A repair method of dry etching an upper electrode, an electrode, and a device

Abstract

This invention relates to a method, electrode, and equipment for repairing a dry-etched upper electrode, specifically relating to the field of dry etching. The repair method includes sequentially performing plasma cleaning, anodizing, spraying, and plasma treatment on the dry-etched upper electrode to obtain a repaired upper electrode. The repair method provided by this invention cleans and activates the scrapped upper electrode using plasma, followed by direct anodizing and spraying. Plasma treatment after spraying enhances the corrosion resistance of the sprayed layer to prevent contamination and further improves etching efficiency, ensuring subsequent high-efficiency dry etching.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of dry etching, and specifically to a method, electrode, and equipment for repairing an upper electrode obtained by dry etching. Background Technology

[0002] In display panel manufacturing, dry etching is commonly used to achieve coating design. The upper electrode of the dry etching equipment is not only the input terminal of the radio frequency power supply, but also the "spray head" of the process gas. Its design is directly related to the uniformity and yield of etching, and it is one of the most important high-value consumables in the equipment. The upper electrode has thousands to tens of thousands of tiny pores inside, which uniformly deliver the reaction gas to the substrate surface through a "spraying" method, ensuring the etching uniformity of large-size panels. At the same time, it forms an electric field with the lower electrode, ionizing the gas into plasma for etching reaction.

[0003] For example, CN105319765A discloses a method for manufacturing a quantum dot display panel. By using the existing photolithography process for color filters, or by combining it with a dry etching process, a resin composition containing surface-modified red and green quantum dots is used to create a quantum dot layer with a relatively fine pattern structure. Compared with other existing methods for manufacturing quantum dot display panels, this method has the advantages of simple raw material preparation and manufacturing process, high pattern resolution, and large-scale mass production. It saves costs and process time. Furthermore, introducing quantum dots into the color filter structure can effectively improve the color saturation and color gamut of the display device, thereby enhancing the color performance of the display panel.

[0004] CN109473448A discloses an array substrate and its fabrication method, a liquid crystal display panel, and a display device. The method includes: sequentially depositing a buffer layer, a gate metal layer, a gate insulating layer, and a semiconductor layer on a glass substrate, wherein the semiconductor layer includes a first semiconductor region and a second semiconductor region; defining the locations where openings are needed in the gate insulating layer, simultaneously exposing the second semiconductor region; performing a dry etching process on the glass substrate and the layers deposited on it, followed by plasma treatment after etching to make the second semiconductor region conductive and the first semiconductor region protected by photoresist; and sequentially fabricating a source / drain metal layer, a passivation layer, and a pixel electrode layer to form the TFT region, gate wiring region, and transparent capacitor region of the array substrate, respectively.

[0005] During the etching process, as etching proceeds, the electric field and the plasma generated by the corrosive process gas can cause impurities such as fluoropolymers, scale, and a light fluorinated layer to form on the surface of the upper electrode, which will significantly reduce the etching effect. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In view of the problems existing in the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a method, electrode and equipment for repairing the upper electrode of dry etching, so as to solve the defect that the formation of impurities such as fluoropolymers, scale, light fluoride layer etc. on the surface of the upper electrode due to the influence of the electric field and the plasma generated by the corrosive process gas in dry etching will significantly reduce the etching effect.

[0007] To achieve this objective, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0008] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a method for repairing an upper electrode by dry etching, the method comprising:

[0009] The upper electrode, which was etched by dry etching, was sequentially subjected to plasma cleaning, anodizing, spraying, and plasma treatment to obtain the repaired upper electrode.

[0010] The repair method provided by this invention cleans and activates the scrapped upper electrode with plasma, and then directly performs anodic oxidation and sputtering. After sputtering, plasma treatment is performed to make the sputtered layer more corrosion resistant to avoid the generation of contamination. At the same time, it can further improve the etching efficiency and ensure that subsequent high-efficiency dry etching can be achieved.

[0011] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the plasma generating gas used in the plasma cleaning includes one or a combination of at least two of oxygen, nitrogen trifluoride, or hydrogen.

[0012] Preferably, the oxygen flow rate in the plasma cleaning is 200-500 sccm.

[0013] Preferably, the flow rate of nitrogen trifluoride in the plasma cleaning is 50-150 sccm.

[0014] Preferably, the flow rate of hydrogen in the plasma cleaning is 200-400 sccm.

[0015] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plasma cleaning pressure is 100-300 mTorr.

[0016] Preferably, the power of the plasma cleaning is 300-800W.

[0017] Preferably, the plasma cleaning time is 40-200 seconds.

[0018] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the thickness of the film obtained by anodizing is 40-70 μm.

[0019] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the thickness of the yttrium oxide layer obtained by melt spraying is 150-300 μm.

[0020] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the gas used in the plasma treatment includes: source gas and carrier gas.

[0021] Preferably, the source gas comprises nitrogen trifluoride and carbon tetrafluoride in a volume ratio of 1:(2-3).

[0022] Preferably, the flow rate of the source gas is 50-150 sccm.

[0023] Preferably, the flow rate of the carrier gas is 100-300 sccm.

[0024] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pressure of the plasma treatment is 100-200 mTorr.

[0025] Preferably, the power of the plasma treatment is 200-400W.

[0026] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the temperature of the plasma treatment is 120-180℃.

[0027] Preferably, the plasma treatment time is 30-90 minutes.

[0028] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a dry etching upper electrode, wherein the dry etching upper electrode is obtained by the repair method described in the first aspect.

[0029] Thirdly, the present invention provides a dry etching apparatus, the dry etching apparatus comprising: a dry etching upper electrode as described in the second aspect.

[0030] Compared with existing technical solutions, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0031] The repair method provided by this invention first cleans and activates the upper electrode using plasma cleaning, then directly performs anodic oxidation and sputtering to regenerate the function. Afterwards, a specific plasma treatment is used to improve the corrosion resistance of the yttrium oxide layer obtained by sputtering, while also increasing the etching rate, thereby achieving efficient dry etching.

[0032] The present invention will now be described in further detail. However, the examples described below are merely simplified examples of the present invention and do not represent or limit the scope of protection of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention is determined by the claims. Detailed Implementation

[0033] To better illustrate the present invention and facilitate understanding of its technical solutions, typical but non-limiting embodiments of the present invention are as follows:

[0034] In display panel manufacturing, dry etching is commonly used to design coatings. The upper electrode of the dry etching equipment is not only the input terminal of the radio frequency power supply, but also the "spray head" of the process gas. Its design directly affects the uniformity and yield of etching, making it one of the most important high-value consumables in the equipment. The upper electrode contains thousands to tens of thousands of tiny pores, which uniformly deliver the reaction gas to the substrate surface through a "spraying" method, ensuring the etching uniformity of large-size panels. At the same time, it forms an electric field with the lower electrode, ionizing the gas into plasma for the etching reaction. However, during the etching process, as etching progresses, the electric field and the plasma generated by the corrosive process gas can cause impurities such as fluoropolymers, scale, and a light fluorinated layer to form on the surface of the upper electrode, which will significantly reduce the etching effect. Based on this, this invention achieves the regeneration of the upper electrode by optimizing the repair method, and simultaneously improves the etching efficiency.

[0035] I. This embodiment provides a method for repairing a dry-etched upper electrode, the repair method comprising:

[0036] The upper electrode, which was etched by dry etching, was sequentially subjected to plasma cleaning, anodizing, spraying, and plasma treatment to obtain the repaired upper electrode.

[0037] In this invention, the upper electrode is dry-etched according to the design in the art, and can be selected as pure aluminum or aluminum alloy, etc.

[0038] The plasma generating gas used in the plasma cleaning includes one or a combination of at least two of oxygen, nitrogen trifluoride, or hydrogen.

[0039] The oxygen flow rate in the plasma cleaning process is 200-500 sccm, for example, it can be 200 sccm, 230 sccm, 260 sccm, 290 sccm, 320 sccm, 350 sccm, 380 sccm, 410 sccm, 440 sccm, 470 sccm or 500 sccm, but is not limited to the listed values. Other unlisted values ​​within this range are also acceptable.

[0040] The flow rate of nitrogen trifluoride in the plasma cleaning process is 50-150 sccm, for example, it can be 50 sccm, 60 sccm, 70 sccm, 80 sccm, 90 sccm, 100 sccm, 110 sccm, 120 sccm, 130 sccm, 140 sccm or 150 sccm, but is not limited to the listed values. Other unlisted values ​​within this range are also acceptable.

[0041] The flow rate of hydrogen in the plasma cleaning process is 200-400 sccm, for example, it can be 200 sccm, 220 sccm, 240 sccm, 260 sccm, 280 sccm, 300 sccm, 320 sccm, 340 sccm, 360 sccm, 380 sccm or 400 sccm, but is not limited to the listed values. Other unlisted values ​​within this range are also acceptable.

[0042] The plasma cleaning pressure is 100-300 mTorr, for example, it can be 100 mTorr, 120 mTorr, 140 mTorr, 160 mTorr, 180 mTorr, 200 mTorr, 220 mTorr, 240 mTorr, 260 mTorr, 280 mTorr or 300 mTorr, etc., but is not limited to the listed values. Other unlisted values ​​within this range are also acceptable.

[0043] The power of the plasma cleaning is 300-800W, for example, it can be 300W, 350W, 400W, 450W, 500W, 550W, 600W, 650W, 700W, 750W or 800W, but is not limited to the listed values. Other unlisted values ​​within this range are also acceptable.

[0044] The plasma cleaning time is 40-200s, for example, it can be 40s, 56s, 72s, 88s, 104s, 120s, 136s, 152s, 168s, 184s or 200s, but is not limited to the listed values. Other unlisted values ​​within this range are also acceptable.

[0045] The thickness of the film obtained by anodizing is 40-70 μm, for example, it can be 40 μm, 43 μm, 46 μm, 49 μm, 52 μm, 55 μm, 58 μm, 61 μm, 64 μm, 67 μm or 70 μm, but is not limited to the listed values. Other unlisted values ​​within this range are also acceptable.

[0046] In this invention, the process parameters for anodizing can be reasonably designed based on the design requirements of the upper electrode of the dry etching equipment to ensure that the film thickness specified in this invention is achieved.

[0047] The thickness of the yttrium oxide layer obtained by the melt spraying is 150-300 μm.

[0048] In this invention, the process parameters of the fusion sputtering can be reasonably designed according to the design requirements of the upper electrode of the dry etching equipment to ensure that the film thickness defined by this invention is achieved. For example, the relevant control parameters are as follows: the distance between the fusion sputtering nozzle and the surface is 100-120mm, the voltage is 36-39V, the average particle size of the yttrium oxide powder is 20-40μm, and the pressure of helium gas is 30-50PSI and the pressure of argon gas is 40-60PSI. The purity of the yttrium oxide powder can be reasonably selected according to actual needs, such as a purity of ≥99.999%.

[0049] The gases used in the plasma treatment include source gas and carrier gas.

[0050] The source gas includes nitrogen trifluoride and carbon tetrafluoride in a volume ratio of 1:(2-3), such as 1:2, 1:2.1, 1:2.2, 1:2.3, 1:2.4, 1:2.5, 1:2.6, 1:2.7, 1:2.8, 1:2.9 or 1:3, etc., but is not limited to the listed values. Other unlisted values ​​within this range are also acceptable.

[0051] In this invention, the carrier gas used can be reasonably selected according to the conventional requirements in the field, such as argon, helium, etc.

[0052] The flow rate of the source gas is 50-150 sccm, for example, it can be 50 sccm, 60 sccm, 70 sccm, 80 sccm, 90 sccm, 100 sccm, 110 sccm, 120 sccm, 130 sccm, 140 sccm or 150 sccm, but is not limited to the listed values. Other unlisted values ​​within this range are also acceptable.

[0053] The flow rate of the carrier gas is 100-300 sccm, for example, it can be 100 sccm, 120 sccm, 140 sccm, 160 sccm, 180 sccm, 200 sccm, 220 sccm, 240 sccm, 260 sccm, 280 sccm or 300 sccm, but is not limited to the listed values. Other unlisted values ​​within this range are also acceptable.

[0054] The plasma treatment pressure is 100-200 mTorr, for example, it can be 100 mTorr, 110 mTorr, 120 mTorr, 130 mTorr, 140 mTorr, 150 mTorr, 160 mTorr, 170 mTorr, 180 mTorr, 190 mTorr or 200 mTorr, but is not limited to the listed values. Other unlisted values ​​within this range are also acceptable.

[0055] The power of the plasma treatment is 200-400W, for example, it can be 200W, 220W, 240W, 260W, 280W, 300W, 320W, 340W, 360W, 380W or 400W, but is not limited to the listed values. Other unlisted values ​​within this range are also acceptable.

[0056] The plasma treatment temperature is 120-180℃, for example, it can be 120℃, 126℃, 132℃, 138℃, 144℃, 150℃, 156℃, 162℃, 168℃, 174℃ or 180℃, but is not limited to the listed values. Other unlisted values ​​within this range are also acceptable.

[0057] The plasma treatment time is 30-90 min, for example, it can be 30 min, 36 min, 42 min, 48 min, 54 min, 60 min, 66 min, 72 min, 78 min, 84 min or 90 min, but is not limited to the listed values. Other unlisted values ​​within this range are also acceptable.

[0058] II. This embodiment provides a dry etching method for the upper electrode, wherein the dry etching method for the upper electrode is obtained by a repair method.

[0059] III. This embodiment provides a dry etching apparatus, which includes: a dry etching upper electrode.

[0060] IV. To illustrate the repair effect achievable by the dry etching method for repairing the upper electrode provided by this invention, the following example is used for explanation:

[0061] Example 1

[0062] This embodiment provides a method for repairing a dry-etched upper electrode, the repair method including:

[0063] The upper electrode (aluminum alloy 6061) etched by dry etching was sequentially subjected to plasma cleaning, anodizing, spraying and plasma treatment to obtain the repaired upper electrode;

[0064] The plasma generating gas used in the plasma cleaning is oxygen; the oxygen flow rate in the plasma cleaning is 350 sccm; the pressure of the plasma cleaning is 200 mTorr; the power of the plasma cleaning is 550 W; and the time of the plasma cleaning is 120 s.

[0065] The thickness of the film obtained by anodic oxidation is 55 μm;

[0066] The thickness of the yttrium oxide layer obtained by the melt spraying is 225 μm; the distance between the melt spraying nozzle and the surface is 110 mm, the voltage is 38 V, the average particle size of the yttrium oxide powder with a purity of 99.999% is 30 μm, and the pressure of helium gas is 40 PSI and the pressure of argon gas is 50 PSI.

[0067] The gases used in the plasma treatment include: source gas and carrier gas; the source gas includes: nitrogen trifluoride and carbon tetrafluoride in a volume ratio of 1:2.5; the flow rate of the source gas is 100 sccm; the flow rate of the carrier gas (argon) is 200 sccm; the pressure of the plasma treatment is 150 mTorr; the power of the plasma treatment is 300 W; the temperature of the plasma treatment is 150 °C; and the time of the plasma treatment is 60 min.

[0068] Example 2

[0069] This embodiment provides a method for repairing a dry-etched upper electrode, the repair method including:

[0070] The upper electrode (aluminum alloy 6061) etched by dry etching was sequentially subjected to plasma cleaning, anodizing, spraying and plasma treatment to obtain the repaired upper electrode;

[0071] The plasma generating gas used in the plasma cleaning is nitrogen trifluoride; the flow rate of nitrogen trifluoride in the plasma cleaning is 100 sccm; the pressure of the plasma cleaning is 100 mTorr; the power of the plasma cleaning is 800 W; and the time of the plasma cleaning is 40 s.

[0072] The thickness of the film obtained by anodic oxidation is 40 μm;

[0073] The thickness of the yttrium oxide layer obtained by the melt spraying is 150 μm; the distance between the melt spraying nozzle and the surface is 100 mm; the voltage is 36 V; the average particle size of the yttrium oxide powder with a purity of 99.999% is 40 μm; and the pressure of helium gas is 30 PSI and the pressure of argon gas is 40 PSI.

[0074] The gases used in the plasma treatment include: source gas and carrier gas; the source gas includes: nitrogen trifluoride and carbon tetrafluoride in a volume ratio of 1:2; the flow rate of the source gas is 50 sccm; the flow rate of the carrier gas (argon) is 100 sccm; the pressure of the plasma treatment is 100 mTorr; the power of the plasma treatment is 400 W; the temperature of the plasma treatment is 180 °C; and the time of the plasma treatment is 30 min.

[0075] Example 3

[0076] This embodiment provides a method for repairing a dry-etched upper electrode, the repair method including:

[0077] The upper electrode (aluminum alloy 6061) etched by dry etching was sequentially subjected to plasma cleaning, anodizing, spraying and plasma treatment to obtain the repaired upper electrode;

[0078] The plasma generating gas used in the plasma cleaning is hydrogen; the flow rate of hydrogen in the plasma cleaning is 300 sccm; the pressure of the plasma cleaning is 300 mTorr; the power of the plasma cleaning is 300 W; and the time of the plasma cleaning is 200 s.

[0079] The thickness of the film obtained by anodic oxidation is 70 μm;

[0080] The thickness of the yttrium oxide layer obtained by the melt spraying is 300 μm; the distance between the melt spraying nozzle and the surface is 120 mm, the voltage is 39 V, the average particle size of the yttrium oxide powder with a purity of 99.999% is 20 μm, and the pressure of helium gas is 50 PSI and the pressure of argon gas is 60 PSI.

[0081] The gases used in the plasma treatment include: source gas and carrier gas; the source gas includes: nitrogen trifluoride and carbon tetrafluoride in a volume ratio of 1:3; the flow rate of the source gas is 150 sccm; the flow rate of the carrier gas (argon) is 300 sccm; the pressure of the plasma treatment is 200 mTorr; the power of the plasma treatment is 200 W; the temperature of the plasma treatment is 120 °C; and the time of the plasma treatment is 90 min.

[0082] Example 4

[0083] The only difference from Example 1 is that the source gas used in the plasma treatment is replaced with an equal volume of nitrogen trifluoride.

[0084] Example 5

[0085] The only difference from Example 1 is that the source gas used in the plasma treatment is replaced with an equal volume of carbon tetrafluoride.

[0086] Example 6

[0087] The only difference from Example 1 is that the source gas is nitrogen trifluoride and carbon tetrafluoride in a volume ratio of 1:1.

[0088] Example 7

[0089] The only difference from Example 1 is that the source gas is nitrogen trifluoride and carbon tetrafluoride in a volume ratio of 1:5.

[0090] Example 8

[0091] The only difference from Example 1 is that the source gas is oxygen and carbon tetrafluoride in a volume ratio of 1:2.5.

[0092] Comparative Example 1

[0093] The only difference from Example 1 is that plasma cleaning is not performed.

[0094] Comparative Example 2

[0095] The only difference from Example 1 is that no plasma treatment is performed.

[0096] After the repaired upper electrodes obtained from the above embodiments and comparative examples were installed in the machine, they were subjected to dry etching with the same parameters. The results of the dry etching are shown in Table 1 below.

[0097] Table 1

[0098]

[0099] As shown in Table 1, the repair method provided by this invention, after first cleaning and activating the upper electrode using plasma cleaning, allows for direct anodic oxidation and sputtering to regenerate the function. Subsequently, specific plasma treatment enhances the corrosion resistance of the yttrium oxide layer obtained from sputtering, while also increasing the etching rate, thereby achieving highly efficient dry etching. The etching efficiency is significantly improved, reaching ≥205.1 nm / min for intrinsic amorphous silicon a-Si, even with heavy doping. The etching efficiency is ≥109.4 nm / min, and under the preferred scheme, the etching efficiency for intrinsic amorphous silicon a-Si is ≥225.3 nm / min, heavily doped. The etching efficiency is ≥136.9nm / min.

[0100] The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific details in the above embodiments. Within the scope of the technical concept of the present invention, various simple modifications can be made to the technical solution of the present invention, and these simple modifications all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0101] It should also be noted that the various specific technical features described in the above specific embodiments can be combined in any suitable manner without contradiction. In order to avoid unnecessary repetition, the present invention will not describe the various possible combinations separately.

[0102] Furthermore, various different embodiments of the present invention can be combined in any way, as long as they do not violate the spirit of the present invention, they should also be regarded as the content disclosed by the present invention.

Claims

1. A repair method of dry-etching an upper electrode, characterized by, The repair method includes: The upper electrode, which was etched by dry etching, was sequentially subjected to plasma cleaning, anodizing, spraying, and plasma treatment to obtain the repaired upper electrode.

2. The repair method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The plasma generating gas used in the plasma cleaning includes one or a combination of at least two of oxygen, nitrogen trifluoride, or hydrogen. Preferably, the oxygen flow rate in the plasma cleaning is 200-500 sccm; Preferably, the flow rate of nitrogen trifluoride in the plasma cleaning is 50-150 sccm; Preferably, the flow rate of hydrogen in the plasma cleaning is 200-400 sccm.

3. The repair method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The plasma cleaning pressure is 100-300 mTorr; Preferably, the power of the plasma cleaning is 300-800W; Preferably, the plasma cleaning time is 40-200 seconds.

4. The repair method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The thickness of the film obtained by anodic oxidation is 40-70 μm.

5. The repair method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The thickness of the yttrium oxide layer obtained by the melt spraying is 150-300 μm.

6. The repair method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The gases used in the plasma treatment include: source gas and carrier gas; Preferably, the source gas comprises nitrogen trifluoride and carbon tetrafluoride in a volume ratio of 1:(2-3); Preferably, the flow rate of the source gas is 50-150 sccm; Preferably, the flow rate of the carrier gas is 100-300 sccm.

7. The repair method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The pressure of the plasma treatment is 100-200 mTorr; Preferably, the power of the plasma treatment is 200-400W.

8. The repair method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The temperature of the plasma treatment is 120-180℃; Preferably, the plasma treatment time is 30-90 minutes.

9. A dry etching method for an upper electrode, characterized in that, The dry etching of the upper electrode is obtained using the repair method described in any one of claims 1-8.

10. A dry etching apparatus, characterized in that, The dry etching equipment includes: the dry etching upper electrode as described in claim 9.

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