
[0050] The adsorbed gas mixture is a mixture of an alkane gas and an ion-assisted bombardment gas. That is, any one or a mixture of two or more of oxygen, helium, neon, and argon can be selected. When mixed with an alkane gas, it can form an adsorbed gas mixture, and when not mixed with an alkane gas, it can be used as an ion-assisted bombardment gas. This can make some of the gases used in the two process steps the same, reduce the types of gases required for in-situ cleaning, and achieve the effects of simplifying the gas path design and saving gas consumption costs.
[0051] The transparent conductive oxide includes any one or a laminate of two or more of aluminum oxide, tin oxide, indium oxide, gallium oxide, and zinc oxide. When two or more of the above transparent conductive oxides are laminated, materials such as ITO, AZO, and IGZO can be formed, and the in-situ cleaning method of the present invention can effectively clean the above materials.
[0052] For the above-mentioned transparent conductive oxides, among the generated organometallic by-products, the typical organometallic by-products corresponding to the element indium are trimethylindium and triethylindium; the typical organometallic by-products corresponding to the element gallium are trimethylgallium and triethylgallium; the typical organometallic by-products corresponding to the element zinc are dimethylzinc and diethylzinc.
[0053] Combined with Figure 3 As shown, in another embodiment of the present application, the present application provides an in-situ cleaning method for a transparent conductive oxide, including: Step 301: Purge the inside of the reaction chamber of the coating equipment.
[0054] Step 302: Evacuate the residual gas inside the reaction chamber and the pipelines of the coating equipment.
[0055] Step 303: Introduce an adsorption gas mixture into the reaction chamber of the coating equipment, so that the adsorption gas mixture reacts with the transparent conductive oxide to form an organometallic by-product. Among them, the adsorption gas mixture includes an alkane gas.
[0056] Step 304: Heat the inside of the reaction chamber to volatilize the organometallic by-product.
[0057] Optionally, during the process of purging the inside of the reaction chamber of the coating equipment, the purging gas used is nitrogen or an inert gas.
[0058] Preferably, the inert gas in the present application is an inert gas composed of inert elements such as helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon or radon, and nitrogen is not regarded as an inert gas.
[0059] In this way, by purging the inside of the reaction chamber of the coating equipment before in-situ cleaning, so as to evacuate the residual gas inside the reaction chamber and the pipelines of the coating equipment, the cleaning efficiency and cleaning effect of in-situ cleaning can be improved.
[0060] Combined with Figure 4a As shown, in an actual application of the present application, the ITO film layer deposited on the inner wall of the reaction chamber and the spray plate is in-situ cleaned by the in-situ cleaning method of the transparent conductive oxide of the present application, including: Step 401: Introduce an adsorption gas mixture into the reaction chamber of the coating equipment.
[0061] Step 402: Wait for the adsorption gas mixture to fully contact and adsorb on the ITO film layer to be removed to form an organometallic by-product.
[0062] Step 403: Heat the inside of the reaction chamber to volatilize the organometallic by-product.
[0063] Step 404: Introduce ionized argon or oxygen into the reaction chamber of the coating equipment to perform ion bombardment on the organometallic by-products, causing the organometallic by-products to granulate.
[0064] Specifically, ITO is a semiconductor material commonly used in fields such as LCD and OLED. For the coating equipment for preparing ITO, an ITO film layer will also be deposited on the inner wall of its reaction chamber and the spray plate. As the coating equipment operates for a long time, the thickness of the ITO film layer inside the reaction chamber gradually increases, which will increase the risk of the ITO film layer peeling off and affect the film-forming effect of the substrate or wafer. Therefore, to ensure the long-term stability of the coating equipment and process, it is necessary to regularly maintain and clean the coating equipment to remove the ITO film layer deposited on the inner part of the reaction chamber and the spray plate.
[0065] Using the in-situ cleaning method of the present application, by introducing the adsorption gas mixture into the reaction chamber of the coating equipment, free radical groups such as methyl or ethyl in the adsorption gas mixture will adsorb on the surface of the ITO film layer deposited inside the reaction chamber, forming organometallic by-products with a relatively low boiling point. At a certain temperature, the volatilization of the organometallic by-products can achieve the removal of the ITO film layer deposited inside the reaction chamber. However, there is a possibility that the organometallic by-products will redeposit inside the reaction chamber. Therefore, it is necessary to further combine Step 404 for ion-assisted bombardment to achieve the complete removal of the thin film deposited inside the reaction chamber of the coating equipment.
[0066] Combined Figure 4b As shown, in a practical application of the present application, the in-situ cleaning of the IGZO film layer deposited on the inner wall of the reaction chamber and the spray plate is carried out by the in-situ cleaning method of the transparent conductive oxide of the present application, including: Step 405: Introduce the adsorption gas mixture into the reaction chamber of the coating equipment.
[0067] Step 406: Wait for the adsorption gas mixture to fully contact and adsorb on the IGZO film layer to be removed, forming organometallic by-products.
[0068] Step 407: Heat the inside of the reaction chamber to volatilize the organometallic by-products.
[0069] Step 408: Introduce ionized argon or oxygen into the reaction chamber of the coating equipment to perform ion bombardment on the organometallic by-products, causing the organometallic by-products to granulate.
[0070] Specifically, indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) has a higher electron mobility compared to traditional amorphous silicon materials, showing great potential in the display industry. For the coating equipment of IGZO, the IGZO film layer will be deposited both inside the reaction chamber and on the shower plate under the same conditions of contact with the source. With the long-term operation of the coating equipment, the thickness of the IGZO film layer inside the reaction chamber gradually increases, which will increase the risk of the IGZO film layer peeling off and ultimately affect the film-forming effect of the substrate or wafer. Therefore, to ensure the long-term stability of the coating equipment and process, it is necessary to regularly maintain and clean the coating equipment to remove the IGZO film layer deposited inside the chamber and on the shower plate.
[0071] By using the in-situ cleaning method of the present application, the coating equipment can be cleaned simply and quickly at regular intervals. During the in-situ cleaning process, by introducing an adsorption gas mixture into the reaction chamber of the coating equipment, the free radicals formed by the adsorption gas mixture will adsorb on the surface of the IGZO film layer deposited inside the reaction chamber, forming an organometallic by-product with a relatively low boiling point. At a certain temperature, the volatilization of the organometallic by-product can achieve the removal of the IGZO film layer deposited inside the reaction chamber. However, there is a possibility that the organometallic by-product will redeposit inside the reaction chamber. Therefore, it is necessary to further combine step 404 for ion-assisted bombardment to achieve the complete removal of the thin film deposited inside the reaction chamber of the coating equipment.
[0072] In another practical application of the present application, as shown in Figure 5 the in-situ cleaning of the AZO film layer deposited on the inner wall of the reaction chamber and the shower plate by the in-situ cleaning method of the transparent conductive oxide of the present application includes: Step 501: Stop the AZO film-forming process of the coating equipment.
[0073] Step 502: Remove the coating sample or wafer.
[0074] Step 503: Use nitrogen to thoroughly purge the inside of the reaction chamber of the coating equipment.
[0075] Step 504: Evacuate the gas inside the reaction chamber and the pipelines of the coating equipment.
[0076] Step 505: Introduce an adsorption gas mixture into the reaction chamber of the coating equipment.
[0077] Step 506: Wait for the adsorption gas mixture to fully contact and adsorb on the AZO film layer to be removed, forming an organometallic by-product.
[0078] Step 507: Introduce ionized argon or oxygen into the reaction chamber of the coating equipment to perform ion bombardment on the organometallic by-product to granulate the organometallic by-product.
[0079] Optionally, the adsorbed gas mixture includes a mixture of methane and argon.
[0080] Optionally, the flow ratio of methane to argon in the mixture is 1:4 to 1:10.
[0081] It can be seen from steps 501 to 504 that in this application, after the AZO film-forming process is stopped in the coating equipment and the coated sample is taken out, nitrogen is used to fully purge the reaction chamber, and then the gas inside the reaction chamber and the pipeline is evacuated. In this way, it is possible to effectively remove the AZO film layer and particulate matter deposited inside the reaction chamber of the coating equipment without breaking the vacuum, without cooling down, and without removing the equipment parts.
[0082] In another practical application of this application, in combination with Figure 6 As shown, the indium oxide film layer deposited on the inner wall of the reaction chamber and the spray plate is in-situ cleaned by the in-situ cleaning method of the transparent conductive oxide of this application, including: Step 601: Introduce an adsorbed gas mixture into the reaction chamber of the coating equipment.
[0083] Step 602: Turn on the radio frequency power supply to ionize the adsorbed gas mixture and plasmaize the adsorbed gas mixture.
[0084] Step 603: Wait for the adsorbed gas mixture to fully contact and adsorb on the indium oxide film layer to be removed to form an organometallic by-product.
[0085] Step 604: Introduce plasmaized argon or oxygen into the reaction chamber of the coating equipment to perform ion bombardment on the organometallic by-product to granulate the organometallic by-product.
[0086] Step 605: Repeat steps 601 to 604 until the indium oxide film layer inside the reaction chamber of the coating equipment is completely removed and all are granulated organometallic by-products.
[0087] Step 606: Introduce an inert gas into the reaction chamber of the coating equipment to purge the granulated organometallic by-product formed after ion bombardment.
[0088] Step 607: Under the action of a vacuum pump, use a particle trap to filter the granulated organometallic by-product.
[0089] Optionally, during the in-situ cleaning process, in step 601, the adsorbed gas mixture includes a mixture of methane and argon. Argon plays a role in diluting methane and assisting the reaction. Methane radicals have the fastest reaction rate at a specific concentration, and too small or too large a concentration will cause the reaction rate to slow down. In addition, in step 602, by turning on the radio frequency power supply, the reaction will be more intense, thereby improving the cleaning efficiency.
[0090] Optionally, during the in-situ cleaning process, referring to the etching process parameters, the flow ratio of methane radicals to argon in the mixed gas is 1:4 to 1:10.
[0091] Preferably, the inert gas in this application is an inert gas composed of inert elements such as helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, or radon, and nitrogen is not regarded as an inert gas.
[0092] It should be noted that during the in-situ cleaning process, the gas for ion-assisted bombardment can be argon or oxygen. The organometallic by-products generated in step 603 are volatile, and there are no new products in step 604. Only the non-volatile organometallic by-products are bombarded away by physical methods. Therefore, the adsorption gas mixture in step 603 can still participate in the reaction, and there is no need for purging between the two steps.
[0093] Combined Figure 7 As shown, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a coating device, including a reaction chamber 100 and a spray plate 200. The inside of the reaction chamber 100 and the spray plate 200 are subjected to in-situ cleaning by the in-situ cleaning method of transparent conductive oxides. At the same time, a plasma generating device is provided inside the reaction chamber, or a plasma generating device is cooperatively provided outside the reaction chamber. Among them, the coating device of this application can be an Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) device or a Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) device.
[0094] Optionally, during the in-situ cleaning process, the working modes of the radio frequency power supply of the coating device in this application include a continuous discharge mode and a pulsed discharge mode. The two discharge modes are related to the gas introduced and the process route, and there is no distinction between preferred and secondary, and the radio frequency power can be between 500 and 800 W.
[0095] The above description and the drawings fully illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure so that those skilled in the art can practice them. Other embodiments may include structural and other changes. The embodiments only represent possible variations. Unless explicitly required, the individual components and functions are optional, and the order of operations can vary. Some parts and features of some embodiments can be included in or replaced by parts and features of other embodiments. The embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the structures already described and shown in the drawings, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from its scope. The scope of the present disclosure is only limited by the appended claims.
Claims
1. An in-situ cleaning method for a transparent conductive oxide, characterized in that: include: Introducing an adsorbed gas mixture into a reaction chamber of a coating device to react the adsorbed gas mixture with a transparent conductive oxide to form an organic metal byproduct; heating the interior of the reaction chamber to volatilize the organic metal byproducts; Wherein, the adsorbed gas mixture includes alkane gas.
2. The in-situ cleaning method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The alkane gas includes any one of methane and ethane or a mixture of the two.
3. The in-situ cleaning method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The ratio of the alkane gas to other gases in the adsorbed gas mixture is 1:4-1:
10.
4. The in-situ cleaning method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step of heating the interior of the reaction chamber to volatilize the organic metal byproducts comprises: The temperature in the reaction chamber is 100-200°C.
5. The in-situ cleaning method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pressure in the reaction chamber is 10-40 mTorr.
6. The in-situ cleaning method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: While the adsorption gas mixture is introduced into the reaction chamber of the coating equipment, a plasma environment is applied to the reaction chamber to increase the reaction rate of forming organic metal by-products.
7. The in-situ cleaning method according to claim 1, characterized in that: After heating the interior of the reaction chamber to volatilize the organic metal byproducts, the method further comprises: An ion-assisted bombardment gas is introduced into the reaction chamber to remove the redeposited organic metal byproducts by plasma bombardment.
8. The in-situ cleaning method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The ion-assisted bombardment gas is any one of oxygen, helium, neon and argon, or a mixture of two or more of the above.
9. The in-situ cleaning method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The adsorption gas mixture is a mixture of the alkane gas and the ion-assisted bombardment gas.
10. The in-situ cleaning method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The transparent conductive oxide includes any one of aluminum oxide, tin oxide, indium oxide, gallium oxide and zinc oxide, or a stack of two or more thereof.
11. The in-situ cleaning method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Before introducing the adsorbed gas mixture into the reaction chamber of the coating device to react the adsorbed gas mixture with the transparent conductive oxide to form an organic metal by-product, the method further includes: Purging the interior of the reaction chamber of the coating equipment; The residual gas in the reaction chamber and the pipeline of the coating equipment is evacuated.
12. The in-situ cleaning method according to claim 11, characterized in that: The inside of the reaction chamber of the coating equipment is purged, and the purging gas used is nitrogen or an inert gas.
13. A coating device, comprising a reaction chamber and a shower plate, characterized in that: The interior of the reaction chamber and the shower plate are in-situ cleaned by the in-situ cleaning method of transparent conductive oxide according to any one of claims 1 to 12.
14. The coating device according to claim 13, characterized in that: A plasma generating device is arranged in the reaction chamber, or a plasma generating device is arranged outside the reaction chamber.
15. The coating device according to claim 13, characterized in that: The coating equipment is an ALD equipment or a CVD equipment.