Surface treatment apparatus

Abstract

A surface treatment device (1) is provided with: a vacuum container (11); an object-to-be-processed holding unit (122) which is provided inside the vacuum container (11) and which holds an object to be processed; and an object-to-be-processed moving mechanism (12) which surrounds the object-to-be-processed holding unit (122) along a surrounding path. A plurality of surface treatment units (13, 14), which are provided so as to face the surrounding path, and which perform surface treatment on the surface of the object to be treated using a predetermined treatment gas; and an exhaust port (16) which is provided on the inside of the surrounding path and which discharges the processing gas and / or a reaction gas generated by the reaction of the processing gas to the outside of the vacuum container (11).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to a surface processing apparatus that performs film formation or etching on a surface of an object to be processed using a plasma or the like. BACKGROUND

[0002] When a film composed of a metal compound such as a nitride or an oxide of metal is formed on a surface of an object to be processed, a method of repeatedly performing a plurality of times the following operation is used: after a metal layer composed of metal having a thickness of one to several atoms is formed, the metal layer is subjected to a nitriding or oxidizing treatment or the like.

[0003] As an apparatus that performs the above-described treatment, Patent Literature 1 describes a surface processing apparatus that has, inside a vacuum container, a substrate holder that holds a plurality of substrates (objects to be processed) on a circumferential portion of a rotating disk, and a sputtering source and a plasma generator that are each provided alternately in two on the upper side or lower side of the circumferential portion of the substrate holder in a manner facing the substrate holder. The sputtering source has a cathode that holds a target on a surface, and an element that supplies a sputtering gas to the vicinity of the target. The plasma generator has a microwave generator (instead of which, a high-frequency antenna of an inductively coupled type or an electrode of a capacitively coupled type can also be used), and a means that supplies a plasma raw material gas such as nitrogen or oxygen.

[0004] In this surface processing apparatus, while the substrate holder is rotated at a certain speed in a state in which a plurality of substrates are held on the circumferential portion of the substrate holder, a target made of metal is sputtered in the sputtering source, and a nitrogen plasma or an oxygen plasma is generated in the plasma generator. Thus, the following operation is repeatedly performed: after a metal layer is formed on the surface of each substrate by the sputtering source, the metal layer is subjected to nitriding or oxidizing by the plasma generator, thereby forming a film of a metal nitride or an oxide on the surface of each substrate.

[0005] In this surface processing apparatus, it is necessary to prevent the sputtering gas supplied to the sputtering source from flowing into the plasma generator, or the reaction gas obtained by decomposition of the plasma raw material gas in the plasma generator from flowing into the sputtering source. Therefore, a partition wall that prevents movement of gas is provided between the sputtering sources and the plasma generator that are adjacent in the circumferential direction, and at a position on the side of the rotation center of the substrate holder as viewed from the sputtering sources or the plasma generator. Further, an exhaust port that is connected to an exhaust pump is provided in the wall of the vacuum container on the side of the sputtering source or the plasma generator. By this configuration, the sputtering gas supplied to the sputtering source or the reaction gas generated in the plasma generator is exhausted to the outside of the vacuum container through the exhaust port.

[0006] [Patent Literature]

[0007] [Patent Literature]

[0008] [Patent Literature 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-250784 SUMMARY

[0009] [Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

[0010] In the surface treatment apparatus described in Patent Document 1, four exhaust ports are provided in total corresponding to the two sputtering sources and the two plasma generators each provided two, and four exhaust pumps are required in correspondence thereto. If a plurality of exhaust pumps are provided in the surface treatment apparatus as described above, the cost of the apparatus increases. On the other hand, if the number of exhaust ports is reduced in order to suppress the cost of the apparatus, the sputtering gas or the reaction gas cannot be efficiently exhausted from the sputtering sources and the plasma generators provided at positions remote from the exhaust ports.

[0011] The present application has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present application is to provide a surface treatment apparatus capable of efficiently exhausting a sputtering gas or the like or a reaction gas generated by the reaction of the sputtering gas, regardless of the number of exhaust ports.

[0012] [Means for Solving the Problems]

[0013] A surface treatment apparatus according to the present application formed to solve the above-described problems includes:

[0014] a) a vacuum container;

[0015] b) a processed object holding portion provided in the vacuum container and holding a processed object, and a processed object moving mechanism moving the processed object holding portion along a circumferential path;

[0016] c) a plurality of surface treatment portions provided in opposition to the circumferential path and performing surface treatment on the processed object using a predetermined treatment gas; and

[0017] d) an exhaust port provided on the inner side of the circumferential path and exhausting the treatment gas and / or a reaction gas generated by the reaction of the treatment gas to the outside of the vacuum container.

[0018] In the surface treatment apparatus according to the present application, the processed object held by the processed object holding portion is moved along the circumferential path by the processed object moving mechanism, and the processed object is subjected to surface treatment by the plurality of surface treatment portions provided in opposition to the circumferential path using the predetermined treatment gas. Thus, the processed object is subjected to surface treatment a number of times obtained by multiplying the number of the surface treatment portions by the number of times the circumferential path is circumvented.

[0019] Here, in the object moving mechanism, the same plate-shaped (but, the shape is not limited to a circular shape) substrate holder that rotates as in Patent Document 1 can be used, and a conveyance belt or the like other than this can be used. Also, the object moving mechanism can continuously move the object holder (and the object held thereby) in a manner that passes through the position facing each surface treatment section while moving. Alternatively, the object moving mechanism can intermittently move the object holder (as above) in a manner that stops at the position for a certain period of time.

[0020] In the surface treatment section, the same sputtering source or plasma generator as in Patent Document 1 can be used, and a film formation device or an etching device or the like other than this can be used. A sputtering gas or a plasma raw material gas or the like can be used as the treatment gas.

[0021] The surface treatment device of the present application further has an exhaust port on the inner side of the circumferential path. The treatment gas used in each surface treatment section or the reaction gas generated by the reaction of the treatment gas is exhausted to the outside of the vacuum container from the exhaust port.

[0022] According to the surface treatment device of the present application, by providing the exhaust port on the inner side of the circumferential path, all of the surface treatment sections become to face the exhaust port, and thus, irrespective of the number of exhaust ports, the treatment gas or the reaction gas can be efficiently exhausted to the outside of the vacuum container from all of the surface treatment sections.

[0023] In the surface treatment device of the present application, a configuration in which only one exhaust port as described above is provided can be adopted. By this, the pump for exhaust can also be provided only one, and thus, the device cost can be suppressed.

[0024] On the other hand, a configuration in which a plurality of exhaust ports as described above are provided can also be adopted. In this case, the efficiency of exhaust can be improved. Also, by arranging the plurality of exhaust ports at appropriate positions (for example, by equally arranging the plurality of exhaust ports on the inner side of the circumferential path), the uniformity of the distribution of the gas in the vacuum container can be improved.

[0025] In the surface treatment device of the present application, a configuration in which the exhaust port is provided at one end of a cylindrical member arranged in the vacuum container, and the other end of the cylindrical member is connected to a hole provided in the wall of the vacuum container can be adopted. By this, the exhaust port can be arranged at an appropriate position inside the vacuum container, and not arranged at the wall of the vacuum container.

[0026] In the surface processing apparatus of the present application, it is further desirable that a partition wall is provided between two surface processing sections adjacent to each other among the plurality of surface processing sections. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the inflow of a processing gas or a reaction gas from one of the two surface processing sections to the other. In the case where the above-described cylindrical member is used, the partition wall is formed in a plurality of pieces extending radially from the wall of the cylindrical member, and one surface processing section is arranged between adjacent partition walls.

[0027] In the configuration provided with the above-described partition wall, the following configuration can be adopted:

[0028] The above-described processed object moving mechanism is provided with a plurality of the above-described processed object holding sections around the rotation axis on the surface of a rotating plate composed of a plate material perpendicular to the rotation axis, and

[0029] Further, at the end portion of the above-described partition wall close to the above-described rotating plate, a plate-shaped second partition wall is provided substantially parallel to the rotating plate. Here, the "substantially parallel" means that the angle formed by the rotating plate and the second partition wall is 20° or less. With this configuration, between the two surface processing sections separated by the partition wall, the movement of a gas between the rotating plate and the partition wall can be suppressed by the second partition wall.

[0030] [Effects of the Invention]

[0031] The surface processing apparatus according to the present application can suppress the cost of the apparatus caused by the exhaust pump, since only one exhaust port is provided. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0032] [ Figure 1 ] is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of the surface processing apparatus of the present application.

[0033] [ Figure 2 ] is a plan view showing the arrangement of each section in the vacuum container in the surface processing apparatus of the present embodiment.

[0034] [ Figure 3 ] is a bottom view showing the processed object moving mechanism in the surface processing apparatus of the present embodiment.

[0035] [ Figure 4 ] is a partially enlarged view of the processed object moving mechanism in the surface processing apparatus of the present embodiment.

[0036] [ Figure 5 ] is a partially enlarged view of the surface processing apparatus of the present embodiment including the partition wall and the second partition wall.

[0037] [ Figure 6 ] is a graph showing the results of X-ray diffraction measurement of a titanium nitride thin film produced using the surface processing apparatus of the present embodiment.

[0038] [ Figure 7 ]is a longitudinal sectional view of a surface treatment apparatus of a modification.

[0039] [ Figure 8 ]is a plan view showing the arrangement of each part in the vacuum container in another modification. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] USAGES Figures 1-8 An embodiment of the surface treatment apparatus of the present application will be described.

[0041] (1) Configuration of the surface treatment apparatus of the present embodiment

[0042] Figure 1 A longitudinal sectional view of the surface treatment apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is shown in FIG. 1. The surface treatment apparatus 1 of the present embodiment has a vacuum container 11 and a substrate moving mechanism (corresponding to the above-mentioned treated object moving mechanism) 12, an evaporation section (sputtering section) 13, a radical irradiation section (plasma processing section) 14, a substrate heating section 15 (refer to Figure 2 ), an exhaust port 16, a partition wall 17 (refer to Figure 2 ), and the like, provided in the vacuum container 11. The evaporation section 13 and the radical irradiation section 14 correspond to the above-mentioned surface treatment section. Figure 2 In FIG. 2, the arrangement of each part in the vacuum container 11 is shown in a plan view, Figure 3 In FIG. 3, a bottom view of the substrate moving mechanism 12 is shown. Further, a vacuum pump 18 is provided outside the vacuum container 11.

[0043] The vacuum container 11 is a cylindrical container in the present embodiment. The shape of the vacuum container 11 is not limited to this example, but from the aspect of effectively utilizing the space in the vacuum container 11, it is preferable that the shape be such that the cross section corresponds to the shape of the circumferential path around which the substrate S is to be circulated (circular in the present embodiment) in the substrate moving mechanism 12 described below. The substrate moving mechanism 12 is provided at the top plate 111 of the vacuum container 11, and the evaporation section 13, the radical irradiation section 14, the substrate heating section 15, and the like are provided at the bottom surface (the upper surface of the bottom plate 113).

[0044] The substrate moving mechanism 12 has a bottom plate (corresponding to the above-mentioned rotating plate) 121, a substrate holding section (corresponding to the above-mentioned treated object holding section) 122, a rotating shaft 123, and a motor 124.

[0045] The bottom plate 121 is formed of a disk-shaped plate and is arranged at a height close to the top plate 111 of the vacuum container 11 in a substantially horizontal manner. The substrate holding portion 122 is formed of a disk-shaped member having a diameter smaller than that of the bottom plate 121 and is provided on the lower surface of the bottom plate 121, and holds the substrate S on its lower surface. There are four substrate holding portions 122, each of which is arranged near the outer circumference of the disk of the bottom plate 121 at 90° intervals (see FIG. 1 ). Figure 3 In this embodiment, the diameter of the bottom plate 121 is set to 1014 mm, and the diameter of the substrate holding portion 122 is set to 360 mm, but the present invention is not limited to this example.

[0046] The rotating shaft 123 is provided approximately vertically in a manner consistent with the central axis of the cylinder of the vacuum container 11, and the lower end is fixed to the center of the circular plate of the bottom plate 121. As described later, by rotating the rotating shaft 123 using the motor 124, the bottom plate 121 rotates around the center of its disk, and each substrate holding portion 122 also rotates its disk around the center. Thus, the substrate S held by the substrate holding portion 122 moves in a manner of revolving around a circular orbital path centered on the rotating shaft 123 due to the rotation of the bottom plate 121, and rotates by the rotation of the substrate holding portion 122. Here, the orbital path is defined by the area through which the substrate holding portion 122 passes due to the rotation of the bottom plate 121. Figure 3 The donut-shaped area between the double circles (outer edge 1221 and inner edge 1222) shown by the dotted line corresponds.

[0047] The upper end of the rotating shaft 123 passes through the top plate 111 and extends to a position higher than the top plate 111. On the top plate 111, a wall 112 is provided as a safety cover for the rotating mechanism so as to surround the upper end of the rotating shaft 123 and the motor 124. In addition, a shaft sealing mechanism (not shown) is provided in the portion of the top plate 111 through which the rotating shaft 123 passes to maintain airtightness between the inside and outside of the vacuum container 11. Wilson seals, mechanical seals, magnetic fluid seals, etc. can be used in the shaft sealing mechanism. Figure 4 As shown, the rotating shaft 123 is connected to the motor 124 via a pair of gears 125 . When the motor 124 is rotated, the rotating shaft 123 and the base plate 121 fixed thereto rotate via the gears 125 .

[0048] Further, the second rotating shaft 126 extends through the bottom plate 121 from the center of the disc of each substrate holding portion 122 toward the upper side. A second gear 127 is provided at the upper end of the second rotating shaft 126. Further, a fixed gear 128 that engages with the second gear 127 is fixed to the lower surface of the top plate 111 in a manner to surround the rotating shaft 123. If the substrate holding portion 122 revolves as the bottom plate 121 rotates, the second gear 127 rotates around the fixed gear 128 while engaging with the fixed gear 128, whereby the second rotating shaft 126 and the substrate holding portion 122 rotate.

[0049] The evaporation section 13 has a cathode electrode 131, a direct current power supply 132, and a sputtering gas supply section 133.

[0050] The cathode electrode 131 is a plate-shaped electrode disposed directly below the circumferential path of the substrate moving mechanism 12 in a manner to be substantially parallel to the substrate S moving on the circumferential path. A target T, which is a material to be deposited, is placed on the upper surface of the cathode electrode 131. The direct current power supply 132 is a power supply that applies a direct current voltage of 300 V between the cathode electrode 131 and the ground, and the negative electrode thereof is connected to the cathode electrode 131. Instead of the direct current power supply 132, a direct current pulse power supply or an alternating current (high frequency) power supply (different from the high frequency power supply 142 described later) can be used.

[0051] The sputtering gas supply section 133 is a pipe that supplies sputtering gas from a gas cylinder (not shown) disposed outside the vacuum container 11 to the vicinity of the target T inside the vacuum container 11, and the pipe penetrates the wall of the vacuum container 11. In this embodiment, argon (Ar) gas is used as the sputtering gas, but the present application is not limited to this example.

[0052] The radical irradiation section 14 is disposed at a position opposite to the evaporation section 13 with respect to the central axis of the cylinder of the vacuum container 11, and has a plasma generation chamber 140, a high frequency antenna 141, a high frequency power supply 142, and a plasma raw material gas supply section 143.

[0053] The plasma generation chamber 140 is disposed directly below the circumferential path of the substrate moving mechanism 12, and at a position opposite to the substrate S moving on the circumferential path. A radical passage hole 1401 through which radicals obtained from a plasma generated inside the plasma generation chamber 140 pass is provided on the upper surface (the side surface opposite to the substrate holding portion 122) of the plasma generation chamber 140.

[0054] The high-frequency antennas 141 are provided on the side of the plasma generation chamber 140 across the plasma generation chamber 140, and are housed in high-frequency antenna housing chambers 1411 adjacent to the plasma generation chamber 140. In the present embodiment, a linear conductor shaped in a U shape is used as the high-frequency antenna 141, but the present application is not limited to this example. One end of the linear conductor of the high-frequency antenna 141 is connected to a high-frequency power source 142, and the other end is grounded. The high-frequency power source 142 is disposed outside the vacuum container 11, and is connected to one end of the high-frequency antenna 141 via a lead passing through the wall of the vacuum container 11. The high-frequency power source 142 supplies a high-frequency current with a frequency of 13.56 MHz to the high-frequency antenna 141.

[0055] The plasma raw material gas supply portion 143 is a pipe that supplies a plasma raw material gas from a gas cylinder (not shown) disposed outside the vacuum container 11 into the plasma generation chamber 140, and penetrates the wall of the vacuum container 11. In the present embodiment, nitrogen (N2) gas is used as the plasma raw material gas, but other plasma raw material gases such as oxygen (O2) gas can also be used. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the plasma generation chamber 140 is used for the purpose of generating radicals for nitriding (or oxidizing, etc.) a metal film formed on the substrate S by the action of the deposition portion 13 as described later, and a plasma for supplying a film-forming material to the substrate S can also be generated instead. In this case, a gas that becomes a raw material for film formation (for example, silane gas in the case of forming a silicon film) is supplied from the plasma raw material gas supply portion 143 into the plasma generation chamber 140.

[0056] The substrate heating portions 15 are disposed two each in the circumferential direction of the cylinder of the vacuum container 11 on the side of the deposition portion 13, and are located between the deposition portion 13 and the radical irradiation portion 14 in the circumferential direction. A lamp heater 151 is disposed in the substrate heating portion 15. The lamp heater 151 emits light and heat by being supplied with power from a power source not shown.

[0057] The exhaust port 16 is constituted by an opening at the upper end of a cylindrical member 161 standing on the bottom surface of the vacuum container 11. The exhaust port 16 is disposed only one on the inner side of the circumferential path of the substrate moving mechanism 12 and on the upper side (substrate moving mechanism 12 side) of the target T of the cathode electrode 131 disposed in the deposition portion 13 and the radical passage hole 1401 of the radical irradiation portion 14. The cylindrical member 161 is connected to a vacuum pump 18 disposed outside the vacuum container 11 via a hole 114 provided in the bottom plate 113 of the vacuum container 11. In the vacuum pump 18, a turbo molecular pump is used in the present embodiment, but other vacuum pumps can also be used. The surface processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment corresponds to only one exhaust port 16, and is provided with only one vacuum pump 18.

[0058] The partition walls 17 are walls that partition between the evaporation sections 13 and the substrate heating sections 15, or between the radical irradiation sections 14 and the substrate heating sections 15. In the present embodiment, one partition wall 17 is provided between each of the two adjacent substrate heating sections 15 as viewed from the evaporation section 13, and one partition wall 17 is provided between each of the two adjacent substrate heating sections 15 as viewed from the radical irradiation section 14, for a total of four partition walls 17. The partition walls 17 are each erected vertically to the floor 121 of the substrate moving mechanism 12 on the bottom surface of the vacuum container 11, and are formed in the lateral direction so as to extend radially from the wall of the cylindrical member 161 toward the outside until reaching the wall of the vacuum container 11. The cylindrical member 161 also functions as a wall that partitions between the evaporation section 13 and the radical irradiation section 14 that face each other with the cylindrical member 161 interposed therebetween.

[0059] At the upper end of the partition wall 17, a second partition wall 172 is provided that extends substantially parallel to the floor 121 of the substrate moving mechanism 12 toward the evaporation section 13 side and the radical irradiation section 14 side (see FIG. 2). Figure 2 、 Figure 5 The second partition wall 172 is not provided above the target T of the evaporation section 13 or above the plasma generation chamber 140 of the radical irradiation section 14, but is present closer to the partition wall 17 side than those. Thus, when film formation by evaporation or the like, or processing using radicals is performed, the arrival of sputtering particles SP or radicals generated by plasma at the substrate S is not hindered. Also, in the diameter direction of the cylinder of the vacuum container 11, the second partition wall 172 is not provided from the exhaust port 16 to a certain distance. In other words, the second partition wall 172 is formed so as to extend from the wall of the vacuum container toward the inside until reaching a position near the wall of the cylindrical member 161. The second partition wall 172 is disposed at a height that generates a gap of 1 mm to 5 mm between the substrate S held by the substrate holding section 122 and moved by the substrate moving mechanism 12. The planar shape of the second partition wall 172 is substantially a sector shape (however, the second partition wall 172 is not present at a position near the hub of the sector).

[0060] The top plate 111 of the vacuum container 11 is openable in a state in which the substrate moving mechanism 12 is installed, and the inside of the vacuum container 11 can be hermetically sealed (omitted from the drawing). Before the start of film formation processing, by opening the top plate 111, it is possible to perform an operation of holding the substrate S by the substrate holding section 122 or placing the target T on the upper surface of the cathode electrode 131. Similarly, after the end of film formation processing, by opening the top plate 111, it is possible to take out the substrate S on which film has been formed.

[0061] (2) Action of the surface processing apparatus of the present embodiment

[0062] The operation of the surface processing apparatus 1 of this embodiment will be described. First, the top plate 111 of the vacuum container 11 is opened, the substrate S is held by the substrate holding portion 122, and the target T is placed on the upper surface of the cathode electrode 131. Then, the top plate 111 is closed to maintain the vacuum container 11 in airtightness. Here, the surface of the substrate S faces downward, and the surface is processed in this state. As described above, the reason why the surface of the substrate S faces downward is to prevent contamination caused by the falling of impurities onto the surface during the surface processing.

[0063] Next, the vacuum pump 18 is operated to exhaust the atmosphere in the vacuum container 11 through the exhaust port 16. After the vacuum container 11 reaches a predetermined vacuum degree, the substrate moving mechanism 12, the evaporation portion 13, the radical irradiation portion 14, and the substrate heating portion 15 are operated as described below while the operation of the vacuum pump 18 is continued.

[0064] In the substrate moving mechanism 12, the base plate 121 and the substrate holding portion 122 are rotated by driving the motor 124. Thus, the substrate holding portion 122 and the substrate S held thereon revolve around the rotation shaft 123 and rotate around the second rotation shaft 126. The rotation speed (revolving speed) of the base plate 121 is set to, for example, 50 to 100 rpm (50 to 100 rotations per 1 minute), and the rotation speed (rotating speed) of the substrate holding portion 122 around the second rotation shaft 126 is set to, for example, 100 to 400 rpm.

[0065] In the evaporation portion 13, while the sputtering gas (Ar gas) is supplied from the sputtering gas supply portion 133 to the vicinity of the target T, a direct current voltage with the cathode electrode 131 side being negative is applied between the cathode electrode 131 and the ground via the direct current power supply 132. Thus, the Ar of the sputtering gas is ionized to generate a plasma composed of positive ions and electrons. The positive ions in the plasma are accelerated toward the cathode electrode 131 side by the direct current voltage described above and impact the target T placed on the upper surface of the cathode electrode 131. Thus, the target T is sputtered, and sputtering particles composed of the material of the target T are emitted and fly toward the substrate S held by the substrate holding portion 122.

[0066] In the radical irradiation portion 14, while the plasma raw material gas (N2 gas) is supplied from the plasma raw material gas supply portion 143 into the plasma generation chamber 140, a high-frequency current is supplied from the high-frequency power supply 142 to the high-frequency antenna 141. Thus, a plasma composed of nitrogen radicals generated by the decomposition of N2 molecules of the plasma raw material gas is generated. The generated nitrogen radicals diffuse toward the substrate S held by the substrate holding portion 122 through the radical passage hole 1401.

[0067] In the substrate heating portion 15, the lamp heater 151 is heated by being supplied with power.

[0068] As described above, by rotating the base plate 121 and the substrate holding portions 122 while operating the evaporation portion 13, the radical irradiation portion 14, and the substrate heating portion 15, each substrate S held in the four substrate holding portions 122 repeatedly circulates around the circumferential path, and in the process, repeatedly passes above the substrate heating portion 15, the evaporation portion 13, the substrate heating portion 15, and the radical irradiation portion 14 in that order. Thus, the following operations are repeatedly performed for each revolution of the base plate 121: after the substrate S is heated to a predetermined temperature by the substrate heating portion 15, a film of a material composed of the target T is formed on the surface of the substrate S by sputtering particles in the evaporation portion 13, and then, after the substrate S is heated to a predetermined temperature by the substrate heating portion 15, the film is nitrided by exposure to nitrogen radicals in the radical irradiation portion 14. In the process, the substrate holding portions 122 rotate, and thus the film formation and nitriding processes are uniformly performed on the surface of the substrate S.

[0069] After the base plate 121 is rotated a predetermined number of times, the operations of the portions are stopped, and thus a film composed of a nitride of the material of the target T and having a predetermined thickness is formed on the surface of the substrate S. Then, the substrate S on which the film is formed is taken out of the surface treatment apparatus 1 by opening the top plate 111 of the vacuum vessel 11.

[0070] In the surface treatment apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, by operating the vacuum pump 18 during the operations of the surface treatment portions, i.e., the evaporation portion 13 and the radical irradiation portion 14, excess treatment gas supplied to the evaporation portion 13 or excess plasma source gas supplied to the radical irradiation portion 14 or reaction gas generated by the reaction or radicals generated in the radical irradiation portion 14 are exhausted from the exhaust port 16, and thus the inflow of excess gas or radicals into the other surface treatment portions is suppressed. Here, by providing the exhaust port 16 on the inner side of the circumferential path of the substrate S, all the surface treatment portions face the exhaust port 16, and thus excess gas or radicals can be efficiently exhausted from all the surface treatment portions to the outside of the vacuum vessel 11.

[0071] Further, the number of exhaust ports 16 can be only one, and thus the vacuum pump 18 can also be only one, and thus the device cost of the surface treatment apparatus 1 can be suppressed.

[0072] Further, in the surface treatment apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, one end (upper end) of the cylindrical member 161 provided in the vacuum container 11 is set as the exhaust port 16, and thus the exhaust port 16 can be disposed at an appropriate position in the vacuum container 11. In the above embodiment, the exhaust port 16 is disposed on the side of the substrate moving mechanism 12 farther from the target T provided on the cathode electrode 131 and the radical passage hole 1401, and thus the sputtering gas discharged from the target T or the nitrogen radicals released from the radical passage hole 1401 and diffused toward the evaporation section 13 can be efficiently exhausted.

[0073] Further, in the surface treatment apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, a partition wall 17 is provided between the adjacent evaporation sections 13 and the substrate heating section 15 and between the radical irradiation section 14 and the substrate heating section 15, and thus the movement of the gas or radicals between the adjacent surface treatment sections can be prevented.

[0074] Further, in the surface treatment apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, a second partition wall 172 is disposed on the side of the evaporation section 13 and the radical irradiation section 14 from the partition wall 17 so as to have a height that generates a gap of 1 mm to 5 mm between the substrate S, and the second partition wall 172 is disposed substantially parallel to the base plate 121 of the substrate moving mechanism 12, and thus the gas or radicals can be prevented from intruding into the other surface treatment sections by passing from the upper side of the upper end of the partition wall 17. Here, the size of the gap between the second partition wall 172 and the substrate S is set to be as narrow as possible so that the gas or radicals do not pass through the gap, within a range in which the substrate S and the film formed on the surface thereof do not contact the second partition wall 172.

[0075] Next, an embodiment in which a film of titanium nitride (TiN) is produced using the surface treatment apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the target T is composed of metallic titanium, and argon gas is introduced at a rate of 500 seem as the sputtering gas. A discharge power of 2 kW is supplied to the cathode electrode 131. Nitrogen gas is introduced at a rate of 200 seem as the plasma source gas. A high-frequency power of 2 kW is supplied to the two high-frequency antennas 141 in total. The power supplied to the lamp heater 151 is adjusted so that the temperature of the substrate S heated by the lamp heater 151 reaches 200°C in the evaporation section 13 and the radical irradiation section 14. The rotation speed (revolution speed) of the base plate 121 is set to 50 rpm, and the rotation speed (rotation speed) of the substrate holding section 122 is set to 200 rpm.

[0076] The film having a thickness of about 200 nm is formed on the substrate S by processing for 50 minutes (during 2500 rotations of the base plate 121) using the above production conditions. X-ray diffraction measurement (Cu Kα line, wavelength ) is performed on the obtained film, and the result is as shown in FIG. 6. Figure 6As shown, measurement results in agreement with the diffraction pattern of TiN (diffraction peaks of metal Ti do not appear) were obtained. As described above, it was confirmed that a TiN thin film of stoichiometry was obtained by the surface processing apparatus 1 of this embodiment.

[0077] (3) Modification

[0078] The present application is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made.

[0079] For example, in the above-described embodiments, one end of the cylindrical member 161 disposed inside the vacuum container 11 is used as the exhaust port 16, but instead of or in addition to this, a hole can be provided in the wall of the cylindrical member 161 as the exhaust port. In this case, by providing a plurality of holes in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical member 161, the processing gas or reaction gas, etc. can be efficiently exhausted from a plurality of surface processing sections. Also, in this case, the cylindrical member 161 itself can also be provided with only one, and thus the vacuum pump connected thereto can also be provided with only one.

[0080] The exhaust port need only be located inside the circumferential path of the substrate when viewed from above, and need not be located at the center of the circumferential path.

[0081] The cylindrical member 161 can also be provided to the top plate 111 of the vacuum container 11. In this case, the cylindrical member 161 is disposed at a position offset in the lateral direction from the rotation axis 123 of the substrate moving mechanism 12. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 7 the cylindrical member 161 can be provided outside, the rotation axis 123A of the substrate moving mechanism 12 can be hollow, and the end portion inside the vacuum container 11 can be provided as the exhaust port 16A. Figure 7 In the above-described embodiments, the rotation axis 123A is caused to protrude further downward than the bottom plate 121 of the substrate moving mechanism 12, and the exhaust port 16A is disposed further downward than this bottom plate 121, but the rotation axis 123A can also be caused not to protrude from the bottom plate 121, and the exhaust port 16A can be provided to the lower surface of this bottom plate 121. In this case, the exhaust pipe 162 is connected to the end portion on the opposite side of the exhaust port 16A of the rotation axis 123A, and this exhaust pipe 162 is connected to the vacuum pump 18. A sealing material (not shown) is provided between the rotation axis 123A and the exhaust pipe 162.

[0082] Also, instead of using a cylindrical (tubular) member extending inside the vacuum container 11 such as the cylindrical member 161 or the hollow rotation axis 123A, a hole provided to the top plate 111 or the bottom plate 113 of the vacuum container 11 can be used as the exhaust port.

[0083] As described above, in order to suppress the cost of the apparatus of the surface treatment apparatus 1, it is preferable that the number of exhaust ports 16 is one, but when the efficiency of exhausting the treatment gas or the reaction gas is more important, a plurality of exhaust ports can be provided inside the circumferential path. In this case, for example, a configuration in which a largest exhaust port is provided near the center of the inside of the circumferential path, and one or a plurality of auxiliary exhaust ports having a smaller opening are provided around the largest exhaust port can be adopted, or a configuration in which a plurality of exhaust ports having the same degree of size of the opening are provided inside the circumferential path can be adopted. Figure 8 In the illustrated embodiment, a first auxiliary exhaust port 163 having a smaller opening than the exhaust port 16 is provided closer to the evaporation section 13 than the exhaust port 16, and a second auxiliary exhaust port 164 having a smaller opening than the exhaust port 16 is provided closer to the radical irradiation section 14 than the exhaust port 16.

[0084] In the above-described embodiment, the circumferential path is formed in a circular shape by providing the substrate holding section 122 to the rotary plate (the base plate 121), but a conveyance belt or the like can be used to form the circumferential path of the substrate.

[0085] In the above-described embodiment, the partition wall 17 is provided at the boundary between the surface treatment sections, but by appropriately setting the exhaust speed from the exhaust port 16, the inflow and outflow of the gas or the like can be suppressed between the surface treatment sections even if the partition wall 17 is omitted. The second partition wall 172 can also be omitted.

[0086] The shape of the second partition wall 172 is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, a minimum opening is provided above the target T of the evaporation section 13 and above the plasma generation chamber 140 of the radical irradiation section 14, and a minimum size hole through which the gas (the gas exhausted from the exhaust port 16) passes is provided near the exhaust port 16, and then the entire upper portion between the two partition walls 17 other than the above is covered with the second partition wall. In the above-described embodiment, the second partition wall 172 is provided above the evaporation section 13 and the radical irradiation section 14, but can be provided above the substrate heating section 15, or can be provided above the substrate treatment section other than the evaporation section 13, the radical irradiation section 14, and the substrate heating section 15.

[0087] In the above-described embodiment, one evaporation section 13 and one radical irradiation section 14 are provided, but a plurality of each can be provided. In this case, the deposition of the target material and the radical treatment (nitriding or oxidizing, etc.) are performed a plurality of times every time the substrate S circulates the circumferential path once, and thus the film formation speed can be improved. In this case, by performing different deposition of the target material and / or different radical treatment for each evaporation section 13 and / or each radical irradiation section 14, a multilayer film in which a plurality of films composed of different materials are repeatedly deposited can be formed.

[0088] Further, as the surface treatment section, a device other than the vapor deposition section 13 or the radical irradiation section 14, such as a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) device or an etching device, can be used. In addition to this, each of the configurations described so far can be used in appropriate combination.

[0089] [Legend of Reference Numerals]

[0090] 1: surface treatment device

[0091] 11: vacuum container

[0092] 111: top plate

[0093] 112: wall

[0094] 113: bottom plate

[0095] 114: hole

[0096] 12: substrate moving mechanism (treated object moving mechanism)

[0097] 121: bottom plate

[0098] 122: substrate holding section

[0099] 1221: outer edge of the circumferential path

[0100] 1222: inner edge of the circumferential path

[0101] 123, 123A: rotation shaft

[0102] 124: motor

[0103] 125: gear

[0104] 126: second rotation shaft

[0105] 127: second gear

[0106] 128: fixed gear

[0107] 13: vapor deposition section

[0108] 131: cathode electrode

[0109] 132: direct current power supply

[0110] 133: sputtering gas supply section

[0111] 14: radical irradiation section

[0112] 140: plasma generation chamber

[0113] 1401: radical passage hole

[0114] 141: high frequency antenna

[0115] 1411: high frequency antenna housing chamber

[0116] 142: high frequency power supply

[0117] 143: plasma raw material gas supply section

[0118] 15: substrate heating section

[0119] 151: lamp heater

[0120] 16, 16A: exhaust port

[0121] 161: cylindrical member

[0122] 162: exhaust pipe

[0123] 163: first auxiliary exhaust port

[0124] 164: second auxiliary exhaust port

[0125] 17: partition wall

[0126] 172: second partition wall

[0127] 18: vacuum pump

Claims

1. A surface processing apparatus comprising: a) a vacuum container; b) a processed object holding section for holding a processed object and a processed object moving mechanism for moving the processed object holding section along a circumferential path, which are provided in the vacuum container; c) a plurality of surface processing sections provided in opposition to the circumferential path, for performing surface processing on a surface of the processed object using a predetermined processing gas; and d) an exhaust port provided on an inner side of the circumferential path for exhausting the processing gas and / or a reaction gas generated by reaction of the processing gas to the outside of the vacuum container.

2. The surface processing apparatus according to claim 1, comprising only one exhaust port.

3. The surface processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the exhaust port is one end of a cylindrical member provided in the vacuum container, and the other end of the cylindrical member is connected to a hole provided in a wall of the vacuum container.

4. The surface processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a partition wall is provided between two surface processing sections adjacent among the plurality of surface processing sections.

5. The surface processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the processed object moving mechanism is provided with a plurality of the processed object holding sections around a rotation axis on a surface of a rotation plate composed of a plate material perpendicular to the rotation axis; and further, a second partition wall of a plate shape is provided in substantially parallel to the rotation plate at an end portion of the partition wall near the rotation plate.

6. The surface processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of the plurality of surface processing sections has a plasma generator. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

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